First Passage round Portland- advice welcome

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Elza_Skip

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Folks,

Fortunate enough to get a place on the MBM cruise to the Channel Islands in May, but as we are based in Plymouth and the cruise is from Portsmouth we have a longish trek to get the the muster point.

I have motored or sailed from Chichester to Poole and from Falmouth to Torbay, but managed to miss out the bit in the middle so far.

Our thinking is one long leg from Plymouth to Weymouth with a couple of days there then onto Portsmouth, maybe with a stop in Lymington (My wife's home town).

Obviously will go by recommendation in the pilot books and consult tidal stream charts etc for Portland but would appreciate real life advice. My thinking is to take the inshore route unless conditions are bad.

Boat is a 1992 Fairline Corniche 31' so a reasonable size for this passage

Thoughts of the collective?
 
Elza_Skip said:
Folks,

Fortunate enough to get a place on the MBM cruise to the Channel Islands in May, but as we are based in Plymouth and the cruise is from Portsmouth we have a longish trek to get the the muster point.

I have motored or sailed from Chichester to Poole and from Falmouth to Torbay, but managed to miss out the bit in the middle so far.

Our thinking is one long leg from Plymouth to Weymouth with a couple of days there then onto Portsmouth, maybe with a stop in Lymington (My wife's home town).

Obviously will go by recommendation in the pilot books and consult tidal stream charts etc for Portland but would appreciate real life advice. My thinking is to take the inshore route unless conditions are bad.

Boat is a 1992 Fairline Corniche 31' so a reasonable size for this passage

Thoughts of the collective?
Click to expand...
First, remember most guides are for sailing boats zooming along at 5 knots, so a big tidal stream is more of an issue than for you with some HP at the back.
Lyme Bay can be a bit bleak. If the weather is good, it is more fun going along the coastline,maybe stopping off at Lyme Regis and Bridport. If going straight across, certainly give thought to 3-4 hours of wind over tide...
As regards the Bill, from the west head somewhat north of the point, and then swing round it, keeping close in (100 yards?).If your crossing Lyme Bay was tolerable,you will be round the Bill in a couple of hundred yards ! There are often plenty of other boats nipping round.
If you get cold feet, and the tide is running, you will need to go way off.. WAY off..6-7 miles, and it can still be pretty lousy even out there.
Of course, you will be clear of it if you get far enough south.If you see boiling seas in front of you, go south !
I would suggest that if you are confident enough with the sea state to set out across the Bay, then you neednt get too worked up about the Bill, but of course it is smarter to be there when the tide is slacker, than racing !
It is quite a bit round to Weymouth.. you might want to head to more of a straight line on to Lulworth, or even better Warburrow Bay if the weather is good (and you arent shattered!) and chill out there.
Just remember the firing ranges.
All in all, you are right to pay respect, but no need to lose sleep ;)
Just to say, Lulworth to Poole is simply stunning coastline.Stunning.
 
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GJGM is about right. But why not just meet up with them in the CI's?, you'll save a bomb in fuel and it's an easier passage. I'd go to Salcolmbe and cross from there, it cuts about 20 miles off the passage.
 
Thanks

The cruise is going to Cherbourg and Carteret first, so although we did consider this it seems a waste of a cruise in company.

However if are returning to Plymouth we probably will come straight back to the west country
 
Advice above is fine ref Portland Bill, I've always stuck well inshore and been fine, you can see the lumpiness to the south.

I think Plymouth to Weymouth is a long way, I'd cut it into Plymouth to Dartmouth/Brixham or Tq, then Weymouth, then Lymington.

Watch out for St Albans, same applies, stick well inshore or well south.
 
I've been round the bill four times in both of my corniches I've owned, no sweat in the right weather, just tuck inside as close as you feel ,there is plenty of water , try for slack water as the pots, and there are plenty of then get dragged under and the last thing you want it's pot round our prop there, in my view it's just like rounding any headlands with eddies marked on the chart, anvil point and st Albans head can cut up when the tides wrong , you will have both of them to muster after the bill enroute to the Solent, so you will be used to it by then. Planning is the key but after a good few hours from Plymouth to the bill it's hard to time the passing of the bill unless it's calm and you can do the maths at 20 knots from the end of the sound.
 
Before I knew about the inside route, I used to just bash through the middle, never had a problem. St Albans is a baby, just steer round it if it looks a bit lumpy.

