Lyme Regis

Jim Saltonstall looks at Lyme Regis

A superb venue to host a championship. Lyme Regis is a small seaside resort steeped in character and history. It has a small harbour, offering shelter for both yachts and fishing boats. The harbour itself dries out at low water, but it’s shallow and shelving, offering hard standing that is ideal for launching and recovering boats. The sailing takes place right next to the harbour and in relatively deep water. There is plenty of accommodation, restaurants and campsite facilities, all close by. The sailing club, parked on the outer harbour wall, has always been very helpful and enthusiastic.

Race Area

This is normally located due south of the club, positioned as required for the wind direction. The coastline at Lyme Regis runs on a bearing from approximately 050 degrees to 250 degrees. The town is right in the middle of Lyme Bay, with Portland Bill at the eastern end, and Torbay at the western end - some 50 miles apart.

Wind Direction

250-050 degrees (through north): This sector is land locked, and the land mass is quite high - the rolling hills of Dorset.

330-030 degrees (through north): The wind is very shifty in this direction. In the starting area the breeze can shift twenty degrees every one to two minutes - assuming that you are two to three miles downwind of the land. As you approach the windward mark, the wind can shift every few seconds over a fifty degree arc. Understandably, this is not a perfect wind direction for racing at Lyme Regis. Use the shifts up the middle of the course - eyes out of the boat looking for shifts and gusts. Know your numbers on the compass - highs and lows on both tacks, so you can determine which tack to be on as you come off the starting line and as you round the leeward mark. Finally, if the windward mark is within half a mile of the land, look for more lifts on port tack at the top of the beat. The wind will generally want to go right as it blows off the land and onto water.

030-090 degrees: With the wind blowing from any angle in this sector, it pays to go left up the beat. There will be more pressure on the port side of the course due to the wind convergence area. You may also get headed as you sail towards the shore on starboard tack. Then you can pick up lifts on port tack as you get closer to the windward mark.

090-230 degrees: A clear wind sector with nothing disturbing its direction or velocity. Getting a good start is important. There will be no shifts helping you climb back if you make a bad start. The other significant factor is that this angle produces the roughest sea state - big waves to surf on! The waves are best when the wind is in the southwest - this direction gives you sheltered access in and out of the harbour.

230-270 degrees: With the wind in the south-west/west it pays to work the beat left-of-middle, so as to stay away from the wind divergence area along the shoreline where there will be less wind.

270-330 degrees: A shifty sector with the wind blowing over and dropping off relatively high ground. It normally pays to work the shifts left of middle up the beat, staying away from the starboard side shoreline where there is less velocity.

Sea Breeze

The chances of a sea breeze in Lyme Bay increase when there is little or no gradient wind predicted, and clear blue sky with a light north-westerly wind in the early morning. As cumulus clouds develop over the land in the late morning, the sea breeze circulation commences. The wind normally fills in from approximately 170 degrees, backs slightly as it increases, then veers with the sun as the day gets older. It ends up in the southwest in the evening at approximately 240 degrees.

Tide

The tide is not too strong in the bay close to the land. Check the chart for the metre depth lines. Obviously the tide will be stronger in the deeper water and during the spring tide period. The flood tide flows from west to east and vice versa for the ebb, with a short time phase for slack water. Have a chat with the local fishermen.

Other Information Sources

Admiralty Charts

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Admiralty Small Craft Charts

SC3315

Tidal Information

Yachtsman’s Tidal Atlas: Western Approaches and Channel West, published by Reeve-Fowkes
Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas Number 250 (English Channel, no detail of Lyme Bay)

Tourist Office

Lyme Regis, phone: 01297 442138