Brighton to Gosport

[SaltyDan]

Hi all,

I am planning to sail from Brighton to Gosport this Sunday Leaving 08:00.

Conditions: Neap tides. Easterly F2 at 08:00 building to F3/4 by 12:00ish. HW Portsmouth 16:30.

I will be against tide for the first part, so will keep close inland, and aim to reach and get through the Looe at around 15:00 when tide first slackens (before turning in favour). I will actively try to avoid arriving any earlier to avoid wind against tide, although with neaps against F4 I expect it wouldn't be that much of a horror-show, but better play it safe anyway.

I figure I should make Portsmouth entrance before 18:00, and long before the ebb gets all that strong. And its neaps anyway...

I realise the passage could perhaps be quicker if made a little later, but I like the idea of having more of a margin, and the wind builds throughout the day, so getting it done earlier rather than later appeals.

Any comments on timings or any other factors would be appreciated! Or if anyone else is planning the same trip?? It's the Sunday window of opportunity offering a nice downwind run West which I've been awaiting for a while, so I guess there could be? I expect I'll be fancying a beer upon arrival.

Happy to be on the forum now too by the way! Already gained a lot of good advice here!

 

[DJE]

We did that passage a couple of weeks ago but starting from Eastbourne. You can't do it without taking foul tide somewhere and (as you are planning) we left earlier than the ideal departure time in order to get on with it and hopefully arrive earlier. So in the end we took fair tide from Eastbourne all the way to just past the wind farm off Shoreham. This meant we still had foul tide in the Looe Channel and in places there was 2 knots against us. But as soon as you're out of the channel it weakens rapidly. It turned in our favour off Chichester and we carried the last of the flood up Portsmouth harbour. We were making just over 6 knots through the water all day. The big difference is that we had very light Southerly winds and were motor-sailing.

On the way out in June going east through the Looe Channel we had light southwesterly winds and a west-going tide. It was a bit choppy for a while but nothing serious.

 

[johnalison]

Without knowing what boat we can't say what the effect of the sea will be but I've not had anything to be alarmed at in summer weather in the Looe channel in boats of 29 & 34 foot. Your trip sounds a bit like the first one I ever did in a Sadler 29 when we set off around 6am with little wind and arrived in Yarmouth with a F5 westerly that soon rose to a gale after we got there.

Other things being equal, it is always more relaxing to buck the tide early on and arrive with the tide, even if this isn't the absolute fastest way.

 

[SaltyDan]

Thanks for your replies guys, and upon reading them realised that I obviously didn't give any details of my boat!

Beneteau Evasion 22ft. Fin keel, 15HP inboard. She's classed as a "motor-sailer" but is absolutely a decent sailing boat. I've reached just over 6 kts in her with an offshore F3/4.

I have a cruising chute which I have not used yet, but this will the perfect opportunity for the first few hours of passage, as long as I have someone with me as single-handed it might be a bit of a handful.

 

[johnalison]

Thanks for your replies guys, and upon reading them realised that I obviously didn't give any details of my boat!

Beneteau Evasion 22ft. Fin keel, 15HP inboard. She's classed as a "motor-sailer" but is absolutely a decent sailing boat. I've reached just over 6 kts in her with an offshore F3/4.

I have a cruising chute which I have not used yet, but this will the perfect opportunity for the first few hours of passage, as long as I have someone with me as single-handed it might be a bit of a handful.

I got the idea that it might be quite small. I don't mean to be patronising; that was the size of my first cruiser after all. Anything around the top of F4 can be quite boisterous at that size from what I remember, but with a free wind it's only going to be a bit roly-poly at worst, and it will only be for half a mile or so, so no need to worry.

 

[LiftyK]

Your plan is similar to a voyage I did a month ago. Departed Brighton shortly after low water. Be aware that there wasn’t much water in the marina at that time. I had to raise my keel and have barely any rudder down. We motored sailed into a SW wind to the Looe channel and arrived at slack. There wasn’t much tide against us. By this time the wind was increasing and we continued at high speed. The ebb seemed stronger that it should have been, very much in our favour. Much to my surprise we managed to reached the upper Hamble before the river ebb started. Brilliant. 27’ boat.

 

[Daedelus]

As LiftyK says check you will have enough depth to get out of the marina at 0800. It may have been dredged but can otherwise be restrictive.