Portland Bill : personal experience

Bristolfashion

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We rounded the Bill W to E, inshore passage, for the first time on Saturday 17th August - 4 days before springs.

HW +5 Dover was 1500hrs, we timed our run from Lyme Regis to hit around 2.5nm N of the tip of the Bill at this time - arrived around 1515.

Wind forecast force 2 to 4 W / SW which was about right.

We ran down the Bill close in on the 8m contour - around 0.1 cables offshore

We observed a few things and would be interested in others comments.

The water on the W side of was a bit bumpy - slightly uncomfortable, but not at all worrying.

The water at the tip itself was a bit more lumpy, but still unconcerning.

On the W side there was no completely calm passage - but no worrying race either.

As soon as we rounded the Bill, the water was completely calm with no evidence of a race anywhere.

Other boats seemed to head straight for the Bill tip without any effort to hit the mystical inner passage (local knowledge?). They then rounded the Bill & shaped up for Portland.

Is this calm inner passage a myth? And is the "small boy hitting the boat with a pebble" distance a bit of poetic licence?

All in all, a completely successful first passage, but not exactly as expected.
 

Chiara’s slave

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I've taken the inshore passage. It's real.
Well yes, he’s more asking if it’s calm. The answer, I think, is the obvious one. As calm as conditions allow. If the wind is F4, you get the sea you expect almost anywhere at F4. If you’re in the race instead, that isn’t exactly so. The inshore passage avoids the race, but it’s not some freak of nature remaining calm in the face of the weather. In or out, not much in it I think.
 
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B27

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It can be different two days running, so personally I plan to need to take the advice seriously and feel lucky when it's a bit of a non-event.

St Aldhelms is interesting too, it can be quite impressive when the up-tide side is a mirror and the down-tide side appears to be gently boiling.
 

B27

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I've done this too, and that beach is very steep, you're better off in a boat to the south of the Bill ;)
I'd assumed he meant approaching from well north in Lyme Bay?
Sailing down the West coast of the Isle of Portland, you're sort of going slightly West of South IYSWIM.
 

Bristolfashion

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I'd assumed he meant approaching from well north in Lyme Bay?
Sailing down the West coast of the Isle of Portland, you're sort of going slightly West of South IYSWIM.
Yes, you're right, the passage advice is to be on the inner passage at least 2nm N of the point of the Bill.
 

lustyd

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Yes now you say it I remember that from the book, and point above the tip as you come around in order to keep close and avoid drifting south. We've always done the outside route there, not for lack of trying just on the day we've ended up pushed south and gone with it rather than fighting to stay on the inner passage.
I did do the inner passage at St Albans Head recently but as we hit the corner the range boat asked us to head south :ROFLMAO: It turns out that no news isn't always good news, and the recorded message is only recorded when they cancel the day 🤷‍♀️
 

Bristolfashion

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Went round Saturday 17th at about 11.00 inshore passage flat as a pancake. you could see quite a bit of white water further out though.
I'm assuming that, at that time, you were going E to W?

How far from the Bill did you join / leave the inside passage?
 

Bristolfashion

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Having done it quite a few times I found the biggest worry to be fishing pots. Unless you’re bang on slack water they’re under the surface making a bowman as spotter a pretty good idea.
Interestingly,we didn't have a single pot in our way - and we were really looking after all the dire warnings!
 

johnalison

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Very close in
Much the same but with more wind. This was taken going east with a F5-6 all day.

My experience is limited to half a dozen passes in OK weather at the recommended times and I've never met anything to be concerned about in my 34' boat.
channel '14b (132).JPG
 
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