Brighton to Solent virgin 2!!

bn2dave

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I am planning to head to Chichester then on to East Cowes marina later in the summer. I have a 25' Rinker 232 sports cuddy in Brighton Marina and limited cruising hours / knowledge so far!
Any advice navigating this route, especially off Selsey Bill (Looe channel or outer Owers?) and once in the busy Solent would be appreciated. I have the charts / tide times but local knowledge could be worth a lot more than theory.

Equally, if anyone else is making a similar journey, we would like to tag along if the timing is right so we have a little safety in numbers.

All thoughts appreciated!
 

wooslehunter

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Never done further east than Pagham so can't comment on the whole trip but I have dived many times in the Mixon, off Selsea & had boats cut too close.

If you're cutting close to the Mixon, please watch out for dive boats. It's not a good idea to cut too close anyway. The tides around the Mixon can be fierce. Don't under any circumstances go to the north of the Mixon beacon.

Watch out for the lobster pots across Bracklesham Bay.

When you approach Chichester, make sure you stay well offshore to clear West Pole Sands. You'll see West Pole & the large beacon, Chichester Bar. Follow those into the harbour & don't drift too far to the east or west. Although th eentrance looks quite wide, the actual channel is quite narrow. You'll see the West Winner mark in the entrance. Stay west of that. Not sure where you're going once inside, but if you're headed up the Ichenor channel to the east, don't be tempted to cut the corner but stay inside the marked channel. It's very common for people to cut the corner & end up on the Winner sandbank.

One last thing about the entrance. Don't attempt entry on the ebb in a southerly gale. Read up in the pilot books and enjoy it.
 

markstirling

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I did the reverse trip (almost) at the end of April, from Portsmouth to Brighton with my 12 year-old for crew. After taking advice on this forum, I went through the Looe channel and found it no problem at all, didnt encounter any pot buoys etc. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

bn2dave

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Thank you all for your help - much appreciated. Sounds like the Looe channel isn't quite the 'Bermuda triangle' others have made it out to be.........will proceed with caution!
 
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