portland race in a mobo

[Jobs_a_ good_ un]

I have just read in the west country cruising guide that the portland race around portland bill is best avoided does anyone have any experince of this as we plan to go to Dartmouth next week
Oh and by the way the weather is fantastic here in Egypt I will put some nile photos up next week (felucas )but must say raggies are very friendly and waving all over the placein fact every body is waving

 

[BrendanS]

It depends on conditions, and can be smooth as a babies bottom, or rough enough to sink big boats. If you are not used to the area, then


1) either stay 7 miles out to sea to avoid the race, or

2) go right inshore within stone throwing distance of the shore. Most people make the mistake of not going close enough to the shore. Watch out for lobster pots submerged in strong tides though. If you do take this option, after rounding the headland by the lighthouse, stay close in shore towards Chesil before heading off across Lyme Bay, as the race extends quite some way around

 

[Solitaire]

Get a tidal stream atlas for Portland Bill! Or look in the alamanac, it will tell you all about it. Basically, go round on slack, keep in close and hold onto your <censored> /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif! Alternatively go right out, about 7 miles to avoid the overfalls!

 

[omega2]

I have been fishing in it, not with our boat but on a local charter boat and if the wind is over tide stay well clear, at other times I would still give it a miss, a particularly nasty bit of water, not to be tackled without local knowledge.

 

[hlb]

Well I blammed through the middle till I heard about the inshore route, bit sploshy though.. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[tcm]

agree with others and for a busy first-timer biggish crusing boat with stuff/newbies/kids to consider as well, staying 6+ miles offshore avoids the overfalls and gives peace of mind rather than going inshore when things can't go wrong otherwise the rocky bits will arrive a bit sooner.

For the rest of the trip, choose a time when the tide and wind are going in the same direction for a smooth ride. Oh and we'll be going stauraday too, praps

 

[whisper]

Where are you going from ? It only really comes into play if you're starting from Weymouth and even then it's only about 4 miles longer if you take the "outside" route, especially if heading for Dartmouth.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Agree with you Haydn. Make sure you go through at slack water or wind over tide and just bosh through it. I've tried the inshore route a few times but the water does'nt seem any less rough there but at least you can wave to the peeps standing on the Bill
Generally, I think boaters worry too much about overfalls. They're only an issue in wind against tide conditions or in the kind of weather that you're not going to be out in anyway

 

[powerskipper]

Re: Portland race in a mobo

I have been though there when it is as smooth as a baby's bum and other times when we were hanging on to anything and every thing, listen to advise given above and just enjoy the trip. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hlb]

Hmm, seems one of use have got terminology wrong. I always understood wind over tide to mean, going in opposite directions. Now I know we both know what we mean, others might not. Whats the definative!!

 

[gcwhite]

Isnt that wind against tide. I thought I knew this but now ; doubt.

 

[powerskipper]

wind and tide together can be smooth,
big wind again a spring tide, imagine an electric mixers turned on in that area,
wind against tide will spill your drink and empty the fridge and any cupboard not latched , and have you hanging on a bit.

 

[gcwhite]

So does wind over tide mean in the same direction and wind against tide , as the description suggests, mean wind in the opposite direction to the tide

 

[BrendanS]

Wind over or wind with tide almost irrelevant. You can get big standing waves on nearly all races, and Portland has bigger than most, even in zero wind.

Quite a nice day trip is to the top of St Albans head. Due to the height above water, you can see much more clearly here, how much calmer the inside passage is, and how far the race extends out to sea (and also the various routes that boats take through). St Albans requires some respect, but is almost benign compared to what Portland can throw at you. The inside passage at Portland is much calmer than even a few tens of metres out, and much easier going than trying to blat through , where you can have quite a long distance of rough stuff (how long, depends on just which route you take and at what state of tide)

Even when it's fat calm, the huge 'oily' swerls are quite unnnerving at times, and give an indication of what is going on beneath.

The best advice to anyone who doesn't know a overfall area well, is to take inshore passage if one is available, or to go well offshore (often many miles) even at slack tide. On a trip from Solent to West Country, it's not possible to time to slack tide for every overfall if doing the trip in one day.

Solent to West Country, unless going into Weymouth, much better to stay well offshore, any avoid any problems, as already mentioned

 

[gcwhite]

I am planning to go from Poole to Torquay shortly. I will be passing the Bill 4 Miles off at slack water ( in fact 0.9kts W stream) with a SW wind forecast of 16kts. So wind against a slow tide. What do you think?

 

[powerskipper]

yup

opposites.

 

[Solitaire]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you think?

[/ QUOTE ]
I think you are looking to stir it! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[jimi]

Beg to differ, St Aldelms on a bad day can be every bit as bad as Portland.

 

[BrendanS]

Why mess around going 4 miles out, that puts you right in the middle of it. Go 9 miles out and avoid it altogether.

 

[BrendanS]

It can be bloody horrible, but in similar conditions I'd rather go through St Albans than Portland. Portland extends out further, and is wider, so takes longer to cross if you are out in the middle of it.

The conditions in bad conditions are also, and I'm going to disagree here, much worse at Portland on a bad day. or even night