Round the Island - Pace Notes part 1

Expert Solent navigator Pete Selby (aka 'The GPS') takes you from Cowes to St Catherines

In the first of a two part guide, Pete Selby provides expert help for those competing in this years Round the Island Race on Saturday, 26 June. In this first part Pete takes us from the start line at Cowes, round the Needles and to St Catherines Point. Part two of this guide will be published next week on TheDailySail.com

As always, the responsibility of navigating your boat remains with the crew on-board. These notes are a guide only and should be treated as such.

The Round the Island race, a big start line and four marks, how hard can it be? The question perhaps should be how hard do you want to make it! There are big gains to be made by the use of navigation and exploiting areas that your opponents ignore. There are of course, like most things in life, big risks attached to the big gains.

Basic Planning
In planning for the RTI one of the first questions should be, what are our aims? And what are we prepared to do to achieve them? If all you want is to take part and enjoy the day, then planning can be fairly general. If however you want to win, then a little more detail will be required.

A few basic items are required for planning, and top of my list are ‘Solent Hazards’ and ‘Wight Hazards’ by Peter Bruce. These books give detailed descriptions and warnings of the many obstacles, which will be encountered by most competitors for the first and only time of the year.

A Tidal atlas that covers the Solent and the back of the Island is essential. Once again I rely on Peter Bruce and his ‘Solent Tides’ backed up with the Admiralty Tidal atlas for The Solent and Adjacent waters (NP337).

A GPS will always be handy & a chart plotter (that you trust) can make the workload a lot easier. You also need to have faith in your echo sounder and know how it has been calibrated – depth to waterline, depth to bottom of keel, or something more dubious. Lastly but by no means least are decent charts that cover the whole area. The scale of the charts should be the smallest you can get (especially for the first corner).

Crew Dynamics
If you decide to push hard and make the most of opportunities, one important aspect of crew work is to decide (beforehand) who has control in tight situations. Normally the tactician will call for a change in direction, but if you are close to rocks or shallows, then the navigator must know that they have the final word. This can lead to some grey areas of command and responsibility, and everyone must be happy with where they sit.

Some decisions are gambles and need everyone to buy in to the risk; some decisions are not up for discussion and must be acted on at once.

I know that if I call for a tack, gybe, luff or bare away at any time that it will happen immediately with no questions asked. The questions will be asked later!

So now that you have made your game plan, where can you gain? Where do you have to be on top of your game? And where can you enjoy the great view (a bit)?

The Details
The race breaks up conveniently into four basic parts:
- Start to the Needles
- Needles to St Catherine’s Point
- St Cats to Bembridge
- Bembridge to the finish.

Start to the Needles

HW Portsmouth is 0541 BST
Tide height is 3.90 m a day after neaps
The first start is at 0600 and the last 0730

This is possibly the most important part of the race and full concentration is required for this leg. A good start with clean air can save minutes on your corrected time. If you can break out while your opposition wallow in the pack the savings can be huge.

All starts are after high water this year, so the tide will be west going for everyone. The slightly later start means that the traditional dash to the Green for the earlier starters may not be so important. This is a long race, and getting a quick gain (with an associated high risk early on in the race) may not be the best strategy. Look down the course and at the boats starting with you, plan for the leg not just the first few minutes.

Whilst there are eddies on both shores early on, generally the better tide is in the deeper water. If you have a GPS watch you SOG to see if and when you are running out of the current.


The places for potential gains are, Gurnard Ledge, Salt Mead & Hamstead Ledge. The tide tends to rip around the edge of these rocky outcrops and you can pick up and extra 0.3 Kts on a good day. Because the tide is still high there is little risk of trouble here, especially as the gain is at the end of, not on or over the ledges.

The best current swings in towards Yarmouth but stay out of the moorings and make sure to miss Black Rock. Sconce is the target as we get to the end of the western Solent. Once again the tide rips around the end of this bay and there are gains to be had. However, there is no need to push hard as again there is no extra gain in going too far.

Out through Hurst and onto the Needles, the best current is down the Southern edge of the Shingles. The best route is from Sconce to NE Shingles and then down the bank. Big gains to be made here but big risks. This is one of those times when you must be sure of where you are and where you are going. The current will try to push you over the bank, two problems there, less current and a lot less water!

