Portsmouth to Weymouth tide timing

[Cactus Sailing]

Hi

Planning to treck down to Weymouth from Portsmouth in one hit but I am going to hit foul tide somewhere so what’s the best time to hit the needles?

Not done this passage before so thought I’d ask for tips

Saturday the 8th of sept looks like a good tide window to me setting of early and catching the tide from the needles at roughly 10am to pass Poole and St Albans (obviously weather may change) and just go against the last of the flood in the Solent by hugging the IOW where it’s not as strong?

^^ That way I’ve 6 hours of favourable tide to take me the majority of the way to Weymouth from the needles

I could also go on the 1st of sept but I can’t work out a “gentleman’s” passage plan without leaving in the night which I’d rather avoid for a 1st timer

Boat is 30ft so ~5knts erring on the side of caution

 

[PhillM]

The streams in the Solent are much stronger than those outside, so I would say you need to plan to have good tide from home past the needles and. After St Albans head, you can then duck in closer (watch for the firing ranges) to keep out of the worst of the tide. Worst case, after a few hours of foul tide it will eventually turn in your favour and sweep the last few miles into Weymouth

 

[johnalison]

The St Albans race can be fun. In my innocence I went through its centre while at full flow and in my memory was met by a wall of water that looked like the white cliffs of Dover.

 

[richardbrennan]

I would start at Portsmouth HW -2. The tides are slack in the Eastern Solent at this time and by the time you get to Cowes will have turned in your favour. You should then have enough fair tide to get to St Albans Head. You will also be passing the Needles at the beginning of the ebb when it's fairly weak, which in a SW wind is a good idea, and I would also endorse the comments about St Albans race, not a good place to be in wind against tide. After St Albans, the tides are weak and if you go on a Saturday the ranges will not be active so you can keep inshore.

 

[LadyInBed]

Forgot local times. Tides in the central section of the Channel turn with H/L W Dover. H to L W going, L to H E going.
Look on my site for tide charts.

 

[lw395]

I would start at Portsmouth HW -2. The tides are slack in the Eastern Solent at this time and by the time you get to Cowes will have turned in your favour. You should then have enough fair tide to get to St Albans Head. You will also be passing the Needles at the beginning of the ebb when it's fairly weak, which in a SW wind is a good idea, and I would also endorse the comments about St Albans race, not a good place to be in wind against tide. After St Albans, the tides are weak and if you go on a Saturday the ranges will not be active so you can keep inshore.

I would aim to be off Cowes before the tide turns W.
Depending on wind direction you can make fair progress on the mainland side.

It's hard to plan, because it could be a beat all the way, in which case 5knots becomes a VMG of maybe 4, maybe less if the shifts don't go your way.

I can recommend the cheat's method of going to Cowes, Beaulieu or Yarmouth on the Friday if the tides work.

 

[Cactus Sailing]

I would aim to be off Cowes before the tide turns W.
Depending on wind direction you can make fair progress on the mainland side.

It's hard to plan, because it could be a beat all the way, in which case 5knots becomes a VMG of maybe 4, maybe less if the shifts don't go your way.

I can recommend the cheat's method of going to Cowes, Beaulieu or Yarmouth on the Friday if the tides work.

Because of work the only w/e I could do a stop over at Yarmouth would be the 1st sept leaving Yarmouth on the Saturday which is either in middle of night or waiting for the evening tide and arriving Weymouth late which I don’t fancy doing.

I think the 8th works better and hugging the IOW after cowes arriving at the needles at turn of tide

If the winds not playing ball I’ll be motoring I’ve spent 4hrs beating from cowes to Yarmouth before vs a foul tide!

 

[wizard]

If going into the marina make sure you are aware of the bridge lift times. If not check ahead with the harbourmaster so you know where to go if arriving after working hours.

 

[PhillM]

The St Albans race can be fun. In my innocence I went through its centre while at full flow and in my memory was met by a wall of water that looked like the white cliffs of Dover.

