Salcombe to Hamble Return Journey

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steveeasy

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Hi,
Well I'm returning from the west country and currently in Salcombe. My original plan was to avoid Portland altogether and head for Poole. Winds SW 15 with Gusts to 20 plus. Favourable conditions. However Sea state was uncomfortable Yesterday and quite frankly I'm beginning to think I'm a fair weather sailor.

I think trying to go round the inner passage is a no go at the moment. Therefore the only option unless I'm mistaken is to do the direct route avoiding Portland. Lulworth Cove will be uncomfortable with a SW I assume. your thoughts appreciated,
Steveeasy
 
I've been round the Bill only a few times, but on the last occasion we had a romping sail from Dartmouth and arrived with it blowing about a six, when the inshore passage at the turn of tide was straightforward.
 
steveeasy said:
Hi,
Well I'm returning from the west country and currently in Salcombe. My original plan was to avoid Portland altogether and head for Poole. Winds SW 15 with Gusts to 20 plus. Favourable conditions. However Sea state was uncomfortable Yesterday and quite frankly I'm beginning to think I'm a fair weather sailor.

I think trying to go round the inner passage is a no go at the moment. Therefore the only option unless I'm mistaken is to do the direct route avoiding Portland. Lulworth Cove will be uncomfortable with a SW I assume. your thoughts appreciated,
Steveeasy
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You probably experienced what we call the Salcombe slop, it’s almost always rougher there than anywhere else around, particularly if you have wind against tide, and more so on these spring tides. Even on the calmest of days it can be uncomfortable between Bolt Head and Tail.

As soon as you get past Start Point it will almost certainly ease off, especially if you tuck in around the point into Start Bay.. Get your tides right and you should have a comfortable passage home, depending on your cruising speed. Maybe worth considering an overnight stop in Portland or Weymouth if tides are against you.
 
I did Plymouth to Solent last weekend; it took 21 hours with winds from <5kts to gusting F6, NW to SW. The sea was a bit lumpy and hadn't settled down after the gale of 2 days prior. The rhumb line between Prawle Pt and Anvil Pt put us a few miles south of Portland Bill and the adjacent waters were fine, albeit we past as the tide was turning (foul).
 
steveeasy said:
Hi,
Well I'm returning from the west country and currently in Salcombe. My original plan was to avoid Portland altogether and head for Poole. Winds SW 15 with Gusts to 20 plus. Favourable conditions. However Sea state was uncomfortable Yesterday and quite frankly I'm beginning to think I'm a fair weather sailor.

I think trying to go round the inner passage is a no go at the moment. Therefore the only option unless I'm mistaken is to do the direct route avoiding Portland. Lulworth Cove will be uncomfortable with a SW I assume. your thoughts appreciated,
Steveeasy
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Hi Steve, nope, you're almost certainly not a fair weather sailor. ;)

The last couple of days were indeed a bit bumpy if you came from the west. There was decent blow off Ireland on Fri and it left a 2m swell coming in from the WNW with a circa 0.6 swell from the S. And it's springs today.

Toss that lot into the mix, add local wind effects, and while the significant wave height was probably only a tad over 2m, you'll have had peak heights of over 4m and that's rough in a small boat. Plus it was raining :ambivalence:. The seas should nevertheless moderate on Monday afternoon and you're probably looking at waves only half of those heights by Tuesday coupled with lighter winds.

Re Portland, if leaving Tuesday, you'll be fine inshore. As for Lulworth and the Jurassic Coast; you're right, forget it as long as there's any significant wind/swell from the South.
 
A few years ago I did a run across Lyme Bay to Poole under twin headsails, no main, with a SW5-6, it was fantastic. As said, the rhumb line puts you comfortably off PB, so unless you have a desire to go onto Weymouth, Poole (Studland) isn't much longer in passage time.
 
Lets face it it seams there are worse places to seek refuge than salcombe. quite a delight in more ways than one.!!

Steveeasy
 
If you take a hop to Dartmouth, it not only takes a useful chunk off the distance, but also means one less headland to round.
From Dartmouth you can leave while the tide is still going W in mid channel, so only concern yourelf with tide around the Bill.
Depending on the speed you make, Swanage should be easy, or even Yarmouth.
If circumstances knock you back to Weymouth after getting around the Bill, you've still cut the task down to easy distances.

You could go from Salcombe to Brixham/Torbay/anchorage in that parish, gives you the whole of Lyme Bay to avoid the W going tide, before carrying the E tide from the Bill to Yarmouth or even Cowes.
 
Came back from exactly there a few days ago. If you draw a straight line from Salcombe to the Needles I seem to recall that pretty much keeps you far enough off the Race - anyway it is well marked on the plotter and you really dont need to be that far out before the sea becomes a lot more kindly. It was a F6 when we came through and really a non event - that was with wind with tide. To be fair we were in a 50 footer, but there were a number of smaller S/V on the same passage. Obviously for sensible passage times some thought to the tide is important for a direct passage. I think you are almost certainly going to have one foul tide, so its either at Portland or rounding the Needles. Both are going to be significant. Our passage was I think about 12 hours which is typical for that route. I also agree with the Salcombe slop, it does usually eases off a couple of hours into the passage.

Where you up in the Bag for the few days at the end of Salcombe week when it blew up a bit?

We stayed in the fairway for the fireworks off the pub and it was certainly a bit sloopy Friday night!
 
