Portland Race

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Anita

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Can anyone give us advice about sailing from Weymouth to Brixham in our Moody 27 while avoiding the Portland Race? We're planning a trip from Portsmouth to Devon in a couple of weeks time, and as we're pretty inexperienced thought it safest to hop from Yarmouth to Studland then Weymouth. We are planning to go well south of the Portland Race, but from reading the guides, it seems that it's only safe to do this when the tide is fairly slack?? Trying to work out the right times, plus arrive at Brixham in daylight is proving tricky. We would welcome any tips.
 
If the weather is Okish and its not a big spring the Inshore passage is fine. Leave Weymouth c. 1 Hour before HW Dover and you'll be at the Bill at HW Dover. You'll save at least 15 miles that way. Just keep close to the shore, between 100 & 200 yds. Watch out for pots though.
 
There are two ways around Portland Bill. One is inshore very close to the point and slack water going west will be around 45 minutes before HW Dover from memory, easy enough to time from Weymouth or Portland. The other route is to pas about 3mls off or more if conditions are frisky but this is a long way round if you leave from Weymouth, you can take this at any time but obviosly preferably with a favourable tide. The offshore route best suits boats going directly from Poole or the Solent.

There is another option from Poole or Studland that we do regularly. There is an inshore tidal eddy close in that runs from Studland to St Albans about 1.5/1.75 hrs before the tide generally turns west going and you can use this to arrive at St Albans around 30-45 minutes before HW Dover. In truth the eddy is not so much favourable as not strongly against you as it would be a bit farther out, but it does get you to St Albans at or slightly before the tide turns and you now have 7 hours of favourable tide and another hour of weakish tide before it really turns unfavourable again. At 6kts boatspeed you would be able to make Studland direct to Dartmouth, going 3-4mls south of Portland Bill, in 10 hours and only the last 3 hours will be in a foul tide. Even at 5kts you would easily clear Portland and be well into the weaker streams in Lyme Bay before losing the fair tide. Brixham is a tad nearer than Dartmouth which I used as an example simply because we do it every year and know the timings.

BTW Dartmouth and Brixham are not a problem to enter at night if necessary.

Robin
 
Confirm what Jimi says. Read the almanac carefully and the inshore passage is fine. Keep very close in to the shore - 100 yards is good. Its a lot further in a 27 footer to go outside the Race. One reassuring thing is that lots of boats will usually go with you from Weymouth.

Brixham is not difficult at night. If you need more info try posting on the Moody Owners site at MOA
 
As Jimi states, stay in close, 100 metres out , you should be able to get a visual on the race in effect long before you get there - white walls on a green carpet - maybe try to aim leaving Weymouth at the last hour of the tide, it'll take an hour to get to the Bill, going through at / near slack is most often a smooth no frills affair, then you'll have a full run of tide with you to Brixham.
There is a large eddy in effect here that goes in a large clockwise rotation, on the west going stream about +0530 devonport and runs for about 6 hrs.
This eddy is slightly smaller and less symetrical than the eastern eddy (on the east bound stream, east side of portland), The farthest western edge of the eddy will be around 8 miles west of portland and it'll be heading north and at it's peak at the end of the west bound tide. you should be inside Victoria breakwater long before then.
St Albans head race is a barrel of laughs, to avoid it you can either go right out below the gunnery buoys - dz on the chart- about four + half miles out to see relaxed water, or right in, no , right in, like 100 feet. the waters plenty deep at the point, 100 yards out is washing machine land. depends on the weather present and forecast as to if youd rather go out below the dz marks
good luck and have fun.
 
Conur with Jimi and Sky namely yopu will hopefully find a mini flotilla of boats all leaving Weymouth together and passing around the Bill on the inshore route heading west.

Returning back east I've always stood well off (5nm) and just gone from Dartmouth to Studland in one long hop of c. 12 hrs.
 
Would concur with others advice but just to reinforce when they say keep well in close to the rocks they mean it.
The bloody pots are another pain as some markers are below the surface from personal experience.

If its not like today it is a nice sail.
 
