Winter weekend sails

A Winter's Sail

Clive Loughlin highlights the many reasons for wrapping up warm and heading out in the winter months

Go sailing in winter?

You must be joking!

If this is your first reaction then perhaps you should think again.

In this article I will highlight some of the many reasons why sailing in the colder months is a good idea, with specific examples based in the Solent and adjacent waters.

Won’t it be cold?

For sure it is most likely to be colder than in July, but an extra layer or two, a warm hat and good gloves should fix that inconvenience. While most would probably not be too enthusiastic about venturing out into a F7 in the pouring rain, a cold dry day with bright blue skies is hard to beat.

Cold air is dry air, and this means that everything will have a clarity and sparkle that can lift the spirits above the humid mists of summer, but don’t forget the sunscreen and lip salve.

Empty marinas?

With less adventurous souls choosing to haul out over winter, there are bound to be fewer boats on the water, so the marinas and anchorages are more likely to have space available.

Be prepared however for the late season rush. Yarmouth Harbour report having had their busiest day of the year in early October, as cracking weather encouraged many to wrap up warm and venture out.

Wildlife spotting

The end of September sees most of our summer birds heading south, but these are soon replaced by new arrivals of winter wildfowl and waders that are escaping the arctic conditions further north.

If twitching is your thing, or even if it is not, a visit to Newtown River, Chichester Harbour or the River Beaulieu, with binoculars in hand, will be certain to delight and you can feast your eyes on Brent Geese, Wigeon, Mallard and Teal to say nothing of more exotic species like the easily spotted Red Shank with their vivid orange-red legs and bills, or the nautically themed and very cute Knot.

Getting qualified

There are many benefits of going on practical sailing courses in the cooler months. Even in pre-Covid times you were likely to have fewer crew taking part, which

means that everyone gets a bigger slice of personal tuition. With fewer people taking turns to do MOB or ferry-gliding practice, everyone will always be kept busy with little or no time spent ‘waiting for their turn’.

It’s also great for clocking up night hours!

The dark side

I love night sailing and find that most crew cite it as one of the highlights of the course. One of my favourite exercises in the Solent is to venture out from Cowes as soon as it is dark, to first find (without using Sat Nav) the unlit Bramble Post and then continue to the River Beaulieu and the sparsely lit passage upstream to Buckler’s Hard.

This is a very challenging exercise and I would not recommend it unless you have a very experienced instructor on board, together with some powerful torches and crew with younger eyes than mine. Tick these boxes, proceed with caution, and you will have an unforgettable experience.

The trouble with clocking up night hours in summer is that it doesn’t get dark until about 10pm and so, for example, the above exercise is not likely to finish before midnight or more likely 1am.

Tiredness is not normally a problem as adrenaline levels are running high, but it does extend the day beyond normal hours and of course totally excludes any alcohol from the evening meal.

By contrast in winter the same exercise can start about 4pm and finish in time for a relaxed and celebratory evening on board or in a pub ashore.

Strong wind sailing

In winter the wind speed is Force 5 or greater for more than half the time. This is about double that of summer. This in itself makes the sailing more exciting and reduces the times when light winds make ‘getting the engine on’ an unwelcome good idea.

As an instructor I always like it when strong winds (F7-8) are on offer and will often venture out, even with a novice crew, for a short passage so that the crew can see what happens and how to sail safely. However I would not encourage recreational sailors to do the same, as a scared crew doesn’t tend to come back for more.

I then duck into sheltered water so that we can continue refining techniques under less arduous conditions.

ABOVE LEFT

Portsmouth is a safe haven in wild weather and also offers a spectacular sight if you're night sailing

BELOW

Snowy pontoons should be approached with extreme care

Solent safe havens

Quite often in winter the crew are not so much looking for a marathon passage, as a bit of a blast to blow away the cobwebs. A lot of fun can be had going nowhere in particular. Here are a few of my favourite options...

If the wind is from the prevailing southwest Southampton Water provides 8nm of beam reach with very straightforward navigation, and the added interest of a major container port and cruise liner terminal to the north.

The shelter (and facilities) of the River Itchen are further south with the perfect sanctuary of the Hythe Marina Village just across the water.

I often anchor off Netley Dome for a brief respite, but the wash from passing ships prevents it being a good choice for an extended stay.

Further south still the muchrounded South Cardinal off Hamble Spit leads to an extensive collection

of marinas, as well as mid-stream visitor pontoons opposite Warsash that can usually be used; call to check via Hamble Harbour Radio (Ch 68).

On the Isle of Wight, Cowes provides good shelter but getting there can be interesting in strong wind and tides. Avoid strong windagainst-tide situations and give the Bramble Bank due respect. The tide across the entrance to the Medina can easily reach 4 knots, especially on the ebb, so be sure to aim well uptide of the entrance. Once past the breakwater, calm serenity takes over.

Portsmouth Harbour provides excellent shelter from all directions but the confused tidal streams in the narrow entrance can make the brief passage entertaining. I often come here for ‘mooring buoy pickup under sail’ practice, using the buoys that are just further north of Princess Royal Jetty, where you may also see the HMS Queen Elizabeth or HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carriers.

