Seafarers to Lepe
Seafarers is the name of a sailing club on the Solent, and strictly speaking we are not visiting the club in any way, we are using the Salterns public carpark to rig and derig, and the public slipway to launch and recover. However, if the members of the club are about they may welcome you to join them in their club when you get back, as they are lovely people.
The location of the club is http://www.seafarers-sailing-club.org.uk/Where.php
(1) We park in the car park and rig, then sail when the sailing club is not launching for a race or recovering. Typically we sail from here when the tide is high at lunchtime, and the sea is a very long way away when the tide is low.
(2) If sailing in a fleet, muster at the edge of the shipping lane. Make sure that there are no ships in the area. There is a mandatory 1000m rolling clear zone in front of any large ship in the Solent. When you know it is safe, cross as a fleet.
(3) There is a large yellow buoy at Lepe, and since there is a long spit at Lepe it’s worth obeying, then turn for the shore.
Lepe
Lepe is visible from the launch site, and it’s a straight 6 mile sail. Navigation is easy and the hazard is large ships, since the cruise crosses the main Southampton Water navigation channel.
(4) Lepe has a very shallow shelving beach, so keeping the vessels afloat requires vigilance or the carrying of vessels a significant distance. A superb cafe, and toilets complete the lunchtime scene (cheesy chips, full english breakfast etc…)
Lepe to Seafarers
(5) If high tide is a lunchtime, then you’ll be leaving Lepe at mid-Spring ebb, and the tide will be strongly against you, so you need enough wind to overcome the ebb. A long spit sticks out of the shore, and the tide rips past it, so sail in as shallow water as you can to sneak over it and into slower-flowing waters. Stick close to the shore until halfway to Calshot, then turn for Seafarers SC and the tide will be mostly with you all for the rest of the way.
(6) Take the same precautions when returning over the main shipping lane.
(7) At low Spring tide there is a hazard to dinghies directly in line with the public concrete slipway, some thigh high concrete blocks are scattered on the beach at low tide, so go 50m to the east when landing at low tide. It is a very long way to get the boats to the carpark, so take your time, and have enough people about in the fleet to help. As long as there are enough people in the cruise to pull the boats across the beach it’s all manageable.
Reasons for sailing from Seafarers to Lepe
The good news is that the destination is visible from the launching point, although it is 6 miles away across the mouth of Southampton Water. You have the tide with you on the way there, and with a SW wind it’s often a beat with the tide to get there. The Solent is an excellent place to watch big shipping, and a big ship completing the 120 degree turn off Cowes is an impressive sight.
Lepe is a lovely destination, and worth a visit, and most visitors drive there so arriving by boat is a novelty. There’s usually a lot to watch in the Solent from Lepe.
The almost level beach is a hazard to first time visitors who choose to beach their boats – if you arrive and pull up on very seductive-looking shingle beach by the car park, within the hour you may be 300m from water deep enough to sail in, so take an anchor, put your boat in crotch-deep water, wade ashore and keep a good watch on the tide level where you have anchored, and keep your boat afloat.
When you want to begin your return journey it’s likely that the tide will be pouring out of the Solent against you, so only go on this daysail if there is going to be enough wind to get back – and sail in the shallows to keep out of the deeper, faster moving waters. Sneaking up the shallows before and after the shingle bar is a joy, and the long, likely broad reach home can be exciting.
The logistical challenge is that when you arrive at Seafarers, the tide will be out and the recovery of a boat at low tide is a really long way, so go as a group and have everyone help recover the boats.