Isle of Wight Circumnavigation

Saturday 23/05/09

With promising weather and some good planning done by Griff, the prospect of finally achieving our goal of circumnavigating the Isle of Wight seemed a real possibility. We were joined by Darren, a self confessed relative novice but at least he was fit and had recent BCU training at a well known centre in Wales.

We met at Lee on Solent at 0815 hours to load up and ready ourselves for the trip. By 0850 we were on the water and paddling south toward East Cowes. The calm sea swiftly became a lumpy mess, however we battled through it with visibly clear water ahead and came into the shallows at Norris Point. We turned westwards, clearing Cowes and rounding Egypt Point stopping briefly at Gurnard Point for a bacon baguette. The westward journey continued with the tide, briskly taking us to Newtown River where we stopped so I could stretch my legs. Yarmouth came up quickly and the over falls at Black Rock had us striving to get closer inshore to avoid the worst of it. We passed a group of eight of paddlers resting on the Yarmouth beach and we ourselves stopped briefly just past Fort Victoria for another leg stretch. The other paddlers then passed us heading west.

We pressed on out of the Solent crossing Totland Bay catching the paddlers up as we arrived at Alum Bay, which was just as glass like as the last time had visited. I felt tired after a hard week and snoozed on the beach, though I am told I was only asleep for five minutes. It was enough to revitalise me. Our tidal streams atlas indicated it was slack water and indeed, the other paddlers headed east again as we paddled along the north side of The Needles, hugging them to admire them up close. We rounded the lighthouse and paddled east again along the other side. The south side of the island looked just as tranquil as Alum Bay and with even better weather forecast for the following day, the decision to continue was made. We bypassed Freshwater Bay staying off-shore heading direct to Brightstone. This crossing took two hours or so of steady paddling. As we arrived on a shingle beach we found ourselves a raised shingle platform above the high tide mark and pitched up for the night. After a BBQ dinner, we retired for the night having paddled 25 nautical miles. I didn't sleep well, seeming to wake every five minutes.

Sunday 24/05/09

We were awake early to make use of the east going tide. We set off after a cup of tea and paddled six miles landing on a beautiful shingle beach just west of St Catherine's Point. We breakfasted, allowing a little time for the tide race to diminish. We climbed the steep steps on the cliff side to gain a view eastwards. The day was hotting up and the sea remained glassy. Following the cliff edge around the point looking down on the submerged rocks, we found that the tide had turned earlier than the tidal streams atlas indicated. Punching a knot of tide, it took over an hour to reach Ventnor. Along the way, Griff spotted our first seal. Except this one had a snorkel and two flippers. He was along way from any landing point having been carried by the tide.

At Ventnor, we rested up for a good while and had our lunch. We met a couple who were paddling the "Big 5". I am afraid our effort was rather meagre compared to theirs - they had already completed their cross channel trip and Lands End to the Isles Of Scily paddle and only had the Canada to Alaska trip left to do. Ventnor Harbour was a disappointment. About one third the size of Ryde, a few visiting yachts could be accommodated on trot moorings if it were not for the plethora of local fishing boats 'blockading' the harbour. A wasted development opportunity if ever I saw one.

Mid afternoon, we continued eastwards and now the sea had become mirror like. An hour of paddling against the last of a foul tide brought us to Shanklin where we landed for a short rest on the sandy beach. We opted for a direct route across Sandown Bay to eastern end of Culver Cliff. By now, the tide was firmly behind us and carried us into Whitecliff Bay where we stopped for a beer and a rest. Muffin III lay quietly to her anchor in the middle of the bay and I stopped for a brief chat. Twenty minutes later, we set off on our final leg of the day, rounding Bembridge Ledge close to the rocks looking down on a forest of kelp. The Bembridge lifeboat station was under renovation with the boat shed removed and a large work platform alongside on stilts. We heard a call to the Coast Guard on the VHF. A woman had been stung by a weaver fish in Priory bay and the caller wanted assistance - the result was the Sandown ILB being dispatched! The crew came past us at forty or so knots, picked her up and ferried her two hundred yards to a waiting ambulance....
With enough water now, we paddled across the sands inshore of St Helens Fort and across the Bembridge Harbour channel. Skimming through a foot of water, we landed in Priory Bay at 8pm where we would spend our last night under canvas. The beach was still busy with a young family belting out campfire songs until late and a water skier who carried on in to the darkness until 10pm. We were in our sleeping bags shortly after though having paddled another 22 nm in about ten hours. At this point I discovered why I had slept so badly the previous night - Griff gave me a jab every time I snored!