To be clear I was suggesting going in close after St Albans race. I was around there wind over springs tide a week ago on my way back from Falmouth and determined that about 6 miles offshore was a close as I wanted to be to the race.

 

[lw395]

Because of work the only w/e I could do a stop over at Yarmouth would be the 1st sept leaving Yarmouth on the Saturday which is either in middle of night or waiting for the evening tide and arriving Weymouth late which I don’t fancy doing.

I think the 8th works better and hugging the IOW after cowes arriving at the needles at turn of tide

If the winds not playing ball I’ll be motoring I’ve spent 4hrs beating from cowes to Yarmouth before vs a foul tide!

There is less tide on the mainland side, in shallower water. It also turns earlier on the whole.
The difficult bit is really Hurst to the Needles. There is no getting out of the tide here.

The alternative would be to get out of Hurst with fair tide, then take the North Channel tour of Christchurch Bay. It can be worth doing this if you want to take the next W tide around Portland and beyond.

Delightful though Weymouth is, I'm not sure I'd find it worth motoring all the way there, better to sail to Poole or somewhere..

 

[ithet]

Did Hamble to Portland on June 23 this year. Left at 0530bst which was -3 hours HW Portsmouth but a more neapy day than your dates. Timing was perfect and we do could go inside at St Albans (but wind was light easterly). If it's not too ungentlemanly then leaving at 7 would give your more time to play with. Another boat coming with us left from Gosport at same time as us and kept to Cowes side as suggested. Sept 1st does not look so good for you.

 

[dom]

As lw395, I too try to time such westward patches to coincide with a F3-7 from the NW through E. S/SE is fine but rougher. In such conditions one can hug the shore to say 50m off St Albans and if no westerly swell Robert's your uncle. Turn this into a W5 with a SW swell and mix them up in the overfalls - not fun!

The good news is that assuming a fair wind, this will be a doddle if you're happy with some close-nav. HW is 11:00 on 8 Sept, halfway betwn neaps and springs, in which case you'll want to be out through the harbour entrance at 8:00am after your gentleman's breakfast!

Head out towards Wooton Creek and as you close the island coast the east going tidal flow will moderate. You'll soon be approaching Osborne Bay...

[Quick Break: imagine the Solent as the Mississippi River which changes direction twice a day. As the river flows eddys will form off the headlands and these will turn into counter currents off the downstream shorelines. When the river speeds-up these eddys become more pronounced and move towards the centre of the river. These contra-currents are not always too stable, so one may need to be patient to find the right spot.]

Back to Osborne Bay where you will prob catch just such an eddy, you can see it if there are boats anchored there, for they will lie bow to the tide.

Stay in close and the tide slows off the Cowes B/W (even go behind it for slack water if depths allow). Stay in close and before long you will be in the great man's shoes riding a west flowing eddy that the Cowes fraternity call Uffa's Eddy. After bashing the flow off Egypt's Point, you'll head into Gurnard Bay: don't hit anything here, it's hard!

Another contra-current will soon take you towards Newtown Creek if you stay close to the Island side. You will be a bit snookered at this point if the tide is till flowing east (if not cross over to the mainland and proceed in shallower water), but the tide should be turning by now and way you go - Needles, Durlston, St Albans............weeeee.

And if per chance you find yourself super-early at Hurst, get your backside in towards Totland Bay. where some nifty west flowing contra-currents are moving in the opposite direction to the east going tide.

Icing on the cake: it's so much more fun playing these games than just sitting mid-Solent watching that stupid SOG repeater seemly stuck at 2.5kts! And you'll be in Weymouth with no serous adverse tide as the flows are light once a little past Lulworth.

Jeez - that post was about 10x longer than intended. And there are other tidal options on the mainland shore but that wld make it 20x :ambivalence:

 

[Cactus Sailing]

There is less tide on the mainland side, in shallower water. It also turns earlier on the whole.
The difficult bit is really Hurst to the Needles. There is no getting out of the tide here.

