Solent Cruising Companion E-Book

Derek Aslett

• Herausgeber: Fernhurst Books Limited
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 320

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The Solent is the spiritual home of sailing and one of Britain's most popular sailing spots, offering a varied and interesting cruising ground. In this, the only pilot guide focussing on the Solent, Derek Aslett provides an authoritative companion to this area that he has loved, lived and cruised for over 50 years. It will help you make the most of your time in these waters, whether as a resident, regular or occasional visitor. Centred on Cowes and covering the area from Keyhaven and Yarmouth in the west to Chichester and Bembridge in the east, the Solent Cruising Companion provides comprehensive pilotage and nautical information, as well as historical details and suggestions of where to eat and what to do ashore. The book is enhanced with colour charts and detailed photography, including spectacular aerial shots of ports, harbours and anchorages. This latest edition has been fully updated and includes over 100 new photographs and 40 updated charts. It now contains QR codes to take you quickly to the main harbour and marina websites. Updates are provided every Spring on the Fernhurst Books' website.

Leseprobe

Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

TIDAL STREAMS

CHAPTER ONEWESTERN SOLENT

KEYHAVEN

YARMOUTH

LYMINGTON

NEWTOWN RIVER

BEAULIEU RIVER

CHAPTER TWOCENTRAL SOLENT

COWES

NEWPORT

SOUTHAMPTON WATER

THE RIVER HAMBLE

CHAPTER THREEEASTERN SOLENT

WOOTTON CREEK & FISHBOURNE

RYDE

SEA VIEW

BEMBRIDGE

PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR

LANGSTONE HARBOUR

CHICHESTER HARBOUR

CHAPTER FOURTHE HISTORY OF THE SOLENT

CHAPTER FIVERACING IN THE SOLENT

TRADITIONAL SOLENT CLASSES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & PHOTO CREDITS

Preface

Having sailed in the Solent for some 50 years, I have never tired of this large expanse of protected water. Its diversity enables you to experience a broad range of cruising, from the modern-day facilities, bars and restaurants of ports such as Cowes and Portsmouth, to the tranquility of Newtown River, a favourite destination of mine.

And yet, if you want to compromise between these two extremes, the small harbours of Yarmouth, Beaulieu and Bembridge, with their pretty villages and traditional pubs, provide a perfect answer. Chichester, at the eastern tip of the Solent, is my home port, where you could spend at least a week cruising its peaceful waters – although at weekends you will be sharing it with racing dinghies, day boats, RIBs and craft of every description.

Racing is an integral part of life in the Solent, especially at weekends. After enjoying many years of racing our former Contessa 32, albeit rather unsuccessfully, I know how appreciative racers are if cruising yachtsmen don’t always stand on their rights and try to keep clear.

In the Cruising Companion I have aimed to provide a complete yet straightforward pilot to the western and eastern approaches to the Solent, as well as to the ports themselves. Although you should be aware of the various well-charted spits, sandbanks and occasional rocks, the Solent is on the whole a relatively safe cruising ground (weather permitting), the biggest hazards probably being the commercial ships coming to and from Southampton and Portsmouth. Over the past few years there have been many changes to the harbours of the Solent, which include navigational improvements to Portsmouth and Cowes as well as the many additional berths and facilities for visitors throughout the whole area.

Besides the navigational matters I have tried to provide a detailed account of each port, highlighting the facilities on hand and pinpointing the nearest shops, restaurants and places to visit to help you make the most of your time ashore. With centuries of history, predominantly spent protecting Britain’s shores from military invasion, the Solent has no shortage of historic sites, both on the mainland and the Isle of Wight. In addition, the areas of outstanding natural beauty should not be overlooked, particularly the New Forest, which fringes Lymington, Beaulieu and Hythe, and of course the whole of the Isle of Wight.

I would like to thank Fernhurst Books for updating this latest edition with the help and assistance of the Solent’s harbourmasters and marina operators. I hope that this Cruising Companion will help you make the most of your visit to the Solent, both on the water and ashore.

Derek Aslett

April 2025

About the author

Derek Aslett, a photographer and designer, together with his wife Ann, has extensively cruised the whole of the Channel on board their Laurent Giles designed 38-footer Anne. Built in 1985, the Giles 38 is a medium-displacement, long-keeled cruising yacht based on a 1950s classic design. With the boat berthed in Chichester Harbour, the Solent has become Derek’s backyard. He has spent much of his time over the past 50 years either cruising the Solent or racing around the cans.

SOLENT CRUISING COMPANION

ABBREVIATIONS & SYMBOLS

Airport

Anchoring

Anchoring prohibited

Bank

Boat hoist

Boatyard

Cable(s)

Car park

Chandlery

Chemist

Church

Continuous

Crane

Customs office

Direction of buoyage

East cardinal mark

Ferry terminal

Fishing boats

Fishing harbour / quay

Fish farm

Fishing vessel(s)

Fuel berth

Harbourmaster

Heliport

Holding tank pump-out

Hospital

Information bureau

Isolated danger mark

Launderette

Leading

Lifeboat

Marina

North cardinal mark

Port-hand mark

Position approx.

Post office

Public telephone

Railway station

Restaurant

Safe water mark

Shore power

Showers

Slipway

South cardinal mark

Starboard-hand mark

Supermarket

Traffic signals

Visitors’ berth / buoy

Waypoint

West cardinal mark

Yacht berthing facilities

BUOY COLOURS, LIGHTS & FREQUENCIES

R Red

G Green

Y Yellow

B Black

W White

RW Red and white

YB Yellow and black (South Cardinal)

BYB Black, yellow, black (East Cardinal)

BY Black and yellow (North Cardinal)

YBY Yellow, black, yellow (West Cardinal)

BR Black and Red

FR Fixed red light

FG Fixed green light

Fl Flashing light, period of darkness longer than light. A number indicates a group of flashes, e.g. Fl (3) R. Timing of whole sequence, including light and darkness, shown by number of seconds (s), e.g. Fl (3) R 15s. The range of the more powerful lights is given in nautical miles (M), e.g. Fl (3) R 15s 25M.

