It’s a 20 mile daysail from SSC to Cowes and back, and is good for a low lunchtime neap tide.
For an 8am high tide, leave SSC at 10am, and because we have the ebb tide under us we are able to maintain 5 knots. Until we get to just off Cowes, the tide is with us.

Plan to be over the Bramble bank about noon to 13:00, and the ebb is beginning to slow. By 13:00, the tide is flooding up the sides of the channel and it’s mostly slack when we are on shore at Gurnard, by the Cafe and Public Toilets.
We have the tide with us for the return journey. If we leave at 2pm we should comfortably be ashore by 5pm, which is 3 hours before the next high.

What’s to see and do

Southampton Water is wide and interesting. You pass Weston, Netley Cliff and Netley Sailing Clubs, the oil refinery and moored ships and Calshot to then be presented with the large estuary area of the Solent, with views to both the East and West. There’s always a lot going on, including the movements of huge ships, ferries, fastjets, yacht races, dinghy races and more. Threading your way through this to visit the Isle of Wight is quite an adventure and you need to keep a very good lookout.

Calshot as a destination

If you are looking for a 10 mile round trip, a visit to Calshot is also a good location to aim for. In the very big building there is a cafe and toilets.

Gurnard as a desitnation

Gurnard is a quieter destination than attempting to get into Cowes (recommended only with an outboard or oars on a busy day. It is possible to sail up to Newport, but the winds inside Cowes are fluky and if it’s busy you need control of your vessel which the fluky winds may not facilitate.

Gurnard has a cafe and public toilet, which can be easily identified on approach. It’s a steeply shelving beach with a mixture of sand and large pebbles. FRP hulls should not be beached. Near to low tide there is a cross current but it’s not much.

Southampton Water

• Southampton water stretches for 6 miles and is well protected in all but strong S/E winds
• All craft should heed the priority given to commercial traffic
• There is an area of concern between the entrance of Southampton Water and Cowes. Any vessel over 150m must be given a moving prohibited zone of 1000m ahead and 100m either side
• The turning point around West Bramble and Calshot Spit is particularly restricted
• Double HW occurs at Springs about 2 hrs apart, while at Neaps there is a long stand.
• MHWS: 4.5m; MHWN:3.7m; MLWN: 1.8m; MLWS: 0.5m

Shipping Lanes

We will be crossing the main shipping lanes, and as has been recently demonstrated and reported in the news, it’s very much best to not be run down by a big ship. We will have rendezvous points before we cross each shipping lane and we will cross at 90 degrees as a fleet when we can see that it is clear to do so. 

We cross three times, once between the Bramble Bank and cross at the entrance to Cowes, once the less used Western Passage from Gurnerd to North of Lepe, and then finally back to the North side of Southampton Water at Calshot. All crossing locations have good visibility.

1. Leave SSC about 2 hours after high water.
2. Stick to the north side of the channel and do not sail in the main shipping lanes. This is simply a precaution – if something were to go wrong; capsize, MOB, sudden drop in wind strength, you can have your difficulty without the added pressure of an oncoming ferry, fastcat or huge ship.
3. At the turn at Calshot, make your turn wide and stay out of the shipping lane.
4. Visit Bramblemet and behold the industrial architecture. Then keep a very good lookout for ferries, fastjets and shipping as you cross both the shipping lane and the entrance to Cowes to land on Gurnard by the Cafe and public loos.
5. Enjoy lunch until the tide turns.
6. You are crossing a shipping lane from the North Cardinal at Gurnard to the prominent port hand mark to your North-West. This is a less well used route to and from Southampton Port but it is used so do not assume where a ship may be going. You are also crossing the turning area for ships using the Eastern Solent so only leave the shore if no large ships are about.
7. Keep out of the shipping lane, but stay close to the port hand marks near Calshot as there are extensive shallow waters off Calshot Spit.
8. Keep a lookout again, you are crossing the main shipping lane and have good visibility as you are crossing it at the corner. If clear, pass directly across at 90 degrees to the lane.
9. Stay north of the Starboard Hand marks and out of the shipping lane back to SSC.