Needles / Overly Cautious?

prv said:
I think this is probably overblown. I know I said "berths not guaranteed", but I really was thinking only of long-forecast very sunny bank holiday weekends, when there's a risk that Yarmouth might be full late in the day. I think you would always find somewhere in Lymington even if Berthon and the Town Quay were full, and during the week you would have no trouble in either.

Pete
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Pete is right. typical weekend you will have no problem at either. best to radio ahead and confirm when you're maybe 10 minutes away or to start monitoring the harbour radio. If you start hearing that Yarmouth is full then try Lymington. Most of my sailing is at weekends and Yarmouth is a favourite. Haven't been turned away from there for it being full for years.

Best advice for someone coming from the E coast would be to head for Yarmouth but be prepared to duck into Gosport, Cowes, Beaulieu or Lymington if it has been a really busy Saturday and it's heading towards 6ish.
 
Daydream believer said:
So for someone who does not know the area at all.
I have sailed single handed to the channel Islands each year for the past few years & sailed along the French coast to avoid the I O W . I do Bradwell, Boulogne, Dieppe, Le Havre, Cherbourge, St PP. all 24 hr ports & easy entry in rough weather. This because I am concerned about getting a berth at various locations & more importantly getting out past the Needles.

If I did go via south coast next year & i wanted to make Cherbourg the next stop what is the safe wind strength that one can get in & out of the Needles in a 31 ft boat. I am not worried about a bit of rough- the Alderney Race in F6 over tide can be hairy, as can Barfleur if one gets it wrong. Would one then do a detour around this "North Channel" & how much does it add to the trip
What is a recommended strategy for passing via the IOW ( No anchoring) to get a good trip coming along from the east coast. ( can do hops of 60+ miles quite easily SH) What i do not want is to arrive somewhere & have problems getting a berth when tired or having to pre book etc
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Check your Reeds for advice.
 
alant said:
Check your Reeds for advice.
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Trouble with reeds & the Channel Pilot etc is that they are designed to frighten the average sailor into never venturing past the doorstep.
Most of what they say is perfectly correct, but some of the warnings do go a bit over the top. Guidance on tides etc are normally very good but some of the warnings have to ( justifiably) cover a wide range of sailing abilities.This makes it a bit difficult to really decide on their validity to ones own passage plan.
 
alant said:
Check your Reeds for advice.
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.. or ask on a sailing forum.

FWIW ,When I went west from the Orwell I went Ramsgate, Brighton, Portsmouth, Studland (Anchor), Brixham, Plymouth.

If I were going Orwell to St PP I'd probably go either Ramsgate, Brighton, Fecamp, St Vaast Cherbourg, St PP or Ramsgate, Brighton, Portsmouth (and depending on tide & wind direction) either Needles or Eastern Solent to Cherbourg.

Its quite easy to catch the tide all the way along the Solent and carry it through the Needles Channel.
 
Daydream believer said:
Trouble with reeds & the Channel Pilot etc is that they are designed to frighten the average sailor into never venturing past the doorstep.
Most of what they say is perfectly correct, but some of the warnings do go a bit over the top. Guidance on tides etc are normally very good but some of the warnings have to ( justifiably) cover a wide range of sailing abilities.This makes it a bit difficult to really decide on their validity to ones own passage plan.
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You can't have it both ways, either "what they say is perfectly correct", or, "some of the warnings go over the top".
Which is it?
The advice is made, with sensible regard to the known conditions, not made "to cover a wide range of sailing abilities".
A wise sailor might heed them, a bold (foolhardy? ) one can make his own mind up, remembering the adage about "old & bold".
 
alant said:
You can't have it both ways, either "what they say is perfectly correct", or, "some of the warnings go over the top".
Which is it?
The advice is made, with sensible regard to the known conditions, not made "to cover a wide range of sailing abilities".
.
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"what they say is perfectly correct"-- Tidal predictions & when to pass certain points or when best to depart - arrive etc

"some of the warnings go over the top".-- Re rough passages

"to cover a wide range of sailing abilities".-- But it allows for the fairly inexperienced so one has to decide where one fits in & it does not always seem consistent
 
I went into the only place in the Solent I'd never visited in 40 + years, recently - the pilot books don't make it out to be dangerous, just very awkward tide-wise.

We were the only visiting boat that weekend and it was a delightful place, no hassle at all.

We were treated very well, by a very friendly pub and ditto club.

The chap in charge said " the pilot books put everyone off, and we like to keep it that way ! " :)
 
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Seajet said:
I went into the only place in the Solent I'd never visited in 40 + years, recently - the pilot books don't make it out to be dangerous, just very awkward tide-wise.

We were the only visiting boat that weekend and it was a delightful place, no hassle at all.

The chap in charge said " the pilot books put everyone off, and we like to keep it that way ! " :)
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Where was that and what made you decide to go there?
 
I was made to promise not to advertise - really !

Thing is, one has to make the place one's aim, which we did; the tides don't suit going on east or west from there.

I've long had it on my ' never been there ' list and mentioned it to a friend who's very experienced at sea but fairly new to sailing, he latched onto the idea so we made it our target - normally I don't decide where I'll end up until several hours out of Chichester, such is the choice in the Solent.

I'll PM you.
 
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Sailfree said:
Slightly Fred drift but had a very recent hairy ride into the Gironde surfing down waves and only 2m under keel in 12 depth. Various reasons all understood but reminded me we sail for pleasure not to be macho.

Waited in Royan for updated navionics chip as old one (small memory) could not show whole picture.
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Makes you feel for the blokes that did it at night in kayaks in 1942.
 
Eleglitch, absolutely, the Cockleshell Heroes went through hell and very few made it back; I think just Blondie Hasler and his oppo ?

Still Blondie maybe should have been shot later as he convinced his chum the Lord Mayor of London Sir Kenneth Cork to put a junk rig on his A22 ' Rum Run ' ! :)
 
NDG said:
Keyhaven....?
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You are right. Can't understand the reluctance to say so. After all it is a public place which welcomes visitors - been there several times by both boat and road, always having lunch at the Gun (another public place).

Not everybody's cup of tea and a challenge if your boat is larger and or not shallow draft but I love it and next year will be brave enough to try getting up to the quay with my 33' long 5' draft and moor long enough for lunch.
 
Overly cautious is an oxymoron as far I'm concerned in that sort of situation. If you get in really close to the Needles at low water you can see what's left of a boat that was underly cautious. I get plenty of stress in other parts of my life so I damned if I'm going to create more for myself. Most folk take the North Channel when Solent-bound from Poole in my experience (unless heading for the west side of the Island) and for a very good reason. I'd stay well away from the Needles in those conditions so I think you made a pretty good call.
 
Keyhaven

Tranona said:
You are right. Can't understand the reluctance to say so. After all it is a public place which welcomes visitors - been there several times by both boat and road, always having lunch at the Gun (another public place).

Not everybody's cup of tea and a challenge if your boat is larger and or not shallow draft but I love it and next year will be brave enough to try getting up to the quay with my 33' long 5' draft and moor long enough for lunch.
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It's a shame but it has recently become the (equal) most expensive place to anchor in the Solent... £10.
 
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