Launching near Southampton

[Matthew P]

I am hoping to sail Gladys in the Southampton area next Saturday (1/8/15).  Has anyone suggestions for convenient places to launch, accessible for most points of tide with reasonably secure and inexpensive place to park the trailer and car?

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Rob Johnstone]

Hi Matthew, No personal experience but here are some scanned pages out of "Where to launch around the coast" - dated 2006....
Enjoy

Rob J

[Michael Rogers]

Matthew, I don't know how far your 'Southampton area' extends. I knew Keyhaven well, and I don't think it's changed much - no marinas or 'posh'. A decent shingle hard for launching. Don't know about today's parking charges etc either. You're on the Solent side of the Hurst Castle spit, and it's an attractive place to sail in and out of. Worth thinking about?

[Matthew P]

Thanks Michael and Rob.  I'm also looking at Calshot and Lymington - does anyone have recent experience of them?  I suppose busy slipways and crowded car/trailer parks are inevitable in this area at this time - not like Bala!

Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Peter Taylor]

Hi Matthew,

there's a big car park at Lymington but you have to pay quite a bit plus you have to pay to launch - don't know how much.  However as far as I know it's good at any state of the tide.  There should generally be room in the car park unless one of the sailing clubs (R. Lymington YC, Lymington Town SC) has a major event on.  Problem with Keyhaven is it is high tide only and there is not much parking.  There is a big slipway at Calshot but I don't have any experience of using it.  I'd try contacting the activities centre there for information.
Peter

[Michael Rogers]

Bear in mind the 'double high tide' phenomenon. After high water the tide goes out a bit (at neaps hardly at all), hangs around a bit, comes up again but not quite as high as the first time, then finally ebbs for about 2 1/2 hours. In practice therefore, 'high tide only' means HW plus/minus at least 3 hours, with the level staying uppish after high water before a fairly brisk but delayed ebb.

I don't know about Portsmouth, Spithead etc (and Chichester harbour??), but this applies right along the Solent and across Christchurch Bay to Poole and Studland. I have yet to discover whether it peters out or changes abruptly past Old Harry towards Swanage and beyond.

[Peter Taylor]

I've just been looking at the "where to launch" pages posted by Rob. Interesting reading! Of the River Itchen sites on the west (Southampton) bank, Crosshouse Hard is usable and well used.  I suspect parking is a problem though.  Belvedere Wharf and Old Mill Quay are generally blocked by parked or abandoned cars, rubbish, etc.  Priory Hard is close to where I live and definitely usable and also well used. It's probably the best Hard in Southampton for ease of parking, good pubs, etc.  However you are upstream of Northam Bridge (which is why I have to lower the mast on Seatern).  Furthermore, if you tried to use it 5 hours after low tide on Springs (as implied to be possible), you would have a long walk through the mud to get to the shore! 

I don't know the state of the hards on the other side of the Itchen but could check them out if anyone is interested.
Peter

[Michael Rogers]

I risk going off at a tangent, but having mentioned the double high tide phenomenon in the Solent area, I decided to find out more about it, and found this highly informative article -

http://www.bristolnomads.org.uk/stuff/double_tides.htm.

(You boffins will have to tell me sometime how I can transplant that info in such a way that you can just click on it and bring it up.) Basically it has nothing to do with the Isle of Wight per se (which is what most people think and I certainly thought,) but affects an area bounded by Portland, Littlehampton, Le Havre and Cherbourg, about half way along the English Channel. It happens because of the Atlantic (tidal) Pulse travelling West to East and some local effects in the area between the I of W and the Cherbourg peninsula. There are also some superimposed local effects which influence tidal flows in the Solent.

Anyway, read all abaht it if you're interested.

Michael R

[Peter Taylor]

Yes, that article seems good.  Tides in a semi-enclosed basin (like the North Sea for example)  tend to rotate about a point somewhere out in the middle of the basin.  That point is known as the amphidromic point or tidal node and it marks the position where the main component of the tide has vanishing amplitude.   Being a channel shaped basin, the English Channel is odd in that the main amphidromic point is inland - I always like to imagine it is marked by Stonehenge... it's not that far from there.  As a result, tides in Dorset (near to Stonehenge) are fairly small, whereas tides along the French coast (further from Stonehenge) are much larger.  The geographical shape of the Channel including the Isle of Wight and the Cherbourg peninsula then gives rise to the more complex tidal effects such as "double" high waters (or even double low waters if you are in Weymouth!).

Where I live (on the River Itchen in Southampton) the most prominent tidal effects (most notable at springs) are the young tide stand and the speed of the ebb.  After low water the tide comes in quite fast over the mud flats and then, just before you can launch your boat (or start floating in the case of Seatern), it stops! This tidal stand can last a couple of hours before the tide level swiftly increases to the first high water mark. Unless you are particularly observant the "double high water" then just seems like a long period of high tide.  Finally the ebb sets in and it's as if someone pulled the plug out.  Being late by a few minutes can leave me far from the jetty.

