A notice to mariners is how a harbour authority tells you what has changed since your chart was printed: a dredger working the channel, a buoy moved or lifted, a wreck marked, a race closing an area, a firing range active, a bridge out of action. Checking them is part of planning a trip, and the Sailing Orders expect a skipper to have done it.
Each authority publishes its own, and they only cover their own patch, so a passage down the Solent may mean looking at two or three. These are the ones that matter to us.
The authorities
Southampton VTS covers Southampton Water, the Hamble and the central Solent, which is to say almost every trip that starts at Mercury. This is the first one to check. Vessel Traffic Services also run the moving prohibited zone around large commercial ships, which is worth understanding before you cross the deep water channel.
The King’s Harbour Master, Portsmouth covers Portsmouth Harbour and its approaches. Naval movements, exercise areas and the small boat channel all appear here, and a day sail to Gosport is inside their area.
Cowes Harbour Commission covers Cowes and the Medina. During Cowes Week and the other regattas their notices are the difference between a straightforward arrival and an unexpected one. You can subscribe and have them emailed.
Yarmouth Harbour and Lymington Harbour cover the western Solent, where the club regularly goes for a night away.
And one general reference
The Solent Handbook is not a notice service but a standing guide to the area: harbours, approaches, tides and local rules in one place. Useful when you are planning rather than checking.
Notices change constantly, so there is no point in us copying them here. Follow the links on the day, and if something affects a club trip, tell the skipper.