Round the Island Race - Walking the Course Part 3

Mike Broughton's tactical and navigation advice on the course between St Cat's and Bembridge

Previous articles: Walking the course with Mike Broughton part 1: Cowes to the Needles
Walking the course with Mike Broughton part 2: the Needles to St Catherine's Point

Third quadrant - St Catherine's Point to Bembridge Ledge - 14nms

Cheating the Tide - There is a large tidal stream differential, in terms of strength, between 50m from the shore and a quarter of a mile out and is usually worth the effort of routing as close as possible without hitting the bricks.

Keep a sharp eye out for lobster pots, each year there always seem to be a couple of pots with a long trailing rope, waiting to ensnare the unwary. Lobster pots always give free information of the tidal stream, which varies so much in this area, so take heed.

Monitor the progress of the boats around you and check if you are losing out by going too far out to sea on each tack. Also consider if you're tacking too often? Some boats take a long time to get back up to optimum speed and tacking too often can be a killer.

If there is a lot of traffic in this area keep a sharp eye out and consider leaving the trimmer to leeward, as collisions happen in this area each year. One final point, as you approach the shore, start looking for a clear lane out, to maintain clear air well before you have to tack..

Take an 'OS' map sailing! - Monitoring your progress along the coast, close inshore is not always easy if you don't know the area between St Cat's and Ventnor. One trick is to take an OS Map of the Island (sheet 196), as it shows much more detail of features on the shore, such as trees, valleys and buildings compared to the chart.

Another tip for monitoring progress along this part of the shore is to draw on a lattice overlay onto the chart, marking minutes in longitude. You can then rapidly mark your position onto a folded chart straight from the GPS. You should not need to plot latitude, as you should be able to estimate your distance off the coast. If it helps, mark latitude as well and you can then quickly mark your position on the chart, using 'minutes' only from the GPS (interpolating the decimals) and you don't need any plotting instruments.

Stand by the shrouds - When tacking close to rocks, it is often possible to look down into the water and spot them as you approach. The water around this part of the island is usually quite clear, and rocks can be spotted if the sun is overhead. This technique is not recommended on a cloudy day...

Church Rocks - Watch out for the infamous Church rocks just to the east of Ventnor Pier. There are actually two sets of rocks here. Wheelers Bay rocks just south of the church with a spire at Bonchurch, with the highest being Cat Rock and Church Rocks themselves half a mile east of the pier. A decent clearing bearing is 255 M on the end of Ventnor Pier.

continued on page 2...