There are extremely high winds forecast for the next few days with the outlook from five o'clock tomorrow morning suggesting gale force

At this stage it appears the worst weather will arrive on Saturday but mariners can always check with the Coastguard or log onto the Met Office website for the latest information.

Currently at Lee on Solent near Portsmouth we have a southwesterly wind, force 7 gusting gale force 8 with good visibility but a rough sea.

It's only a few days after Spring tides so the sea will also be fairly high at high tide, which combined with the strong winds could make being anywhere near the coast potentially hazardous. Anyone planning to venture near the coastline should take extreme care.

Coastguards always warn against wave watching from promenades or piers during extreme weather conditions, with a high risk of being swept into the water.

We always stress the importance of checking weather and tides before venturing out to sea and given the latest forecast I would recommend that no one puts to sea under these conditions.

If mariners are concerned about their craft in ports or harbours by all means check them from a safe location ashore but I would strongly advise not going out to vessels on moorings over the next few days as we have had incidents, one fatal, where people have got into difficulty whilst attempting to row out to their boat in a small dinghy. If you have reason to believe your boat is not secure on a mooring contact the harbour master.