Chichester

Chichester is very popular and, as a result, can be rather crowded. Much of the harbour and most of the marinas are very tidal. There is not a great deal to see once ashore - the area is best described as 'scenic'.

The entrance is straightforward to find, and is usually relatively easy, but it deserves a few warnings. Firstly, the bar can be difficult or dangerous on a strong ebb with any swell running. Secondly, you really do need to follow the bouyage very carefully - there are several sandbanks which can be treacherous when the tide is high.

Begin by finding West Pole:

It is not a good idea to cut any corners here unless you have local knowledge. After West Pole you find the Bar Beacon:

Now you come to the rather narrow harbour entrance. It can be busy, and you may have fun dodging people coming out.

Do NOT be tempted to take short cuts - this shows a sand bank awash at mid tide. The banks are very steep to - you may find yourself in 10 metres of water with a sand bank not much more than 20 or 30 metres away.

East Head is a very popular anchorage, and crowded in the summer and at weekends.

The moorings at Itchenor - there are several visitors' buoys clearly marked, although you may have to raft up. There is a water taxi to the pub.

And, finally, the entrance to Chichester Marina. There is a lock with a waiting pontoon. Near High Water there is usually free flow.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is worth a visit simply for its history and its naval connections. The wreck of the Tudor ship Mary Rose is on display, and one of the first iron clads, HMS Warrior, has been restored as a museum ship. There are four large marinas and plenty of moorings belonging to various clubs.

Three of the marinas are close to the entrance on the Gosport side, and the fourth is up the top of the harbour at Portchester - about an hour's motor from the entrance. There are no moorings in Portsmouth itself, apart from Gunwaharf Quay, which is not available for casual visitors. A ferry runs between Gosport and Portsmouth every 15 minutes. On the Portsmouth side is the main line railway station for Waterloo.

Normally pleasure boats keep to the Gosport side of the harbour, and permission is required from QHM to cross over (VHF Channel 11). It is also a good idea to give a wide berth to naval vessels - MoD Police boats patrol the harbour 24 hours a day.

Portsmouth and its approaches are very busy. There are car ferries and FastCats over to the Isle of Wight, pilot boats, hovercraft, assorted excursion boats, cross Channel ferries and naval vessels! In addition, with four large marinas and hundreds of moorings, there are an awful lot of pleasure boats - and all of these have to go through an entrance which is not much more than a couple of hundred yards wide. In addition, very strong tidal currents run through the entrance. The ebb can be fierce about three hours after HW.

If you are coming from the west, you should use the Swashway. To do this, line up the Southsea War Memorial with the large building behind (see photos). The old transit used to be the Memorial with a church spire, but the spire is now hidden behind the building (if you can see the spire, you are probably off!)

From the east, you have a choice between going round through the forts or going through the gap in the submarine barrier. Do NOT try just heading between the fort and the land. You may get away with it at high water, but at low water, you can see the concrete blocks which run between the shore and the fort. There is also an inshore gap which is useful if the tide is foul.

There have been one or two recent changes to the harbour - in particular, two new red posts (see photos), one just outside the harbour, and one replacing Ballast Buoy inside. These MUST be left to port irrespective of the direction you are heading.

If coming along close to the shore, leave the red post outside to port, and then turn through ninety degrees as soon as you can.

If coming along the swashway or from the forts, you must keep out of the channel due to the busy ferry traffic, but hug the red bouys close: beware Hamiton Bank as you approach the entrance.

Small craft must keep close in to the port side of the entrance then head to the second red post, just after Haslar marina, again leaving it to port..

Once through the entrance and past the post, keep to the west side of the harbour: there are lots of cross channel ferries as well as the Gosport/Portsmouth ferry.

There is a plethora of marinas:

Haslar is the first, with its green lightship. Visitors moorings subject to wash. Beware ripoff charge for hire of electrical connector.