Monday 25/05/09

An even earlier start this morning as the inshore waters forecast indicated a change in the weather around midday. After a long drag across the sands, we paddled through shallow water past Seaview and around Ryde Sands. Behind us a large grey cloud loomed threatening rain. With only 8nm left to cover, we set of aiming to close land at Browndown Point. This crossing usually takes 40 minutes, but half way across a wicked wind and sea sprang up and forced us to detour to Gilkicker Point for shelter. We found ourselves between two WightLink car ferries just to add to the fun. Struggling on with little more than a knot of headway, the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue boat shot out to sea. I would gladly have accepted a lift had it have come my way! Once at Gilkicker, naturally the wind died right back to nothing. Darren went ashore at Stokes Bay and Griff and I carried on to Lee On Solent to complete our circumnavigation. A later check on the weather indicated 30 to 35 knots of wind while we crossed The Solent.

The trip was fascinating and challenging, yet laborious and at times monotonous. The cliffs and submerged rocks provided interest, though we saw little wild life. The miles of empty bays only served to remind us of stiffening muscles. Having completed our 55nm trip, one which we had wanted to do for three years, we are left to consider what challenge awaits us next.

Kayak Journal - West Solent 40

Sunday 14th September 2008

Mustering at 0700 at Warsash, Griff, Mike and I embarked on our most ambitious paddle to date; a long loop down the western Solent, hugging the Isle of Wight coast on the outward leg and returning along the New Forest coast line. The basic plan was to stop when we wanted with The Needles as our aim point.

Crossing Southampton Water was uneventful and we were soon along the Calshot coast starting out across the Solent toward Cowes. We allowed for the (still) east flowing tide, but did get carried back further than intended by the strength of tide off of Gurnard ledge. Just after 0830, we were ashore at Egypt Point sipping coffee. The conditions were perfect for covering a big distance - glassy seas with very light winds. We set off westwards after a short while having waited for a back eddy in Thorness Bay to start. Almost all of this coast is untouched. It felt like we were looking back in time, staring at the slowly eroding cliff faces and shoreline only accessible by sea.

Off Newtown, Griff caught his first mackerel and we landed at the mouth of Newtown River some time after 1000. We had a longer break this time, in part due to us rescuing an inflatable dinghy, which had drifted away while an embarrassed dog was walking it’s owner.

Back on the water, progress was swift with the now west flowing tide. Beach Surgery saw an old wind surfer skeg fitted to Mike’s Easky kayak and he reported an improvement in it’s tracking and confirmed by the obvious ease he was having as the conditions got a lot bouncier around Yarmouth - strong tide overfalls as we passed the pier and extending to Black Rock buoy. We cut closer in shore to avoid the worst of it and found ourselves in an adverse back eddy at Fort Victoria. We landed on a sandy beach for another leg stretch and to make an informed decision about carrying on pass Hurst Narrows where we would be committed to waiting for the tide to return eastwards again at around 1700.

We readily agreed that we should carry on. We viewed the deceptively still water ahead half expecting another back eddy, but were pleasantly surprised to find a gentle one knot lift of tide. Fort Albert slipped by and we set in slightly to Colwell Bay then Totland Bay. The Needles were in view and we pressed on, turning the final corner in Alum Bay where Griff hooked his second mackerel. Sausage sandwiches for the boys followed. The view of The Needles is the most impressive sight in The Solent. The coloured sands of Alum Bay are not...The chair lift along the beach ferried a steady stream of tourists up and down from the cliff top. Only one couple actually ventured on to the beach! And then they wouldn’t leave when nature called.

We were well aware that with stops and enjoying the scenery, we had taken seven hours to get down here - 20 odd statute miles. We studied the tide table, tide stream atlas and debated our departure time. We agreed that if we were to fight tide, it would be better to do it while we were still fresh, after a meal and a good rest. Making the most of the daylight was also another priority. With this in mind, we set off at about 1515, turning the corner and heading across the tide to Hurst Castle. This was a real slog - only two miles but a hard hour of paddling. The leg stretch on Hurst Spit to the east of the castle (and the mouth of Keyhaven River) was appreciated by us all. We then agreed to make as few stops as needed and to limit them to ten minutes - including this one.

We set off again along the New Forest coast line, standing inshore while we waited for the tide to turn in our favour. This happened a lot sooner than the tide streams atlas led us to believe. Lymington slipped by quickly and we powered on towards Beaulieu / Lepe, stopping for our final time on the beach just before the Royal Southampton Yacht Club. Another ten minutes and another chocolate bar. At this point we still had another ten or more miles to go and we all agreed that the pleasure was not now in the scenery, but the accomplishment of getting back to Warsash. Our original calculations predicted we would not be back until 2300. Leaving Alum Bay early brought that forward to 2100.

The last ten miles were spent weaving off shore to pick up the tide and back in again to reduce the overall distance. It was clear that we would be crossing Southampton Water in the dark unfortunately. We rounded Calshot Spit and waited for a ship to pass before making the crossing back into the River Hamble. We stepped ashore again at about 2015, having covered the return 20 miles in under five hours paddling time. This in itself was pleasing as the first hour had been limited to two miles progress. 35 nautical miles / 40 statute was by far our longest paddle to date and not likely to be repeated soon. We were all tired with various aches but nothing that a bath and early night wouldn’t fix.