Port Eynon Mumbles

May 1884 saw the first lifeboat at Port Eynon, ‘A Daughter’s Offering’, put to service.

By 1906, her 22 years of toil had seen her save 39 souls and she gracefully retired.

Her replacement, ‘Janet’, was not to be so lucky.

Her tragic story began on New Years Day 1916. ‘S.S. Dunvegan’, dragging her anchor in Oxwich Bay, was in danger of wrecking off Pennard Cliffs. Putting out through heavy seas and a gale the crew, together with the lifeboat from Mumbles, rowed out to offer their assistance, only to find it not required. Turning to head for home she was hit by a huge wave that capsized her. By design she self righted. One of the crew had managed to stay aboard while the remainder were thrown to the sea. One crew member never made it back aboard and was drowned. While the others scrambled aboard ‘Janet’ was caught broadside by another roller and went over again. Two more members of the crew were claimed by the storm. The crewmen aboard the Mumbles lifeboat passed by, but in the gale they were unaware of the unfolding tragedy. The ‘Janet’, now oar less, drifted with the wind. 30 hours after launching she arrived at Mumbles with the remnants of her crew suffering from exhaustion and exposure.

Following this tragedy, the RNLI closed the Port Eynon lifeboat station.

Copies of news articles on the Disaster can be seen on the wall of the fish and chip shop at the top of the beach.

Memorial in the graveyard of Port Eynon

Driving down into Port Eynon, you pass a church on the last bend towards the beach. It is very easy to miss the lifeboatman that looks outward from the graveyard.

By coincidence our trip today has the same start and end point as that of the tragic tale of 1916, Port Eynon along the coast, crossing Oxwich Bay to end at Mumbles lifeboat station.

Hywel, Adrian and Chris on Port Eynon beach

Horton across Port Eynon Bay

Heading out across Port Eynon Bay to Oxwich Point

Caswell Bay

Langland Bay

Mumbles Head Lighthouse

Mumbles lifeboat station

19/10/09

Boys heading out to the buoys

Jim, Neil and self head out with the ebbing tide from Llantwit Major beach. There is a little surf breaking on the spit as we launch from the plateaux to the east. The sun is out in a cloudless blue sky, a little bit of swell, this looks like a superb paddling day.

Reynard's Cave at Tresilian beach

To begin we tucking in and follow the shore westward, pop in for a visit to Reynard's Cave at Tresilian. Passing Nash Point lighthouse and move on out to East Nash buoy to pick up the Nash passage rush.

Approaching Nash Point lighthouse

East Nash cardinal buoy

From here we head on over Nash Sand Bar and out to the channel. With the following sea we get a few nice pick me up surfs on our way out to the Mid Nash buoy. We are now about 6km offshore, and it is just fantastic being out here.

Mid Nash Cardinal buoy about 6km offshore

Journey continues towards Tusker Rock which is fully submerged, marked close by with the red danger buoy.

Tusker danger buoy

We are joined at Tusker Rock for a short while by a seal who popped up and followed us for a bit towards Porthcawl.



Yes indeed. A very enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

10.6Nm (a shade under 20km) trip with a nice 6.5 knot kick through Nash Sound.

"Due to on going industrial action there will be no weather . . ."

Getting to the launch site was reminiscent to the moors scene in An American Werewolf in London. The fog was thick, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Sherlock Holmes himself had popped up.

We weren’t anywhere near London but at Llansteffan.
This is a little place sitting below a 12th century Norman castle on the Towy River just before it enters Carmarthen Bay.

But, today, we couldn’t see the river let alone the castle.

Steve wanted a long paddle. So myself Adrian and Richard have turned up to take advantage of the calm weather suddenly bestowed on us. We have a long paddle planned today - go to Tenby across Carmarthen Bay with the ebb, wait for the tide to turn and return on the flood. The challenge on this trip is to navigate out through the deep channel without being caught high and dry or stranded in a lagoon as the tide ebbs, rapidly. There is also a sand bar to get over. So we intend to paddle out a few miles off shore before heading across to Tenby.

“Good Luck” is the parting call from a group fishermen as they gather their tackle and try to keep up with the rapidly departing water.


I do like my Garmin GPS 72, it is a very basic waterproof type, has all the buttons on the front for easy deck one handed operation.
Maybe one day I will advance to not need to use it, but not to day! Today it is going to earn its keep.


Even when the sun does try and break out, the visibility is poor, and then worsens again.


The sea state is very calm, no noticeable wind, there is an eerie stillness to everything.
It's fantastic.
The water only plays a little as we pass over the sand bar, and head further out into the bay. We then change our bearing towards Tenby, it all gets glassy calm again.
Every now and again the radio bursts into life disrupting the silence with the coastguard letting us know that due to on going industrial action they will not be broadcasting the weather.


After a few hours of this we are disturbed by a local boat that crosses our path as its crew disgorge some form of fishing contraptions marked by orange buoys.