The alternative would be to get out of Hurst with fair tide, then take the North Channel tour of Christchurch Bay. It can be worth doing this if you want to take the next W tide around Portland and beyond.

Delightful though Weymouth is, I'm not sure I'd find it worth motoring all the way there, better to sail to Poole or somewhere..

My option for the 1st of sept could be to slip out the solent on the 31st aug to Poole then leave 5am to catch the tide round St Albans - 5am is ok for me , does that sound sensible?? Rather than the full journey under motor?

 

[Cactus Sailing]

Did Hamble to Portland on June 23 this year. Left at 0530bst which was -3 hours HW Portsmouth but a more neapy day than your dates. Timing was perfect and we do could go inside at St Albans (but wind was light easterly). If it's not too ungentlemanly then leaving at 7 would give your more time to play with. Another boat coming with us left from Gosport at same time as us and kept to Cowes side as suggested. Sept 1st does not look so good for you.

Yeah if I go for the 1st I need a stop over ideally, otherwise the 8th kinda works with the tides leaving Gosport early

 

[SimonFa]

Lulworth range firirng times: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lulworth-firing-notice

They haven't been posted for that period, yet, but they do weekend firing at least one weekend a month. If they firing that weekend then you'll need to go the long way round. They start firing again 3 Sept.

Whenever I return from the Solent I aim to be leaving Lymington about 1 hour before the tide turns so I'm at Hurst at slack or just after. I find I can then make St Albans race at slack water.

If they are firing the most northerly you're usually allowed is 50deg 34N. You can either call them before you leave or listen out on Ch8 to get the extent. Whether you call them or not they will quickly pick you up on the radar and the safety boat will be out in no time. When they are firing I aim to cross the race at the 'C' buoy as its far out enough to be manageable if you get you're timings a bit wrong. I wouldn't cross there at springs any time +/-2 hours slack water, especially when its wind against tide.

If they aren't firing beware going through the inner passage in a northerly. From my bitter experience, twice, the wind builds slowly as you approach, last time I had to put 2 reefs in and the forecast was 12kt, and then drops to the point where you may well need the engine. As you go past there is then a strong wind down from Chapman's Pool, the first time I did it it caught me out and I rounded up very quickly. Fortunately the engine was on because it was quite scary suddenly looking at the cliffs! Its not as tight as it looks going through the inner passage.

If you are planning on going through the bridge, although I don't see why you would as the harbour is very pleasant and cheaper, be aware that the bridge winter schedule kicks in on Sunday 16th Sept. You have to give a minimum of 1 hour's notice to get a bridge lift and they are quite strict if you aren't there 5 minutes before the lift time. (If its nice its likely that locals will be going in and out, but you never know and missing a lift really screws up a passage plan, he said bitterly). http://www.weymouth-harbour.co.uk/bridgeschedule/

Going back its the same in reverse, hitting St Albans at slack water gives me enough time to hit the Needles tidal gate.

All that's based on being single handed, other's may have a different view when you have an experienced crew.

 

[Babylon]

My option for the 1st of sept could be to slip out the solent on the 31st aug to Poole then leave 5am to catch the tide round St Albans - 5am is ok for me , does that sound sensible?? Rather than the full journey under motor?

That sounds much more pleasant than stressing the whole passage in one go - but I'd consider anchoring Friday night in Studland Bay rather than going into Poole then out again the next day.

Portsmouth tides (roughly half way from Springs to Neaps) are:
Friday 31st Aug: HW 0240 and 1500
Saturday 1st Sep: HW 0315 and 1540

On Friday you'll have a fair tide from about 1300 (slack in Eastern Solent) to 1930 (slack at Hurst). The distance from Portsmouth entrance to Hurst is about 18NMm then another 15NM (via the North Passage) to Studland. Unless you're beating, you should easily cover this 33NM in under six hours, especially as the middle half of the ebb will be down the Western Solent and out past Hurst adding a good couple of knots to your 5KN boat speed for this section.

