Tuesday 4th June Hamble – Studland Bay
Start 0800 – Finish 1500. Distance 39miles
Having looked at the weather which had increasing winds from around 1100 we decided to leave early from the Hamble and push against the last of the flood tide down the Solent. A wonderful start to the trip. Light winds, blue skies, empty Solent. That was until we got down to Lymington and the wind then picked up from the SW – 18s which was fine but once we went passed Hurst Castle through the North Channel the chop and wind picked up to 22/25kts. It was uncomfortable. We tacked our way across most of Christchurch bay but gave up around 7 miles out from Studland and motor sailed the remainder. To be fair the winds were as forecast. Dex and Julie overnighted in Lymington and planned to cross to the Channel Islands tomorrow with an early start through the Needles (0230) – there are limits to what Gillian is prepared to do!
Picked up one of the eco- buoys in Studland. Nice pick up line, clean and the buoy comes with a little guide on how to pay for a stay – £10. Inevitably this comes with the need to download another app onto the mobile phone! But it helps environment! The bay was surprisingly full for mid-week – probably around 15 boat on buoys and one at anchor on the edge of the no-anchor zone. Wind still blowing and boat swinging – but did not prevent an late afternoon nap!
Looking at tomorrow for the crossing to Braye. Dover LW 1810 – Dover HW 1050. We will be arriving at Dover+5 – around 1600. This means a departure time tomorrow of 0500 assuming an 11 hour crossing – 55nm. Tide will be turning South to North.
We then looked at Reeve-Folkes to get an idea of the net cross tide crossing from Studland to Bray. After measuring out the tide for each hour a couple of times – we will have a net tidal flow West of 5kts. Recalling how to do the vector diagram this gives us a course to steer of 187deg true. Wind is from NW – depending on how much west is in the North we might have to adjust for leeway as we go along. 0500-1000 East flowing and 1000-1500 West flowing.
Purrfect Tale 