Lymington to Buckler’s Hard Cruise Guide
This guide is to provide basic information: it does not replace normal required OOD planning tasks.
Planning
• The cruise requires a high tide at lunchtime to get up and back down the Beaulieu River. By launching from Lymington, there will be favorable tidal flows on both the outbound and return legs.
• The cruise is about 25 miles return. The sailing time will of course depend on wind but a launch time about 3hrs before high water is suggested.
Arrival / rigging / launch
• Entering Lymington, follow signposts for “Riverside Marinas”
• There is a pay and display car park adjacent to Lymington Town Sailing Club (LTSC) (Bath road, SO41 3SE) (‘A’ on map). The cost is £8 per car and £8 per trailer (2017)
• Rig/derig in car park, but take care
• We’ve had permission to put trailers on the grassy area of LTSC in previous years, but this is now strongly prohibited, so please don’t. Ensure they are chained/locked together. We often carefully stack the road trailers on top of each other, chain them together and split the charge.
• Launching is via the nearby slipway. There is a daily launching fee, payable in the adjacent Harbour Office (sometimes there is someone from the office with a ticket machine collecting fees in the car park). Launch fee is payable to the Harbour Master of about £5 (2017)
The cruise
• Stick to the right of the channel on departure from Lymington and be aware of the Isle of Wight Ferry (there are two and one of them is likely to be arriving or departing at any given time) as well as other craft.
• At departure (and return) time (i.e. around 3hrs before/after high water), best to stick to the channel as there are areas of shallow water adjacent to the channel (check the chart).
• It is suggested to rendezvous near the “Jack-in-the-Box” racing platform (at ‘B’, photo below).
• There are no particular features sailing up towards the Beaulieu River entrance. It’s usually possible to see the masts of yachts on, or entering, the river from some distance. Closer, a series of red channel markers will come into view marking the river entrance, the last of which is a tower with a red cross (at ‘C’). It is wise to go around this if you are not sure if the tide is high enough to get over the sandbank they mark. The same applies on the return.
• Another recognizable landmark here is the old coastguard watch house, on the opposite shore at Lepe (at ‘D’). Not large but distinctive, being painted white.
• The sail up the river can be relatively congested with moorings, other vessels and racing.
• We moor up on the river bank at Buckler’s Hard (‘E’), before the dock (right on picture below). We’ve never had any problems, or even been approached, when stopping for an hour or so for lunch. Use common sense and keep out of the fenced-off areas as much as possible.
• On returning, as you approach Lymington, take care not to go too wide and risk having to sail back against the tide (especially if you then have to beat). Suggest stay North of Jack-in the-Box.
After packing the boats up we usually go for a drink at the pub next to the carpark, and discuss the cruise and many other things.