sailing east from Chichester...

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muminator

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Hello all
As fairly new sailors (this is our second season, we've both done our Day Skipper, and we do sail very frequently), we've restricted our sailing from Dell Quay in Chichester Harbour to the Solent and hopping over to the IOW.

We have family in Brighton, and would love to sail over to visit them. As most people "round these parts" seem to sail West or South from Chi, can anyone tell us what it's like going East to Brighton?

Is the Marina OK for fairly inexperienced sailors who are terrified of denting their new 32' Legend 326??

Thanks.

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I sail from Chichester and used to lay up at Shoreham. You have the Owers Reef to contend with off Selsey Bill - either go right outside or through the Looe Channel passing to seaward of the Mixon beacon. The tide through the Looe can be pretty fierce but if you leave Chichester at lowish water to catch the eastbound tide you should make Brighton easily enough on one tide. The straight line from the Mixon to Brighton should see you clear of most hazards and shallows.

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Well I'm planning on doing that trip the opposite way in a couple of weeks. We keep our boat in Brighton and fancy a trip to Chi and the Solent for a change of scenery.

Maybe we'll pass each other somewhere off Selsey.

David

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We often used to sail east from the Solent a Bank Holidays for a bit of peace and quiet and easily made it to Brighton and on some occasions Eastbourne (although Cherbourg would have been nearer).

As previous correspondent says approach the Looe Channel in fair conditions, it really isn't a problem. You then get a good sail all the way to Brighton without seeing a soul.

I believe there is silting in the entrance to Brighton marina, but follow the cans and you will be ok.

Cheers

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You will not have any problems its very easy.
From Chi bar, Street and Boulder are further out than you would imagine, as you will be picking up the first of the flood aim to cross over Chi bar as soon as prudent. Allow a bit of southerly for tide on top of rumb line. I do not bother to go through the bouys if my course is off track ,by the time you get there, there is plenty of water either side but usually some pots scattered about here. From Street you go due East leaving Mixon pole well to the north, carry on just to the North of East Borough Head and then aim at Brighton. Only hazards now are pot bouys and missing any shipping out of Shoreham. You will be entering Brighton on falling tide but keep to bouys and you will be ok.

Coming back is reverse but usually a beat. As its your first time I would aim for Street 2hours before HW when tides are slacker. If you are late and are going the long way round watch out for the ebb taking you over the sand, its gets very rough in any wind. If the wind is ok for me to sail then I always go through the Looe - have been through in gusty F6, its bouncy for half an hour but if you are late on the tide cause its been a hard beat you shoot through on the ebb like a champange cork leaving the bottle.
Unless you really go south of the Owers cardinal the tide streams do funny sets through the swashways over the sandbanks, stay well away its not nice in over F4 if you get in there, stay in the Looe tacking through or go well south.
Main concern is to get over Chi bar late in the ebb in strong S winds, if you are late be prudent and carry on to Gosport.

Brian

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Having done this trip ..... I can only warn about the drift lines and pots that are numerous along this stretch.

You have to stay a long way out and cut across any bays - keep a very close eye out for the marker bottles / cans ......... they are laid out in strings and can extend quite a long way.

It took me 26 hrs to do this under sail - as the wind died and we basically drifted !! I carried extra fuel - but still ended up with minimum left by the time we reached Brighton....

The Marina is ok to newbies ..... and is best called just before arrival to check berth and position ....

Again - I cannot warn enough about the fishing lines and pots ------ maybe if you hug the coast-line you can avoid them ?? but then distance will be increased to travel..... but does give the opportunity of stops along the way .....


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/
 
If you do cut close south of the mixon beacon, please watch out for divers. I've dived it loads of times over the years and have also seen yachts sailing between dive boats and divers' surface marker bouys. They should surface under a marker bouy that's let off from the bottom but some do not. Hence the bouys can pop up without warning. At any weekend you are guarenteed to see divers in the mixon hole around slack water.

