Reprinted charts from Yachting World 2001 showing areas of concern on the Solent
Turning the tables on the tide
If you're going to succeed at Skandia Cowes Week, you've got to know your tides. Graham Sunderland offers his expert tips
The navigator's role starts early for Skandia Cowes Week with a thorough read of the Sailing Instructions followed by carefully entering the new mark names and waypoints into your GPS. This year there are a couple of changes to the SIs - namely the Black Group start line is now redefined and the finish may now be either Beta or Alpha.
Spring tides for the Solent area are around 1200 GMT so with the first Saturday's high tide around 0700, the week starts with a fairly neapy 3.8 height working through to 4.4 on the last Saturday - good news for fleets like the X One Designs.
Starting...
Line heading west
Starting to the west into a foul tide presents a difficult 'which end' choice. The line is square at TWD 255°M. Depending on your first mark, you should consider trading line bias for the extra tide relief of the mainland shore.
But be warned: the line is 1.25nm long so get up early to ensure you leave enough time to get to West Bramble and, no matter which end you choose, ensure your echo sounder
is calibrated.
White Group need to develop a strategy for staying close to shore as the inshore boat keeps control, although beating up the Green is not for the faint-hearted. If it's your first time to Cowes, know the Isle of Wight is mostly rock and England is sand!
Starting east
Heading east presents a choice of which side to pass Ryde Middle. Plan your tides carefully; flow is often quicker on the flood to the north of Ryde Middle but does surge quicker one side at certain times, so check against your tide data.
Bramble Bank and shallow water to the east
You always hear someone saying 'the Brambles has shifted this year'. Normally these rumours are spread by those who simply forgot where it was and hit it. For 2005 there is very little change - however, if you have missed a few years, there is a slight size increase to the north and north-east.
Since 2003 there has been a notable increase in the size of boats we are racing, bringing new depth contours into play. At this year's 2005 IRC Nationals some of the larger boats were running aground in the shallow water between the triangle of Marinetrack, Air Canada and Hill Head channel buoy. It's really worth checking the chart as there is datum as low as 0.6.
Tide around the Bramble Bank is simply great. The constant juggling between making a gain and avoiding running aground is to be enjoyed. Stay focused on your charts and tidal atlas and watch out for significant change times like HW plus 3.5 as shown on the chart overleaf.
Tidal lay lines
The Western Solent presents the biggest challenge for your navigator - often he is required to call the lay line over 1nm away across fast-running tides. While it is better to be slightly over than under you can also get an apparent windshift of around 6° which does mess with your COG. Keeping notes will help you nail it next time.
Conversely, when beating with the tide, it is easy to overstand. The classic mark where this happens is Air Canada. Use your handheld compass and observe your last port and starboard COG and TWD and from this you should be able to call a decent lay line. If you don't have COG, start with a correction of 6-10° at maximum tide flow and keep tight notes to pin your offset down for next time around.
West Solent to east
The West and East Solent are divided by a line drawn between West Lepe and Egypt Point. When crossing from west to east there are a few routes to consider. You may well find yourself with hundreds of others fighting for the best spot round Lepe Spit as there are great tide gains to be had along the beach to Royal Thames.
For the record there is no inside route on Lepe - you simply have to go round or get the wheels out. With the breeze in the south-west there is a left shift as you go from west to east. This is more evident when crossing through the middle and closer to Gurnard.
The Green
Running to a finish in soft pressure against the tide is the classic Cowes Week scenario. So it's worth reading Rule 18.5 (Passing a Continuing Obstruction) and remembering at chart datum it's all very solid rock!
Close to high water, classes with shallow draught will be able to get very close to the beach in places, although a low water walk along the shore with your note pad is advised. There is a racing mark AAA to the east which is very shallow at about the same distance from the beach. The chart is correct.
Solent wind
Breeze funnels down the Medina River, giving Cowes between 5-8 knots more wind. Be careful to account for this when choosing a foresail pre-start - you will not be the first caught on a heavy jib if starting to the east.
Chris Tibbs is broadcasting on Cowes Week Radio, which is always good quality.
Norris Nadgers
Like or hate it, Norris comes at the end of a very long day's racing and has to be given your best attention. Give your mainsheet trimmer a bar of chocolate as he/she will be working very hard to manage the lifting bullets of pressure that come and go. Judge your distance off carefully - too far in and you can lose the breeze altogether.
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