Gosport Marina - quite a bit of wash depending on where you are; close to town. Good facilities at both. Fuel available at Gosport marina

Royal Clarence - more sheltered. Turn in once past Gosport marina.

Port Solent is a long way up the harbour. Lots of shops/cinemas etc. Enter via a lock.

Entering the Swashway. Transits marked [on this picture, I am to port of the transit].

CLoser in - this time, we are to starboard of the swashway. Church and memorial clearly visible.

Approaching the harbour entrance.

New post. Leave this to port!

Portsmouth harbour entrance

Your first marina - Haslar. Visitors' berths behind lightship.

New post replacing ballast buoy. LEAVE TO PORT

Next hazard: these cross the harbour at very frequent intervals!

Gunwharf Quay on Portsmouth side. Not for casual visitors!

Gosport marina and fuel berth

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Gilkicker from south

If coming from the east, beware the submerged barrier!There are two gaps, one marked with a dolphin:

The alternative is close inshore, and useful if the tide is foul.

Cowes

Cowes is one of the main centres for British yachting. It is heaving during Cowes Week and best avoided then. It can still be very busy at the weekends even in the autumn, but relatively quiet during the week. Shelter is good except in strong northerlies or northeasterlies unless you go down the river a little way. Cowes High Street is quaint, full of 'yachtie' shops, but less good for chandlery.

View across to Cowes with the West Bramble buoy in the foreground.

finding it

The harbour entrance channel is marked by red and green buoys: you need to find the two at the entrance, which are quite close to the Royal Yacht Squadron. BEWARE: much ferry traffic in the form of high speed catamarans and car ferries. Also some very strong tidal cross currents.

From the east: straight around Castle Point, but beware of all the moorings; keep going until you meet the red entrance buoy.

From the west: straight round Egypt Point to the entrance buoys.

From the north: straight in via Prince Consort buoy. WARNING: beware of the Bramble Bank if going to/from Southampton Water. Find the WEST KNOLL small yellow (was green) buoy.

getting in

The fairway is very busy with high speed catamarans and car ferries as well as assorted other small vessels. There are lots of mooring buoys either side of the fairway. In the winter they are usually empty, in the summer they are filled mainly with keelboats.

Cowes waterfront - the Island Sailing Club.Click on the picture for a larger version.

The main hazards to look out for are ferries and mooring buoys at the entrance. If proceeding downriver to East Cowes Marina, the Folly Inn, Island Harbour or Newport, beware of chain ferry [flashing blue light when crossing].

The chain ferry. If the blue light is flashing, it's on the move! And keep clear of the stern - the chain stretches some way behind.
Click on the picture for a larger version.

The iconic crane, once part of White's shipyard. The fuel berth is foreground left.
Click on the picture for a larger version.

Berthing.

There are some new pontoons by the entrance, but these are for short stay only, and rather exposed in rough weather.

To starboard is Cowes Yacht Haven: expensive, good facilities, in the middle of the town. Suffers from wash, and uncomfortable in NE winds. Ferries pass close most of the night. Can fill up on busy weekends.

Cowes Yacht Haven. Entrance to the northern basin.
Click on the picture for a larger version.

There are two basins with separate entrances, and specific moorings are not that obvious once inside. It really is a good idea to call them up on Ch 80 before you enter the harbour (one time when a handheld VHF comes in useful). Often there is a RIB waiting around outside who will guide you in. Be prepared to raft up if it is at all busy.

Cowes Yacht Haven. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Further down is Shephard's Wharf. Depending on where you tie up, it may suffer from wash and ferries, but not as much as the Yacht Haven.

Shephard's Wharf. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Beyond the chain ferry [beware!] is East Cowes Marina, operated by Dean and Reddihof: much quieter but further from civilisation. There is a water taxi to West Cowes (and also a water taxi from the Folly, if you go that far down).

East Cowes Marina. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Further down still is the Folly Inn, Island Harbour Marina, and Newport.

The Folly Inn. Click on the picture for a larger version.

