Lee shores and close encounters

[Robin]

OK then a little thought provoking, provocative maybe.

So we all know we shouldn't go too close to the nasties but equally sometimes there is no choice. I'll quote a few examples from the central southern yotties area.

With a W or SW wind from Poole to the Solent via N. Head buoy and the North Channel, the course is around 80 degs to N. Head then about 110 along the beach in the N Channel to Hurst, very definitely a lee shore but sailed with wind on the beam, and for over a mile the beach is very close port side, off Hurst only maybe 30-50m.

The alternative approach is via the Needles Channel. This time the heading is NE 'ish so dead downwind with the notorious Shingles Bank very close by to port and the cliffs of the IOW to starboard. Not strictly a lee shore in a SW wind but don't stray too far either side.

There are others like the Little Russel off Guernsey, St Malo approaches, Treguier River approaches, The Chenal Du Four, The Raz De Sein and so on.

Now we KNOW it is better not to be close to nasties so what do we do to avoid problems that could arise like an accidental gybe, picking up a pot line, etc?

I ask because so often the cry seems to be head out to sea - but that's where we've just come from!

 

[DJE]

It always beats me why people religiously go round north Head Bouy when there's plenty of water over the Northern part of the shingles. We just go due West from NE Shingles bouy using Fort Albert as a transit to avoid being pushed to the South.

 

[Poignard]

If the wind is very strong it would surely be safer to go around the Isle of Wight and enter the Solent via Spithead.

 

[dom]

This summer - I think it was July 21st - I miscalculated the severity of a thunderstorm which hit just as I approached the north channel. All of my instruments just beeped "error". I decided to head back out to sea as visibility closed to approximately 50m. I just hoped that the compass had not been affected! I should add that I had a very light crew and had rather foolishly not switched the GPS on. Not sure if I would have relied on it though. Definitely the most nervy moment of the season.

 

[jimi]

I rather have Hurst as a lee shore than the Shingles. If you never went near a lee shore you'd rarely ever be in a port! Big difference between a lee shore with a exit or safe haven and one with none!

 

[duncan]

made my day............... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[oldharry]

Agree entirely - Ive never seen less than 20 feet of water there even at LWS. The only tme I would want the deeper water would be if a large sea is running.

As to going on round the E side of the IOW in bad weather - no thanks! 12 more miles of lee shore before reaching St Kaths, then the race out there which, while being arguably less dangerous than the Needles channel, is a much larger area of dangerously rough water and overfalls to negotiate.

North Channel every time for me if the goings dodgy, and hug the edge of the Shingles going in so as to have sea room for 'eventualities', and to avoid the backwash off the Hurst shingle bank.

 

[l'escargot]

Perhaps a long detour if coming from the west but worth considering if coming more from the south. Interesting article here about the Shingles and coming into the Solent from the west, dated but much still applies.

 

[Poignard]

Excellent article. Obviously impressed you so much that you've kept a copy! I've just run one off to keep on board.

 

[ChrisE]

Using the Shingles Bank as a short cut

Whilst I agree with most of what has been said about this, I hope that every one is aware of the charted drying areas just S of the N Shingles cardinal. Coming out of The Solent to the west it lies on the rhum line to St. Aldhelms Head. You might ask how I know......

 

[Robin]

We don't usually go round North Head either but our exact route depends on the tide and seastate. Generally if headed home for Poole we go maybe 150m up N Channel from Hurst before heading straight for Poole, normally anyway this would be near HW on a dropping (west going) tide. Coming from Poole it depends because we might go against the tide at least to Hurst and could be reaching N Channel area around local LW, with a W or SW sea/swell and 6'10" draught we might then go nearer to N Head buoy but still inside it. The least water I have seen however is 18ft, considerably more than there often is between Hurst and Lymington entrance on the straight line course, that used to set off our depth alarm until I dropped it from 10ft to 8ft. sorry about the old money, I can visualise small things easily in mm but when it gets to height depth I can 'see' 6ft much better than 1.83m.. The other factor always is that the Shingles bank can move so I would be wary of going near the main bits.

I used the N Channel as an example of what is frequently a lee shore and yet one most of us would chose in bad weather over the Needles which has other considerations, like the 'Bridge'. However the shoreline along N Channel is not steep to high cliffs, like in the Anvil incident, but a low lying steep beach often with waves breaking on the shore.