Langstone Harbour and Chichester Harbour provide safe shelter and wildlife friendly channels, that can be explored with a keen eye on the charts and depth sounder. They also have many pleasant anchorages for a lunchtime stop or for overnight. East Head in Chichester Harbour makes a great anchorage in mild conditions.

The entrances to both of these harbours need to be treated with respect, especially on a spring ebb if a strong onshore wind is blowing. Read ‘The Rough Guide’ (Sailing Today, Oct 2021) and then go somewhere else if these conditions apply – otherwise head in and enjoy natural havens of supreme beauty.

Tacking practice

The western Solent is tailor-made for tacking practice and if winds are light a journey with the tide under your keel can easily take in the natural delights of the River Beaulieu and Newtown River, as well as the very welcoming Yarmouth Harbour and the recently expanded Town Quay in Lymington.

A winter visit and overnight stay in Newtown River offers a cozy seclusion from the world outside. Pick up a mooring buoy (that is likely to be free at this time of year), hunker down in your cockpit and listen to the wading birds on the surrounding mud flats.

If a log fire and ales-on-tap appeal, The Master Builder’s Pub at Buckler’s Hard on the River Beaulieu will give complete satisfaction, but phone to check first.

ABOVE

Chichester Harbour is a lovely spot for a winter sail with the church spire at Bosham an iconic sight

BELOW

Poole Harbour offers a lot of scope for exploring and plentiful shelter if the weather takes a turn for the worse

Further afield

If you fancy venturing a bit further away from the Solent then Poole Harbour is just 17nm to the west and is the second largest natural harbour in the world. Sydney Harbour gets top slot, but is a bit further to go.

Poole Harbour has a bit of everything and is a Marine Conservation area as well as a wetland of international importance. Brownsea Island has featured frequently on the BBC’s ‘Spring Watch’, and is famous for boy scouts and red squirrels.

Tidal range is low, but strong tides flow in the 300m wide entrance where a chain ferry plies its trade between South Haven Point and the uber expensive real estate of Sandbanks.

Most of the harbour is very shallow, so watch your depth and tidal curves, or stick to the dredged channels and avoid the cross channel ferries that come and go.

Cold truth

Sadly there are some disadvantages to sailing in cold weather and it is only fair to give consideration to these as well...

Ice

Seawater freezes at about -2°C, however the typical sea temperature in the Solent stays much higher and varies from 17°C in September to an annual minimum of 9°C in March. This compares favourably with air temperatures that can routinely fall to -3°C.

The most significant problem I have experienced with winter sailing is that the fresh water supplies in marinas can freeze up – so best take along a gallon or two from home as you will be needing a warming brew.

It’s a gas

Propane (red cylinder) has a boiling point of -42°C, and is a better choice for sailing in cold weather than Butane (blue cylinder, -1°C). The regulators are not interchangeable, but converting from one to the other is quite straightforward - but best done by someone qualified.

If you are using Butane and find your gas hob to be less than enthusiastic, one trick I have used when desperate measures are called for, is to put the cylinder in a bucket of seawater. A good shake often helps as well – but don’t ask me why.

Hypothermia

If you fall into seawater at 9°C you will loose the ability to swim within about 5 minutes, will be totally exhausted and/or unconscious in about 30 minutes and likely to die after 2 hours. This tells us two things – wearing a lifejacket with a crotch strap that keeps your head above water is vital, and also that recovery of the MOB is certainly very urgent, but not an immediate panic.

If the worst happens, first prioritise staying close to the MOB and calling a Mayday over attempting recovery. The Solent is blessed with well-sited lifeboats and Coastguard helicopters that will lend rapid assistance.

Get a line to the MOB and then try to recover them yourself, and the sooner the better while they still have some ability to help themselves. In calm weather a stern platform can be useful, or drop the main and try winching them up using the main halyard

ABOVE AND BELOW

There are times when it's worth accepting it's too cold to go sailing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clive Loughlin is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and regular Sailing Today contributor. Clive teaches for First Class Sailing in the Solent area. extended with a few safety lines.

Even after a successful and rapid recovery the casualty should be protected from further heat loss and warmed up gently from the inside with warm drinks and sugary treats – never ever put them under a hot shower, and always get them to a hospital for observation even if they say they are fine.

Confession

I have only ever had a single genuine MOB situation. It was in winter, in the dark, and the person concerned was not wearing a lifejacket. This sounds like a damning indictment of my suitability as a Yachtmaster Instructor, however there were mitigating circumstances.

We were on a finger pontoon in a Hamble marina at the time and were just heading off to the pub, when the crew member stepped off the boat, onto the pontoon and then for no explicable reason, took an extra step back and into the water.

Fortunately other crew were on hand and were able to grab the MOB and get him back onto the pontoon so quickly that his underwear stayed dry.

Thankfully the only damage was to his pride, but it could easily have been very different. There was a strong tide running and our boat was tied up and in no position to render assistance had the unfortunate MOB drifted off. I mention this incident simply to underline that you are often at most danger when you think you are safe.