The edge of the bank is fairly steep and you can get in very close. So close that you can hear the shingle moving under you keel but by then your echo sounder has probably given up in the turbulent water and you have no idea how safe you are.

Next up is the first bend. Like Formula 1 there are often a few spills and thrills at this point and likewise gains and losses to be made. For most boats the tide will still be going westerly at this stage, but for the later boats it will be slacker and by about 1000 will be beginning to turn to the east.

There are three ways around the Needles, the good, the bad and the ugly. The size of your boat will limit your options. Tactically the sooner you turn, the bigger the gain (and the risk). The largest boat I have taken inside the Varvassi wreck (the good) was Bounder an IC45 which draws 3m. A gentle stop at the bottom of a swell (very light winds) suggests I got the depth about right. Team Tonic at 3.5m is a ‘buffalo girl’ so gets to go with the bad (around the outside).

At 0800 there will be about 1.50m above chart datum at the Needles, falling to about 1.00m by 1000. These are predictions and may vary with conditions. Remember to take sea state into account when deciding your route; a 1m swell will make a big difference.

Last year we went outside (my first time) and I found it much more strenuous. The inside route is well documented in books and articles and in the smallest boats the only restriction is not scratching the paintwork on the lighthouse. The outside route however is a bit vaguer. Sure there are sightings and bearings that guarantee a safe passage but hey, we’re racing! The pressure to make the turn as early as possible comes from all sides, the smaller boats have turned inside and make an immediate gain, others watch the bigger, faster boats waiting for them to turn and use them as their own guide.

The big danger of relying on others is that, if they miss the rocks and the wreck, will you! Be sure you know where it is or it may get ugly.

Heading SE away from the Needles the tidal gain for the early boats is to the shore. There are numerous rocks and outcrops to avoid but all being equal (as if) the inshore boats will make gains. The later starters and slower boats may find the tide already heading SE and helping whisk them along to the next mark!

Needles to St Catherine’s Point

This is an easier leg as the fleet is now spreading out and the direct course is well away from danger until the end. If conditions are rough I would give this entire shore a wide berth.

If you cannot lay St Cats in one or in light winds then gains are to be made by heading in to Freshwater Bay. This is particularly true for the slower boats although later boats may already have favourable tide at this point. There are numerous rocks until in the bay proper, but once in, the echo sounder can be relied on to give enough warning of danger. Just past Freshwater is Compton Bay and at the end are Brook Ledges.

Like most of the hazards around the Island, these are hard rock and very unforgiving. These obstacles are easily missed but if pushed hard can give some extra gain. The important thing to remember as you push into the shore is how you will get out again. There is no point pushing too far in, only to find you have to backtrack to get out.

Always remember to think ahead to the next manoeuvre.

Moving down the coat you come to Atherfield Ledges. The strategy here is the same as for Brook Ledges. Even if you are following the rhumb line from the Needles to St Cats I suspect that Atherfield Ledges will be an issue. The shallower water extends out quite a way and in a bigger sea it can be surprisingly choppy here.

Having relaxed a bit on this leg, at this point it is now time to pay full attention again, as on the approach to St Cats you can make a big gain.

Being close in to Chale Bay hides you from the worst of the foul tide around the point until the last minute. At certain states of the tide there is even a back eddy that will take you around the point. A quick look at the chart will show you the problem of this inside route - shallow water and a few rocks to bounce off.



The final approach to St Cats depends very much on the prevailing conditions. In light winds the inside route can pay huge dividends. There are always lots of pots around this area, and they can really help you to see the back eddy if it is running. Try to stay close to the shore for as long as possible, but keep your eyes open.

If it is windier this place can really cut up rough. If that is the case then close to the shore is not a good spot, a few hundred meters clearance is a big help. If you need to tack or gybe, pick your spot, rough water and a lee shore could make things more tense than usual.

For the slower boats the tide will begin to turn to the East around 1100. If you have fair tide at this point then stay 300 to 500 m off the point for best tide with the shortest route.

This is traditionally the half way point of the race, but there are still many hazards to avoid and opportunities to exploit which I will be detailing in Part Two next week.