Solent East

Jim Saltonstall looks at a complex race venue

The eastern Solent is yet another popular part of the south coast for hosting both national and international sailing events. The clubs in the area include: Lee-on-Solent SC, Stokes Bay SC, Portsmouth SC and Seaview SC on the Isle of Wight. The access to all the mainland clubs is relatively easy, as they are all found just off the M27. Both accommodation and restaurants in the area are in abundance, as are camping and caravan facilities. This is a very popular spot, especially during the summer months and school holidays. So once again, book in good time to avoid disappointment.

Race Area

North

Both Lee-on-Solent and Stokes Bay SC run racing along the mainland shore of the Eastern Solent, but it’s also a popular place for other clubs to run racing from, to or through.

Wind Direction

340-070 degrees: The north-north-east sector is the shifty sector for this race area. Although the wind is blowing over relatively low land, the shifts are still quite significant. As with any offshore wind, the shifts will be more frequent and over a wider arc the closer you get to the shore. There are possible lifts on port tack near the apex of the beat, if the mark is within half a mile of the shoreline. Remember the wind shifts to the right as it leaves land and comes on to the surface of the sea. When the wind is coming from this sector, the advice is to get out to the race track in good time to identify the wind shift pattern - a great card to have up the sleeve of your drysuit, especially for the first beat. And don’t forget the basic theory in these conditions - work the shifts more up the middle and don't get to the laylines too early. Also watch out for the tidal wind shift as you sail in towards the shore.

070-150 degrees: The breeze is now blowing at an angle off, or parallel to, the shoreline. So it will pay to go left up the beat, due to the convergence band of wind along the mainland shore. There is also the possible header as you go in on starboard tack, with lifts along the shoreline on port tack. The only thing stopping you going left up the beat is the tide, which we will look at later.

160-230 degrees: With the wind in this sector it is coming over the Isle of Wight to the south. How shifty the wind is will depend on how much the island has mixed it up as it blew over the top. A rough rule is that the stronger the wind and the hotter the day, the less shifty it will be. It’s another day for getting out there early to determine the shift pattern. The chances are that you will be sailing across the tide - as for the northerly wind direction - so watch out for the tidal wind shift.

230-270 degrees: With the wind from anywhere in this sector the race area will be affected to some extent by the wind blowing down the western Solent. These affects will be more noticeable the further west you go in the race area. When the breeze is blowing up the western Solent the island shore has the convergent wind zone, and this band of stronger breeze will continue as it rolls into the eastern Solent. Try to find and stay in this band of strong breeze as you tack upwind or run downwind. There may well be lighter breeze to either side of it. To the west it is created by the divergent wind band on the mainland shore of the western Solent, and to the east it can be created by the wind shadow of the island.

270-320 degrees: With the wind in this sector, the most important influence is the mix of land and water to windward. The western shore of Southampton Water will be creating a zone of stronger convergent breeze that will blow downwind into the eastern Solent. While the land south of that shore, from Calshot down towards Stansore Point, will be creating an area of shifty lighter wind that you want to stay out of. But both of these effects will recede as you go east down the Solent.

320-340 degrees: Once the wind is round this far towards the north, the primary influence will be the fact that the eastern shore of Southampton Water and the north shore of the Solent are both divergent wind shorelines, creating zones of light air near them. For the best breeze you will want to look offshore.

South

The island shore of the eastern Solent is the home race track for the Seaview Yacht Club, situated just to the east of Ryde. They race to the north-east of the club, and south of the main shipping channel. This area is perfect for small keelboats as it shelves quite slowly. For that same reason, the whole of the island shore in the eastern Solent is another area that racers may find themselves in, when sailing from other clubs or during Cowes Week.

Wind Direction

0-70 degrees: This is a relatively clear wind sector for this part of the Solent. Blowing from the flat mainland some distance to the north, you ought to get a reasonably steady breeze from this sector. But this breeze will also create the roughest sea state, with a lot of backwash off the land, and the quickly shallowing ledge jutting out from the island. So set-up the sails for fullness and twist to power through the waves, and focus on sailing fast rather than pointing. Because you are sailing from shallow water into deep water, the tidal wind shift will be an important part of your strategy.

70-140 degrees: Another relatively clear wind sector for this race area, with the breeze blowing more or less straight up the Solent. But there is almost always likely to be better wind further offshore from the island, with the wind anywhere in this sector. That’s because with the wind at 70 degrees, the mainland shore is a convergent wind shoreline - so more breeze to the north. While with the wind at 140 degrees the island is a divergent wind shore-line - so again more breeze to the north. And at any angle with the wind blowing onto the island shore, it’s likely to be pushing the breeze up to create a wind shadow - still indicating more breeze to the north.

140 degrees: With the island now very definitely a divergent wind shore-line, it’s clear that there will be less wind within half a mile of the beach. So for breeze, head left upwind. Unfortunately, if the tide is ebbing against you, the left will be the worse place for tide - a classic Solent tide versus wind dilemma. There is no good rule for this situation, the only way to be sure is to test the beat with another boat prior to the start. But if you have to make an off-the-cuff decision, remember that the tidal effect is always there, while the wind effects are less reliable. If, however, the tide is running with you upwind, you can expect boat speed to be king on a one way race track.

140-180 degrees: With the wind blowing offshore you can expect it to be shifty. As with any offshore wind, the shifts are over a narrower arc and less frequent in the starting area, more frequent and over a wider arc at the top mark. It’s also important to remember that all the upwind legs with the wind in this sector will be going from strong tide into weak tide, and the tidal wind shift should not be forgotten.

