Solent pilotage for superyachts: Southampton, Portsmouth and Cowes compared
The short answer
Pilotage in the Solent is compulsory at 61 metres and over for Southampton, at 48 metres and over for Portsmouth, and at 48 metres in the inner harbour and 61 metres in the outer harbour at Cowes. There is no pilotage in the western Solent or the Needles.
Three harbours share one stretch of water, and each sets its own threshold, its own notice and its own harbour control. A yacht moving between them in the same week can be inside pilotage at one and outside it at the next, so it is worth knowing where each line falls before the passage is planned.
When is pilotage compulsory at Southampton?
At 61 metres and over, and at 20 metres and over with more than 12 passengers. ABP pilots cover the eastern and central Solent, Southampton Water, the Itchen and the Test. A yacht of 61 to 150 metres boards at the North Sturbridge buoy, or at the St Helens buoy in visibility under a mile; from the western Solent it boards at the East Lepe buoy. Pilots are booked at least 24 hours ahead through ABPnotify, with the ETA confirmed six hours before arrival.
When is pilotage compulsory at Portsmouth?
At 48 metres and over, and at 20 metres and over with more than 12 passengers, and a deployed bowsprit counts in a sailing yacht's length. The pilot is booked at least 24 hours ahead with length, beam, draught, last port and berth. The ETA follows eight hours before arrival and is confirmed on VHF 11 two hours before; no pilot is sent without that confirmation. For a vessel up to 70 metres the 2026 charge is GBP 568, or GBP 710 from the Nab.
When is pilotage compulsory at Cowes?
Under the Cowes Harbour Commission's 2026 directions, at 48 metres and over in the inner harbour, at 61 metres and over in the outer harbour, and for any vessel over 15 metres beam. The harbour is open at all states of tide for draughts to about 3 metres, with the Eastern Channel dredged to 2.25 metres.
Is there pilotage in the western Solent?
No. The Southampton district's western limit runs from Stansore Point to Egypt Point, and there is no pilotage in the western Solent or the Needles.
Who controls a yacht's movements?
Southampton VTS monitors VHF 12. A vessel over 20 metres gives notice of its movements through ABPnotify and, since 2026, needs a VTS traffic clearance before leaving a berth. In Portsmouth Harbour a vessel over 20 metres enters and leaves under the King's Harbour Master's direction and keeps watch on VHF 11. Cowes Harbour Radio monitors VHF 69, though not around the clock.
What else shapes the passage?
Large ships carry a Moving Prohibited Zone: 1,000 metres ahead and 100 metres either side for a ship over 150 metres in the Precautionary Area off Southampton Water, and 500 metres ahead and 50 metres either side for a ship over 135 metres in the approach to Portsmouth. Southampton has a double high water and a short ebb of about three and a half hours that runs faster than the flood, and the cross-tide in the Portsmouth entrance runs at up to four knots at springs.
How can Watermans help?
We book the pilot with the right harbour, give the notice each one requires, and plan the passage around the tide and the traffic. The three harbours are compared on the Solent page, with the detail in the Southampton, Portsmouth and Cowes pilot notes.