The Solent is one of the best cruising grounds in England—some say in the world—for small yachts such as can be handled by amateurs. It combines the safety of an inland lake with the excitement of occasional rough seas: and in case of bad weather coming on there is always a safe port within a few miles. Moreover, its many creeks and inlets afford opportunities for dinghy explorations in the midst of pleasant scenery, while the yacht is left safely anchored in harbour. But this cruising ground has certain difficulties also to be reckoned with; the shore lines are so broken, the tides so peculiar, and the beacons so confusingly numerous, that a few hints may be acceptable.
First, as to the yacht. Any amateur yachtsman should be capable of managing, with the assistance of a companion, a yacht of from 5 to 8 tons. Such a yacht should have accommodation for two in the cabin and one in the forecastle, who may either be a friend, or a paid hand, man or boy.
It is of course much the pleasantest if one possesses one's own yacht, or can at any rate do without professional assistance; failing this, it is possible to hire a yacht by engaging one early in the season; later on it is difficult to find a suitable craft. As a rule, the owners of small yachts do not care to let them to strangers without a man; and rightly so, for although the Solent is a safe cruising ground, yet accidents are quite possible, especially in the crowded harbours, owing to the strength of the tides. The cost of hiring a 5 or 6 ton yacht, with one hand, used to be from £4 to £6 a week. The price varies according to the place she is hired from, the length of time, the arrangements about food for the "hand," the time of year, etc. For early or late in the season, the terms will be less than at its height. The best plan is to advertise in the yachting or local papers, stating the kind of craft required. And if a suitable yacht cannot be found at Cowes or Southampton, it may be as well to try Lymington or Poole, at which places, especially the latter, the price will probably be considerably less. Excellent centre-board boats of 3 to 4 tons, with large open cockpits, easily handled by one amateur, can be had at about 10s. a day from the boat-owners on the West Quay at Southampton. Such craft seldom have sleeping accommodation, but they are very handy for cruising among mud-banks, as the drop keel "acts as a pilot," and can be lifted if one gets caught. When hiring one of these boats, see that there is an anchor and a warp on board.
The yachts anchor in Cowes Roads, the small ones inside the harbour, on the east side of the red and white chequered buoys which mark the fairway. It is forbidden to anchor in the fairway. Be careful not to anchor too near the "Shrape Mud," a large spit running out from the eastern shore, or you will ground at low tide. If this part of the harbour be too crowded, you can run up above the floating bridge between East and West Cowes, into the Medina River, remembering, however, that the tide runs very strongly in and out of the harbour, causing danger in light winds. If you decide to take up a berth in the Medina, drop your anchor in the channel, and then warp in near the bank, making fast to some of the yachts lying on the mud. This will get you out of the way of the barge traffic, which is considerable.
There is nothing much to say about Cowes, except in its connection with yachting. The two parts of the town are joined by a floating bridge, which takes every sort of vehicle over as well as crowds of foot-passengers.
In an island so small as Wight every man must know the sea and be at heart a sailor, and even were he not born so the proximity of Portsmouth and Southampton with their men-of-war, affording constant opportunity for seeing the latest constructions in battleships, would arouse the feeling in him.
The island, lying across the harbour, forms a splendid natural breakwater to our strongest port; and it is by a special providence that in the ages long ago this part was so broken off from Hampshire and separated by the sea, or great part of the value of this coast would have been lost. The Solent has, however, dangers of its own, and the constant shifting of sandbanks makes its navigation a precarious job.
"And to the northe, betwixt the foreland and the firme,
She hath that narrow sea which we the Solent terme,
Where those rough ireful tides, as in their straits they meet