Sailed in and out Easter weekend 1 April 2024. 1.5m draught. Followed channel buoys. No problem.

Buoyed entrance has changed direction this year and needs to be approached from the north parallel to Black Rock Sands, liable to constant change

I reviewed these notes in August 2021. A new chart and list of buoy positions has been added. The buoys here seem to go off station quite regularly so you should contact the harbour to get the latest info. Otherwise no changes.

The channel buoys have moved again since the April NTM. The HM advised us to pass close to No 8 but there appeared to be plenty of water. There are some additional un-numbered buoys on the final stretch just before you enter the harbour. The pontoon at Madoc Yacht Club dries out just before the visitors berths so leave a little slack in your lines. The Yacht Club is excellent and there is a very authentic Thai Restaurant next door.

I've uploaded the Porthmadog channel details to the Navigation Gallery but there may be a typo on the Number 4 Fairway buoy. There is also doubt about the charted position of the R/W buoy and the harbour has issued a NOTAM saying use the No 2 PHM as the Entry point for the channel

Note that we have uploaded the 2017 fairway chart!!!

We had a lovely time in Porthmadog summer '16. It took us two attempts to get in. The first with failing light and a boisterous sea. We failed to identify any buoys in the broken water and we didn't want to get too close as the bar was a lee shore. We came back in the morning when the sea had calmed and the channel was easily identifiable. It does lead almost onto the beach at one point but that is where the deep water is so don't fret too much. Of course next year it may have changed. We were made most welcome at the yacht club, thanks.
Make sure you do a good sea stow before leaving as the bar tossed us around a bit and we departed in mild conditions. Is it worth the effort? Most definitely. Would I go again? Yes!

These notes were reviewed by Don in April 2016. There has been a massive change in the approach channel and we have included a chartlet of the new approach in our Nav Images gallery. It is not of the best quality and we hope eventually that Porthmadog may eventually post it somewhere on the net. Charges have gone up a bit, otherwise no other changes.

There have been some minor changes to the positions of the buoyage in the approach channel and a new chartlet of the channel has been uploaded to the Navigation images in the gallery