Advice on working the tides

[Liam]

At the begining of July I intend to sail on a 43ft yacht from Lymington in the Solent to Penzance. I have been advised to leave Lymington 2 hours before the end of the Ebb and proceed via the North Passage and proceed close in shore in each bay when the tide is against me and go off shore when the tide is with me. In this way I will make faster progress and arrive at most headlands with the tide with me. I am sure this is a journey many of you have made and your advice would be appreciated

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[Boathook]

There was a post about a week ago either hear or on the PBO forum that asked the same type of question and got a lot of answers. At present I do not have time to find it and give the link, sorry.

When I head west I start from Studland and get all the ebb to take me past Portland into Lyme Bay. Last year this enabled me to get anough ebb past Salacombe. Between Anvil and Portland seems to be the critical area and it is worth using the engine to keep the speed up to make sure that you get through these 'tidal gates' unless you happen to be a power boat ...

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[Twister_Ken]

This is the classic Fastnet navigators question, and it depends on wind as much as tide. If you've got to beat down there work the bays to cheat foul tide, and stand well past headlands. If the wind is free, stand offshore clear of all headlands and just blast down as quick as you can. Don't forget, if you get your timing wrong for the Bill, you can anchor in the lee of Portland to wait for the tide change.

One friend once had this problem, and being a lazy sod he held starboard tack until in sight of the French coast, then tacked back onto port and fetched up close to the Scillies!

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[Cornishman]

What was he sailing? A Brixham Trawler?

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[Twister_Ken]

Brixham trawler? Not quite. A Sigma 38.

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[bedouin]

Depends a lot on the Wind strength, direction and your VMG. The thing to avoid is being caught near one of the headlands with the tide against you.

Now if you are lucky you might manage to round each headland with a favourable tide, and duck into the bays during the contrary tide, but that requires a bit of luck - matching your progress to the tides.

In most cases I think I would recommend staying well offshore - keeping far enough off the headlands for it not to be an issue

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[AndrewB]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

<font size=1>One friend once had this problem, and being a lazy sod he held starboard tack until in sight of the French coast, then tacked back onto port and fetched up close to the Scillies!</font size=1>

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The tides on the French side are much stronger than the English. So zilch out of ten for passage planning I'm afraid, and yes we all know about 'a friend' ;-)

Strongest tides on this passage are through Hurst and off Portland; St Aldhems, Start Point and the Lizard all need some respect. Liam needs a VMG of about 7 knots to get through the first three on one tide - virtually impossible with the prevailing wind though I've done it on the way back. Otherwise its a choice between (i) crawling around North Channel against the tide to start with, (ii) anchoring off Portland to wait for the tide through the inshore passage, (iii) getting some way offshore and putting up with the adverse tides.

I generally go with (ii) as Lulworth is a nice stopover.


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[tcm]

It doesn't sound bad advice.

You will invariably find that the best time to set off is between 1 am and 4am in the morning, and the best time to return/set off again is less than half an hour after mooring up or anchoring.

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[brianhumber]

If you have enough crew go well off shore and sail non-stop. Last time left Chi mid morning and ended up in Falmouth next day at t time. Wind SW, went out to midchannel, tacked and then single beat down to Falmouth. Dependant on wind direction you will prob need to tack once more to make Falmouth ns. Suggest take all the ebb if this plans suits which will allow the best track westwards as you go out to midchannel. Gets boring if no traffic about till you pass Eddystone.

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[Twister_Ken]

He claimed it was because a cold front was due to come through, which would free him on stbd. He did alright in the race as well, compared to us silly sods stitching our way down the English coast.

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[billmacfarlane]

I did Chichester to Falmouth last year. Left Chichester at 0630 hrs on a Thursday morning and arrived in Falmouth at 1100 hrs on Friday morning. I went outside the Island and kept about 6 miles offshore to avoid the tidal headlands. I think if you go inshore the extra distance sailed will negate the effects of the tide. It's difficult to say whether the tides will be with you or not unless you motor sail if the wind drops and your boat speed drops. It's not the sort of thing I like to do so I'd head offshore and simply sail the passage regardless of the headlands. If you do go inshore don't forget to give Portland Bill a lot of respect.

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[alant]

Get yourself a 2003 MacMillan/Reeds Almanac.
Look at
(1) Isle of Wight Tidal Streams (based usually on Portsmouth HW) these will take you out of the Solent
(2) Area 2 Tidal Streams (based usually on HW Dover) these cover the Channel past Portland
(3) Portland Tidal Streams (based on HW Portland) these indicate when best to pass Portland Bill if relatively close inshore
(4) Area 1 Tidal Streams (based on Dover HW) these take you from Portland down to Lands End.
These + all the accompanying Passage Information therein will guide you all the way to Penzance.
If you still worried or confused, you really should reconsider your ability to undertake the trip.

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[Liam]

Thank you for all your ideas and advice

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