Ships leaving the Solent

[xcw]

Most large ships leave The Solent via the forts and the Nab Tower but occasionally you see one leaving via Hurst and The Needles as one did yesterday afternoon. I've often wondered why this is as it would be a considerably shorter passage for those ships westbound. Is it something due to depth, width of Hurst (but why do some seem to make the passage)? Any seafarer know the answer?

 

[penfold]

Narrower channel, cross-currents, more course changes needed so greater risk, not any shorter than going the other way really.

 

[DJE]

Narrower channel, cross-currents, more course changes needed so greater risk, not any shorter than going the other way really.

And no pilotage!

 

[Channel Sailor]

as DJE says. No pilots, possibly no radar watching over, no one overseeing other traffic. see Port Maps - Southampton VTS - ABP Southampton

 

[Rappey]

After a quick measure on charts it appears the narrowest point through the needles channel is 155 metres, that's around 30 meters narrower than portsmouth harbour.
Currents in the harbour mouth will be either with you or against.
In the outer part of the needles channel would assume they are side on leaving very little room to manouver.

 

[Tranona]

Many years ago I was a regular visitor to IOW using the Lymington/Yarmouth ferry as I ran management development courses at the hotel in Freshwater Bay. If you have been on such courses you might have done team building exercises making structures out of Lego or paper and paper clips. Always looking for variations I devised one that required a road bridge built out of A4 sheets of paper and clips to go from Hurst castle to Fort Albert to scale 1:1000. The distance between the 2 is just about 1km and the bridge had to allow an air draft of 150m at MHW over the centre part where the water was 50m deep so that the QE2 could pass (it was a long time ago!) . So 1m long, 15cm high.

Inevitably there was a smartarse in the group, who was a naval helicopter pilot (and a sailor) who insisted QE 2 would never go out that way which rather spoiled the team dynamics. Anyway the next Sunday evening my colleague and I were going over on the ferry in the dark - it was November and we stopped in the middle of the Solent because, guess what QR2 was going through Hurst Narrows outbound. What a sight, fully lit up and looking magnificent.

Pleased to say the smartarse failed to gain the award he was studying for, although nothing to do with his unwillingness to accept that I had done my homework before defining the task.

 

[Bajansailor]

Anyway the next Sunday evening my colleague and I were going over on the ferry in the dark - it was November and we stopped in the middle of the Solent because, guess what QR2 was going through Hurst Narrows outbound. What a sight, fully lit up and looking magnificent.

I am sure she must have done this quite regularly (?), as I remember seeing the QE II going out through Hurst Narrows one afternoon in the late 80's or early 90's. We had gone for a walk out to Hurst Castle, and seeing the QE II coming down from Southampton and going through the Narrows was a wonderful sight.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I am sure she must have done this quite regularly (?), as I remember seeing the QE II going out through Hurst Narrows one afternoon in the late 80's or early 90's. We had gone for a walk out to Hurst Castle, and seeing the QE II coming down from Southampton and going through the Narrows was a wonderful sight.

I too remember seeing her passage past Hurst and I wasn’t that frequent a visitor to the Solent so I assume it wasn’t the same occasion as the above...

 

[sfellows]

Saw the QEII go West out of the Solent on several occasions....and I'm not based in the West Solent.

 

[capnsensible]

I sailed in the Solent a lot from mid eighties to mid nineties. Lots of commercial vessels and warships used to use the channel. Then they all of a sudden stopped. I always wondered if it was a decision on HS grounds but never established the real reason. Would be nice to know!

 

[DJE]

I seem to remember something about the port boundary changing so the Western Solent suddenly wasn't under the control of Southampton Port.

 

[Tranona]

I am sure she must have done this quite regularly (?), as I remember seeing the QE II going out through Hurst Narrows one afternoon in the late 80's or early 90's. We had gone for a walk out to Hurst Castle, and seeing the QE II coming down from Southampton and going through the Narrows was a wonderful sight.

This was in the early 90s. I checked before writing the scenario and she always went out that way - part of "the show" and what differentiated her from the floating Butlins type ships which could not or did not use the channel. I also checked the depth in the critical narrow part and it is never less than 30m and 50m where the bridge would cross.

 

[Never Grumble]

I sailed in the Solent a lot from mid eighties to mid nineties. Lots of commercial vessels and warships used to use the channel. Then they all of a sudden stopped. I always wondered if it was a decision on HS grounds but never established the real reason. Would be nice to know!

Risk aversion and time for special sea duty men to be closed up. I once suggested to my CO as a good navigational experience, but he couldn't be persuaded.

 

[capnsensible]

Risk aversion and time for special sea duty men to be closed up. I once suggested to my CO as a good navigational experience, but he couldn't be persuaded.

The last time my own yacht was in the Solent was a miserable April in 1998. We left through Hurst and were overtaken by a Type 42 departing at speed. I dipped my ensign even though he's a skimmer and he very nicely returned the salute. ?

We were leaving permanently and had decided that if we had hang overs, it was raining or if it was over force six, we weren't going. Failed on all three and went to Cherbourg!

 

[dslittle]

We were leaving permanently and had decided that if we had hang overs, it was raining or if it was over force six, we weren't going. Failed on all three and went to Cherbourg!

I find it quite hard to believe the first one (and the second one too really). Are you sure that you didn’t have your rose tinted specs on???

 

[Never Grumble]

The last time my own yacht was in the Solent was a miserable April in 1998. We left through Hurst and were overtaken by a Type 42 departing at speed. I dipped my ensign even though he's a skimmer and he very nicely returned the salute. ?

Not sure I'd bother dipping my ensign nowadays as the police boats keep you far enough away not to be noticed doing it! A previous ship I was on went through that way all the time but we were the permanent nav training frigate.

 

[Mark-1]

it appears the narrowest point through the needles channel is 155 metres, that's around 30 meters narrower than portsmouth harbour.

It doesn't appear that way to me, narrowest point looks wider, I assume you mean by the Bridge Cardinal?

(Not sure it was really worth me mentioning it, mind you. ?)

 

[capnsensible]

I find it quite hard to believe the first one (and the second one too really). Are you sure that you didn’t have your rose tinted specs on???

The glasses we looked through when we got to Cherbourg had Bacardi and coke in them. ??

 

[Tanqueray]

Late 90's I was skippering a little 22' RHIB for a film crew in the Solent. Spotted QE2 coming down Southampton water towards us at Calshot. Radio'd QE and explained what we were doing, got permission to go in close, was asked to turn off outboards so that they (film crew) could get a better voice-over. Passengers were lining QE sidekicks and waving to us, we waved back, time to go - engine coughed and stalled!
2nd outboard (which was always the finicky one) somehow just about caught and limped us clear in the nick of time. Wouldn't I have been popular having Michael Palin and his BBC crew run over by the QE2 in the Solent!

 

[Rappey]

I assume you mean by the Bridge Cardinal?

Yes . It possibly depends on what chart you look at and how you interpret it.
Navionics shows just depth contours whereas c-map uses red lines to define the limit of the channel, which is what i used. It was a very crude way to give a comparison to a known width such as portsmouth harbour..
I wonder how different the needles chanel was 30 years ago when the QE2 used it?