Saturday slack water Studland is about 1440, distance to Weymouth is roughly 25NM, so with a fair tide, you should easily make Weymouth within four hours; weigh anchor at 1400 and enter Weymouth around 1800.

So no need to get up at any ungentlemanly hour!

(My distances are guesses from prior experience as I don't have charts or my log-book to hand, but are roughly right - happy for my creaky memory to be corrected.)

 

[Cactus Sailing]

That sounds much more pleasant than stressing the whole passage in one go - but I'd consider anchoring Friday night in Studland Bay rather than going into Poole then out again the next day.

Portsmouth tides (roughly half way from Springs to Neaps) are:
Friday 31st Aug: HW 0240 and 1500
Saturday 1st Sep: HW 0315 and 1540

On Friday you'll have a fair tide from about 1300 (slack in Eastern Solent) to 1930 (slack at Hurst). The distance from Portsmouth entrance to Hurst is about 18NMm then another 15NM (via the North Passage) to Studland. Unless you're beating, you should easily cover this 33NM in under six hours, especially as the middle half of the ebb will be down the Western Solent and out past Hurst adding a good couple of knots to your 5KN boat speed for this section.

Saturday slack water Studland is about 1440, distance to Weymouth is roughly 25NM, so with a fair tide, you should easily make Weymouth within four hours; weigh anchor at 1400 and enter Weymouth around 1800.

So no need to get up at any ungentlemanly hour!

(My distances are guesses from prior experience as I don't have charts or my log-book to hand, but are roughly right - happy for my creaky memory to be corrected.)

I think this is going to be #1 plan - except I will stay in Poole - i would anchor in Studland but I have a cqr copy which came with the boat and don’t trust it (looking to replace) and yeah catch the evening tide rather than get up at silly o clock

Unless there are moorings in swanage to pick up? The channel pilot mentions them

Thanks - good to hear the thoughts of others as sometimes I can’t see the wood for the trees

 

[Lucky Duck]

Did Hamble to Portland on June 23 this year. Left at 0530bst which was -3 hours HW Portsmouth but a more neapy day than your dates. Timing was perfect and we do could go inside at St Albans (but wind was light easterly). If it's not too ungentlemanly then leaving at 7 would give your more time to play with. Another boat coming with us left from Gosport at same time as us and kept to Cowes side as suggested. Sept 1st does not look so good for you.

We made the same trip on that day but left Portsmouth just after 6am. I can't remember exactly when we arrived at Portland marina but recall running out of fair tide about an hour after passing St Albans head. The wind seemed to disappear around that time as well.

 

[LadyInBed]

i would anchor in Studland but I have a cqr copy which came with the boat and don’t trust it (looking to replace)

Still plenty of time!

 

[Tranona]

I think this is going to be #1 plan - except I will stay in Poole - i would anchor in Studland but I have a cqr copy which came with the boat and don’t trust it (looking to replace) and yeah catch the evening tide rather than get up at silly o clock

Unless there are moorings in swanage to pick up? The channel pilot mentions them

Thanks - good to hear the thoughts of others as sometimes I can’t see the wood for the trees

I do Solent/Poole or Studland regularly and usually aim to leave cowes or Newtown in the last hour of the east going tide so it is west going from around Yarmouth. north Channel is my preferred exit as you can almost always make East Looe on one tack with a SW whereas Studland is a struggle. anchoring is no problem in Studland even with a copy CQR as if you keep to the east of the 2.5m contour you avoid the weed and the holding is excellent. Dig it in well, use 5* scope and you won't go anywhere. Plenty of swinging room but can be a bit bumpy as you lose a bit of the protection of the cliffs. A detour into Poole takes a lot of time and is expensive if you use a berth rather than anchoring.

Poole/Studland to Weymouth and the key as others suggest is rounding St Albans. I have done it this year once 4 miles off which was relatively calm, but still some overfalls and once inshore, but failed to close the coast close enough to get the true inside passage so a bit bumpy at I guess 1/4 mile off. Returned both times well inshore and took the flat water inside passage which was drama free except for the 2 knots lift in flow over the ledges!