Chichester area

VicS said:
... The pressure on Saturday does not seem to have had much effect on the height at Portsmouth tide gauge so I guess what Scala experienced was due to the wind strength and direction
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Yes. That's what has been suggested by a berth holder.


VicS said:
I believe there is a tide gauge at the beginning of the entrance channel to Birdham and a depth gauge at the entrance to the channel into Chi marina
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Yes so I understand, but neither were readable (or frankly, visible, not by me anyway), nor the one on the West Pole which has so much growth on it to make it useless.

Next time I leave the Marina I'll try to get a clear sight of the gauges.
 
Pleased to hear you have escaped from Eastbourne? Have been to Chi a few times and not experienced any touching I recall however sometimes there can be unpredictable behaviour by some mobo drivers in the approach area to the lock I am told by another Bav owner there . Main issue is exiting marina due to small lock size but clearly can aim for free flow. The plus is ability to use free berthing nights at Gosport and other group marinas to see what urban delights you are missing . Have found the Force 4 chandlery there helpful and if time permits some good pubs at Dell Quay or further down the road at Chidem . If you are still looking for properties take a drive to Prinsted where a few are on market I noticed now and not too far from marina if you cut through and avoid the Chi roundabout circus to reach marina. The one word of warning with Chi is that the local bird population can be quite active so deck cleaning might be more of a priority than elsewhere.
 
Had no issues at all with mobos, but a few of the fishing boat crews Eastbourne were appalling so maybe I''m used to cr*p when I get it.

Anyways, the depth issue in the channel was entirely my error, but I simply don't know where I went wrong. Paper calcs were perfect, have had it all re-checked by a friend. Looks OK on paper. Live and learn.

We already found the pub at Dell Quay (lovely walk from Chi).
 
Vic S and I always disagree which is a shame, but you can't beat looking at a real physical tide guage - and a depthsounder - when you get used to a place there are visual clues as to whether one might make it.

The biggest problem by far is the Chichester bypass - not just a roadjam / PITA at all times of day apart from midnight - dawn, the continuing speculation as to where the alternative might go is putting a blight on housing prices as we found when wanting to move there.

Prinstead is lovely but the tiny roads are not !

There are various backroads routes to avoid the bypass depending where you're coming from, but if from the east the best bet is via Midhurst, Hunter's Race and SaltHill Road ( watch out for the speed camera by the excellent Farm Shop at Southbourne ) - if there's an event on at Goodwood the backroads are closed for normal plebs to boost the Earl's coffers so Midhurst - and the A272* then south via Cocking and the aforementioned backroads becomes the only viable route.

* There is an amusing book about the A272, ' Ode To A Road ' by Pieter Boogart which explains the tiny joggles in the road were diversions around toll-booths :)
 
Chichester Marina, like Port Solent - another lovely place stuck with a lock - can have a line of mobo's jostling to get out when the light goes green.

When I visited the excellent CB Marine stainless steel fabricator Chris Siverthorne's old place beside the marina there was a pile of mangled mobo pulpits in the corner. :)
 
We relocated to Brixham 18 months ago. Best thing we ever did. Whilst looking for a house we lived on the boat in the marina. This gave us a really good picture of the area,where we wanted to live, traffic, marina etc. We also had the option of living aboard if our house sold and we hadn't found the one we wanted at the time. One of the great benefits of MDL marinas Sparkes/Northeney is the freedom berthing and the passeporte escales, which can save you a fortune in berthing costs if you like to cruise a bit.
 
Scala said:
So I've discovered today! Too late for last weekend obviously, but very useful to know it's there. Thanks.
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There is also a tide gauge on the bar, chimet.co.uk — this also gives current wave height and period. If one watches it during the ebb with a S F7 or so, you can see the period drop during the hard part of the ebb—not a comfortable time to be going out! As the maps on the Chimet/Cambermet sites imply, there are similar setups on Bramble Bank and in Southampton. Though they all have their separate websites, I can recommend the smartphone app, which gives you all the info in one place.
 
