Barry
At a Glance
Docks Office 0870 6096699 VHF 11
Barry YC 01446 735511 http://www.barryyachtclub.co.uk/
We have included Barry in the notes purely because it is ideally situated as a place to hold before going up channel to Bristol or, equally, as somewhere to stop after negotiating your departure from Bristol. You might prefer Penarth or Cardiff for their facilities but for either of those you have to negotiate the Cardiff Barrage whereas Barry is much more convenient as long as you take care to anchor in depth sufficient to remain afloat at low water.
You won't be able to go into the dockyard here; you are
restricted to the outer harbour but that is well sheltered from all
directions apart from SE. It's just under 28 miles from here to
Bristol Docks - about four hours running up with the tide under
your transom but a bit longer coming back especially if there is a
bit of west in the wind - the wind against tide sets up a really
short chop and you may have to reduce hull speed because of it.
It's worth remembering that, at this end of the Bristol Channel,
the westerly sea breeze on a sunny afternoon in June can reach F4
or more.
There has been a settlement (and even a fort) here since Viking
times. A small port developed here but it wasn't until late in the
nineteenth century that Barry expanded into what we see today. The
docks were developed as a result of Cardiff reaching capacity for
coal exports and a levy of a penny per ton being set by Lord Bute
for coal exports from Cardiff; the local mine owners were a bit
miffed by this and, along with the railways owners (most of who had
financial interests in the mines anyway!) built Barry Docks. The
result was that for the best part of a quarter of a century Barry
outstripped Cardiff in exports but, by the 1920s, the effect of WWI
and the miners' strike on the South Wales coal industry meant that
the docks went into decline. There are still ships using the docks
but you are talking one or two a week; today Barry is best known
for the Amusements on Barry Island which is sad because the
capacity of these docks is going to waste.
Barry
Approach
The approach to Barry is simple, there are no dangers except
...... in bad visibility when you'll need to keep a close ear on the VHF as the cargo ships and car transporters pick up the Pilot Boats at the Breaksea RACON only five miles SW of Barry and proceed up channel at a rate of knots.
Be careful around Lavernock Point and Sully Island to the East of
Barry; although there is plenty of water there for the normal yacht
the bottom can put up some awkward, short overfalls and make life
uncomfortable; in conditions of Westerlies in excess of force 3 to
4 on the ebb it's best to give them a wee bit of an offing.
The pierheads are lit but there are no lead in lights for night
entry.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
This is where you will have some fun especially if you intend catching the next tide.
You really must do some calculations well before entry once you know what time you will be arriving. The only really deep water is in the fairway, and you can't anchor there, so you need to know just how shallow you can go to satisfy departure requirements the next day.
Remember that if you are going on up to Bristol they will not
open the lock gates there after High water so you need to leave
Here at about 4 hours before HW Bristol Docks. Also keep in mind
that if you arrive in Barry at Low Water it can be 30 feet deeper
by HW!
The other thing is that, if you arrive with plenty of water in the
harbour you are going to have think about where you want to put
your dinghy if you go ashore - your best bet was to ask the Pilots
if you could tie up to their pier well clear of their boats,
otherwise you could end up with a long plod across the mud to get
back to your pride and joy. Alas, that is no longer possible, a)
the pontoon is now strictly reserved and b) there's no
longer access through the security fence. We are advised that the
best bet is to tie your dinghy to the yachtclub slip a couple of
hours either side of HW.
Important. I you intend visiting the Yacht Club
premises (on foot or by dinghy) you are strongly advised to email
them at one of the addresses on their web site. The yacht
Club has on-going problems with limiting access to the YC area to
those with a legitimate reason for being there. They have a
security fence with coded gates for access from the outside but
these codes are regularly compromised by non-members or those
groups who have temporary membership. If you land there by dinghy
it is easy enough to get out, not at all easy to get back if you do
not have the gate code.
Finally, you will need a stiff broom and several buckets of water
when it comes time to weigh because the anchor will come up with an
equal volume of sticky black mud on it.
Just a thought; has anyone thought of anchoring just to the west in Jacksons Bay? In off shore winds it looks not too bad and there is a path up to the roads at the East end of the beach as well as a possible back gate to the yacht club? (Ed note. The YC Sailing Secretary informs me that on their big race weekends some people do, in fact, anchor in this bay and there is a "back gate" with coded entry.)
Facilities
Barry can be a bleak place on a wet mid week evening in the
early season. There are no facilities for the visiting yachtsman at
all unless the Yacht Club is open (see times below). So, if you are
arriving at a time when the club is likely to be closed, you would
be well advised to contact their secretary to tell them that you
are coming so that they can arrange for some one to be on hand to
let you have a key to the club facilities (showers and
toilets)
During the summer the club bar is open on Monday, Thursday and
Friday evenings at 2000 and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons
What to Do
You will find very little at the top of the hill to the west of the harbour - the main hub of entertainment is the shore front on Barry Island to the west of that hill; there is a pub and Post Office/shop at the top of "Dock Road" out of the harbour. There is also a large retail park on the other side of the Docks but, by the time you have circumnavigated the dock, that's a good mile away.
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Tide Information for barry-harbour
April 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Please note: It is the user's responsibility to ensure that the data is suitable for their intended purpose. VisitMyHarbour must not be used by vessels for navigation.