Needles North passage

[pcatterall]

Before our recent mechanical problems we were just about to leave Poole for Cowes.
We had planned to use the North passage because it was the shorter route and also seemed less potentially fraught than the Needles passage proper.
There was lots of information about the best time ( of tide ) for the main passage but little info on the timing for the North passage.
We had planned to arrive there at around slack water when there was just a bit of current running east in the main channel.
We were also not sure just where the best point to enter the main channel was.
I dont have the chart here but recall an area close to the shore called the trap ( or some other fear evoking name!) SW of there was the cardinal (?) bouy marking the end of the bank. there were ( potential) overfalls shown all the way between these points and we were just going to head midway between them. The wind at the time of our trip would have been about 10/15kn NE so we didnt expect many issues.
Can anyone add local knowledge for when we are up and running again.
Many thanks

 

[Twister_Ken]

Before our recent mechanical problems we were just about to leave Poole for Cowes.
We had planned to use the North passage because it was the shorter route and also seemed less potentially fraught than the Needles passage proper.
There was lots of information about the best time ( of tide ) for the main passage but little info on the timing for the North passage.
We had planned to arrive there at around slack water when there was just a bit of current running east in the main channel.
We were also not sure just where the best point to enter the main channel was.
I dont have the chart here but recall an area close to the shore called the trap ( or some other fear evoking name!) SW of there was the cardinal (?) bouy marking the end of the bank. there were ( potential) overfalls shown all the way between these points and we were just going to head midway between them. The wind at the time of our trip would have been about 10/15kn NE so we didnt expect many issues.
Can anyone add local knowledge for when we are up and running again.
Many thanks

The Trap is on the SE corner of Hurst Spit. Coming from the W follow the beach of Hurst spit up towards the Catle - you can be as close as you like to the shingle, within reason! If you've got foul tide, the closer you are, the better. Then follow the beach around as you head E into Lake Solent. Once the Castle is no longer abeam, you need to look out for The Trap, but it's not a worry anywhere near HW. If at other states of tide, just head slightly towards the IOW, and you'll clear it. It sticks out no more than about 50 metres (if that). It's a bit more of a problem if you're trying to leave the Solent and sneaking up inside Hurst Spit, tide dodging.

 

[Tranona]

Departure time is key. Get that right and the rest takes care of itself. Leave your mooring at the Royal Motor (if that is your starting point) about 1 hour before low water. Keep close in to the Haven Hotel and use East Looe. Bit shallow but well buoyed. Set a waypoint about 2 miles south of Hengistbury Head and another to North Channel marker bouy. Turn right there and aim for Fort Albert. By that time you will have about 3 hours of the flood with you - on springs you will immediately gain about 3 knots plus flat out on a broad reach with the usual SW wind. Little bit of swirly stuff as you go past the castle and then you will be whisked towards Yarmouth with still enough tide to make it to Cowes before the west going tide gets too strong.

Like most passages it looks scary on paper, but in practice it is very straight forward - just watch the lobster pots off Christchurch Ledge. Make sure you have your lines out so you can feast off mackeral when you get to Cowes!

 

[Bav34]

As above but just one cautionary note about heading for a bouy ... with the tide flooding you will find yourself getting pushed to the east, which is what you want BUT in the extreme you could actually find yourself over The Shingle bank ... still heading for the bouy which would now be to the north of you.

Put the rhumb line onto your chart plotter and stick to it and you'll be fine ... if you simply steer to a bearing your CTS will keep changing.

 

[Seajet]

Agree with all above, especially Tranona's comment that things often look far more scary on paper.

I've never had a problem with the North Channel, certainly prefer it to The Needles.

Agree about lobster pots, everywhere really but especially off Hengistbury.

I find N Head buoy slightly difficult to spot from a distance, so bino's ready and a waypoint by it make life a lot easier.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Haven't been round that way for a year or three, but there never used to be a need to actually go around the N Cardinal (except - just maybe) at LWS. You can cut the bottom corner quite a bit with a decent rise of tide. CAUTION: the bank moves a bit, so don't trust your chart implicitly.

 

[oldharry]

Ditto - like Seajet I have done the n passage many many times, and never ever had a problem with it - even in near gale conditions when the main Needles channel would have been a lot too much for a smaller boat. Just remember that you on a big tide your SOG will be way above anything you normally experience (and if you missed the tide, you will take an age to get in!). Be ready for bumpy confused waves as you round Hurst - more than once its been the only place where i got wet on a passage !

You can rely on the N passage allowing you through safely as long as you stay within the main channel, and dont get involved in the shoaling NE end of the Shingles bank where the seas will build 'nicely'!

 

[Dockhead]

Right. If the weather is boisterous, this is the way to go. I've through it in gales multiple times and never saw a difficult sea state. Really the only thing to watch out for is not to miss your tide - the tide does rip through there.

 

[Boathook]

Sailing out of Christchurch I just head at Hurst ... If the tide is on the ebb keep close to the Hurst beach and you get a back eddy. The trap is just that and does seem to move a bit i've found, so once the back eddy ends head out from the shore. Hurst narrows can get 'lumpy' especially with strong winds against tide and water over the decks is not to unusual. If there is a choice of time when to leave Poole I would get the last hour of the ebb out of the harbour and bash the tide as it only reaches 1.5 knots on springs. This will then give you all the flood to Cowes.

 

[onesea]

Agree with all above, especially Tranona's comment that things often look far more scary on paper.

I've never had a problem with the North Channel, certainly prefer it to The Needles.

Agree about lobster pots, everywhere really but especially off Hengistbury.

I find N Head buoy slightly difficult to spot from a distance, so bino's ready and a waypoint by it make life a lot easier.

Agree about hard to spot but then there are some beach huts on the beach I head for the last aiming for those till I have spotted it...

Also leaves a bit in hand for the tide setting into channel...

There is a thread about the shingle bank some where recently watch it its changing lots at the moment.

As for north channel or needles for me it depends on the wind direction, I would rather not tack to often (I know lazy).

 

[alahol2]

The Trap is actually on the SW corner of Hurst spit but you are talking 6 - 8 meteres at LAT so it only kicks up some overfalls rather than being anything solid you will run into. As long as you don't draw lots more than about 2 metres and at anything over half tide in less than about F5 winds you don't actually need to go round North Head buoy, you can sail straight from the Looe channel on about 087M and aim direct at the Castle. The boat does tend to get kicked about a bit in Hurst Narrows but you are normally through so quickly that it's not a problem.

 

[actionoptics]

Looe Channel

We came back from Wareham to The Solent on Sunday. It was a great trip and we came through the Hurst Narrows at 11.1 knots ( in a 30 ft sail boat) but the only hairy part was leaving Poole and using the Looe Channel. We left Brownsea about 1 1/4 hours before low water so that we could make Hurst with a fair tide but just hit the bar in the Looe Channel a glancing blow with the rudder when the boat reared up on a bit of a wave. I'll make sure I leave a bit earlier even though that will mean pushing into the tide for a bit longer.