solent crossing OK?

chi-girl said:
but havent been over chi bar. would like to do that before i venture further out
Click to expand...

Nothing mystical about the bar, just some slightly choppy water at times depending on the tide. Lots, and I mean lots, of water in the channel. Just follow the buoys, keep to the right, and as fireball said, go out to West Pole and have a play.
 
last week i was over toward sparkes and thought i might venture out into the open water but i chickened out when i saw large waves breaking over hayling shore and got back into the lee of the island.

i know enough to know if im not comfortable then i shouldnt be doing it.
 
when is best to go over the bar rise or flood?
maybe i might go ver the bar in the next few weeks so one milestone is out of the way for now and plan for bembridge of osborne or cowes.
 
I had a Shetland Suntrip 535.
Used it from the beach at Bridlington and went around and about Flamborough Head. No problems at all. You would see similar and Micropluses 2/3/4/ miles out. Very popular with divers at the time.
 
i think it's just a matter of having enough experience with the boat and with myself to make the crossing.
will get a f/f next week and wire it in myself nice and neatly and then may get a small hh gps to be able to set waypoints
 
chi-girl said:
last week i was over toward sparkes and thought i might venture out into the open water but i chickened out when i saw large waves breaking over hayling shore and got back into the lee of the island.
Click to expand...

If it's the waves breaking on the shore on the Eastoke corner then it's the current acting on the sea bed that's causing that waves and it's often like that and nothing to worry about (look for the nude surfers!).

From your tales of wandering about both harbours you seem to be getting experience that should be suffice to get you out into Hayling Bay without problem. If it's the depth at Chichester bar that is worrying you take a good look at the depths on the chart. You should be able to get out at the bottom of the tides. (Charts are on board so can't quote them directly).

Just keep to the channel and don't take any short cuts.
 
yes it's the waves at Eastoke corner that i saw hitting the shore with force so i turned around pretty quickly.

all of my boating before was on the braods and several midlands canals so charts are a very new thing.

the charts arent too difficult to read for depth but what i find hard is reading all the different bouys. ive read a bit but when im out on the boat i forget what they are telling me and i even get confused on which says keep left or right etc.
 
I'm new to Chi (my first season) and was pretty nervous coming in across the bar the first time(Serendipity's draft is 1.5m). Just check your tides times and tidal heights and follow the marks and you should have no probs. Once you have done it a few times your confidence will soon grow. When you have fitted your FF and know your depth you'll feel a lot more confident also.

Here is a link to Yachting TV which has a video pilot guide of Chichester Harbour by Tom Cunliffe, you will have to register to see it but it's free.

http://www.yachtingtv.co.uk/archive_pilotage_chichester.php
;)
 
Last edited:
chi-girl said:
when is best to go over the bar rise or flood?
maybe i might go ver the bar in the next few weeks so one milestone is out of the way for now and plan for bembridge of osborne or cowes.
Click to expand...

Er rise is flood. It's quickest to exit on the ebb but fast moving water will mean larger waves so try and go at hw +/-1hr fir the first exit.
 
thanks for the ytv link. good informative viewing.

i'll keep an eye out for a calm day and head out the harbour , will leave itchenor about hw-1
 
Just to add to your bank of knowledge, go on Amazon and buy a REEDS SKIPPER'S HANDBOOK for sail and Power. It has everything you will need to know or recognise within and 'rights of way 'between power vessels and sailing boats...
The price is about £5-6, and RRP of £7.99, and its a gem of a book- you see!
You could get it from a chandlers too but nearer the RRP I guess. The 6th Edition.

ianat182

p.s. make sure your nav lights are working OK,the light evenings are dropping away now and low cloud making it even darker.
ian
 
Last edited:
Solent tidal conveyor belt

Be sure to plan your trips around the tidal flow. In a slowish boat they make a huge difference to the success of a trip. It's marked on the charts, almanacs or tidal atlas. Its like a conveyor belt, so go with the flow: Spring tides go East in the mornings and West in the afternoon, Neaps go West in the morning and East in the afternoon.

Have fun. It's really not that scary and the Solent is full of boats no bigger than yours.
 
have ordered that book from amazon and will read from cover to cover.

i was thinking of getting the propectus for my local college and seeing if they do any theory courses.
 
will check it all out tomorrow. might be ok with like minded people aswell.
nothing beats experience so need to get out more on the boat aswell.

im thinking of leaving it on the water for a week or so and using it most days so can cover more ground.
 
deleted my earlier post! Not as easy as I thought to find courses run by local adult education centres as it use to be

I think what will be of interest to you are the Powerboat courses http://www.rya.org.uk/coursestraining/courses/powerboat/Pages/default.aspx

I think these are only run by clubs and commercial sea schools

You might also be interested in the motor cruising Day skipper course

http://www.rya.org.uk/coursestraining/courses/motorcruising/Pages/Dayskipper.aspx

The shorebased theory course though should be available at an adult education centre.
 
Last edited:
I think you'll be fine if you keep trusting your instincts, which appear to be good. Just remember to push yourself a little each time - the racing heart is all good, really.

A therory course would be good - night schools do them or correspondence course, which might fit with home commitments. Then you'll feel happier with charts and Nav and lots of other things.

Do you have a small spare engine just in case your main one fails?
 
i didnt have room for an aux engine not enough room for a spare on the transom
i didnt want a lifting bracket on the stern as there was no way to move the tiller so i bough a brand new 4st for the reliability.
 
My first Solent crossing was inadvertent. My Micro 18. Launched on the Hamble, with a mate who had 'done this before'.

We outboarded down to Southampton Water (as I now know) put up the sails and went to Cowes for lunch, and got home later.

Was a while later that I realised what I had allowed to happen.

I was 'in charge' because it was my boat. We had no charts, echo sounder, and GPS was not invented. We must have sailed over the Bramble Bank both ways.

Fast forward thirty years and I now know the Solent inside out and backwards. It's shallow, so the tide has to run faster. This makes 'wind over tide' more significant. Avoid that at Chi Bar and on to your destination and you'll have a lovely trip.
 
Safety equipment

http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/19089.asp

This sight is the local government site which lists mandatory equipment for a boat like yours. (if you were in West Australia)
The RST is the skipper's ticket which you must have here. The rest is just good sense.

Note a radio is mandatory except for operations close to the shore and an EPIRB for operations beyond a few more miles but not for the local boating areas to Rottnest Island. That is 10NM of pretty rough water and there is always a sea breeze to 20 knots in the summer afternoons.

Your kind of boat is extremely popular here. However they almost always have 80 plus horsepower. (I don't know why) I think it is just this type of boat that instigated the regulations here for skipper's ticket boat registration and safety gear. Too many people saw a steering wheel and reckoned it is just like driving a car.
I might think that if you had money to throw around another 20HP or replace with a bigger motor might be useful in the open water. Of course a more powerful motor can be very dangerous to this kind of boat in big seas just as under powered might see you working very hard to stay on course.
good luck and enjoy olewill
 
chi-girl said:
i didnt have room for an aux engine not enough room for a spare on the transom
i didnt want a lifting bracket on the stern as there was no way to move the tiller so i bough a brand new 4st for the reliability.
Click to expand...
I used to carry the ubiquitous Tohatsu 3.5 on the lifting bracket on my 15ft boat. Steering wouldn't be that tricky and an extension tiller arm is just a push-fit piece of tube.
If your main engine should break down, it is a life-saver.

Runningwell1.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top