windy in the solent, when to turn back

chubby

chubby

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Location
hampshire, uk
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I had planned to hole up in the medina with a good book and pile of mags and quite enjoy being on the boat somewhere snug in bad weather but didnt far beyond portsmouth entrance, wind gusting over 30 knots on the nose and would have been a slog to cowes even in a motorsailor so turned round and managed to get back on my swinging mooring singlehanded without too much drama. So much for my week off for a late season cruise. Will try again maybe weds. When do others turn back?
 
Hi Chrissie!

My windiest sail this year was to Beaulieu (Scuttlebutt 2011)... Pictures on skydrive... Sorry I didn't post the pictures sooner (or even get to meet up that weekend).. Next time!

http://skydrive.live.com/embedphoto.aspx/ybw/IMG^_9729.JPG?cid=d57b857b59d08b86&sc=photos

Click on the picture for full album.

We only had two reefs in so I guess there was still one more reef to go and our coffees didn't even fall over.. 40knots apparent wind was rather breezy though!
 
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To be honest, it always feels worse in the rain. 20knots and rain.. stay in.. 30knots and sunshine it's a different story! Any more and it's time to get the board out and go windsurfing!
 
Chrissie said:
when the boat wont punch into the weather anymore and I have no choice but to turn back, :D
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Chrissie,

I think your and my boats will keep punching on if driven, it's a matter of crew endurance and if one's enjoying it or not; I always say this is the weak point on any boat not crewed by alternate watches of gorillas !
 
I turn back when chichester bar looks like it'll kill me :)

Good luck with Weds, it's supposed to get much much worse for then. I have this week off too so have taken an interest in the forecasts :(
 
Today tuesday is supposed to be worst with the rain clearing but only by late pm and the wind coming down on weds to F 4-5, dry, rain thurs, dry fri, might be doable!

I passed a sailing school boat in Portsmouth harbour doing MOB drill and thought free fenders if they are too slow, then managed to loose my inflatable and had to do it myself!
 
chubby said:
Today tuesday is supposed to be worst with the rain clearing but only by late pm and the wind coming down on weds to F 4-5, dry, rain thurs, dry fri, might be doable!

I passed a sailing school boat in Portsmouth harbour doing MOB drill and thought free fenders if they are too slow, then managed to loose my inflatable and had to do it myself!
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Thanks for posting this, I hadn't seen the change in forecast! previously Wednesday was in for a F8!
 
V unsettled this week and wot we have in Devon you can have now or later, LOL.

-couple of sustained gusts really felt v weighty earlier this morning, certainly 40kn so if Chi net is reading more..?, ooh.

Otoh, you only need a fair ebb and a couple of quiet hours and Cowes is within quick reach from portsmouthj- but are the pubs really better?..

Meanwhile, good news if like me you have a windgenerator, and/or computer, cuppa, reading matter or homework to do and onboard job list.

' We goes with the flows, ooarrgh '
 
lustyd said:
Thanks for posting this, I hadn't seen the change in forecast! previously Wednesday was in for a F8!
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I'd keep watching the forecast: I just did a check on my usual web sites, hoping for some let up to allow us out on Thursday, which means staying on board Wednesday night. It also means convincing SWMBO that the sea has gone down enough so she won't be seasick: Weds is still showing 5's and 6's, with 1.8m waves and not going down until later Thursday, so it looks like a bit more gardening at the mo, with a little sail on Friday. :( The weekend looks pretty 'orrible as well, unless you like strong winds and big waves in the rain. Still, it might all change by then and go up to Scotland instead, you never know.
 
We have never turned back usually because approaching the shore is more dangerous than to keep sailing. On ocean passages you can't turn back anyway. If you are in the Solent or equivalent it's a different matter in sheltered waters.
 
chubby said:
I had planned to hole up in the medina with a good book and pile of mags and quite enjoy being on the boat somewhere snug in bad weather but didnt far beyond portsmouth entrance, wind gusting over 30 knots on the nose and would have been a slog to cowes even in a motorsailor so turned round and managed to get back on my swinging mooring singlehanded without too much drama. So much for my week off for a late season cruise. Will try again maybe weds. When do others turn back?
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Jolly windy today. On a 43 ft bavaria this morning it was rocking enough in the marina! I wouldn't have gone out for fun, in fact I was due to sail a 39ft long keeler this week and postponed. Gusting 50+.

I have turned back twice this year, once trying to get to the scuttlbut thingy in beauliau, got to the river entrance but with wind over tide waves I couldn't take them on the beam of a 30ft flybridge and had to give up. The other was when a building quartering sea was just too much for the boat I was in, surfing down the waves and threatening to broach in the troughs was just not fun - turned and anchored behind a headland in Tunisia for the night. That boat weighed 60 tonnes so they were quite big waves.
The answer is when it is the best option at the time, depends on you, the crew, what your available options are, the boat etc etc etc. Mid ocean you can only change direction, in the solent you can tie up and go to the pub. Only you can decide, but assume you are not in reach of the lifeboat when making your decision!
 
Thats right - 500 miles out theres nowhere else to go.... but close inshore the real consideration is can I get in safely when i get there? Chi Bar for example which can be a pussycat, is also a killer when powered up by a good gale. I have more than once committed to a passage, knowing that once I go there is no turning back.
 
Elessar said:
Jolly windy today. On a 43 ft bavaria this morning it was rocking enough in the marina! I wouldn't have gone out for fun, in fact I was due to sail a 39ft long keeler this week and postponed. Gusting 50+.
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During the 1991 hurricane (winds to 110mph) I was sheltering in the HM's office at Littlehampton. All the yachts in the LSC marina opposite were lee rail under on the gusts.
 
Re. Old Harry's post, and with a bow to Monty python,

" Luxury ! "

In the 1987 October Hurricane we had a dozen boats blown ashore just fromour club, twin keelers with keels ripped out, bilges smashed etc which resulted in a true gung-ho Dunkirk Spirit with all members making efforts beyond any call of duty.

I had a Carter 30 at the time in Mill Rythe, Chichester Harbour, she was thankfully sheltered behind a high bank, but the motoring / deck floodlight had the bulb blown clean off by the force of the wind !

It took me quite a few hours to drive around the blocked roads with felled trees everywhere - ( a sort of convoy ended up folllowing me as if I had a clue where to go, which I most definitely did not have ! ) to get to the club and join what soon became a boat rescue effort.

Ashore it was carnage...
 
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