BRISTOL SAILING ASSOCIATION

Newsletter April 2017

Contacts:Kath Liddiard (Commodore)01443 227928

Jock Playle (Secretary)0117 973 8855

Becky Goddard (Treasurer) 01749 346818

Future Trips

1.1Ian Collins is skippering a 10-day cruise from Hamble Point to Honfleur, Caen and St Vaast on Friday May 12th – Sunday 21st. This is fully booked and all payments have been received.

1.2Alan Howells is skippering a week’s charter from Plymouth on July 13th – 20th on the Delphia 40 ‘Ventis Secundis’ This now fully booked with all £100 initial payments made. The balance of £210 will be due by May 29th.

1.3Another 3-boat charter from Plymouth Sailing School is proposed for the weekend of September 29th – October 1st. There are 6 or 7 places available for this, so please let us know if you are interested.

1.4At the February meeting Alan mentioned the possibility of a 2-week sail in the rias of NW Spain in September, chartering from Bayona. However further investigation has ruled this out, and a Lagoon 380 catamaran has now been chartered from Santa Cruz in Tenerife. This will be on December 2nd – 9th. In order to secure the boat Ian Collins has made the booking at a cost of £2315 (balance of £695 paid by Ian). It is fully booked, and will those going please contact Ian for payment details.

2.News and Notices

2.1BSA Communications. Recently it was noticed that several members’ names had, for some reason known only to Microsoft, disappeared since the end of February from the email groups used to send newsletters and general communications. Apologies to anyone who may not have received the March newsletter. Should this happen again will anyone who fails to receive a newsletter by the date of the next meeting please let Jock know.

2.2Revised boat channel at Portsmouth entrance. The rearrangement of the entry channels to Portsmouth Harbour is now complete, and the Queen’s Harbourmaster has issued a local Notice to Mariners. This is attached to this newsletter. Additionally, you will see that with the movement of the Small Boat Channel to the west, the channel shoals very quickly to the west  in the vicinity of the No 4 Bar Buoy, so care is required in this area.

3.Recent Trips

Due to bad weather the sailing planned for March had to be abandoned and there were no trip reports, and instead we had a talk about the Bristol VTS service. A summary of this is given later in this newsletter. However, we do have an update from Bill Barnes, covering his and Jade’s transatlantic crossing last year and more recent times in the Caribbean.

White Ibis After sailing from Barbados to Antigua, Bill Barnes has updated his blog, covering the voyage from the Canary Islands. Here is an edited version:

Trip on White Ibis, skippered by Bill Barnes

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Trip on , skippered by

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Coastguard VHF channel changes

The MCA has announced that the Coastguard will be changing the VHF channels used for communication and for broadcasting the weather forecasts and navigation warnings on September 4th. Chs 23, 84 and 86 will be replaced by Chs 62, 63 and 64 respectively.

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Queen's Harbour Master Portsmouth

LNTM No 24/17

PORTSMOUTH SMALL BOAT CHANNEL UPDATE

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Queen’s Harbour Master Portsmouth, that following the widening and re-orientation of the Portsmouth Approach Channel, as depicted on the newly published Admiralty Chart 2625 (2 March 2017), further adjustments have been made to the positioning of the Small Boat Channel that runs between 4 Bar Buoy (50 46.97N 001 06.48W) and Ballast Pile (50 47.62N 001 06.83W).  This notice supersedes LNTM 23/17 (Small Boat Channel Re-alignment) and should be read in conjunction with the regulations contained in General Direction 7/10 (Portsmouth Harbour Entrance – Approach Channel, Small Boat Channel, Swashway and Inner Swashway).     

2.  Following the widening of the Main Approach Channel, the location of the Small Boat Channel over a somewhat narrower and steeper slope has resulted in a reduced tolerance for small craft straying out of the edge of the channel before they experience shoal depths.  For this reason, the route of the channel and traffic management measures have been subtly amended in order to simplify the monitoring of vessel positioning and to reduce the potential for inbound and outbound vessels to force each other in to shallow water or the Main Approach Channel respectively.

3.   Remaining approximately 50 metres wide throughout its length, the most significant changes are that all vessels using the Small Boat Channel are to leave 4 Bar Buoy to port, whether heading inbound or outbound, and that north of this point, the channel has been straightened from the route currently shown on new edition Chart 2625.  Vessels navigating along the Small Boat Channel should now follow a line that passes from 4 Bar Buoy to approximately 25 metres east of BC outer (as depicted), keeping other passing small craft on their own port side.

4. Vessels approaching or departing the small boat channel to the south, particularly at low water, should follow the line of the port lateral buoys in order to avoid grounding on the SE corner of Hamilton Bank, turning to follow the line of the channel in vicinity of 4 Bar Buoy.

5.   In vicinity of BC Outer (red beacon), all vessels should pass to the east of the beacon except those joining or leaving the Small Boat Channel at the Inner Swashway who are to leave it to port accordingly.  This area can become extremely busy, particularly during the summer months, and mariners joining here should converge with caution and avoid forcing others out in to the middle of the harbour entrance.  Similarly, all mariners should be alert to strong cross currents in this area which can sweep vessels in to the main channel. 

6.    All vessels less than 20 metres in length are to use the Small Boat Channel when entering or leaving Portsmouth, unless specifically exempted from doing so by the Queen’s Harbour Master.  Furthermore, craft using the Small Boat Channel are legally required to comply with the measures contained in General Direction 7/10 (Portsmouth Harbour Entrance – Approach Channel, Small Boat Channel, Swashway and Inner Swashway).  In particular, small craft are not to cross the Main Approach Channel until north of Ballast Pile or South of 4 Bar Buoy; should avoid loitering in the Small Boat Channel; should adjust their speed to remain in the Small Boat Channel rather than overtake and be forced in to the main channel. 

7.The Harbour Entrance and Main Approach Channel is considered a Narrow Channel in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions and Sea (COLREGS) and as such, all mariners are reminded that in accordance with Rule 9(b) “a vessel of less than 20 metres in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel that can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway”; vessels over 20 metres in length are classed as the latter, are not to be impeded, and conversely are not permitted to enter the Small Boat Channel or Inner Swashway except in an emergency.

8.   Further information can be found on the QHM Website at www.royalnavy.mod.uk/qhm/portsmouth/regulations/small-boat-channel.

Owners, Agents, Charterers, Marinas, Yacht Clubs and Recreational Sailing Organisations should ensure that the contents of this Notice are made known to the masters or persons in charge of their vessels or craft.

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