L. Fl Long flash, of not less than two seconds

Oc Occulting light, period of light longer than darkness

Iso Isophase light, equal periods of light and darkness

Q Quick flashing light, up to 50/60 flashes per minute

VQ Very quick flashing light, up to 120 flashes per minute

Mo Light flashing a (dot/dash) morse single letter sequence, e.g. Mo (S)

Dir A light, usually sectored, RWG or RG, usually giving a safe approach within the W sector. Either fixed or displaying some kind of flashing characteristic

Chapter one

Western Solent

The Western Solent viewed from the east, with the Needles in the foreground

With considerably less commercial traffic and several tranquil harbours, the Western Solent is popular with yachtsmen. The backdrop of the New Forest, which stretches along the shoaling shores of the mainland, and the unspoilt coastline of the Isle of Wight make it a particularly attractive cruising ground.

Apart from the Needles Channel and a new erosion bank at Hurst Spit, the Western Solent has fewer serious hazards to watch out for, provided you keep to reasonable soundings. Along the Isle of Wight’s shores, Black Rock, Hamstead Ledge, Salt Mead Ledges and Gurnard Ledge are all clearly marked with buoys. In strong winds and tides heavy overfalls can occur at these particular spots but if you ensure you stay to the correct side of the buoyage you will be fine.

On the mainland coast, give a Hurst Spit a wide berth due to a recently formed shingle bank to the east of the spit. Take care when navigating this area and constantly check depths due to the speed at which this bank can change position, with shoals potentially developing further eastwards and to the north. Also, to the north on the mainland coast between Hurst Point and Lymington, the chart shows that you should not cut inshore where the shallow water off Pennington extends some three quarters of a mile from the land. Furthermore, to the east of Lymington’s entrance, the Pylewell Lake shallows protrude approximately a mile offshore. To the west of the entrance to the Beaulieu River, the Beaulieu Spit can easily catch out anyone making for the harbour. Patches of this sandbar dry to around 0.3m about 100m south of the spit, so it is important that you do not cut the corner.

In favourable conditions there are several pleasant anchorages along the north coast of the Isle of Wight. One option is just inside the western edge of the Newtown River approach channel, in the lee of Hamstead Ledge. Totland Bay and Alum Bay, off the Needles Channel, are very popular anchorages, too, although with their isolated rocks you need to use a large-scale chart and careful pilotage when navigating in this area. It is not a good idea to anchor in the rocky and shallow Colwell Bay, situated between Warden Point and Fort Albert.

This north cardinal buoy lies off Sconce Point on the Isle of Wight

The Hamstead Ledge buoy lies just to the west of Newtown River

This south-west Shingles buoy (Fl R 2.5s) marks the Shingles Bank

Black Rock off Yarmouth is clearly marked with a starboard-hand buoy

On the mainland side of the Solent, inside Hurst Point, there is a useful anchorage if waiting for the tides . Note that due to obstructions, anchoring is prohibited west of Solent Bank between Hamstead Ledge on the Island to about 550m west of Durns Point on the mainland.

It is worth remembering that even short hops between Solent harbours need to be planned using a tidal atlas or checking via www.easytide.admiralty.co.uk, especially on Spring tides.

GUARDIANS OF THE WESTERN SOLENT

Looking out over the entrance to the Western Solent is Hurst Castle. Situated at the seaward end of a shingle spit that extends about two miles from Milford-on Sea, near Keyhaven, it was one of a string of coastal fortresses constructed upon the orders of King Henry VIII to protect England from invasion by the European Catholic powers. The castle, which was completed in 1544, lies only three-quarters of a mile from the Isle of Wight, making it an ideal spot to defend the western approaches to the Solent and the naval cities of Southampton and Portsmouth.

Hurst Castle commands the narrow entrance to the Solent

Hurst Castle continued to play a significant military role in the 17th century – it was here in 1648 that King Charles I was imprisoned before being taken back to London for his trial and execution in 1649 following defeat by the Parliamentarians in the second English Civil War (1648-9).

Since then, it has also been refortified several times to keep pace with technological advances. In the 1860s, as a result of the findings of the 1859 Royal Commission, instigated by Britain’s Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, in response to a volatile relationship with France (see p140), it received two new wing batteries, giving it the overall appearance that we see today. Hurst was garrisoned during both world wars and in the Second World War was equipped with coastal gun batteries and searchlights. Remaining part of the Coastal Artillery defences until 1956, it is today owned by English Heritage and is open to the public.

Opposite Hurst Castle, on the shores of the Isle of Wight, sits Fort Albert, with Fort Victoria about half a mile further to the east. The fear of invasion by the French in 1852 led to their construction in the mid-1850s as part of a string of fortifications. With its design allegedly conceived by Prince Albert himself, Fort Albert’s foundations were dug into the sea and a drawbridge was put in place to connect it to the shore. A miniature railway was used to transport ammunition to its cannon emplacements. Today, the fort is privately owned and has been converted into luxury flats. As there is no public access to even the cliffs above it, Fort Albert is best viewed from the sea or Hurst Castle. Fort Victoria, on the other hand, is still open to the public . Forming part of the Fort Victoria Country Park, the remains of this fort now enclose a marine aquarium, a seabed archaeology exhibition, a planetarium and a model railway.