Big Cat Boat Charters · Local knowledge

Boatman’s Tools

A little local knowledge makes a day on the Solent even better. Six free tools for our guests and fellow sailors: Tide Clock, Wind, Pressure, Passage Planner, Tidal Streams and Vessel Traffic.

Open Boatman’s Tools app ↗

Our tools are free and built for general guidance, rather than professional navigation. They may take a moment to load—but they’re free! Use proper training, current charts and a complete passage plan alongside them.

Tide Clock

Tidal Streams

Wind

Pressure

Passage Planner

Vessel Traffic

Get a feel for the tide

Choose your harbour for the next high and low waters, heights and countdowns. The dial counts down between published high and low waters. Use day, week or month view to plan through 31 December 2027.

Heights are metres above local Chart Datum (m CD). The separate percentage compares tidal range with mean springs; it is not water depth or current speed. No current height or continuous curve is estimated. Times follow GMT or British Summer Time. Southampton and Portsmouth have annual tables; Calshot supplies the clearly labelled Ashlett reference. Other locations show when local data is unavailable.

Know your reference

Ashlett Creek uses Calshot Castle. The Needles uses Totland Bay. The Beaulieu entrance bar uses Buckler’s Hard.

These nearby stations help you understand the tide. They do not predict creek access, currents or depth over the bar.

Heading into Beaulieu?

Before crossing the entrance bar, check the harbour’s latest information:

Live height and depth →
Entrance and navigation guidance →

Confirm local conditions with Beaulieu River Harbour Office on VHF channel 68.

Important: a guide, not a complete passage plan

These tools provide approximate information for general guidance. They do not replace proper training, competent seamanship or a complete passage plan using up-to-date official charts, tide and tidal-stream publications, forecasts and local harbour advice.

Tide heights are predictions, not measured depth or under-keel clearance. Weather observations and forecasts may be delayed or unavailable. Current models are coarse and may miss narrow channels. The assumed river current uses a 3-knot peak, a rule-of-twelfths-shaped curve and assumed slack around predicted high and low water; it is not a validated current forecast. Actual current slack may occur at different times.

The planner does not check land, shoals, obstructions, clearance, vessel suitability, traffic, speed limits or harbour restrictions. Estimated timings exclude leeway, manoeuvring, stops and safety margins. Verify sources and times, allow for uncertainty and prepare alternatives. The skipper remains responsible for assessing conditions and planning and conducting the passage safely.

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