Advice needed for a day trip to Ryde Harbour IOW

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Jul 2009
Messages
3,311
Location
Bristol Channel
Visit site
We are planning to go for a day trip this Saturday to Ryde Harbour in the IOW from Southampton. The tides don't help much (HW 10:00) and the Ryde Harbour dries up; I need to be back to Southampton by 22:00 ish.

If I make it into the Harbour in time (HW +/- 2.5 hours) it will be 20:30 before I will be able to float again and back to Southampton.

I am therefore asking those who know the area how practical is to drop anchor further away from the harbour and go on shore with the dinghy, the boat is Twin keel. The dinghy has an outboard, no rowing; can we walk to shore from the dinghy or is it mud? back on the boat at 18:00 ish.
 
Outside Ryde harbour is Ryde Sand. There isn't a channel as such, the buoyed approach route is mostly just to keep the boats away from the hovercraft. Ryde Sands dries a metre or so; I don't know how that compares to the harbour, but it's quite possible that if you'd ground in the harbour you'd ground outside too.

The surroundings are all sandy rather than muddy, as far as I know.

Pete
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
We are planning to go for a day trip this Saturday to Ryde Harbour in the IOW from Southampton. The tides don't help much (HW 10:00) and the Ryde Harbour dries up; I need to be back to Southampton by 22:00 ish.

If I make it into the Harbour in time (HW +/- 2.5 hours) it will be 20:30 before I will be able to float again and back to Southampton.

I am therefore asking those who know the area how practical is to drop anchor further away from the harbour and go on shore with the dinghy, the boat is Twin keel. The dinghy has an outboard, no rowing; can we walk to shore from the dinghy or is it mud? back on the boat at 18:00 ish.
Click to expand...
Anchoring outside isn't viable, a lot of it dries before the harbour. You would have a quarter mile walk across wet sand.
 
We visited Ryde Harbour for the first time earlier this year. We draw a metre in a Centaur. We left only just after high water (max one hour) yet found ourselves with very little water under us (0.5M) a long way from shore and not too far out of the "channel". A boat following us drawing 4ft must have grounded three or four times following our track, and they gave the impression of being seasoned old sea dogs compared to us. We liked Ryde very much but I think for your day sail you rightly conclude you might be struggling.
 
Last edited:
Really your question is can you dry out on the sands safely, and I don't know the answer to that, except probably not and certainly don't dry out on the hovercraft runway/approach. If you are after somewhere not Cowes then you can pick up a visitor mooring at Sea View and use a water taxi ashore.
 
I would not think drying on Ryde sand a good idea. As has been said the sand dries a long way out from the harbour. Also it is totally exposed, and although you would be very unlucky to get a big surf, you risk a hefty pounding from ship wash as the ferries come and go, as well as the larger stuff from Soton and P'mouth.
 
I agree with Old Harry 100%.

Also, I don't know what the state of the bottom in the marina is nowadays as one visit was enough for me; we visited when the place was new, and finding the bottom was mud expected all would be well.

In fact the mud was only 1' or so deep and as the boat dried out she heeled alarmingly on her ballast stub against the next boat, requiring serious playing around and fender work.

This might not worry a twin keel boat if the sand bottom is even but it's something to be aware of.

The approach over Ryde Sands would put me off, could be bad news if the wind picked up or as Old Harry mentions one got the wash from a ship at the wrong moment.

The hovercraft would be the least of my worries as they're by far the most courteous and professional ferries in the Solent, but that might change if one actually blocked their close in approach / exit !

If as someone mentioned you fancy a non Cowes or Bembridge place, there is Wooton Creek but it's very tight on depth and space, also has the car ferry which one really does have to keep clear of at all times, they take no prisoners.
 
Seajet said:
I agree with Old Harry 100%.

Also, I don't know what the state of the bottom in the marina is nowadays as one visit was enough for me; we visited when the place was new, and finding the bottom was mud expected all would be well.

In fact the mud was only 1' or so deep and as the boat dried out she heeled alarmingly on her ballast stub against the next boat, requiring serious playing around and fender work.

This might not worry a twin keel boat if the sand bottom is even but it's something to be aware of.
Click to expand...

Apparently the sand/mud depth accumulates a bit next to the harbour wall. So with a bilge keel you are better off on the pontoons.

Re. drying out on the sands (sorry, my fault for mentioning it) there is quite an onshore breeze forecast for Saturday so definitely not an option, and the wake from ships would be a deterrent anyhow though the big ones pass at high water when you'd be afloat. Anchoring in the shallows just to set foot on the sand might have been an option were it not for the forecast wind. Stokes Bay if you want beach and shelter..... but that is not leaving the mainland
 
Ryde seems like a good destination for a weekend stay and the town is worth a walk round. Not sure about a day trip because access to the marina is even less than say Bembridge IIRC.

Last visit there, we moored in the middle of the marina rafted on a pontoon. And the bottom was smelly mud when it dried out. For a lot of hours. I wanted to check my saildrives but they were partly covered in the mud by the time we had sunk a bit.

The yachts against the wall seemed to have plenty of fenders and ropes out. They also seemed to suffer from some bother from local kids.

At low tide, when it's dried out, the Ryde sands seems to go on forever. I'm not sure if there is any advantage being outside the marina, because the sand is really flat and seemed to begin to cover with tide only a short period of time before the marina filled with water.

I'm also not sure where you could land at Ryde and safely leave your dinghy as most of the foreshore/beach is very busy with the public.

I'd be interested if you find a solution to some of the problems.

Cheers

Garold
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top