Map showing the location of Spithead within the United Kingdom.
Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the channel to the north is the main approach for shipping to Portsmouth Harbour and onwards to Southampton.[1] Spithead itself is an important naval anchorage.[2] Historically, Spithead was used for assembling Royal Navy ships, including as a formation area for squadrons or fleets at anchor, as well as for the resupply of ships.[3][4]
^Satchell, Julie; English Heritage; Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund; Hampshire And Wight Trust For Maritime Archaeology (2007), England's Historic Seascapes: Solent and Isle of Wight, doi:10.5284/1000315
^Macdonald, Janet W. (2010). The British Navy's Victualling Board, 1793-1815. Woodbridge, Suffolk ; Rochester, NY: Boydell & Brewer. p. 84. ISBN978-1-84383-553-0. OCLC619635266.
^Dunn, Steve (30 January 2021). The Power and the Glory. Seaforth Publishing. p. 21. ISBN978-1-5267-6905-3.