Swansea Marina
The boats Oustercat and Mumbles Belle are berthed in Swansea Marina, and all our boat fishing trips leave and return to the Marina berths.
The berths(Oystercat R), (Mumbles Belle P) are at the tower end of the Marina and the entrance gate is by the car park at the end of the tower and supermarket building.
Skippers
and crew normally arrive at the boat berth 30 minutes before the
schedule out lock. This is so they can prepare, without too many
people on board, the boat for the trip and make sure everything
is safe and shipshape before going down and through the marina lock
gate on the hour. Booked anglers should not board
Oystercat until cleared to do so by the skipper and on the production
of their membership card.
Car Parking
Car parking down by the South Dock Marina is very limited. Booked
anglers with cars should share, where possible with other booked anglers. You have 10 minutes to unload your car, without a parking permit, after which you must move your car to public a car park around the Marina. There is free parking in the small Pilot House Warf Car Park down by the public toilets, the lock gates and the tackle shop. The Paxton Street car park by the hotel is free on Sundays. The rest are pay and display. Always liaise with the trip skipper regarding your parking and arrival at the Marina so that the entrance gate can be opened for you, help can be given with your fishing tackle and advice on car parking for the day . Wardens are on duty in the Marina car parks so be careful not to infringe the Marina's security and car parking policies.
Members are reminded to secure their vehicles and remove any valuables whilst unattended
Lock
Operating Hours
|
Weekdays |
0700-1900 GMT |
|
Weekdays |
0700-2200 BST |
|
Sat / Sun |
0700-2200 BST & GMT |
Access
to Tidal Locks
All
access from the sea to the Marina is through the Tawe Barrage Lock
during the published hours. During busy locking periods a
queuing system is normally in operation.
Boats
that do not make contact with the Lockmaster or disobey his/her
instruction are not be given priority over other traffic. In
the interest of every boat owner's safety, it is of the utmost
importance that the Lockmaster's instructions are obeyed at all
times.
Boats
leaving either lock must then transfer to the next lock's VHF channel
on approach and use the appropriate procedure below.
Lock
Availability
Marina
& Swingbridge - call sign: 'Swansea
Marina' CH. 80
Tawe
Barrage Lock - call sign: 'Tawe
Lock' CH. 18
It
is essential that all boat owners wishing to proceed through the
locks or swingbridge operate a VHF radio.
Vessels
must call "Swansea Marina" on channel 80 before leaving
their berth to request lock information and must remain listening on
CH. 80 until passage through the bridge or lock is completed.
When
you require use of the Tawe Barrage lock you must call 'Tawe Lock' to
request information and remain listening on CH. 18 until the passage
through the lock is completed.
Do
not proceed into the locks unless instruction has been given.
Important
Notes
-
Normal
procedure for locking out through the Tawe Barrage lock is for the
lock to be taken downon
the hour and return to the river on the half
hour.
-
The
first lock out of the day at the Tawe lock will be taken down at
approximately 0710. The last Tawe lock in
is half an hour before the close of business each day. Boat
owners should be ready to leave their berth at approximately quarter
to the hour to allow vessels sufficient time to enter the Tawe lock.
-
Any
deviation from the above will be at the discretion of the duty Tawe
Lockmaster who will pay due regard to the volume of traffic and any
other prevailing conditions.
-
Any
vessels not returning on the same day are required to inform the
Lockmaster and Coastguard.
-
Two
holding buoys are situated downstream from the lock and may be used
outside of locking hours.
-
Great
care is necessary at low water spring tides as there is a danger of
drying out.
-
The
pontoon on the portside of the lock entrance is for
loading/unloading only. Do not moor on this pontoon which
dries at low water spring tides with foul ground.
To go to the Swansea Marina Website
click on the link below:
http://www.swanseamarina.org.uk |
Mumbles Belle at berth in Swansea Marina
Oystercat at berth in Swansea Marina
Oystercat fishing trip information
Oystercat
has proven sea handling capabilities and is capable of 25 knots and a
cruising speed of 20 knots with a full load of fuel, 12 anglers and
two crew, allowing her to reach fishing marks in a short space of time
e.g.
|
Worms Head |
40 mins |
|
Oxwich Bass Banks |
30 mins |
|
Porthcawl |
30 mins |
Fishing
trips are normally 6-8 hours ( depending upon the weather) but
shorter trips can be arranged to suit
individual
parties. During the summer
months May
to October fishing trips go out for:
|
Bass |
Offshore wrecks and reefs
around the Gower coast |
|
Pollack |
Offshore wrecks and reefs |
|
Tope |
Offshore |
|
Conger |
Offshore wrecks and reefs |
|
Plaice/Sole |
Inshore |
|
Black Bream |
Inshore reefs |
|
Rays/Turbot |
Offshore sandbanks |
|
Wrasse |
Inshore reefs |
|
Smoothhound |
Inshore reefs |
|
Spurdogs |
Offshore |
Bait
in the summer is mainly live sandeels and mackerel. Mackerel
can be caught from June to September, but it is always a good idea to
bring a backup supply.
