Solent this Sunday

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russ

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Looking at the forecast for tomorrow it looks like a nice day to go out and give the boat a bit of a blast. Weather site states sunny with 2.3ft waves at 4s and wind speed of 10mph. As a Solent novice what will the ride be like? I cant picture what 2.3ft waves would be like for my 8m sports cruiser.
 
Just looking out of the window here in West Wittering on to the Solent, I wouldn't even think about it. You're winding us up, right? Can't imagine it being calm enough for 8.0 metre boat by tomorrow. It's absolutely wild at the moment.
 
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russ said:
Looking at the forecast for tomorrow it looks like a nice day to go out and give the boat a bit of a blast. Weather site states sunny with 2.3ft waves at 4s and wind speed of 10mph. As a Solent novice what will the ride be like? I cant picture what 2.3ft waves would be like for my 8m sports cruiser.
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(May) Will be lots of debris out there, so not just the waves to worry about!
 
Questor said:
Just looking out of the window here in West Wittering on to the Solent, I wouldn't even think about it. You're winding us up, right? Can't imagine it being calm enough for 8.0 metre boat by tomorrow. It's absolutely wild at the moment.
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I'm planning on going out. I'm not going to advise others on sea state but looking at weather sites and forecast wave heights I think it will okay. I will be on a 7 metre sailboat and I Know little about the limits of an 8 metre sports cruiser.
 
Questor said:
Just looking out of the window here in West Wittering on to the Solent, I wouldn't even think about it. You're winding us up, right? Can't imagine it being calm enough for 8.0 metre boat by tomorrow. It's absolutely wild at the moment.
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Nope not a wined up just going by the forecast for tomorrow, hence the question from a greenhorn about coastal boating.
 
russ said:
Looking at the forecast for tomorrow it looks like a nice day to go out and give the boat a bit of a blast. Weather site states sunny with 2.3ft waves at 4s and wind speed of 10mph. As a Solent novice what will the ride be like? I cant picture what 2.3ft waves would be like for my 8m sports cruiser.
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Russ, I am out teaching this weekend! I can tell you now that it is a "bit" on the windy side. Yes, tomorrow is better in terms of the wind dropping but the sea state will not be that nice given the wind over the past few days. Even in the Itchen today the spray has been blowing off the tops of the waves. Quiet dramatic in places.

I have been "hiding" in Ocean Village and it is still a challenge even in there tucked away in the corner.

I would stick your nose out and have a look and if it is too much then turn back. But don't have your hopes to high!
 
Solitaire said:
Russ, I am out teaching this weekend! I can tell you now that it is a "bit" on the windy side. Yes, tomorrow is better in terms of the wind dropping but the sea state will not be that nice given the wind over the past few days. Even in the Itchen today the spray has been blowing off the tops of the waves. Quiet dramatic in places.

I have been "hiding" in Ocean Village and it is still a challenge even in there tucked away in the corner.

I would stick your nose out and have a look and if it is too much then turn back. But don't have your hopes to high!
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Thank you David.
Think I'll give it a miss then. Its kinda difficult knowing what the sea state would be like when looking at the Windfinder web site.
 
russ said:
Thank you David.
Think I'll give it a miss then. Its kinda difficult knowing what the sea state would be like when looking at the Windfinder web site.
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I think you might miss out on a good day on the water. The wind is dropping off now, and forecast for tomorrow is light winds and sunshine. Yes, there'll be some residual swell from the storms, but with say 18 hrs between now and the time you'll go out, it could be quite long wavelength, and not uncomfortable in the Solent. Worth a go I reckon.
 
Hi
We having been umming and arrring all day wether to move our targa 47 from poole to hamble tomorrow, earlier weather reports looked like there was not a chance, we went up to bournmouth ( by car) and the sea was lumpy but not half as bad as we thought, we are now sat on boat, a very slight breeze and wind is dropping off in weather forecasts, so we will be going around mid day when weather the quietest, seems to be improving all the time at mo, but like solitaire says, stick your nose out, if you don't like turn around, that a we will be doing, there might, just might , be a nice out there and you don't want to miss that :)
 
It does look as if there will be be a "gap" in the weather tomorrow.
In the shelter of the IOW, it should be okay, but in open water it takes a couple of tides for things to calm down properly after today's chaos: there will still be quite a swell running.

If you avoid wind-going-in-the-opposite-direction-to-the-tide, it could be okay, but the advice to "poke your nose out and see" is good.
 
If you have a ways to drive to the boat, there's a few webcams you can look at to get a feel for the sea state before setting off. We take a look at them before leaving Ocean Village too.

This one looks out from Ryde but updates every couple of seconds rather than live streams: http://www.ship-tracking.co.uk/Webcam Ship Popup/

This one looks out from Sandown round by Bembridge, quality is really good and live streams: http://driftwoodbeachbar.com/webcam/

This one's offline at present, looks out into the Medina estuary, hopefully back online soon as the message suggests as it's a great webcam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvU2XhxexcM

Hadn't checked this one for a while as it died but looks like the Calshot webcam is alive and kicking again: http://www.intheelements.co.uk/blog/webcam/solent-and-calshot/ :encouragement:

There used to be a Lee On Solent webcam, just search and this came up which is a different one and hard to tell if it shows the wet stuff or just the airfield as it's dark out there at the moment: http://www.camsecure.co.uk/Camsecure2/Lee_On_Solent_Airfield_Webcam_1.html

Here's the one I was looking for within the Lee on Solent sailing club site but looks like it is now deceased: http://solentdreams.wordpress.com/2007/07/02/lee-on-solent-sailing-club-webcam/
 
Hi Russ, yes wise words from Gary O. Before you leave home checkout www.bramblemet.com that will tell you what is live at the time. I am going up in a microlight assuming the forecast is correct, 8-10 mph they say. Southampton water will be fine if that is correct, go have a look, if you dont like it, poodle up the Hamble, go and have some lunch, then wander back. If you like it, you will have lots of space, it is so much quieter this time of year. Visibility should be excellent.
Have a great day.
 
An update for you.

Just had a wander along beach and sea is still pretty rough, although some large ships are now appearing in Nab channel.

Wind is still 4/5 ish.

You may be lucky and get a nice day.

Last night's storm has caused a huge amount of damage around here.

You need to keep an eye out for debris. Masses of rubbish including loads of rope has been washed up today.
 
Well we are off up to Plymouth tomorrow from Falmouth marina, I benefit from living near the headland at St Antony so don't need a web cam, I can see most of the route from the end of our road and it was looking lovely at 5pm this evening. In the marina now and not a wisp of wind...good point about debris was well made ...will be on the look out.
 
Went out from Hamble at 9am this morning on my mates Beneteau 37 sailing thingy and, whilst there wasn't much breeze, the Solent was flat calm, and we had it all to ourselves for a few hours......lovely to see the sun for a change! Just wished I'd gone out on my Nimbus 320 though!!
 
Nice calm Solent today forecast appears to have been spot on.
There is plenty of debris around though and always a tough call after big storms .
But we are slowly moving towards Spring and surely this weather can't last too much longer .
Jet stream looks like she is shifting up to the North lets hope she stays there and draws in some nice highs
Tim
 
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