Recent memory notes the pots are more frequent just east of St. Albans roughly 1/4 M off and in the vicinity of Lulworth Cove for a mile or so west, again between 1/4 and 1/2 M off.
Get clear instructions re: the gunnery at Worbarrow, before you get in the area to decide your plan. They shoot usually in 'office hours' and are normally done by 4 bells, but check.
 
It's been many years since I went west of Portland, but agree that its likely a good few boats will be waiting in Weymouth to go..... so it pays to be nice to people and talk about plans.

We left with a flotilla of 10 other boats, but as soon as we got to the harbour entrance a fog bank rolled in. Mass anchoring before the bows disappeared in the gloom. Kettle on and another check through the almanac.....

After an hour, it vis was still no more than about 50 meteres, so out came the bacon and eggs. Sods law saw the fog clear very quickly, just as the bacon got crisp. By the time we'd eaten, every other boat had gone!

As we were late for the inside passage (according to the book) we went the long way round..... very little wind, so motoring with just a 4 HP outboard. Eventually we came across some anchored ships in Torbay..... but being without any electronic navaids, and our first year with the boat, I panicked for a while thinking we'd gone wrong and were mid-channel, as no land was in sight!

Just as the sun was dipping to the horizon, the cliffs and rocks around Torquay came into sight..... and we tied up in the marina just as the light went.

Talking later to the other boats that went that day, all had gone inshore round Portland. All had inboard engines, so probably went faster than us.... but we arrived just one hour after the others.

If you do go inshore, apart from the pot-markers, look out for these guys!

Dontjump.jpg


One landing on deck might do a lot of damage!
 
Phone the Weymouth Harbour Master he will know the best times. I used to fish in and around Portland Race but would not presume to give you that sort of advice.

Taking the inside passage in reasonable weather and someone in the bow watching for buffs, is safe though Portland Bill looks awfully close doing this! Follow a fisherman!

Shambles Bank further out can be pretty grim too. Depends on the wind and tides. The Weymouth HM will serve you best.
 
I know most sensible people avoid it but if you make a mistake does anyone know what's it's like? Is it just rough, confused seas or is it almost suicide? Has anyone made a mess of their calcs and got caught out in the Portland race. I don't intend to try it myself but interested to learn from others as apart from get the hell out of there asap is there a strategy for copying say in a 36' sailing boat?
 
3 years ago we were in Weymouth with SW F6 blowing for nearly a week. We were hoping to go X Channel......

While we were there, a 25ft Folboat was waiting to go westwards. The morning he left, the wind had dropped to a F5. 7 hours later, he returned...... Main haliard lost up the mast, sails drenched from top to bottom, and him and his crew too......

The follwing pics were taken from the Bill, in a SW gale.... the first showing the overfalls in the race itself, but with a breaker running through the inshore passage..

PR1.jpg


The second is approx. quarter mile East of the Bill....

PR2.jpg
 
Like most tide races if you DID get drawn into it the best advice I believe is to let the tide carry you though, ie don't try to fight it, give with the blows.

We have passed Portland many many times both via the inshore passage and the offshore route. I would never plan to be there at all in unsuitable conditions and that especially includes wind against tide. If in doubt because the conditions have caught you out then go out - WAY out like 8mls or more. We passed inshore once in a flat calm and no wind and the race was wild because it was big spring tides and not slack water, we were in a 24 footer going east and went through the very narrow inner passage, shaken like a cocktail but OK. In those days we had a CG on the point and he called us on the VHF to warn us it might be bumpy, nowadays of course they have a call-centre and no window on the race. We went once to see it from land in a SW8 wind against tide, it was actually dangerous to be there but I took pics of the inshore passage and there wasn't one, just rank after rank of vertical walls of water marching steadily by. Going west another time 6mls offshore in a 24 foot bilge keeler with SW5 against a spring tide was possible and surprisingly not as bad as in the Solent can be, but it was dark and you could only see the seas as the light loom lit them!

Taken at the right time in the right conditions the inner passage is a useful short cut if bound from or to Weymouth. These days however when we head west we go direct from Poole and the outside route is both straighter and quicker and we pass with plenty of tide assistance, it does however seem to take ages to pass because of the shape of the point.