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Portland Bill to Yarmouth IoW is about 40NM?
On a run or reach with the tide, it's often easy to carry the tide all the way.
This can sometimes turn into using the engine to sneak in through Hurst before the ebb builds.

Rather than having good tide at one headland and foul at the other, aim for slack at both and fair tide between them?
 
lw395 yeah a good idea with perfect planning for the departure from Salcombe, that would work very well.
 
ip485 said:
lw395 yeah a good idea with perfect planning for the departure from Salcombe, that would work very well.
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It's a lot easier to plan from Dartmouth!
I tend not to get into 'perfect planning' because I will generally sail if I can, hence if I am late and making poor progress after the Bill, I will happily drop back into Weymouth or divert to Swanage etc.
I can't say I've looked at the tide times. I've enjoyed a fair few Dartmouth to Solent Passages, but sometimes the joy of it is diminished when it implies an 0100 start....
So i'd look at the tidestream atlas and work out whether breaking at Dartmouth or Weymouth looked better.
Or get some mile-building stoodents to do it in one hit while I slept... :-)
 
lw395 said:
If you take a hop to Dartmouth, it not only takes a useful chunk off the distance, but also means one less headland to round.
From Dartmouth you can leave while the tide is still going W in mid channel, so only concern yourelf with tide around the Bill.
Depending on the speed you make, Swanage should be easy, or even Yarmouth.
If circumstances knock you back to Weymouth after getting around the Bill, you've still cut the task down to easy distances.

You could go from Salcombe to Brixham/Torbay/anchorage in that parish, gives you the whole of Lyme Bay to avoid the W going tide, before carrying the E tide from the Bill to Yarmouth or even Cowes.
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My thoughts about Dartmouth. Would have reduced my time by 2-3 hours.. However decided against going round this afternoon as it was very strong winds. I'm going to leave Salcombe at first light 5AM. Ill have the tide with me for 6 hours. I'm going to head to Poole if all goes well. If not ill head in to Weymouth. although id prefer not too. Tuesday ill do Poole to the Hamble.

Steveeasy
 
Poole or Weymouth are good plans. Portland isnt the end of the world (although for some reason I always find it has an odd atmosphere) and saves a bit of a diversion. Yarmouth as I am sure you know is perfect if you have had enough by then.
 
forgiv me if I'm wrong but Salcombe to pass Portland bill is about 60 miles. I think ill have the tide with me for 6 hours at 6 knots and then against me for 6 hours at 4 knots. so I should pass Portland between 5-7pm. The tide turns with me from 6 pm so If I'm brave ill continue to poole, but if I'm wise ill head to Portland or Weymouth before dark. But and its a big one, I was going to pass between the Shambles and Portland but having just read its a no go in heavy weather. Well I think it may well be. spring tides were Saturday, and it will have been wind against tide for thw past 6 hours. Going around the shambles is a big detour.

So perhaps its a no go. I don't want to be tackling the needles channel after dark or looking for anchorages at night. Quite frankly I go with your better out at sea at night than in close quarters. perhaps I should do the Dartmouth trip tomorrow and as already suggested have a shorter trip on Tuesday.

Steveeasy
 
steveeasy said:
Salcombe to pass Portland bill is about 60 miles.
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Yes, and to clear the S end of St Alban's Ledges is about 70, total passage to Studland is about 82.
I was going to pass between the Shambles and Portland but having just read its a no go in heavy weather.
Going around the shambles is a big detour.
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Absolutely no point in going between the Shambles and Portland unless you are heading for Weymouth, if you go round the Shambles it's about 68 Miles.
As you can see, the rhumb line to clear St Alban's Ledges and turn for Poole keeps you well clear of the Bill and as you say, you will pick up a fair tide to take you from PB to Poole.

Sal-Poo.png
 
I most recently did the run from salcombe a couple of months ago, navigating the small boat of a friend who doesn't like to run his engine beyond 4.5 kts through the water, and due to lack of wind we motored a fair bit.

Unless you desperately want to go to Poole, don't go to Poole. Unless there's east in a wind of any significance, stop at Studland. Acknowledging steveeasy's stated desire not to look for anchorages at night, there is no simpler place to stop than Studland, even at night when exhausted. Loads of suitable space even in high summer. No faffing around with lines. Drop the hook, make sure it's secure,lights to anchor, tidy up, flop into bunk, all ready to crack on with a one-tide hop to hamble the next morning.

It's a long day at 4-5 knots. Ideally leave salcombe part way into the flood with the aim of taking the ebb in the middle of lyme bay, turning fair before you get to the bill with enough to carry you round to Studland. This works best for stupid o'clock departures from salcombe. I don't have tide tables to hand but Steve's estimate of time to pass the bill looks ok for this.
 
I'd not go via Dartmouth. A small distance saving, and I always find the entrance lumpy on windy days. Easy enough to go in, but I don't like fighting my way out - though i'm in a smaller boat than you.
 
chriss999 said:
I'd not go via Dartmouth. A small distance saving, and I always find the entrance lumpy on windy days. Easy enough to go in, but I don't like fighting my way out - though i'm in a smaller boat than you.
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If you're finding it rough leaving Dartmouth, it may well be the wrong day to be rounding the Bill and arriving at Hurst at the wrong time.
I tend to go there because we like the place.
From Salcombe, it might make more sense to anchor somewhere around Torbay, then you're set to avoid most of the W-going tide, and you get flat water while you're cookng breakfast. We anchored for an overnight rest off Babbacombe once, that worked OK.
 
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