180-240 degrees: Once again the wind is offshore and the shifts will dominate. From this sector the wind likes to line up with the valleys running down to the Solent from inland. That means we start to see good port tack lift puffs along the shore. But beware, as the land that backs this part of the Solent (particularly towards the western end of the race area) is quite high, and the breeze can be soft inshore.

240-270 degrees: The eastern part of the race course sees the island shore becoming a convergent shoreline, and you can expect more breeze here. This is not true of the more north-to-south facing shoreline to the west of the race area, where the breeze direction is more controlled by the puffs and shifts coming down from the valleys and over the headlands. There are always good port tack lift puffs up this shore. But it’s a difficult transition to manage between these two zones if you are sailing the full length of the race area. A particular danger is if your windward mark is west of Old Castle Point, (the headland east of the Medina River and Cowes). In this case you must be careful not to get sucked right up into Osborne Bay. This is a notorious spot, and the big port tack lifts that role off this shore-line can suck you into one of the most airless black holes on the Solent.

270-360 degrees: The whole of the island shore-line has now become a convergent wind shore, and should have better breeze than offshore. It is also possible for the band of strong wind blowing out of Southampton Water to carry all the way down the eastern Solent, and the combination of both effects usually means good breeze across the whole race course. The exception is just to the east of Old Castle Point in a proper westerly, when the breeze is light and shifty under the land.

Portsmouth

Portsmouth Sailing Club runs racing just outside the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, and it’s another good south coast race venue. The club is based as the eastern entrance to the harbour. The race course is usually in the area east of Gilkicker Point and west of Spit Sand Fort, all to the west of the main shipping channel. There is a ferry channel which runs north-east to south-west along the Haslar sea wall, joining the main shipping channel into the harbour by Southsea fun fair. The race area is always to the south-east of the channel, keeping you away from the traffic.

Wind Direction

320-040 degrees: With the wind coming straight off Portsmouth, as you would expect, the wind is quite shifty. But the influence of the Haslar sea wall on the top left hand side of the course means that it normally pays to go left of middle. This is because there is usually a starboard tack header going into the wall, and then a port tack lift up to the windward mark. The land mass to the north on the right hand side of the course is much higher, and the wind is much more confused. Generally, use the shifts up the beat working left of middle.

040-090 degrees: When the wind is north-east to east, there tends to be a convergence of breeze on the port side of the race area. There is also the possibility of a header on starboard tack, going in towards the shore, and lifts on port tack near the port lay-line.

090-120 degrees: Left normally pays for the wind, with more pressure on the left.

120-230 degrees: This is the clear wind sector, but with the roughest sea state. The race area is a bottleneck, the sea becoming very confused as it bounces off both Haslar wall and the Southsea shore. The wind tends to be quite stable in both strength and velocity from this sector, with the Isle of Wight well in the distance. Tide plays an important part in your race strategy now, which we will look at later.

230-320 degrees: The left-of-middle pays for the wind, as there is less under the Haslar wall.

Sea Breeze

The eastern Solent is an area which can struggle to get the sea breeze, as it tries to fill in from the south-east and/or the south-west. The right conditions for a good sea breeze are a light north-westerly gradient wind in the early morning, a clear blue sky and a hot sunny day. Towering cumulus clouds by mid or late morning are a good sign, after which the south-west sea breeze should start coming up the Solent. It often rolls in a line from the south-west and it can blow hard at 20 knots. But if the gradient wind is anywhere in the eastern sector, then we normally get the south-east sea breeze coming up the eastern Solent. This is never as strong as the south-westerly sea breeze, as it is local to the eastern Solent - maybe 8-10 knots maximum. As the day gets older, the south-east sea breeze will normally veer with the sun, and collapse by about 1800. The south-west sea breeze also tends to veer slightly later in the afternoon (more in the eastern Solent than the western Solent) but as it is normally stronger, it lasts later into the evening before dying.

Tide

The critical factor in the Solent, there is always a fair amount of water sloshing around, even during neap tides. As with all our other Solent guides, we can’t recommend strongly enough that you buy the tidal information listed below if you are going to race here. The basic situation is that for the Lee-on-Solent and Stokes Bay race courses, the flood tide runs parallel with the shoreline to the east-south-east, stronger offshore, with the ebb running west-north-west. The change round is fairly quick, about two and a half hours before high water Portsmouth.

Racing on the island side, the flood tide runs east-south-east along the island shore, and west-north-west on the ebb. It runs more strongly in the channel and changes inshore first. Always look at any boats on moorings, or the flow round buoys in the water for indications of the tidal direction and strength.

When you’re racing off Portsmouth, the tide is mainly governed by the narrow harbour entrance - plenty of water goes in and out of a big harbour. The flood tide is to the north-east along Haslar wall and north-west up the main shipping channel into the harbour - vice-versa on the ebb. Particularly if the tide is against you, stay away from the main shipping channel and deep water to the south of the race area.

Other Sources of Information

Admiralty Charts

394 (good detailed chart of the eastern Solent)

Admiralty Small Craft Charts

SC 0394 Solent Eastern Part

Tidal Information

Solent Tides, by Peter Bruce and published by Boldre Marine
Solent Hazards, by Peter Bruce and published by Boldre Marine
Solent Tide Disc, published by Roberts
Roberts Bramble Tide Slide, published by Roberts
Solent and Isle of Wight Tidal Streams, published by Check Charts
Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas NP337 The Solent and Adjacent Waters

Tourist Office

Portsmouth, phone: 023 9282 6722