Pilot the Isle of Wight: Cowes to Alum Bay

Navigational tips and beauty spots around the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight.

Navigate Cowes to Alum Bay

Black Rock

Photo: Peter Bruce

Off the western end of the trots off Yarmouth is Black Rock. It’s a ledge of Bembridge limestone that shelves steeply from a depth of 50m to just 5m in just 300m at one of the Solent’s narrowest points, creating some vicious overfalls.

Photo: Graham Snook

Keep the end of Yarmouth Pier lined up with the deciduous trees off Bouldner, or keep the end of the pier on 097M, and you’ll run inside Black Rock buoy but outside the rock. Looking forward, you can line up the end of what remains of Victoria Pier with the watch tower, not the lighthouse, on Hurst Point on 272M.

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes
  3. 3. Cowes to Gurnard Ledge
  4. 4. Gurnard Ledge in detail
  5. 5. Baxter's Ledge
  6. 6. Thorness Bay
  7. 7. Salt Mead Ledge
  8. 8. Hamstead Ledge
  9. 9. The Solent's oldest and youngest wrecks
  10. 10. Yarmouth Castle
  11. 11. Black Rock
  12. 12. Fort Victoria
  13. 13. Sconce Point to The Needles
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