WEATHER Wherever you are around the Solent and the Island, it’s a good idea to have a look at the chart and see what are the expected funnelling THER points during the day. For example, if you’re planning on going from WEA Yarmouth to Portsmouth with a S forecast for the Channel, then in the W Solent it’s likely to be patchier on the Island side under the low cliffs from Yarmouth to Gurnard with an open alley off Newtown Creek. Then going past Cowes you’re likely to have a funnelling out of the Medina with increased wind flow. Past Castle Point and Osborne Bay you’ll see a similar funnelling down Wootton Creek before you head off to the Portsmouth Harbour entrance. Windward and Leeward Shores, and how the Land Effect Changes during the Day As mentioned previously the Eastern Solent has the Island as its windward shore with a S to SW wind in the Channel, and this of course makes it a slightly more protected body of water then. However, it’s not quite that simple. During the day the Island will heat up, lots in summer, less so in winter, and this affects the bottom part of the air flowing over the land, which in turn becomes the air we sail in on the Eastern Solent. The warmer land causes air in contact with it to warm up and rise through the cooler air above, leading to a vertical mixing effect as this air rises and is replaced by cooler less buoyant air from above. Eventually this vertical mixing will allow the faster air above the surface to mix down to the surface, so if you start off with very little surface breeze but can see clouds scooting by above then this mixing will be bring the wind down to you by late morning usually. Keep an eye on the clouds developing above the windward land – you 23 solenthandbook.com