Winter
fishing,
November to March, is mainly concentrated on locating shoals of cod.
The average size of cod caught previously was 10lb, with 20lbers
being taken regularly. Other species available in winter are:
Conger, Rays, Whiting and Dogfish that are caught on a regular
basis. The bait used is normally Lug Worm (black is good).
Cocktail baits of Squid, Crab, Razor fish and Clam in addition to Lug
have been used successfully.
 View of Marina berths from the top of tower building
|
Booking a fishing trip
The
best way to book or request a fishing is to come on down to
the members Thursday night meeting at the Mumbles Rugby
Football Club (MRFC). You will then see what is on offer,
have a chat with the skippers and then put your name of the
booking chart for a trip that already has a skipper or to request a
fishing trip on a date that may not yet have a designated skipper.
Alternatively, if you cannot make it to the Thursday night meetings
you can book or make a request via:
You
can monitor the Oystercat and Mumbles Belle fishing trips by looking at the
e-fishing calendar on this link to the Events Calendars.
To
meet all health, safety, and insurance requirements only
Club Members (Paid-up), to a maximum of twelve anglers and 2 crew, will be
allowed on Oystercat. and a maximum of six, inclusive of crew, on the Mumbles Belle. The boat will only leave when the
Skipper(s) is fully satisfied that all safety precautions are in place
and the weather forecast is satisfactory for the duration of the
fishing trip.
The
Marina operates a system where boats leave the locks to go to sea on
the hour and return to the Marina through the locks on the half
hour. All fishing trips leave on an out-lock hour (e.g. 08.00 hrs). You
should aim to arrive at the entrance to the Marina berth in plenty
of time to board your to meet the out-lock time. It can take
up to 30mins to board and be ready for departure.
Fishing positions on the
boat may be given by the skipper and also rotated during
in the fishing trip to give every angler a descent fishing session.
The skipper is in charge of all fishing activities on
the boat and your full
co-operation would be much appreciated.
You
will be required to show your current photo membership card when
boarding either boat.
Please
Note:
Any member making a booking and then find they can no longer make the
trip must inform the Club/skipper at least 48 hours before departure
so that their place can be offered to members on the reserve list.
Members(s) failing to notify a cancellation will be charged £10
to help in covering the cost of the fishing trip. Or, as
a fine if the fishing trip has be cancelled due to an uneconomic
number of anglers remaining.
Cost
of Fishing Trips
The
fare is made up of a fixed overhead cost £70 and a mileage
charge, currently £4 per mile. The
mileage covered is calculated from the GPS readings. The actual
cost per head of a fishing trip will depend upon the number of
anglers going out and the distance cover during the fishing trip. The fixed
and mileage cost will have to be shared between the anglers and if
the number going out is questionable the group will have to
decide if they are going out and willing to pay a pro-rata price. It
may not be economic to go out with less than four/five anglers.
Though, at these low numbers the price is still good value
for money. It will be the Skipper's decision in consultation
with the group of anglers.
Example
Costs: Ground fishing £120; drifting £140;
wrecking £160. It will be necessary to work out the actual
cost per person after the fishing trip when all the cost factors are
known. But, say 10 anglers on a trip the cost to each angler
would be £12, £14, or £16 from the previous cost
examples. Payment is by cash or cheque, with cheques payable to
Mumbles Motorboat and Fishing Club. Gift Aid donations are very welcome.
These
costs are subject to review when ever there are changes to the operating
and fuel costs.
General
Please
do not bring too many large fishing seats boxes as they clutter the
deck. Footwear should be water proof but for safety reasons, no
waders or steel toe caped shoes. Also no shoes or boots with
metal studs. When cutting bait please use the boards provided.
NO
ALCOHOL OR DRUGS ALLOWED ON BOARD
|
