Southampton Water to Shamrock Quay

Southampton Water, what could be easier? A wide, almost straight, well-mapped route to the city, a bit like the M3. In daylight it is straightforward but at night the navigation marks, so obvious on the chart, get lost amongst the multitude of shore lights. To port is another blaze of lights from Fawley, one of the biggest oil refineries in Europe.

Southampton is one of the UK’s busiest ports so you can expect to encounter plenty of ships along with high-speed ferries, tugs, dredgers, pilot boats, workboats, the occasional fishing boat and of course yachts.

Apart from a working knowledge of the lights in the Colregs, for this trip it’s also important to know what an occulting light is and some other light characters on the chart such as IQ R 10s. (Occulting lights flash darkness and IQ means interrupted quick flashing).

At night, features which are obvious on the chart, such as lit buoys, can be difficult to find, while the small symbol on the chart with the word chimney next to it at the entrance to Southampton Watermarks a lit chimney which is 198m high and can be seen for at least 10 miles. These big features give a handy visual reference to your position and you can get a quick position line as they transit with other marks.