Just beware that if you do take the outer route round PB, you need to be about ten miles out, so Weymouth then dont make any sense.
 
hlb said:
Just beware that if you do take the outer route round PB, you need to be about ten miles out, so Weymouth then dont make any sense.
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Just been reading Shane Spall's book. Tim was worried at the prospect of rounding the "Bill". He did do the inside route, no problem.

I on the other hand would never do so, specially so if there would be a risk of "catching a pot".

I always go around four miles off, always been far enough out.
 
Rounding Portland Bill from the West

The race sits either west or east of the Bill itself - west on the west running tide and vice versa.

Aim for arrival at PB around 1 hour before the east running tide turns, then you have plenty of spare time if you're a bit late. The race at that time is dying off on to the east of the bill, and ther passage is very wide. You can clearly see the distrubed water and can stay well clear of it.

Initially and from about 3 - 4 miles off head for a land point 1/2 mile or so north up the west side, then the (south) east running tide will carry you round nicely as you get nearer, and this should keep you north of the western race area.

If the race is flying then it is apple core distance as you round, but beware of the ledge really close in.

Do not try to go round in wind over tide, but easterly blows are rare, and would make for a lousy passage from the west anyway.

It really isn't that bad if you time it right, and I had a far more frightening passage around St Albans a few years ago, when a gentle SW wind at Poole Entrance became a raging storm with 4 knots of south westerly tide banging straight into the wind off this headland !
 
When i bought back my F36 after purchase from Brixham to Lymington there was not much wind about but it was nearly at the top of springs . Looked on here and in reads for slack water timing and when i reached the bill about 2 miles off it was flat as a pancake :) , i would never take it for granted but it can be easy if you are lucky enough to get perfect conditions .
 
Presuming that you are starting your passage on a good day and the forcast is fair, PB will not be an issue, ok you may bounce about a bit for a few minutes, but thats about it.

Please do not try it in a F5 or above.
 
PhilipF said:
Just been reading Shane Spall's book. Tim was worried at the prospect of rounding the "Bill". He did do the inside route, no problem.

I on the other hand would never do so, specially so if there would be a risk of "catching a pot".

I always go around four miles off, always been far enough out.
Click to expand...
It does depend on the state of tide..somewtimes you'll find half a dozen fishing boats milling around the tip, so they are obviously confident about not fouling a prop.
One time I d see some flimsy sailing boat punch right into the middle of the race. Maybe he knew what he was doing, but by the look of the boat's behaviour, I dont think the crew had any fillings left in their teeth two minutes later.
 
Elza_Skip said:
Thanks all for you helpful advise, particularly the timing from superheat.

I guess if going offshore you need to go right round the Shamble Bank?
Click to expand...

Well yes, if thats the case, you dont have to but maybe quicker, however the inside route is dead easy in any sort of weather that your likely to cross Lyme bay in.

There seems to be a bit of a rough bit about 3 or four miles before PB, no idea what that is about, but dont let it infuence you about PB.

Follow the advice above and you can just steer round any bad bits, by just keeping close to the shore. Or just a bit closer in than where you can see the bad bits.

I always used to just blast through the overfalls, till I learned about the inside passage, there not that big a deal in calm weather.
 
Hey there

We crossed Portland from east to west in my squad 58. We were heading from Weymouth to Torbay.

It had been blowing f7 the day before and we left Weymouth and it was a diminishing f6.

We kept trying to cut in and make a straight line to torbay. However seas were very agressive, sharp 3m plus.

We kept getting pushed out and had to head on a southerly bearing for bout 5 miles!

Eventually we could track easterly and plod along.

By the time we reached Torbay it was f3 and the sun was shining:)
 
Take the inside passage and try to hit it a slack water, keep in close to the cliff, it is beautiful and I always get a bit of a buzz going through the gap with the cliff on one side and turbulent water on the other. Never had a problem, but as others have said if the weather is really nasty then you might be as best to head offshore four or five miles.

Coming through Lymington if you want a bite to eat try Graze just at the bottom of the High Street by the cobbles, reliable and good (not to expensive) food and a nice atmosphere.

Another option if you just want to pit stop is Newtown Creek on the Isle of Wight, you will be going strait past it. It is truly beautiful in the right conditions and a very comfortable place to spend a night.

Only other thought, have you considered meeting them mid-channel on route to Cherbourg? Or in Cherbourg as it is a very easy approach into the harbour.
 
Watch out for pots :mad:
potrland.jpg
 
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