March cruise, Southern Coast of England

[Jim H]

Happy times. As of Thursday this week, the family's on Spring break for about 10 days, and we're planning a 4 day cruise on the southern coast.

Day one-- Brighton to Chichester Bay
Day two-- Chichester Bay to Folly Inn on the Medina River
Day three-- Folly Inn to Yarmouth on Isle of Wight
Day four-- Yarmouth to new slip at Gosport

Now, we do have our kids along, and the weather has been up and down lately, so we have the options to cut this trip to one day if need be, but it's fun to prep and plan for all four days and see what happens. We're correcting charts, passage planning, writing out tide lists, scanning the current atlas, putting waypoints in our Garmin 276c, and making a simple provision list.

Maybe not the perfect time of year, but at least we shouldn't be competing for moorings or dockspace...

[LynW]

I don't know how well you know this area, but if not maybe a few tips would be in order?

Its not the perfect time of year, and in particular you may find your day 1 quite challenging. Its not for nothing that "Down Channel" had a reputation back in the days of sailing ships.

I've done this passage at least ten times, with an account of one for "Yachting Monthly" (March 05).

Its nearly always with the wind against you, which can blow up quite strong in March. Also the tides tend to conspire against you. You have to get the tides right off Selsey Bill, where they run at up to 4kts, and it can be very rough in a wind-over-tide situation. There is an inshore passage for yachts called the Looe Channel, which cuts the corner. But it is quite dangerous in bad conditions, so if you do get caught out, don't try to go that way but instead go out round the Owers LANBY. Also the buoys at the very narrow western entrance to the Looe Channel are hard to spot at night against the shore lights behind.

There is a sand-bar across the entrance to Chichester Harbour on which yachts prang almost every weekend. A frustrating end to what may have been a tiresome passage. So make sure you've stayed alert for the final entrance, double check you've identified the correct entrance post and watch your depth-sounder like a hawk. If you are tired by then, there are plenty of mooring buoys just inside the entrance, bound to be free in March, rather than trail up the creeks to one of the marinas.

The rest of your cruise looks a pleasure, which the kids will enjoy. As you say, better now than high summer. But do count on the possibility of being stuck in Brighton for a few days at the outset. There are worse places.

[PBzeer]

Sounds like an interesting trip. Especially when the places you name are ones unseen, but long read about. Don't forget to give us some pictures, eh?

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by LynW

I've done this passage at least ten times, with an account of one for "Yachting Monthly" (March 05).

Lyn, thanks for the exceptional local knowledge recommendations. Your notes and recommendations match what we've learned from other sailors who have done the Looe channel. One friend in particular noted that the channel is relatively narrow between Boulder and Street, and the waves breaking nearby on the Owers 1.5 miles off-shore of Selsey Bill can be disconcerting. The channel almanac is pretty clear about conditions to have in the area, and we plan to head south around the area if need be. We'd pass if it were over F4, limited visibility, or we arrive at a time of strong current going through, especially if wind against tide.

You're also right about having a long first day followed with the bar at Chichester. I read the log of our boat yesterday, and it's gone the Brighton to Gosport run twice before, typically in 8 hours if the Looe is passable. If we have a tiring first day and start early for a longer period of light, we might just press on to Gosport the first day since we know the entrance and we have slip F9 waiting for us at Haslars Marina anyway. We could always pull out of there for the second day and head to Chichester or the Folly Inn. The friend in London with our passage plan will be advised of all the options, and we'll call him to update our plans as we go.

Overall, we have about 10 open days, and we really only need one long day with good conditions and tides to do the Brighton to Gosport move, but we'd enjoy doing more than that if conditions allow. as you noted, spending days waiting in Brighton is a real possibility, but there's lots to do there. We considered just going to Littlehampton the first day from Brighton, but it's bar and cross-current sounded a bit exciting as well.

I see that your article In at the Deep End is available via the Yachting Monthly web site. We're also members of the Cruising Association in downtown London, and I bet their library would also have the March 05 issue if I can make it down there after work this week.

Thanks again for the recommendations.

[Jim H]

Originally Posted by PBzeer

Sounds like an interesting trip. Especially when the places you name are ones unseen, but long read about. Don't forget to give us some pictures, eh?

We plan to post a photo gallery of the trip, even if it turns into a one day affair. I also hope to have some charts to show the course taken. It's not going to be as simple or easy as some other trips we've done, but we're learning a lot and there's always opt out options.

[Valiente]

I would suspect passing between Boulder and Street would suggest very thin water indeed...

Good luck and good timing!