The Folly is well worth a visit (it is also popular with the charter brigade!).

There are some shoreside pontoons at the Folly - if they are full, you can use a mid river pontoon and cross with your own dinghy or using the water taxi (which will also take you into Cowes.) Click on the picture for a larger version.

View downriver towards Cowes from the Folly Inn. Click on the picture for a larger version.

View up river from the Folly Inn. Island Harbour can be seen a little further down. Click on the picture for a larger version.

Island Harbour has a lock, and is only accessible at certain states of the tide. The management is obviously keen to encourage visitors, however, as you can see from their website. It is rather out of the way, but offers peace and quiet.

You can go up to the quay in Newport, but you need a boat which can take the ground.

Good showers/loos at all the marinas, although they can become distinctly crowded at times. Cowes itself is well known for 'boaty' shopping, and there is a good supermarket in the High Street close to the Yacht Haven. Lots of pubs with food, plus other restaurants.

Southampton

Southampton Water is a stretch of water 5 or so miles long from Calshot to the Docks. Getting in to it from the Solent is not quite that straightforward. Due south of Calshot is the Bramble Bank, ready to trap the unwary - particularly those crossing from Cowes. Approaching from the west, there is the protusion of Calshot Spit and its associated shallows, and if you stick to the deep water channel, you are likely to be run over by ferries, tankers, container vessels, and car transporters.

If you follow the reds around Calshot Spit, you face another problem: if you keep to that side, you find a rather large oil terminal ahead of you. If you cross over to the other side, you have to make sure you pick a relatively quiet moment. The traffic at the corner should not be under estimated.

Only from the east, along the North Channel, is the approach relatively clear, but even so, be prepared to run the gauntlet of all the yachts, motor boats and dinghies coming in and out the Hamble.

It is very much an approach where you need to be watching the water rather than the chart: it is well marked, and too busy to be keeping your head down in the GPS or chart table.

Southampton Water itself is long, wide and relatively deep. The main hazards within are mainly:

- Hamble Spit and all the traffic in and out of the Hamble;
- the oil refinery and associated jetties at Fawley, plus the terminal directly opposite;
- the Cowes ferries, both the High Speed RedJets and and the slower car ferries;
- extremely large container vessels, car transporters, cruise liners and other assorted traffic. Be very wary of these as you come round Calshot.

At the top it begins to shoal again. If you are going up the Itchen, and the tide is low, then go close to Weston Ledge buoy and keep inside all the greens from there. You can go aground quite easily if you stray only a little way outside the channel.

It is not always a comfortable journey from one end to the other: the RedJets make a lot of wash, and there are usually powerboats of assorted sizes who also kick up a lot of wash.

Berthing:

Off to starboard as you come up Southampton Water is the Hamble, which nowadays is not much more than a gigantic boat park. Lots of parking - but very expensive. More for the people who rush round cans at the weekend than for the cruising sailor. Chaos when busy.

At the far end are the Southampton marinas:
Hythe Village is on the west bank, although again it is not really a place for visitors;
the Town Quay Marina near the ferries;
down the Itchen is Ocean Village with plenty of berths;
further under the Itchen Bridge is Shamrock Quay, which is a more 'boaty' place;
finally there is Kemps, which does not really cater for visitors.

Southampton is very much mixed in terms of environment: a lot of it is quite rundown, although there is a lot of regeneration going on in the city centre. However, it is not a place to appeal to the casual visitor.

On the other hand, it is very much a 'marine' environment, with riggers and sailmakers in abundance. A good place for repairs and refurbishment.

Calshot Spit and Calshot Castle:

Click for a larger image.

Approaching from the North Channel

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Off HillHead ..

Calshot and power station ..

the tanker terminal ..

ferry - refinery behind

The Hamble

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.... Hamble S Cardinal mark ..

.. in the approach channel ..

.. and at the mouth of the river ....

Southampton

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by Weston Shelf .. .. and looking down the Itchen

Ocean Village Marina:

Click for a larger image.