As with all such places treat them with respect but don't let them deter from passing.

Robin

PS If using the inner route from Weymouth there is often a rough patch on the east side of the Bill as you head on down. Plus as others have said watch out for the pots and stay CLOSE in on the end, it also pays to head bit up the other side to before heading on course acrross Lyme Bay to avoid the tide setting you south towards the rougher bits.
 
There is a very good book called "Inshore Along the Dorset Coast". Can't remember the author and my copy is on the boat but it includes a passage about what to do if you are swept in to the race. From memory it goes something like this:
"A well found modern yacht is unlikely to founder. Secure all hatches and ensure that all crew are clipped on in the cockpit. Proceed at the slowest speed compatible with good steerage, and the tide will carry you through the race in ten unforgettable minutes."
 
My fathers story always made me make sure I kept clear, he was on a Destroyer sent out in a hurry from Portsmouth, so assume thats why they took the short route, wind against tide and some guy gets washed off the side decks never to be seen again!

Overfalls are dangerous as they stop the boat and break over you, much the same as when you watch a canoe going through rapids. They are usually steep waves so harness on shut everything and pray?
 
This is what happens if you get stuck

As Robin says if you do get draw in go with the flow. Yours truly managed to do this about 3 three years ago on a spring tide, didn't concentrate at the right time. got sucked in and we went 4 miles south before we were able to get in westing in. Fortunately this was on a calm day. On another occasion we managed to steer into it thinking we had passed the worst and ended up in 10 foot high standing waves. I have to say we didn't feel in danger in either case.

If you want to avoid all this suggest reading Peter Bruce's book 'Inshore Along The Dorset Coast'. It has detailed plans of when and where to go.

Don't let all of this stuff put you off tho' providing that you're not fool enough to attempt it in anything more than a 5 and you and crew are clipped on the worst you'll get is a bit shaken and stirred. It is one of the most magnificent passages.
 
[ QUOTE ]
"A well found modern yacht is unlikely to founder. Secure all hatches and ensure that all crew are clipped on in the cockpit. Proceed at the slowest speed compatible with good steerage, and the tide will carry you through the race in ten unforgettable minutes."

[/ QUOTE ]

That would describe it pretty well!

We went through up though Alderney Race in our then W33 on the biggest tides of the year against a NE6-7, wind of course against tide, a wind which was supposed to be just F3-4 and off Cap De La Hague the sea was 'very interesting'. We let the tide carry us through the worst bits and apart from losing the spinnaker pole were OK (no we were not flying the spinnaker) and the pole was lashed in it's chocks on deck, it cleared the top rail in one!) Disturbing also was the aircraft, helicopter and lifeboat search going on for a fishing boat that broke up in the race farther west of us with loss of lives as we discovered later.

At least with Portland Bill there is an option of passing well offshore, some others of notoriety like Le Raz De Sein or Alderney Race don't give you a geographical alternative only one of passing at the right time!
 
On the same day I took the piccies above, a small fleet of Frigates and RFA ships steamed out of Portland and through the middle of the race, about 1/2 mile offshore.....

Apologies for the poor pic quality.... bad light and long lenses don't really mix.

PR3.jpg
 
[ QUOTE ]
am now debating whether to leave from Studland and avoid the Race altogether!

[/ QUOTE ]


Why not indeed unless you really wish to visit Weymouth as part of your cruise. Studland to Dartmouth at 6kts boatspeed and using the early slack/back eddy tide to take you to St Albans (keep close in on the head) will take just 10hrs. It will take 7.5hrs from Weymouth so the extra 2.5hrs going direct will save a day of your holiday to use farther west AND you avoid any complications of timing the inner passage. The maths for a 5kt boatspeed are still favourable, I just used the 6kt figure because we plan on that and I know the figures from memory, but we too did it at 5kts in earlier years and even at 4kts way back when!

Avoiding the inshore passage also makes a night rounding of the Bill easier because by passing 3mls or more offshore you will not see the minefield of pot markers laid carefully in the inner passage.

Whatever you decide have a good cruise!

Robin

PS we will be following overnight on 28th July, Poole - Dartmouth then Southern Brittany, yeeehhaaaa!
 
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