Hayling Tidal Heights
Go to UKHO Easytide
for the tidal graphs for the next 7 days for Chichester Harbour.
The best tidal conditions for Hayling is low water to mid water.
Avoid high water and from 1 hour either side. Spring tides are preferable as more sandbar
is exposed and the flat water lasts for longer before the sandbar is covered and the chop appears.
Hayling Tidal Streams
Tidal streams at Hayling can catch you out. See the water plan
for the diagram of the main tidal streams to be aware of. The near lagoon appears relatively benign however there are strong tidal streams
running across the front of the beach on both incoming and outgoing tides. There are also very strong
tidal streams running North/South along the West of the sandbar. Both these tidal streams are
generated by the water moving in and out of Langstone Harbour.
Hayling Spring Tides
The tidal curve picture (left) depictes a typical spring tide.
At Hayling during low water springs there is a lot of sandbar
exposed and therefore very little water in the near lagoon. It can become very congested.
It will also be very shallow, so beware.
Due to some astronomical quirk, whenever the high water at Portsmouth
is at midday (or thereabouts) it will be a Spring tide. Likewise, whenever low water
Portsmouth is at midday it will be a Neap tide. This means that at Hayling during springs
the best sessions are early morning and in the evening when it is low water. Fantastic in the
summer when the days are long but not so good in the winter when it is too dark to ride.
Hayling Neap Tides
The picture (left) displays a typical neap tide at Hayling. This is the
opposite of a spring. The near lagoon retains plenty of water and the tidal streams are not
as strong as springs.
If low water Portsmouth is around midday, it will be a neap tide. The flat
water doesn't last as long as springs, due to the sandbar being exposed much less and
for a shorter period.
General Tidal Information
Spring and Neap Tides
The tides are significantly affected by the position of the Sun and Moon in
relation to each other and the Earth.
The alignment of these bodies produces bigger tides. Very
generally, about 4 days after every full and new moon we experience a spring tide and in between
(half moons) we experience neap tides. Therefore every fortnight we have a
spring tide, this gradually reduces until, a week later we have a neap
tide...and so the cyle continues. So what are springs and neaps?
Spring Tides
Spring tides have the largest tidal range - that is the highest high water
and the lowest low water. Therefore the tidal streams are also the strongest as much more
water is on the move between the tides.
Neap Tides
Neap tides have the smallest tidal range - that is the lowest high water
and the highest low water. Therefore the tidal streams are the weakest as much less water
is on the move between the tides.
Rule of Twelfths
The rule of twelfths is an extremely useful and quick method of determining the tidal height
and more importantly, for kitesurfers at least, the times of the strongest tidal currents.
This applies only to regions which experience semi-diurnal tides, that is 2 tides every 24 hours. In general, the UK is semi-diurnal. We have 2 high
waters and 2 low waters each day. There are isolated exceptions to this, such as Poole and Weymouth which have double highs.
For the majority of the UK, Hayling included, there are approximately 12 hours between each high tide and 6 hours between high water
and the next low water. To apply the rule of twelfths, you need to know the tidal range. This is the difference in height between
the high water and low water. It is this volume of water, which has to move between the tides.
It does so slowly at first, then increases in speed, before slowing again just before low water.
This is best explained in the table below and the diagram to the
right. Using
Portsmouth as the example, high water springs is about 5.0 m (above chart datum)
and low water springs is about 1.0 m. This gives a 4 m tidal range.
As you can see, 1/12 of this height moves in the 1st hour, increasing to 2/12 in
the 2nd hour. The most movement is always in the 3rd and 4th hours when
3/12 move in each hour. The flow reduces again to 2/12 in the 5th hour and
finally the last 1/12 moves in the 6th hour.
The lesson from this is that the tidal currents will be
strongest in the 3rd and 4th hours between high and low water. Using the
rule of twelfths and knowing the high or low water time, you can calculate when
the strongest currents will be.
| HW 12:00 |
Twelfth |
Time |
Movement |
Height |
| + 1 hour |
1/12 |
12:00 - 13:00 |
0.33 m |
4.67 m |
| + 2 hours |
2/12 |
13:00 - 14:00 |
0.67 m |
4.00 m |
| + 3 hours |
3/12 |
14:00 - 15:00 |
1.00 m |
3.00 m |
| + 4 hours |
3/12 |
15:00 - 16:00 |
1.00 m |
2.00 m |
| + 5 hours |
2/12 |
16:00 - 17:00 |
0.67 m |
1.33 m |
| + 6 hours |
1/12 |
17:00 - 18:00 |
0.33 m |
1.00 m |