with constant wind it will be choppiest with wind against tide about an hour each side of high tide. so whichever way the wind is.
wind from southwest go east, southeast go west and if it is northerly and as you are in cowes go to the folly....
I believe that the tide floods to the east and ebbs to the west. So given the prevailing wind is from the South West. And given that the sharpest chop is when the wind is blowing in the opposite direction to the tide I would say that the ebb tide is worse. However I could be wrong!
But from pesonal experience (we play mainly in the west solent) the worst conditions are when we are heading back to Poole with the wind on our bow and the water flowing in the other direction and making the waves stand up.
Wide over tide, any direction but north and north west winds are more of a pain in the butt as you are generally being hit from the side (assuming you are heading up and down the solent). Certain places too are much choppier too, especially if there are loads of boats about churning it up...
Forgetting wind over tide, which you can work out for yourself, in the eastern Solent ie. Sandown to Cowes, this area is more affected by any wind that has any Easterly in it, and further round towards St Catherine the more southerly, it becomes. The west of the solent Gurnard to the Needles, and around the south side. are more effected by winds coming from the west.
