Thanks both for your replies. Would I be correct in saying that to overcome the disconnects and over-constrained elements issues with the mesh, I have two options:
1. Simplify the coastline data so it is less detailed.
2. Increase the mesh resolution at the expense of computational power.
Note: I have bathymetry data but did not add it to the mesh because I wanted to keep things as simple as possible to start with.
Cheers
Danny