Solent sailing

[zoidberg]

A friend has repeatedly invited me to come sailing with him in The Solent, eulogising its charms.
Unlike the column 'Dear Mary' I struggled to find some appropriate phrases - then I remembered:

'A picture worth a thousand words....'

 

[neilf39]

Pictures can be deceptive, and why are the boats half a nautical mile long?

 

[LittleSister]

You are missing out! (Your prejudices are getting in the way. ).

There's certainly some good sailing to be had on and around the Solent, and it's by no means always crowded (I've been out and seen only two other boats underway, one of those in the far distance, though it was Christmas Day!). There's some great scenery, an interesting variety of sailing challenges, and an amazing variety of boats to admire or cast aspersions on (one of the joys of sailing, I always think).

There are many different places to visit. Though you need to be mindful of crowding of the honeypots, especially on a summer/bank holiday weekend, with flexibility and looking beyond the obvious there are more destinations than first meet the eye (see e.g. The tightwad sailor , a great resource compiled by a forum member who's name I regret I've forgotten for the moment).

Give it a try! What have you got to lose? You may well be pleasantly surprised.

 

[RobbieW]

A friend has repeatedly invited me to come sailing with him in The Solent, eulogising its charms.
Unlike the column 'Dear Mary' I struggled to find some appropriate phrases - then I remembered:

'A picture worth a thousand words....'

I'd guess you'll be fine if you avoid June 25th ?

 

[DJE]

A friend has repeatedly invited me to come sailing with him in The Solent, eulogising its charms.
Unlike the column 'Dear Mary' I struggled to find some appropriate phrases - then I remembered:

'A picture worth a thousand words....'

Looks like a typical weekday morning - it's worse at the weekend. I'd stay away if I were you.

 

[ashtead]

You need to go to salcombe in summer first to appreciate the delights of the Solent

 

[Greemble]

I'm guessing those in the picture are only the boats equipped with AIS
...and having it switched on, too.

 

[alancollins]

You are quite right. You should stay away.

 

[LadyInBed]

Not too bad Monday to Thursday, you can't relax on the water at the weekend.

 

[fredrussell]

It seems from that pic that they have some lovely coloured boats down there at least.
On the East coast they mostly are white, so fair play to you Solent lot.

 

[Sandy]

I am sailing on Lake Solent during the Easter Weekend; I will report back. Thankfully, we have a very big lance at the pointy end of the boat.

 

[ashtead]

Just watch out for the jetski as they are one of the greatest risks facing the peaceful Solent sailor not the vessels showing AIS

 

[Stemar]

My first time out as the bloke who was supposed to know what he was doing was on a mate's boat We were supposed to be going out with him, but something came up and he told me to take the boat and go. I don't know if he was brave or foolish, but managed not to break it.

Anyway, we headed off - skipper (me) and a couple of my teenage kids and pottered around. There was a US aircraft carrier anchored out there, so we went round it a couple of times, then headed off in the general direction of Ryde. That was when I met the Round the Island race coming the other way on starboard...

 

[johnalison]

It's not only jet-skis, it is seldom that one gets water undisturbed by powerboats or RIBs, which makes ghosting along almost impossible most of the time, which is a pity because the Solent has a lot going for it.

 

[creeks]

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