The Needles are one of the iconic landmarks of the Solent. Projecting out from the western tip of the Isle of White, the three chalk stacks rise majestically out of the sea. They are capped at the Western tip by the distinctive red and white stripes of a light house. For confident paddlers, the Needles provides a somewhat committing and exhilarating route.

Needles In The Distance

Although Keyhaven is the usual start point for the a trip to the Needles, I opted to launch from Lymington. Putting in 2 hours before Low water, at the Bath Road Public Slipway, I hugged the edge of the marked channel out into open water. Low lying cloud semi obscured the Isle of Wight however there was enough visibility to make out Fort Albert which lies West of Yarmouth so I headed directly across the Solent.

From Fort Albert, you head through narrowest point of the Western Solent, with Hurst Castle on your Starboard side. Whilst being on the Island side of this gap keeps you out of ‘The Trap’ (the fast tidal flow caused by the narrow gap) you start to feel the effect of the open sea ahead of you.

The Needles

Following the coast line brings you to the tip of Alum Bay and from here I opted to head directly across the bay to the Needles, rather than hug the coast line. Although the conditions were relatively calm, the swell grew and at tmes I would lose sight of yachts on a similar course as they dropped into the troughs leaving only their masts visible.

Nearing the Needles, I could see waves breaking between the stacks which mean’t that ‘threading the Needles’ would need to wait for another day. I spent a good twenty minutes bobbing around taking photos and enjoying the exposed nature of my position before heading back into Alum Bay.

Alum Bay Chairlift

Landing at the bottom of the cliffs in Alum bay gave me an opportunity to admire the multi-coloured sand and clay of the cliffs. A chairlift provides tourists visiting the Alum Bay Park with an easy route down the cliffs so the beach was very busy. The relatively unusual sight of my sea kayak drew a small crowd and I found my coffee break became an impromptu Q&A session on sea kayaking.

By now, the tide had turned so from Alum Bay, I paddled out into the trap and was able to ride the flood tide back to Hurst Castle. After a brief stop for more photographs I headed across the bay past Keyhaven and back into Lymington Marina.

Tidal Information.

Crossing The Trap To Hurst Castle

I planned this paddle to use the last of the ebb tide to aid my passage out to the Needles, with my arrival timed to coincide with low water. This ensured I could use rather than fight the flood tide back. The tidal flow through The Trap (between Hurst Castle & the Island) can reach 4.4knots and in certain wind conditions (South Westerly) can be tricky.

If you would like more detailed information, it is well worth reading Mark Rainsley’s route description in the excellent ‘South West Sea Kayaking‘ guidebook.

Also, check Easytide for up to date tidal information.

View Lymington to The Needles in a larger map

Large Swell Approaching Needles

View From The Kayak

Return To Lymington

The nice weather and good tides brought out the paddlers this weekend with Lepe Beach being the favoured launch point. Having previously only met a couple other paddlers at the beach I was really suprised to pull in to the car park and find a whole row of cars with padded roof bars, j-bars and uprights.

The New Forest Canoe Club were just launching on a trip to Newtown Creek, Lymington and back. Hamble Canoe Club had only recently departed for the Beaulieu River and a couple of keen ladies were setting off for Bucklers Hard.

Peter - SOT off Cowes

I opted to cross to the Isle of Wight by Gunnard then fight the tide up to Cowes. Stopping on the Sea front for a coffee and the much needed chocolate I watched a sit on top kayak work it’s way towards me. The paddler, Peter, stopped for a chat and we spent an enjoyable few minutes comparing kit, experiences and common paddling acquaintances.

He had caught the Sea Kayaking bug when attending one of Owen Burson’s courses at IOW Sea Kayaking. He had nothing but praise for Owen and the team and decided to take up paddling. His family had stumped up the money for a christmas present and he had picked up a second hand sit on top, paddles and other equipment from Island Kayaks – the shop part of IOW Sea Kayaking.

Strip built Sea Kayak

My return to Lepe was a quick affair. I aimed off at the Calshot chimneys and threaded my way through the plethora of sailing boats enjoying the wind. The tide was moving fast allowing me to ferry glide across the 2.5 mile stretch between Cowes & Lepe landing on the beach as the Ladies I had watched launch earlier returned from Bucklers Hard.

We spent an enjoyable half hour trading stories and experiences, along with some delicious ‘Indian Sweets’. Penny, one of the ladies had a wealth of paddling experience and some fantastic stories. We swapped contact details – and if you are reading Penny – the link to the Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown DVD should be on the right of this webpage: hugely recommended!

Hamble Canoe Club

I started loading up the boat and looking out to the Western Solent saw Hamble Canoe Club returning, led by a beautiful strip built wooden sea kayak.

All in all a fantastic days paddle, enhanced by the opportunity to meet so many other paddlers and chewing the fat on this fantastic pastime of ours.

I’m lucky enough to teach an A Level student, Sam, who is a keen photographer. He’s been giving me some advice on various manual settings on my DSLR, in particular night scene photography for which I am extremely grateful.

Thought I would share my first efforts. Pretty pleased yet so, so much to learn! Click either photos to see a larger version.

Star Filled Sky

Looking Towards The Isle of Wight

As the main shipping channel runs between Calshot and Cowes this is a difficult crossing point due to the large volume of traffic that uses this stretch of the Solent. From large oil tankers to ferries and fast cats, as well as a large number of sailing boats.

Lepe to Gurnard offers a less busy route, with clear views as you cross at 90 degrees to chanel. It is then a short hop along the coast to Cowes.

The actual crossing is quick – 30 minutes on my return journey – as long as you pick the right state of tide and weather conditions. I left just after the second high tide with the plan of aiming off on the return journey if the tide dictated.

Paddling out I used the cardinal mark off Lepe as a waypoint and took a minute or too holding position here to check for any large traffic on the horizon. Satisfied all was clear I headed straight for Gurnard. There is a nice, small beach with a Cafe at Gurnard which provided a pitstop for a cup of tea and a chat with a couple paddling sit on top kayaks. Then on along the coast into Cowes.

I didn’t stop at Cowes, just paddled around and enjoyed the sights and sounds before paddling back around the coast towards Gurnard. Once clear of the shipping lanes and with a clear view of the traffic I aimed directly for Lepe and 30 minutes later was enjoying a cuppa on the beach.

View Larger Map

Route:
Outward:
Lepe (Grid: 456 985) to Gurnard (Grid: 477 958) to Cowes (Grid: 496 962 )

Return:
Reverse of outward route.

Coastal Forecast:
Pressure – 1013 mB F
Temp max/min – 26/17 degrees C
Wind speed – F3 becoming F3-4
Wind direction – E
Max gust in knots – 16 becoming 20
Sea state – Slight
Visibility – Very good becoming Good

Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking also operate Island Kayaks; they supply all the main brands including Palm, Werner, Lendal, Dagger, Wilderness Systems, Perception and many more. They have in the last year taken over the South Coast’s main dealership for Valley Sea Kayaks and have almost a complete range of demo boats to try out.

Email: enquiries@iow-seakayaking.co.uk
Website: www.iow-seakayaking.co.uk

Phone: 01983 752043
Fax: 01983 209471

Isle of Wight Sea Kayaking
The Sandpipers
Freshwater Bay
Isle of Wight
PO40 9QX