18 Aug 2024
Six club members got up early to make the journey over to Hayling Island to make use of the tides to help propel us on our way around the Island.
After a briefing from Lucy, who was leading the trip, we sent off eastwards from west Beach on the southern shore of the island on the incoming tide. With the tide and wind with us we made it to Eaststoke Point at the mouth of Chichester harbour in no time. We regrouped to be briefed on the safest route into the harbour taking into account other vessels, currents and swell.
On entering the harbour mouth and cutting our way through some chop, we followed the Emsworth Channel into the open expanse of the harbour. Hayling Island provided shelter from the wind and we paddled northwards up towards Emsworth. The sun was out at this point and the paddle leisurely as we were pushed along through calm waters by the tide.
We encountered some lazing seals and had a flypast from a Spitfire or two from Westhampnet. At the top of the bay, with Emsworth in sight, we swung a left around the top of the island to alight at a slipway by Langstone Bridge which links the Island to the mainland. The quay here seems to be a top crabbing spot.
We had a well earned sandwich and waited for the tide to turn so that we could use the outgoing tide to push us down the western side of the island. Back on the water we slipped under Langstone bridge and through the remains of the old tramway bridge. We paddled south along the Langston channel with the Spinnaker Tower towering over Portsmouth to our right.
A stiff westerly breeze created some swell as we pushed south towards the entrance to the harbour, using first a tower block and then the remains of a Mulberry harbour Caisson as our aiming points. Finally we swung a left and paddled through the narrow harbour mouth swinging around to the east again to alight at West beach.
In all we paddled for around five hours with a lunch stop in the middle. Lucy's planning was spot on to make use of the tides and the insistence of a post-paddle ice cream.