Into the Solent at last

After a convivial evening in the pub with Susan J’s owners, followed by a drink on Robinetta I was not sure I would be up for leaving at 07:00 in the morning. However I actually woke at 6, before the alarm sounded, and we were off the pontoon in good time.

Castle on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour

The weather promised fair, with bright sun and a gentle breeze. It was only an hour after low water, but the tide was already flooding into Poole harbour and we had a knot of tide against us as we entered the main channel. Luckily it was much slacker as we turned towards the North Channel. Julian got the main sail up on the run, but the wind was so light it was not a problem.


By the time we reached the curve of the North Channel where it rejoined the main one we were hard on the wind, and making 4 knots. Unfortunately I could see the water flooding in through the narrows, and doubted we would make much progress once we joined it. Julian kept trimming the sails for the wind, and with the engine on full revs we crept towards the narrows at under a knot. The chain ferry set of across the narrows and we sped up a little as it provided some shelter from the tide. Once it docked we slowed right down.

At times the chart plotter showed zero progress, but we were just about making against the tide.

We had nearly reached the line of the chain ferry when it set off again, and we had no choice but to turn away, letting the tide sweep us back towards Poole. I did as tight a circle as I could, and aimed Robinetta at the ferry’s stern. The chain stretched tight, but we were going so slowly, at ½ knot I knew it would be below Robinetta’s keel by the time we reached it.

Once clear of the ferry the tide slackened slightly and we made 2 knots. I wondered about using the Looe channel, but Julian had not plotted it, so it felt safer to continue out along the main one where we knew there would be enough depth. Once clear of the confining sand bank we turned due east and headed straight for the Hurst Channel into the Solent. We had to be through it before 13:00, and really 12:00 would be better as the tide would still be with us.

The wind was behind us, and it was difficult to keep the foresails drawing, but we now had the tide with us, and made a steady four knots under main sail alone. Calm sea, blue sky, and a steady force 3 westerly made for nearly perfect conditions. (Of course a broad reach would have been better than a run ….)
We got to the Hurst Narrows with three knots of tide under us, and were swept though some rather uncomfortable overfalls. Too bumpy for me, and I wanted the engine on to get through them faster, so we shot though at 7 knots.

Bumpy seas off Hurst Castle (taken from the shore later)

We were moored up in Yarmouth by 12:30, after a very pleasant sail from Poole. Not every journey is a tale of danger and near misses!

We went for a walk in the afternoon, and when we got back to the pontoon Robinetta and Worm had gone, to be replaced by children trying to catch crabs. We could see Robinetta on a pontoon in a different arm of the marina, but having made our way across a crowded pontoon to our berth we now had to go back through the crush to get onto a different pontoon. It also had a different gate code to the one we had been given before. Worm was jambed under the bow, her gunwales rubbing Robinetta’s paint work, the main sheet had been used as a mooring line... The berthing master did come and apologise for having put Robinetta on the wrong berth initially, but it did spoil our impression of Yarmouth.