Sailing area relocation challenges

cameronke

cameronke

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Clyde,Argyll, Scotland
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I have blissfully set up and sailed my Eboat solo on the Clyde for the past 18 years.

Home was a swinging mooring at Toward Point. So while the location was pretty exposed the traffic was minimal, the sailing area beautiful and few watercraft about. All went well and I had no major incidents.

Now, due to resettling near Oxford, I am relocating my boat to that epicentre of British sailing, The Solent.

My new berth will be a pontoon at Wicor in Portsmouth Harbour. I can only imagine how much busier the traffic is going to be with so many ferries, pleasure craft and of course the Royal Navy all vying for some water space.

Can you offer any tips and advice in coming to grips with my new sailing area please? I am thinking about traffic ways etc etc. Can I raise my sails in Portsmouth Harbour? What traffic lanes and exceptional priorities should I be aware off?
 
For safety, everyone who sails in the Solent has to have an AIS transceiver, preferably also left on 24/7 when in the marina.:rolleyes:
 
cameronke said:
I have blissfully set up and sailed my Eboat solo on the Clyde for the past 18 years.

Home was a swinging mooring at Toward Point. So while the location was pretty exposed the traffic was minimal, the sailing area beautiful and few watercraft about. All went well and I had no major incidents.

Now, due to resettling near Oxford, I am relocating my boat to that epicentre of British sailing, The Solent.

My new berth will be a pontoon at Wicor in Portsmouth Harbour. I can only imagine how much busier the traffic is going to be with so many ferries, pleasure craft and of course the Royal Navy all vying for some water space.

Can you offer any tips and advice in coming to grips with my new sailing area please? I am thinking about traffic ways etc etc. Can I raise my sails in Portsmouth Harbour? What traffic lanes and exceptional priorities should I be aware off?
Click to expand...

Welcome to Wicor. I’ve been there since 2002 (with a brief work induced sojourn in Holland for a few years).

There aren’t any real pilotage issues. Stick to the west side of the channel in the harbour entrance, coming in and going out and keep further away from HMS QE than the MOD police vessels and you’ll be fine. Keep a watch on Channel 11 to be aware of imminent shipping movements and use your engine between Ballast Pile and No4 Bar.

I assume that the Navy are all out on patrol, because they are rarely seen moving around the harbour.

Spring tides can run quite strongly, so if your engine isn’t up to it avoid going against the mid-tides if you can.

Slightly further afield, in the East Solent, the biggest ships are easy to see and their path up through the main channel easy to predict. That’s not the case for smaller tonnage that may use the North Channel around high water and interfere with your otherwise peaceful existence.

There are many far more experienced members of the forum based at Wicor who will come along to offer advice, I’m sure, but if it would help, I’d be happy to have you come along with me for a trip out, or come with you.

Mark
 
cameronke said:
I have blissfully set up and sailed my Eboat solo on the Clyde for the past 18 years.

Home was a swinging mooring at Toward Point. So while the location was pretty exposed the traffic was minimal, the sailing area beautiful and few watercraft about. All went well and I had no major incidents.

Now, due to resettling near Oxford, I am relocating my boat to that epicentre of British sailing, The Solent.

My new berth will be a pontoon at Wicor in Portsmouth Harbour. I can only imagine how much busier the traffic is going to be with so many ferries, pleasure craft and of course the Royal Navy all vying for some water space.

Can you offer any tips and advice in coming to grips with my new sailing area please? I am thinking about traffic ways etc etc. Can I raise my sails in Portsmouth Harbour? What traffic lanes and exceptional priorities should I be aware off?
Click to expand...

All the rules are available on QHM's website
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/qhm/portsmouth/leisure
You need to keep to the small boat channel entering and leaving.
You need to use your engine in the harbour entrance. But that doesn't stop us setting sails inside the harbour.
You need to keep a proper distance from anything 'Navy'.
That's the gist of the rules.

You'll also need to mind out for lots of mud between Wicor and the sea. Keep to the channels.
Welcome to the area, you should find much to enjoy. Wicor is a bit of a trek to the open sea, but you can often have a nice sail within the harbour, there are clubs to visit, a surprising amount of wildlife to look at, and even some quiet spots. Plus lots of boats to look at!
 
Cheers PVB.
AIS transceiverleft on 24/7 it is!
I have been preparing for my move by practicing sailing Solent Rigged (motoring directly into the wind with full sails flapping).
Will my 1999 RAC road atlas still be sufficient for my navigation needs?
;-)
 
When I had the boat on the Exe I was amazed at how far people travelled to sail there. The furthest I knew of was Chester!

