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The term ‘Solent chop’ is infamous in the sailing UK community, but that’s the stuff of DW dreams, right!? The more I have spent foiling on the Solent, the more I am becoming convinced that we are indeed blessed with a pretty special patch of water to play on, with something to offer everyone, on the right day. 

Anyone who has spent time on the waters of the Solent will not be surprised to hear that the tide dominates when and where the Solent DW runs are best. Get it right and conditions can be great (although always with a bit of challenge), with plenty of frustration if you get it wrong. The key time to note is an hour before Portsmouth high water, which is when the tide starts running west in the main channel, running against the prevailing south westerly breeze. 

Having said that, we’re blessed with having an extra arm of water, Southampton Water, that runs NW to SE, and importantly has the tide often running in the opposite direction to the main Solent channel, which means that most wind directions can be covered, somewhere, although it might mean a drive of up to an hour. The wind directions that are not best catered for is N clockwise to E, with limited fetch available. 

Conditions are generally not what I would call easy, but I’ve come to really enjoy the challenge that offers. 

The good: 

- The bumps are all locally generated wind chop, not oceanic ground swell, which means it is slow moving, short and steep, so quite good for learning on, and works well with bigger, slower foils, but also gives plenty of opportunity to aggressively surf smaller, more nimble foils too 

- Much of the area is very accessible, so quite safe if you need to abort a run and come to shore. 

- As you’re very often punching into the tide, the runs are always longer than the measured distance would suggest, so a good bang for your shuttle buck. But this is double edged - If you’re not on foil, downwind progress can be slow. 

The bad: 

- A feature of the strong tides, means that a heavy cross chop is almost always present, generated as the wind blows across water flowing at different speeds in the deeper channels. 

- Conditions can change very quickly, with one half of a run being ‘all time’, with the second half being very challenging. But that’s just part of the game. 

- We have a very busy shipping channel, which can throw up random rogue wakes to keep you on your toes.

In terms of live wind and tide data sources to help see what conditions on the day are like, WeatherFile.com, SotonMet/BrambleMet and WindyCator v2/weather.ianmillard.com are the ones to go for. 

Any questions, just give 24-7 a call, and they can help. 

Here is a run down of the established runs: 

Lepe Country Park to Calshot: 

Wind direction: SW 

Good for: Shorter, safe runs with easy logistics. Advanced parawinging. Not so good for: Being easy to get to 

Watch outs: Lepe spit can be a bit wild, Calshot gets shallow - minimum recommended tide is 3m (check Bramblemet on the day). 

A 5-6km run for a S to SW’ly breeze, with simple logistics once you get there as it’s a 10 minute drive between the two. Easiest launching for those new to downwinding is from parking in the upper Lepe car park at the eastern end and follow the footpath east, past the Lepe spit, on to the beach and to the corner (Stansore Point) where the coastline heads NE and you can see Calshot itself. Launch at Portsmouth high tide or a bit before, as the tide can move very quickly around that corner around the Country Park, almost generating standing waves in places. 

The Lepe spit can stop the chop coming down from further upwind, effectively shortening the fetch depending on the height of the tide, so paddle further offshore to get into the bigger bumps if needed. Once up and foiling, there is an outflow post/marker about two thirds the way down that you should keep to the right of to avoid getting too shallow. Aiming for the left of the Calshot Spit light float is about right. The shipping channel is to the right of that, but is well marked, and shouldn’t interfere with the run. 

The final approach needs some caution because of the Calshot spit, which does make water depth an issue. The advice is to resist following the rhumb line from Lepe, but to stay wide, and cut in hard, as late as you dare. There is a slip right at the end of the Calshot headland, right by the castle which offers the potential for the longest run, and there is a beach for the full length of the run for easy exits. 

For advanced foilers and parawingers launching on an upwind tide (especially a spring tide), park on the lower beach car park / in front of the cafe, and head straight out off the beach. If paddling to Calshot, the approach and ride across the spit will likely be an exciting challenge, and if parawinging, head towards the round yellow mark about 500m offshore. 

The water could initially be quite flat depending on wind direction, but that will soon change once into the main upwind tidal flow, where there is significant wave and bump energy to turn downwind on towards the cardinal mark off the end of the spit. This can be wild riding,

with messy, crossed up wave patterns, but they are steep and full of potential for advanced riders with an ever moving skate park to play in. Head further out, and things mellow out, as they do once downwind of the cardinal mark at the end of the spit, where you are free to enjoy the more rolling lines of energy or redeploy the parawing, head back upwind to repeat. 

Live weather data is available from Bramblemet and also WeatherFile.com - Calshot. 

Southampton Water, northern shore: 

Wind Directions: SE or NW 

Good for: Starting out and easy exits 

Not so good for: Small foils 

Watch outs: Timing is critical to catch the best upwind tide and stay out of the deep water channel 

Southampton Water runs NW to SE so wind from either of these directions work, although a SE’ly works better, due to the longer fetch and a quirk of the tides which means the tide goes out over 3 hours, but takes 9 hours to come in, giving an extended high tide period with two high tides. This means when it goes out, it rips out, giving an extra boost to the energy available (in a SE’ly breeze). You need to review tide data that shows you the double high tide (anything showing a single high tide for Southampton Water is insufficient) and time accordingly for an upwind tide. NW'ly is more common, but due to the short fetch, don't launch further north than Victoria Country Park. In a SE'ly park at Hamble Point, or Ensign Way. 