Beaulieu

Beaulieu is a beautiful and well sheltered river, with two caveats. The first is since it is so popular, there is fairly constant traffic, and the second is that the lights of the refinery at Fawley do rather impinge on the night sky. When it is quiet, however, it is almost unbeatable.

From Southampton Water, Lepe Spit South Cardinal makes a good waypoint. There is also a yellow racing mark in the summer about 3 cables from the Bar Beacon, which makes a good point to start the approach.

Be wary if coming from the west - the shoal at Lepe goes a long way out. It covers above about half tide, but is still very shallow.

There are few problems at the bar near High Water, but be very cautious near Low Water, particularly at Springs, when the bar might have only a metre or so above it. There are a lot of shoals either side of the entrance, so it is as well to line up your approach from some way out.

For night approaches, there is a lighthouse by the entrance, with a sectored light Oc. WRG 4s.

There are plenty of shallow patches: proceed carefully round the bend at the entrance, and don't cut corners.

The moorings begin after the turn at Need's Ore, and room from here on is relatively restricted. There are withies on the starboard side, and the bottom is thick mud.

The tide can run quite fast in the river: be careful when picking up a mooring.

You can anchor in the stretch up to Need's Ore (but an anchor light at night is almost essential), find an empty mooring, or proceed up to Buckler's Hard, which has either pontoon or pile moorings. Not cheap!

The usual rule about the moorings applies: you must be ready to move if the owner comes back. You will still be charged by the harbourmaster for either anchoring or finding an empty mooring.

Full marina facilities at Buckler's Hard, otherwise none. You can, however, take your dinghy up to Buckler's Hard, although it is a very small, if scenic, village.

1 - Bar beacon. 2 - approaches. 3 - turn into river. 4 - lighthouse. 5 - towards Need's Ore. 6 - Buckler's Hard

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1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

Yarmouth

Yarmouth has many pros and many cons: it is a useful jumping off point if heading west from the Solent, it is an attractive little town, and still retains some old world charm. Against that, it can be extremely crowded - pleasant enough if you like being sociable, but the rafting up can lead to problems if the inside man wants to leave at 4 a.m.! In recent years, it has gone 'upmarket', and is now almost as expensive as Cowes or Lymington. The advent of well heeled 'yotties' seem to have produced some rather over priced and upmarket restaurants.

Yarmouth is very straighforward to find from any direction - the pier is an excellent landmark. Coming in from the Needles, Sconce North Cardinal just inside Hurst Narrows is a useful marker. Yarmouth is also directly opposite Lymington, which is conspicuous enough. In doubt, follow the ferries!

As with Lymington, beware the ferries as you enter. There can also be a strong cross tide, particularly on the ebb, and it's a good idea to find a convenient transit and make sure you're not drifting off to one side. Other than that, motor in reasonably gently - there is not a lot of room inside the harbour, and there may well be dinghies moving back and forth. You may often be met by a harbour official who will direct you to a berth.

Below you can see the entrance (there is a RIB ccoming out by the ferry), with the pier on your left and the moorings on your right.

Click on the image for a larger version.

There are now 'walk ashore' pontoons, with all the mod cons of electricity and water.

The non walk ashore pontoons are cheaper, but this means either a dinghy or the water taxi to get ashore. (Using the water taxi rather reduces the cost difference!)

There is also the harbour wall (which is not comfortable, and usually a lee shore). You will need lee boards here (there may be some on the quayside).

There are few pile mooring left, and they would seem to be reserved for very large boats.

When things become really busy in the summer, you may have to go on the mooring bouys outside the harbour - which are also expensive!

Showers etc ashore (you need to buy tokens for showers). Fuel on the quayside.

A view into the harbour entrance. The ferry berth is empty. Some boats are on moorings outside.

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Beware! These run frequently during the summer.

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A view of the town from the 'walk ashore' pontoon. The ferry berth is out of sight to the left of the photograph.