Scala said:
Well, apologies for resurrecting my own thread :) we're moving slowly in the right direction!

We've now relocated our boat from Eastbourne to Chichester Marina, had a stonking sail in F4-F6 winds, heading West to Chichester from Brighton on Saturday. Outstanding. I was really pleased with how the boat performed in these winds. The in-mast furling worked perfectly, rolling the main away a bit at a time as the wind built over the afternoon.

The marina is very peaceful once locked in, but negotiating the channel LW + 2 and locking in in a 30kt NE was "interesting". Ran aground for a few mins in the channel. Keel intact by the way.

Point of this thread resurrection is to ask if anyone who knows that specific area might comment on the adverse impact of N / NE winds, on actual height of tide at the N end of the harbour? There was about 1m less water than predicted. Schoolboy error was failing to ask the lock keeper before attempting the final 500 metres.
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Main impact of a very strong N wind will be making it had to stay in that narrow channel.
You are dead right about the lock keeper, they are there to help, and they know what they are about.

I think a strong NE wind might have some serious effect in the upper reaches of the harbours, having heard few tales from Portchester and Emsworth of 'the tide not reading the tables today'.
This site:
http://www.ntslf.org/data/uk-network-real-time
shows how tidegauges often differ from predictions, usually big weather systems affecting the whole English Channel. Everything seems to have been on-message for the last few days though.
In the past I've had a boat on the grid at Wicor and got tide gauge readings from QHM Portsmouth when the water wasn't going away as predicted.

Tide is not an exact science!
 
My yacht spent the winter in a yard on Itchenor Reach round the corner from the Marina. When it came to haul out and launch dates on the hoist I did notice maybe 0.5m maybe even 0.75m difference to predictions if a high pressure weather system is present. I had my first launch date in the spring cancelled due to an exceptionally low HW water compared to prediction for the day. This being due mainly due to a high pressure weather system over us. It was a lovely clear day with no wind (High Pressure weather) idea for a boat launch, but not enough water either! I would not be surprised if a day or two of a NE wind would have a similar effect on keeping the water out of the harbour.

I assume you are referring to the marina published times and hts. Also, where you ran aground I assume was the Marina entrance channel. The marina info says the Marina Channel has a minimum depth of 0.3m at mean LW Springs. MLWS at Itchenor is reported at 0.6m above CD. therefore the approach channel would be 0.3m at CD. Or perhaps a little less because at the Marina it could be a little lower than at "Itchenor".

So...... if you touched the bottom in the marina channel then I suspect you may have even dragged your keel in the mud on the approach stretch from Westways bend adjacent to Birdham, where it is also similarly shallow, or in some spots in the middle channel even less. My year 2000 chart shows a small drying patch "island" in what most would think is the middle of the navigable channel. My current chart shows it at 0.1 at CD.

When I last asked about the approach the marina staff were unable to advise on matters outside their channel, but maybe some of them may have local knowledge. If you watch your sounder on your way in as you approach this shallow patch near the bend it might give you a clue to the depth in the marina approach channel.

I would suggest that when you next exit the marina at a clearance depth you are happy with, then just afterwards somewhere in in Itchenor Reach look for a reference point e.g. depth on sounder at an almost exact same repeatable point in the Reach, a fixed object on the shore line such as the private landing stages on the shore or maybe the ferry landing causeway that gives you a mark for the height of tide you need. Then in future on your way in look to this reference point to see if there is enough water for you. I think I somewhat sub consciously do something similar with drying sandbanks at the harbour entrance when going out over the bar.

There could be others here that use the marina more often than myself who may have better or more up to date knowledge.
 
Thanks Channel Sailor, I was referring to the delta between the published times (Marina data) and heights (only had Chi entrance data). Obviously now I can see that this was probably a factor. Is there a source of heights data (tidal curve or whatever) for the upper reaches? Might be a combo of that difference, plus high pressure plus wind.

