Cowes "raid"... Part 3.. "Route"

Been playing again....   

Following is the result of a lunchtime fumbling my way through OpenCPN and the tidal flow charts in the last post.....   by my estimate I'll get the best tidal flow if I aim directly for the new small boat channel in Cowes [click here] (marked Shrape Mud Buoy on the chart) from the middle entrance of the submarine barrier (that I introduced you to a few weeks ago...)

Tidal stream is strong westbound on the Portsmouth side, especially round Gilkicker Point (the lump just west of Portsmouth Harbour entrance), and in the centre towards the IoW side, so over the tail end of Ryde Middle {edit: not Bramble! Thanks David... good to see you saw my deliberate mistake } bank (should still be plenty of water for a little'un) on the Cowes side it'll also be good....

 

...all of the following is by the by, if the wind direction is rubbish...  I've used 3 knots as my passage speed... but the fact is I'll use the motor to get out of the harbour so it's not going to take me 2 hours to get to the West Pole Beacon - half that...   which I can then use beating up the Solent - even with tide!

To put this in context, a half a knot extra average speed will take an hour off the journey, so this is not an exact science...   but unless this weather sorts itself out, we'll not be going anyway..  fingers crossed...

========================================

No sailing now for almost two weeks, last time out was the Prinstead trip. 

The main problem has been wind..  I had visitors last weekend so a sail was not an option anyway, but even if it had been, like this weekend it was just too damn windy...  Cambermet today has been showing force 5 & 6, gusting  force 6, practically all day.. Pap can handle it (with enough reefs), but it's not fun....  add in the fact that the wind is also cold and it was a recipe today for a cup of coffee and a read of my book whilst listening to the radio, and watching the sky through the fore hatch as the the boat danced round the mooring like a whirling dervish...  it's got to calm down soon!!