When the boat comes in… comings & goings at Sharpness Dock
Watching a ship come through the entrance into Sharpness Dock can be a novel and thrilling experience, and is especially pleasant on a nice summer’s evening.
Not only is the Severn estuary tricky to navigate due to its tidal range and currents, sand banks and mud, manoeuvring the cargo boats through the dock’s narrow entrance is a surprisingly tight squeeze.
Most of the cargo ships are almost as wide as the dock entrance, with just a foot or two spare each side.
So movement is slow and cautious, requiring skill and cooperation by a ship pilot and dock staff.
Before arriving at Sharpness, a cargo ship first calls in at Barry (South Wales) where a ‘pilot’ with local expertise boards the ship.
Anyone who has stood on the banks of the upper Severn Estuary mid time between low and high tide will know that the rush of the incoming tide is dramatically visible and audible as the water races up the estuary.
Timing for the Tide
At the dock entrance from the Severn, boat arrivals and departures can take place only around high tide when the water level is stable and the tidal current has slowed for the turn of the tide.
Furthermore, boats can only enter and leave Sharpness when the Severn Estuary water is deep enough. If the neap high tides are too low, a ship may even have to wait in South Wales for a better tide! A very high spring tide could be too high, submerging the two wooden piers and obscuring the way into the docks.
Once the boats pass under the Old Severn Crossing, they establish radio contact with the docks on VHF Channel 13 to receive instructions.
Departures and Arrivals
Coming up to Sharpness, the boats are helped along by the incoming tide. They usually arrive a little early and wait out in the middle of the Severn. But if they are too late, they will have to turn back and wait for the next high tide!
As the high tides approaches the anticipation amongst any onlookers builds.
Any departures happen first. As soon as the time is right, any boats waiting to depart the docks begin to leave. They head down the eastern side of the Severn, heading towards Oldbury and the Bristol Channel beyond.
Then it is the turn of any arrivals.
The Two Piers
The two iconic wooden piers protrude hundreds of metres into the Severn and together look like a funnel into the entrance to the New Dock.
The north pier serves to guide boats into the dock, its original length having long ago been extended to allow boats to come alongside whilst landing ropes. The south pier serves to break the force of the tide flowing past the north pier, thus allowing boats to manoeuvre effectively. The south pier does not look walkable these days but still does its job.
Out on the better maintained north pier, a team of workers often use ropes to help guide a boat. Radio is used but old fashioned low-tech gesticulations and yelling still having their place! It is an intense period of work and concentration.
Tidal Basin and the Lock
Boats enter the dock by passing through the pair of gates which separate the Severn from the dock’s wide ‘Tidal Basin’.
At the opposite end of the tidal basin, there is the ‘Sharpness Lock’. This lock may hold several smaller boats but should a cargo ship be too long, the tidal basin can act as a lock extension.
Most boats immediately head straight through the tidal basin and into the Sharpness Lock. From the lock, they emerge into the ‘Wet Dock’ which is the main and largest part of the dock. Once in the wet dock, a boat may berth to unload/load or may head to the dry dock for repairs. Or the boat may continue right on though the docks, passing through the two swing bridges and onto the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.
But what about those earlier departures heading down to the Bristol Channel?
If you wait and watch them fade into the distance, you will see that they do not continue in a single direction. Between Berkeley and Oldbury power stations, the ships take a sharp turn towards the western side of the Severn.
This is because they are following the deeper river channel and are avoiding the mud and sand banks – this channel and the banks are all clearly visible at low tide!
The main channel goes between Sheperdine Sands and Oldbury Sands. On the western side this channel is called ‘Slime Road’.
Plain Sailing – or maybe not!
Following a festival, I’ve seen a flotilla of small leisure boats silently and smoothly riding the tide down the estuary – no engines or sails used!
But it isn’t always plain sailing. I know of a canal barge being taken from the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal to the Kennet & Avon Canal. A professional Severn pilot was required. The strategy was to take the barge all the way down to Portishead on an outgoing tide, and then to bring the barge back up on an incoming tide to enter the tidal River Avon at Avonmouth, eventually joining the Kennet & Avon Canal in Bath.
As it turned out, the barge engine broke down before reaching the first Severn bridge, and all on board were rescued by the lifeboat from Chepstow. It was a very scary, emergency situation.
Watch the ships for yourself
Where?
The best place to watch is from Sharpness picnic site where there is a small car park (closed at dusk). There are no public toilets.
When?
The ships arrive and depart between 90 minutes before to 30 minutes after high tide. There are a number of websites and Apps providing tide timetables. For its visual wave graph in addition to a table, I like WillyWeather’s tide info at: WillyWeather’s tide timetable for Sharpness Dock
What? Port of Sharpness: Expected Arrivals, Departures and In Port
There are several shipping websites and Apps. Vessel Finder has a clear Port of Sharpness web page at: Vessel Finder’s Port of Sharpness info
MarineTraffic sells a handy ship tracking App for £5 but I couldn’t see a list of expected arrivals.
Webcam!
There was a webcam high up on a pole at Sharpness Dock which was viewable online. I was hoping to give you that weblink too but unfortunately that webcam has been decommissioned.