Lesson learned here is to be more cautious. I thought I'd be OK at least 2 hours after LW only a couple of days after neaps. Probably needs to be 3 hours at least and maybe more.

I had a crew member watching the sounder, trouble was I had 50 other things going on plus the F6 breeze so distractions / inattention played a part too. Only spot I touched was the final approach channel to the marina though it was definitely only a few inches deeper than my draught in some places, the Westways bend I strayed a few yards off line and was probably only seconds from touching there.

Great idea about the reference point, I'll do that.
 
Midhurst is lovely but it is more than three miles from the coast and is very expensive. Personally I would love to live there. As far as Chichester goes the restrictions of not having all tide access would get me down, time is limited and no one wants to have to get back by 10am on a Sunday morning or hang around waiting for enough water to get in. If you are retired and time is not an issue your view may be different but if you still work then it restricts your sailing.

Personally I would live and keep my boat around Lymington. You can get some fantastic properties around Lymington that meet your criteria and you won't have to deal with the A27. Lymington and the surrounds are lovely and if you need a big shopping centre then you can go to Southampton.
 
lw395 said:
Main impact of a very strong N wind will be making it had to stay in that narrow channel.

Tide is not an exact science!
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If there is a tide running, in or out plus wind, it is easy to drift to either side of the channel, it is quite narrow.
The wind will have helped slow the tide, If you have a strong northerly and you are cutting it fine for access call up the marina ask what depth they have and if you need to wait East Head is an excellent spot to drop the hook and sit and wait.
 
Seven Spades said:
... You can get some fantastic properties around Lymington that meet your criteria and you won't have to deal with the A27. Lymington and the surrounds are lovely and if you need a big shopping centre then you can go to Southampton.
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Move is still on the cards, but likely a couple years away yet, Mrs Scala has a new job that will keep us in Essex for a while.
 
Well, I've now re-read all of the earlier posts on this thread, thanks to all for their input, and we've had another weekend on the boat in Chi marina. Still love it there, tidal limitations notwithstanding.

Had a road trip to Itchenor, met the harbour master, paid our dues, admired the fleet of Sunbeams, looked at some houses... oops. Well that's a lovely spot.

Maybe 2020.
 
weustace said:
There is a good chandlery at Emsworth Station (Seateach), which is just across the A27 and probably 10-15 min drive, if Google Maps is to be believed.
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Seateach has moved to Thornham Marina an rebranded, now Ocean Chandlery. Same helpful people, but less accessible unless you use the marina. Unles you sail a cat you won't want to be there as it dries to glooppy mud about 8 hours of each tide! Though maybe as Essex dwellers you are used to that!

We have lived in southbourne for over 20 yrs and love it. I can recommend any of the coastal villages round here. land is at a bit of a premium south of the A27 and a couple of acres might be difficulty but not impossible. Prices tend to rise as you go east and there is as premium on places like Bosham. No go areas? Anywhere west of Emsworth basically particularly the notorious Leigh Park NW of Havant. However anywhere North and East up into the Downs is beautIful. Chichester is very nice but relatively expensive, but going East from there you soon they drop to the Yapton, Ford Littlehampton area which has, well shall we say, ,higher crime rates! Bognor particularly on the west side is basically Costa Geriatrica country, so pleasant. The Aldwick area isbest. Bognor house price are lower for a reason! People who live there love it though. Nowadays known as little Poland!

Hayling is off your !ist, but although its nice there, access across the single bridge can be a nightmare. It has taken me as much as 3/4 off an hour to get across it! The traffic can go solid the length Of the island.

Prinstead has been mentioned, and it is very pretty, but suffers a big premium on property prices. Known locally as millionaires row!

Given the budget, I would live a little way north into the Downs simply for the scenery. But am well content to spend the rest of my days in Southbourne!

Edit: I should mention too that we have our own microclimate here between Portsmouth and chi. We are often dry when everwhere else is wet. Snow is almost unheard of, and a cold winter night rarely drops below -2c. I used to work in Chi, and often found snow there, but not at home 8 miles away!
 
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