Personally, I would have left my boat on the Clyde. I find the Solent Sea a tad too busy for my liking, but thankfully I don't skipper on the boat I sail there.
 
cameronke said:
Cheers PVB.
AIS transceiverleft on 24/7 it is!
I have been preparing for my move by practicing sailing Solent Rigged (motoring directly into the wind with full sails flapping).
Will my 1999 RAC road atlas still be sufficient for my navigation needs?
;-)
Click to expand...

.... and don't forget the hourly vhf radio checks to the CG just in case it stops working.
 
The great thing about the Eboat Sandy is the trailer. I have designed and built a much improved version that (should?!?) make launching and recovery a breeze. This makes the boat fully mobile. The Clyde is just a 10 hour tow away, the Med a little more....
 
cameronke said:
I have blissfully set up and sailed my Eboat solo on the Clyde for the past 18 years.

Home was a swinging mooring at Toward Point. So while the location was pretty exposed the traffic was minimal, the sailing area beautiful and few watercraft about. All went well and I had no major incidents.

Now, due to resettling near Oxford, I am relocating my boat to that epicentre of British sailing, The Solent.

My new berth will be a pontoon at Wicor in Portsmouth Harbour. I can only imagine how much busier the traffic is going to be with so many ferries, pleasure craft and of course the Royal Navy all vying for some water space.

Can you offer any tips and advice in coming to grips with my new sailing area please? I am thinking about traffic ways etc etc. Can I raise my sails in Portsmouth Harbour? What traffic lanes and exceptional priorities should I be aware off?
Click to expand...

I too would be happy to go out with you on a shakedown trip through the harbour and the entrance if that would be of assistance. Wicor Marine, yes a bit of a trek through the harbour but a good choice, a friendly yard and easy to get too.

Welcome to the Solent
 
We moved house from East Ilsley (halfway between Oxford and Newbury) last year to South Wales and we now sail in the Bristol channel. However, when we were in East Ilsley, we had a mooring in Southampton Water which was very easy to get to by car, less than one hour's drive and plenty of places to sail to.

You will soon get used to the hectic sailing traffic in the Solent; we enjoyed it very much during the seven years we were there; there are so many places to visit; you will have a great time.
 
Small boat sailing in the Solent is very tide dependent, if you actually want to go somewhere. If you want to leave the harbour, from Wicor, you'll need assistance from a falling tide and to return a rising tide. I'd recommend the same applies to Langstone and Chichester harbours All three entrances have their little quirks and these are most noticeable around spring tides. With an e-boat most harbours and rivers will be open to you. If you want a stop and go as opposed to an overnight, watch the tides for Bembridge, Ryde and Wotton Creek.
 
Prepare yourself for a bit of a culture shock!

Also, are you predisposed to claustrophobia as it’s a real risk on a sunny summer weekend:)

I had many years around the lovely cruising waters of north Wales / Anglesey but moved my boat to the Clyde last season so I have similar experience to you.

Due to circumstances which I could never have predicted, in my retirement I also now spend a fair amount of time in Portsmouth harbour and the Solent.

I would suggest that you buy charts, tidal atlas and pilot book and make the most of winter evening musing.

I’d also strongly recommend reading the guides in Portsmouth QHM and Southampton VTS websites.

Portsmouth harbour can be busy so the rules must be adhered. You must monitor Ch11, you must use the small boat channel. This has a couple of quirky buoys that you pass “the wrong side” (always to port, in and out).

You can not cross the harbour, say Gosport to Gunwarf, without specific permission. The harbour is monitored by CCTV and rule breakers can be tied to their masts while a HM administers the cat o 9 tails.

As a consequence of the very high number of yachties you will witness some fine examples of complete ignorance of the colregs. The professionals, in my 2 years of experience, are brilliant. Poor guys, many of them have 5 blasts on repeat :)

A couple of myth busters. Yes, you see boats at anchor with fenders out. Yes, in the summer there really is an ice cream seller / boat. Trying to find a summer Saturday night marina berth can be a nightmare.
 
With an e boat you’ll be able to get to many of the most interesting places. I recommend Keyhaven for a peaceful anchorages, or go to Newtown Creek and head upriver a tad. I also recommend you get a copy of Peter Bruce’s Solent Tidal Streams as knowing where the reverse eddies are is a huge help for a small boat sailor.
 
We moved to Wicor when we moved on from our E-Boat. Good choice of yard, especially now there are some walk ashore pontoons and tenders have 24/7 access, even at low water.

Ignore the prophets of gloom, doom and agoraphobia. The Solent is a great place to sail, even though on a light day the short chop will sometimes stop an E-Boat because of it's beam.

From the pontoon to the sea usually took us 40 minutes and in that time we usually finished prepping for sail. The return journey was always a sight seeing trip and a lovely wind down from the day's sail. Oh, and with a 4'6" lifing keel draft its only a few hours either side of MLWS that you won't want to use the swashway across in front of Gosport's Haslar Hospital.
 
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