Selsey

To be honest, I'm not too sure what the scene is at Selsey now, I never hear it mentioned or see it written about. Again going back in time we use to make regular trips over there, as the wind was generally stronger & cleaner than Pagham if we were going out in a NE. In fact on the same day I visited Pagham where it was blowing about 12mph, on arriving at Selsey I noted it was about another 5mph - now that could have been that the wind picked up in the half hour it took to drive from Pagham to Selsey!

Looking at the map below, you can see why Selsey is worth a trip. The wind in a NE is much cleaner, going out further down towards the "Inner Owers" was the best spot, though car parking is a bit awkward as there are no designated parking bays, just drive up on the kerb.

Again, like Pagham, we never sailed Selsey in a SW, and like Pagham over the spits it should work well.

Apart from SW, Selsey will work well in a number of wind directions - however, and please note, logic would suggest that you could also go out just west of the bill - that said Selsey is notorious for currents and rips, those spits don't just form out of gentle longshore drift and off the Bill it's infamous, and yachts give the area a wide berth

Selsey is one of the few spots where we came close to loosing a mate, now one of Worthings prominent Estate Agents! In a NE we were sailing at East Beach, and were unaware that Mike was in difficulties, I seem to remember it was in April / May at a time when it always seems to be blowing from the NE on the South Coast, and at that time of year the water is cold, plus in a NE there is quite a high degree of wind chill, by the time the inshore lifeboat got to him, he was in quite a bad way with hypothermia, and had to spend a couple of days in hospital - so be careful, in a NE you can get blown out pass the bill - by the time the lifeboat picked him up he was parallel with the lifeboat station, so he'd drifted a fair way.

Sailing at low tide is not as bad as at Pagham, and from May onwards there are many boats moored close in, plus out at sea shed loads of lobster pots, nets and other fishing paraphernalia - you have been warned!

The Lifeboat Station - now you can see why it's worth a visit, you can walk to the end.


Selsey beach, from May onwards there are many inshore fishing boats moored here, as there is still quite a thriving sea food cottage industry, famous for Crab & Lobster - again worth a visit.
Walk out along the Lifeboat pier	East beach from the pier

So Selsey will never rate as a major location, it's too close to Pagham, probably the wind is stronger and cleaner here, but again the drive to get there is quite tedious. But I'm sure there are a group of locals who wish to keep it that way, and keep the place to themselves.

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Feb 2000

South Coast Beach Breaks
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