Now for the advert on behalf of my former employer: UK tidal predictions are produced  by the National Oceanographic Centre, Liverpool (previously the Proudman Lab, and before that the Bidston Observatory).   These predictions form the basis of the official Hydrographic Office publications.  You can get them for the whole UK (plus some of the continental shelf) via an Android or iPhone app for about 80p a year plus £2.50 if you want currents (which are well worth having).  It will give you the standard Ports and also places in between.  To use the app without internet access (eg while sailing) make sure you bookmark the place(s) for which you want predictions.  I use it on an iPhone and find it very good. See: http://noc.ac.uk/news/new-anytide-app 

Peter

[Richard Walkerley]

Probably too late but I spent a few hours recently looking at possible launching sites in that area because my daughter works in Hamble and I want to take my BR20 down there sometime.

There is a good but, I think, expensive looking slipway at Hamble Point Marina.  There are two public hard (gravel slipways) on the Warsash side of the Hamble but I thought them rather weedy and not steep enough for easy launching.  Trailer parking is limited as well.

I did look at Calshot.  A good wide slipway with a good incline. Probably good at all states of the tide as used by RNLI. A good location for east or west Solent or going up Southampton Water. But quite expensive if over 6m (see attached picture) and no pontoon nearby. 

Better, perhaps, was the free public slipway at Hythe although it dries out at low tide. The adjacent marina  was doing a package for trailer sailers - £30 per 2 days for a berth in the marina (through a lock) and parking for car and trailer. See photo of slipway and notice re berthing. Downside, perhaps, is that it well up Southampton Water but lots to see especially if the Cunard Ships are in.

Grateful for any other ideas.

Regards

Richard
BR20 Ula

[Matthew P]

Thank you Richard, Peter, David, Michael and Rob.

On Saturday we launched from Calshot which went well.
We were delayed by heavy road traffic on the A326 near Fawley at about 10.30am.  I'm not sure why it was so busy.
I was charged about £16 for the Bayraider 20 (just under 6 mtrs) including parking for a day.
The Calshot Activity Centre staff were helpful.
There are adequate changing rooms and facilities, although a hundred meters or so from the slipway.
There was ample parking for car and trailer.  I'm not sure how secure but the access road is long and it looked like it was covered by CCTV.
There were very few other boats using the slipway, despite launching on a fine Saturday in mid-summer at high water.
The slipway is wide, even and well inclined, bare concrete at the top although slippery with weed at the bottom 3 hours after high water.
There is a shingle beach next to the slipway, fairly steep, so kind-ish for the boat to land on.
It is an interesting place to sail from, with immediate access to the Solent (beware waves and big ships near the end of the spit ) and down Southampton Water.
Anyone sailing in the area needs to be aware of the considerable physical and financial dangers (justifiably huge fines) of getting near big ships which approach and change direction fast - read the pilots and study the charts.  There is obviously a lot of other traffic to watch out for including ferries to add to the fun. 
Photo of slipway at low water attached, including flukey shot of push-me-pull-you IOW ferries travelling in opposite directions.
     
Matthew
BR20 Gladys

[Bill Rollo]

Matthew

glad Calshot went well. On another occasion you might consider Beaulieu. Beautiful place, good slip accessible except at LW (there is a drop which can catch one out), jetty, relatively quiet, apparently secure parking. Up and downside is 4 miles down to the sea - more of a bore at the end of the day with a strong westerly!

Bill

[Peter Taylor]

Matthew, glad you enjoyed Calshot.  Road traffic on the Marchwood bypass is almost always busy!

With regards to shipping traffic, as you are obviously aware, at Calshot the "Precautionary area" (where you have to give large ships a particularly large amount of space - at least 1km ahead of their bow) lies particularly close to the shore. It's worth listening to VTS (VHF channel 12) for mention of "Clear Channel" ships as well as any other shipping movements before crossing the shipping channel.  There is a "yachtsmans guide" for visitors to the area (which I should have mentioned before!) at: http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/admin/content/files/PDF_Downloads/Yachtsmans-guide-LowRes.pdf

Given that we have centreboards, provided the waves aren't breaking too much and the tide allows, cutting across Calshot Spit is an option for keeping clear of the shipping.  I keep an eye on the echosounder though because there are uncharted shallower bits and the spit does rise up very steeply.  Also there are lots of lobster pots with hardly visible floats - some of which tow under.  Beware if motoring!  That said, when possible,  it does offer a short cut between Southampton Water and  the western Solent.

But beware of cutting across Hamble Spit. Unless out close to the Cardinal Marker, the spit can be close to the surface even with the tide quite high - you can walk out on it a long way...  even the seagulls might be walking!

Peter

[Andy Dingle]

A very useful and interesting thread, resulting in a fellow sailor, who was not at all aware of this particular area getting out and having a good sail, which to me, is what this is all about. Excellent.

Nothing to do with sailing - the mention of Calshot bought back very dim and distant memories of my Grandfather - who worked for Vickers Supermarine - taking me there to see enormous flying boats 'launching' presumably off this same slip? A quick google check shows this was case. It being an RAF station back then (late 50's/early 60's). I wonder if there is any remnant of its interesting past remaining? Sorry all, just thought I would chuck that in!

Andy
BC23 No.25 Equinox

[Peter Taylor]

I wonder if there is any remnant of its interesting past remaining?

My understanding is that the large buildings which house the Calshot Activities Centre are the old flying boat hangars - although they look rather new for that!
Peter