CHART of SATURDAY row and area rowed.

[Andy Mac]

Hi All

Ive just uploaded this chart as a number of Saturday's crew hadnt been in and around the islands before and i thought that a visual may further assist in getting to know that part of the harbour better.

As you can see after leaving Chichester harbour we journeyed past the oyster beds and headed North West across the dredger channel and up topwards the top of North Binness Island. We then rowed through the northern most channel passing between NB Island and Farlington Marshes. Having regrouped we stayed out in the deeper water and rowed southwards with NB Island on our left. We ignored the channel between NB Island and Long Island and rowed along the western side of Long Island, before re grouping and heading for home, as thousands of Dunlin and one Kingfisher spotted by eagle eyed Nigel danced in the late afternoon sunlight.

Needless to say, we ONLY attempt this excursion row in light winds and on a making tide ( tide coming in ) and ONLY with experienced coxes who know the islands and channels available to us.

Hope of interest.

Best
Andy

[Lesley Kent-Brown]

That's really interesting! Thank you Andy x

[Andy Mac]

Thanks Lesley.

Glad that you enjoyed it.

The chart also shows the deeper navigation channels in the harbour which we try and work with in terms of tidal flow and particularly when we are coming back from the Ferry Boat and trying stay out of the strong ebbing tide in the main channel.

Best
Andy
x

[Lesley Kent-Brown]

Thank goodness we have such experienced coxes to navigate these channels.  I'll hopefully learn them with time.

[Andy Mac]

Perhaps we can get Geoff to run a course on navigation and general seamnanship including tides , weather etc and a knot or three.

[Lesley Kent-Brown]

That would be really good Andy. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested!

[Chris Partridge]

That's good stuff Andy but perhaps I could add a couple of points.
The main difficulty in finding your way round Langstone Harbour is that all the islands look similar so unless you know the area really well it can be impossible to distinguish between them. It is a huge help to keep an eye on the landmarks on the horizon rather than your immediate surroundings. The most useful ones are the fake warship on the top of Portsdown Hill, the student flats in Milton (that square tower), the Spinnaker Tower and Hayling Bridge (it is low lying but if you watch for traffic movement it can be seen from most parts of the harbour.)
The best navigation aid is a mobile phone running a chart app such as Navionics, though the free Google Earth is also excellent and shows the mudbanks very clearly. You can get compass apps for phones but I find it easier to use a real compass which means you don't have to switch between apps all the time.
If there is enough demand I would be happy to do a demonstration cruise.

[Andy Mac]

Hi Chris

Many thanks for that.

All very interesting and much appreciated.

I am always very keen to learn anything which improves my knowedge of the harbours and my ability to safely navigate them and would be up for a demonstration cruise using Navionics and Google Earth.

Reviews suggest that many compass apps can be  unreliable which is why is still opt to carry a compass with me.

Accordingly, i would be very game for a demo.

Thanks, Best
Andy