There is an obvious deep water shipping channel to the south of the water marked by large green markers to be mindful of and keep clear, with the watch out that the RedJet does not have to use it if there is a lot of shipping present, and so very occasionally uses the lesser known shallow water channel on the north side of the main channel to get around the traffic. Small boats, dinghies and wingers etc regularly usually use the shallow water channel so there is no obligation to stay out, but be vigilant and respectful if you see it coming. 

A solid 15-20 knots is enough with a big foil when it's punching against the tide, and you can get a 3km run in a NWly and up to a 9 km run in a SE'ly if you launch into the River Hamble and use the current to get into the middle and then go all the way to the pier at Weston Point, at the mouth of the Itchen. There will always be wakes kicked up from boat traffic and bounce back of sea walls to keep you on your toes. 

There is also a pier on the northern shore, towards the south eastern end of the water, which is a bit of a pain especially if there is a ship moored there, but not a massive problem. It gets shallow for a long while offshore to the south east of the pier at lower tides so mind your foil if coming in there! Start checking 75m or so from the water's edge.

There is a walkable path along the whole of the northern shore, so there is no need to arrange a shuttle if paddling, you just need to be comfortable carrying your kit if you want to do short runs. This also means the run has a bail out at any point, so is safe. You can get out of the water without drama at pretty much any state of tide, but suggest wearing footwear and not leaving it much lower than 1m (SotonMet can give you an indication on the day of when that is), just for simplicity, 

Live wind and tide height data is best looked at on SotonMet, but remember that the weather station is 50m up so generally over reads at ground level or WeatherFile.com - Hythe Ferry Pier for a SE’ly is also a good guide. 

Meon Shore/Hill Head to Stokes Bay: 

Wind direction: W to NW (or SE’ly) 

Good for: Easy exits, intermediate difficulty runs 

Not so good for: Consistent conditions 

Watch outs: Start and end are most awkward and the North Solent Channel can occasionally have smaller shipping running 

The next step up for DW runs in the Solent in a W to NW wind, and gives a run of about 10km. Launch around Portsmouth high tide to have the tide against. (This run also works on the reverse SE’ly wind direction, and timing the tide after Portsmouth low). Stokes Bay stays deep for most tide conditions but the Meon Shore end does get shallow if the tide is low. 

Things to note are that the water state at the beginning can often be a mess, but cleans up after a km or so, and can get a little tricky again on the final approach it gets more sheltered into Stokes Bay. Aim to finish at the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service / Gosport Lifeboat Station at Gilkicker car park as it has large red doors, which can be seen from several km away to guide you in. If you are confident, stay wide and cut in towards the red doors as late as possible, riding the wrapping bumps directly into shore. There will usually be a significant cross chop coming from the right along the whole run, which complicates the wave pattern. 

The nice thing about this run is that there are bail out options for most of the way, and if you have support crew following you in a car, they can watch you and track your progress most of the way too, with only Browndown Point being inaccessible, which ironically is usually where the best conditions are. If parawinging, this is the spot to hang out, after parking at Stokes Bay Sailing Club or Gilkicker Car Park. 

Live weather and tide data are on Bramblemet, but also WeatherFile.com - Stokes Bay Sailing Club. 

Tanners Lane/Lymington to Lepe Country Park/Calshot:

Wind direction: SW (WSW is perfect!) 

Good for: Long runs with best quality bumps 

Not so good for: Easy exits 

Watch outs: The spit around Lepe can get wild so stay wide if going round, and the bumps get smaller and slower on the approach to Calshot. 

This is probably the best run in the Solent mainly due to it working in a prevailing SW'ly and offering the cleanest conditions. It's a 10km run to Lepe, 18km to Calshot which has limited easy bail out options, so not one for starting on. 

Paddle logistics are a bit of a pain as it's a 30 min car journey from Tanners to Lepe despite the short distance, and Lepe itself is a bit away from everything, but the effort is worth it. Also to note, Lepe is one of the best spots in the Solent for advanced parawinging, with an upwind tide (see below) 

If going to Calshot, there is the main shipping channel on the right once round the corner past Lepe, but is it well marked (stay left of the red markers) and quite far offshore. 

Live wind data can be found at WeatherFile.com Lymington Starting Platform and again, you want to be launching around Portsmouth high tide time for an upwind tide, although if it’s very windy (solid 25+ knots) a downwind tide can make for a less hectic, more organised wave pattern, offering more potential for aggressive carving and quality riding, rather than ‘safety foiling’ in steep, messy conditions. 

Cheeky side quests: 

Odd little features that can be fun to ride / try: 

• Lepe on a light SW’ly (say 10-15 knots) and strong upwind tide gives enough bump energy to ride a big foil with a paddle. Ride downwind past the spit cardinal mark and cruise back upwind gently paddling on the current. 
• Calshot Sopwith beach in no wind, and ebb tide. The water runs north out of the lagoon, but with a paddle and sup foil board, you can ride the wakes of shipping and motor yachts back towards the lagoon. Paddle gently with the tide, turn and ride the wakes back. 
• Calshot lagoon, good for flat water paddle up practice and then hopping over the road by 24-7 to the Solent side beach in a SW’ly and ebb tide to practice in the bumps. The strong tidal flow there creates almost a standing wave, even when the wind is not that strong. 
• Calshot Solent side beach in SW’ly and ebb tide, good for first mini downwind runs. Walk upwind with your kit, and paddle / foil back downwind.