During this time someone suggests that instead of waiting on the beach at Tenby, we could continue on to Caldey Island. We all agree, so change our course towards Woolhouse Rocks and Caldey Sound.

Three and a half hours of paddling in the fog we see our first bit of land, Woolhouse Rocks.

Woolhouse Rock

It is populated with a few seals, who we regrettably we disturb from a morning slumber, as they enter the water to take a closer look at us.

Underwater shot of the starfish.

We are amazed to find that the rocks underneath us, through the clear water, are covered with hundreds if not thousands of starfish of all sizes and colours.

Woolhouse Rock South Cardinal comes into view as the fog begins to lift.

We hang around this little bit of un submerged rock exploring for a while.Well it has been a while since we've seen some solid rock! The fog begins to burn off and we head off in the direction of Caldey Sound.

Entering Caldey Sound - Tenby just there on the right

Flat calm Caldey Sound just as the flow changes - perfect timing

We enter the Sound as the flow begins to change direction, encountering some interesting water effects as we close in and around Margaret's Island.

Margaret's Island

The sun now has well and truly burned off all the fog and produced a glorious afternoon as we head around Caldey Island.

Snack Food

Caldey lighthouse

Seals follow Adrian off their patch

Private Beach

Our lunch spot on Caldey Island

After a little lunch stop on a lovely small beach, we head out on the long crossing across Carmarthen Bay towards the river mouth.

Our way back home

We have the interest of seeing land as we approach the estuary on our way home.

Llansteffan Castle

Llansteffan Castle commanding a great position at the entrance to the river.

Followed shortly by our final destination at the beach in Llansteffan.

Llansteffan Beach

Over 60km (32.8Nm) in 8.5 hrs on the water with a 45 min lunch stop.
Not a bad days paddling.

Holm on the (firing) Range

Disappointed that a bit of an epic trip planned from South Wales to Lundy Island had been called off due to unstable weather, a trip with a bit of a challenge was needed to use the better weather promised for Sunday. We were not let down.

Famous Five, The Secret Seven, there is a touch of Enid Blyton about both the Holms stuck out in the Bristol Channel. Interesting, intriguing, certainly worth discovering, Flat Holm (the most southerly part of Wales) and Steep Holm. Even if that does involve a visit to England!

There and Back Again

It is a challenging trip, requiring a long fast ferry glide between the islands. Just after the peak spring tide, we expected quite a full on experience, with a North, North East wind F3-4 occasionally 5 there was going to be a little wind against tide on the ebb on our outward passage. Tidal stream of up to 3.8 knots was going to be expected in the shipping lane as we crossed between the two islands. Hold on to your hats, have faith in your angle, and don't stop paddling!

Penarth Pier

Bearing out to Flat Holm (left), Steep Holm (right)

Leaving Penarth on the last hour of the flood, we made an ark out into the channel ready to drop down onto Flat Holm with the ebb. That strategy worked very well.

Dropping down onto Flat Holm

Arriving at the jetty, we made our way to pay our landing fee and begin being at the receiving end of gull guano dive bombing, a repeating theme on both islands.

The island had taken a few prisoners that morning. The ferry had been unable to pick up the previous days visitors (due to absent crew members) and so they were captured 'till the evening ferry could safely land at the jetty to extract them.

Rush of water between the two islands

The Flag and Foghorn (cool name for a pub)

A very interesting island. Attractions include a lighthhouse, foghorn, a cholera sanatorium, numerous gun emplacements built to protect the channel from invasion during the late 1800s and during WWII. The Victorian canons seem to have been literally tossed to one side to be replace by the modern weapons. And of course thousands of gulls. Marconi transmitted the first wireless signal over the sea from Flat Holm to Lavernock on 13 May 1897. Just as well he used morse code, as no one would have heard him over the screaming noise of the birds.

Canon and Lighthouse - Flat Holm

Ruins of Cholera Sanatorium

Gull Galore

The Famous Five

Sharing the water with other users

Welcome to Steep Holm

Imagine how we felt when the bared gate read "by appointment" (so inhospitable these English types), we tried to phone, no answer, must be in the garden (they couldn't be down the shops or far away now could they). Not ones to be put off, we scaled the gate (the Enid Blyton excitement got the better of us), to find Mr Maslen to arrange an appointment. It transpired that no one was on the island, so we left, by walking around the perimeter to return to the gate.

Looking back down to Flat Holm from the top of Steep Holm,
with Cardiff in the distance

Holy Buried Canon Batman!

Sunny Side Up or Over Easy?

Bofors 40mm canon with shells of a different kind

Stairway to . . . a search light

"Fish for tea love or do you fancy a Shag?"

Now bugger off or I'll Shit on you

See - I warned you

Jim enjoying a Swell Time mid channel on our return

Chris also having a Swell Time on our return towards Flat Holm

We enjoyed a few civilised pints at the invitation of the yacht club, on the balcony over looking the pier in time to watch the stranded Flat Holm visitors arriving on the evening ferry.

And as if by magic it all went calm and it's not as if Lundy Island won't be there for another day.