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Nigel, I would not say you meet any more old oil cans as pot markers going to Bri than you do now going out to Nab or the Forts from. They have always been there to my knowledge since I first started sailing in this 20 years ago out of Littlehampton.
Going inshore has its further problems at low water, the Park, Bognor Rocks, Lots of Weed, Outfall markers etc. the rocks are in fact clay nodules but still very hard, I once spent low water perched on top of one at Springs. The park has WW2 debris and Mulberry Harbour Cassions to trap you, these were all some of my old fishing haunts when I had a seaworker out of Littlehampton

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Don't be fooled by all this, any self respecting Solent sailer will tell you there is nothing East of Chichister. If you go that way you are bound to fall of the world or be eaten by the Hove Hobgoblins.

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Having just done this the other way - Brighton to Chi - I would agree with copterdoctor: there's really not much going for the Brighton end. We live in Brighton, but decided we'd rather have the boat somewhere with more stuff to do like lunchtime pub stops, anchorages, etc. Anyway, I think everyone has already outlined the main points of stuff to be aware of, but yes, the pots are a menace, some only marked by a bottle, and I even saw two tennis balls tied together, not good. All this is thick fog through the Looe Channel on Saturday was rather trying...we ended up motoring the whole way from Brighton to Chi - no wind, or minimal wind right on the nose, pretty tedious but the mill pond-like sea was beautiful - took us 3 hours from Brighton to Lady Bee Marina, Shoreham on Friday then 9 hours from Shoreham to Chi on Saturday.

Brighton marina is fine - call ahead to book a berth, though they seem pretty chaotic as I called and booked and they had no record of me when we arrived. If you're worried about boat dentage just stick out every fender you've got and go slowly! Sounds obvious but not being a marina type person I'm always amazed by the speeds some people go at in marinas.

Have fun!


<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
Only did the trip one time to deliver my old yacht to new berth .....

The new owner was on board with his 'experienced' pal. Both bloody useless and I ended up helming all the way. I had 3 spare cans of fuel + full O/bd tank just in case ....... but because of no wind, keeping clear of pots / drifts etc. near ran out of fuel etc. etc. Tried the eperienced guy ..... 5 minutes on course then 'Where the hell are you going??????' question from me .....

Arrived at Brighton and of course new owner who had been sick as dog all the way popped up and wanted to take her in - show off etc.

I like Brighton - spent many happy times there as a teenager etc. But as a boating base ???? No I don't think so somehow.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/
 
Yes not much to do apart from head off to Fecamp from Brighton.

When in the MN I seem to remember the Pink Coconut was a good pulling ground when on leave as most girls looked fantastic after 5 months away but perhaps enough of that theme.

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Pink Coconut - blimey that's a blast from the past! One I'd rather forget too, methinks...

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<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>
 
I'm another Brightonian who keeps a boat at Chichester. Apart from Fecamp or ghastly Eastbourne Marina (a Barratt housing estate on steroids) there's really not many places to go for sailors from Brighton. At weekends I see some very nice boats going one way along the seafront for a few hours hours and then coming back the other. Chichester Harbour and the Solent/IOW present so many interesting possibilities in a day or weekend. My wife is not mad about sailing but she does like the villages in the harbour and the general ambience. Having said all that I might try to bring the boat to Brighton for a couple of weeks at the end of summer so that some of my lazy and carless Brighton friends can see what it is that I keep disappearing off at weekends to do. I'll save this thread as the comments will be very useful.

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On leave after a trip...

Nero's in Southsea ....... long gone now !!

In Brighton there was a large Dance Hall up a side street from the front. Included in Friday / Saturday tickets was free Chicken and Chiops in basket ..... can't remember its name. BUt they were strict on wearing a tie and NO jeans .....


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/
 
Oh dear - and I've just moved a boat around from Felixstowe Ferry to keep at Brighton. I know what you mean about places to go - we kept a boat for a year at Eastbourne before finding it all a bit boring and selling it, so we could charter somewhere hot a couple of times a year instead.

But...we miss having a boat we can play with on hot (or windy) weekends as well so we've just bought an old (well, they're all old) Westerley GK24 so we can have hotel-based weekends and get out for an hour or two if we fancy a sail to Beachy Head and back or along past the town.

It goes against all our habits to sail a boat back into the same harbour we've just sailed out of, but..let's see how it goes




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