55 Killer Resources for Planning Sea Kayaking in Pembrokeshire
Planning on doing some sea kayaking in Pembrokeshire?
Want to check your guide knows what they’re doing?
Not sure where to go to get the information you need?
Then you’ll be needing our list of 55 killer resources for planning sea kayaking in Pembrokeshire. Here at Mayberry Kayaking we use a combination of all of these at various times in order to plan our sea kayaking tours around the varied Pembrokeshire Coastline. These links will go straight to the resource required for sea kayaking in Pembrokeshire but you will find them useful for all other parts of the UK and, in some cases, the world too. On our sea kayaking courses you can learn how to use and practise interpreting these resources.
Some online resources overlap these subheadings but here you’ll find lists of resources you need for;
Maps and Charts
1. Imray Nautical Chart C60 Gower Peninsular to Cardigan
2. Admiralty Chart 1482 – South West Wales
3. OS Landranger 145 Cardigan & Mynydd Preseli
4. OS Landranger 157 St David’s & Haverfordwest
5. OS Landranger 158 Tenby & Pembroke
6. OS Explorer 35 North Pembrokeshire
7. OS Explorer 36 South Pembrokeshire
Maps and charts are available digitally these days too. Many people use software such as Memory Map to view and print areas that they require, or load into their gps systems. Landranger maps are the 1:50 000 scale from Ordinance Survey and Explorer maps are the 1:25 000 scale maps.
Tidal Planning
8. Tidal Information for the Port of Milford Haven
Milford Haven is the primary port for Pembrokeshire and the MHPA publish this pdf every year. We figure they won’t get it wrong again after the Sea Empress disaster and so use this as our go to resource for tidal information at Milford Haven.
9. Easytide
This website is run by the Hydrographic Office and provides tidal predictions for over 6000 ports across the world for the next 7 days.
Tide times provide tide times for the current month or you can order a paper copy for the year ahead.
11. Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion – A Sea Canoeing Guide by Susan and Raymond Griffiths
Our favourite guide to Sea Kayaking in Pembrokeshire is often only available in the book shop in St David’s, but Howard Jeffs currently has some on his wesbsite. Sometimes there is someone on Amazon who is willing to sell your theirs for £49.99!
12. Sea Guide to Pembrokeshire by Tom Bennett
13. Welsh Sea Kayaking by Jim Krawiecki & Andy Biggs
Useful if you paddle in lots of different areas of the UK. You can often find an older year cheaper and then compliment it with the up to date tide tables you need.
15. Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas – Irish Sea and Bristol Channel
Weather Forecasting
16. Surface Pressure/ Synoptic Charts
It is vital that you understand the terms used by the metoffice in all of the following forecasts.
18. Beaufort Scale
19. Shipping Forecast Radio Broadcast Times
Bulletins are broadcast on Radio 4 up to four times a day.
20. Shipping Forecast for the Irish Sea
21. Shipping Forecast for Lundy
The immediate shipping areas surrounding Pembrokeshire.
22. Shipping Forecast for Fastnet
23. Shipping Forecast for Sole
Great if you need an idea of what is coming.
24. Inshore Forecast from St. Davids Head to Great Ormes Head
25. Inshore Forecast from Lands End to St. Davids Head including the Bristol Channel
Inshore Forecasts cover the area up to 12 miles offshore.
Includes a 5 day forecast for temperature, wind speed, UV and weather warnings for today’s weather. Mapped forecasts are available for temperature, rainfall, pressure and cloud.
27. XC Weather for Pembrokeshire
28. Aimed at aircraft pilots, XC Weather break the weather forecast down into 3 hourly windows and provide data on wind direction, speed, temperature, weather type, rainfall, cloud cover, visibility and air pressure. It is possible to further zoom in to more specific areas.
29. Windfinder forecast for Aberporth Buoy
30. Windfinder forecast for Pembroke Buoy
31. Windfinder is aimed at kitesports but is a very useful resource for sea kayakers. Like XC weather, it displays the forecast in 3 hour windows but also has a superforecast which will show hourly forecasts. Unlike XC it includes wave direction and height, which is very useful. Forecasts can be displayed as imperial or metric, according to your preference. There is other information and options with windfinder and it’s worth having a look around their website.
32. Windguru is another popular site offering similar types of forecasts.
Sea States
33. Live Buoy Data for Pembroke Buoy
34. Live Buoy Data for Aberporth Buoy
35. Live Buoy Data for the Celtic Sea Buoy
36. There are a number of Wave Buoys around the UK and it’s possible to get live data and past history from them via the National Data Buoy Center website.
37. Tenby South Beach Surf Forecast
38. Freshwater West Surf Forecast
40. Whitesands Bay Surf Forecast
43. Poppit Sands Surf Forecast
44. Surfline is a website dedicated to bring you the latest surf forecasts for surf breaks across the world.
46. A1 Surf Report for Whitesands
47. A1 Surf Report for Newgale
48. A1 Surf Report for Freshwater West
49. A1 Surf does the same for only UK surf breaks.
50. Ma Simes
A daily forecast from the local surf shop in St David’s with a photo updated each day.
51. Newsurf
A daily photo and forecast from Newsurf based almost on the beach at Newgale.
River Levels
52. Environment Agency Gauge for the Afon Gwaun
The Afon Nyfer doesn’t have a gauge but it falls off the other side of the mountain from the Gwaun. The flow into the estuary can be quite strong and is worth knowing if you plan to launch or land at Newport Parrog.
53. Environment Agency Gauge for the Western Cleddau at Haverfordwest
54. Environment Agency Gauge for the Eastern Cleddau at Canaston Bridge
Both useful if you’re planning trips in the estuary areas.
55. Milford Haven Coastguard 01646 69 09 09
So there we have it, 55 Killer Resources for planning sea kayaking in Pembrokeshire. Which ones do use the most?
