By 1953 another refit was due.
This could not be done locally so the ship had to be taken back to Birkenhead dry dock, passing back through the Swellies once more.
The operation took place on 14 April 1953.
There were the same two Liverpool tugs which had shifted her several times before, Dongarth forward and Minegarth aft.
The new Captain Superintendent, Captain E Hewitt, was in command, with two Trinity House local pilots – Mr R D Jones (junior) aboard the head tug, and Mr R J Jones (senior) – advising Captain Hewitt, and the Blue Funnel Liverpool pilot Mr James Miller overseeing the towage.

High water at Liverpool that morning was 11:18, at a height of 32'10" and was the highest tide that year.
Laver's Almanac quotes high water at Menai Bridge as 28 minutes before high water Liverpool.
What is termed 'slack' in the Swellies is actually a brief period of uneasy equilibrium between two opposing flood streams which typically occurs 1 hour 42 minutes before local high water, or at 09:08 on the morning of the move.
Owing to the strength of the southwest-going ebb, which runs at 8 knots during a spring tide, there is a confused complex tidal flow among the numerous rocks and islets generating many powerful eddies.
On a big tide in particular it is vital for an outbound vessel to be through the Swellies before the tide turns against her.
It is therefore the local practice to start an outward transit with the last of the northeast-going flood 20 minutes before the 'slack', or at 08:48 on the morning of the move.
Captain Hewitt had worked with the Caernarvon harbour master, Captain Rees Thomas, in preparing his plan, and had several times made a passage of the Swellies in the Conway's motor boat, checking his timings at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph).
He also consulted Conway's old log book for the timings of the previous transit, and had planned to arrive at the bridge at 09:20.

The streams in the Menai Strait are affected by winds outside in the Irish Sea.
With a strong north or north-westerly wind both the rate and duration of the southwest-going ebb are increased, and the southwest-going ebb may begin quarter of an hour earlier.
The 0600 synoptic chart showed a stationary deep depression west of Norway with a secondary low in the North Sea, and a high steadily closing the west coast of Ireland, which could be expected to result in an increasingly strong northwesterly wind in the Irish Sea.
But in the shelter of the Plas Newydd mooring, there was no indication of this.
At 0800 as the wind was being recorded in Conway's logbook as northerly force 1–2 (2 to 5 knots), only 13 miles away on station off Point Lynas it was being recorded by the Liverpool pilot boat as northwesterly force 6 (22–27 knots) and her noon entry was NW force 7, (28–33 knots) while during the morning Bidston Observatory was recording gusts up to 49 knots (storm force 10).

The Investigating Subcommittee was later to express its surprise that Captain Hewitt had left the Plas Newydd mooring without a weather forecast, and "had no knowledge of the stormy conditions prevailing at sea at the time Conway was to make the passage" since it was local knowledge that in such weather "abnormal conditions might be encountered."
In addition to the tide generated streams in the Menai Strait there is also a non-tidal current, the Southwest Residual, a dynamic reaction which directly reflects wind stress in the Irish Sea.
The north-westerly mean wind speed of 16 meters per second at sea that day would enhance the Residual by 15 cm per second, increasing the strength of the southwest-going ebb at Plas Newydd by as much as 3 knots.

Conway's logbook shows she left the mooring at 0822 and arrived at Britannia Bridge at 0850, which was the locally recommended time for starting the outward transit and Jones the pilot naturally advised keeping her going with the last of the northeast-going flood tide behind her.
Instead Captain Hewitt had the ship brought up for half an hour to wait until 0920.
The severe wind in the Irish Sea caused the stream in the Strait to turn to the westward
By 1953 another refit was due. This could not be done locally so the ship had to be taken back to Birkenhead dry dock, passing back through the Swellies once more. The operation took place on 14 April 1953. There were the same two Liverpool tugs which had shifted her several times before, Dongarth forward and Minegarth aft. The new Captain Superintendent, Captain E Hewitt, was in command, with two Trinity House local pilots – Mr R D Jones (junior) aboard the head tug, and Mr R J Jones (senior) – advising Captain Hewitt, and the Blue Funnel Liverpool pilot Mr James Miller overseeing the towage.
High water at Liverpool that morning was 11:18, at a height of 32'10" and was the highest tide that year. Laver's Almanac quotes high water at Menai Bridge as 28 minutes before high water Liverpool. What is termed 'slack' in the Swellies is actually a brief period of uneasy equilibrium between two opposing flood streams which typically occurs 1 hour 42 minutes before local high water, or at 09:08 on the morning of the move. Owing to the strength of the southwest-going ebb, which runs at 8 knots during a spring tide, there is a confused complex tidal flow among the numerous rocks and islets generating many powerful eddies. On a big tide in particular it is vital for an outbound vessel to be through the Swellies before the tide turns against her. It is therefore the local practice to start an outward transit with the last of the northeast-going flood 20 minutes before the 'slack', or at 08:48 on the morning of the move. Captain Hewitt had worked with the Caernarvon harbour master, Captain Rees Thomas, in preparing his plan, and had several times made a passage of the Swellies in the Conway's motor boat, checking his timings at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph). He also consulted Conway's old log book for the timings of the previous transit, and had planned to arrive at the bridge at 09:20.
The streams in the Menai Strait are affected by winds outside in the Irish Sea. With a strong north or north-westerly wind both the rate and duration of the southwest-going ebb are increased, and the southwest-going ebb may begin quarter of an hour earlier. The 0600 synoptic chart showed a stationary deep depression west of Norway with a secondary low in the North Sea, and a high steadily closing the west coast of Ireland, which could be expected to result in an increasingly strong northwesterly wind in the Irish Sea. But in the shelter of the Plas Newydd mooring, there was no indication of this. At 0800 as the wind was being recorded in Conway's logbook as northerly force 1–2 (2 to 5 knots), only 13 miles away on station off Point Lynas it was being recorded by the Liverpool pilot boat as northwesterly force 6 (22–27 knots) and her noon entry was NW force 7, (28–33 knots) while during the morning Bidston Observatory was recording gusts up to 49 knots (storm force 10).
The Investigating Subcommittee was later to express its surprise that Captain Hewitt had left the Plas Newydd mooring without a weather forecast, and "had no knowledge of the stormy conditions prevailing at sea at the time Conway was to make the passage" since it was local knowledge that in such weather "abnormal conditions might be encountered." In addition to the tide generated streams in the Menai Strait there is also a non-tidal current, the Southwest Residual, a dynamic reaction which directly reflects wind stress in the Irish Sea. The north-westerly mean wind speed of 16 meters per second at sea that day would enhance the Residual by 15 cm per second, increasing the strength of the southwest-going ebb at Plas Newydd by as much as 3 knots.
Conway's logbook shows she left the mooring at 0822 and arrived at Britannia Bridge at 0850, which was the locally recommended time for starting the outward transit and Jones the pilot naturally advised keeping her going with the last of the northeast-going flood tide behind her. Instead Captain Hewitt had the ship brought up for half an hour to wait until 0920. The severe wind in the Irish Sea caused the stream in the Strait to turn to the westward
HMS Conway (school ship)