To investigate the performance of a stand-alone horizontal axis tidal current turbine (HATCT) under an actual tidal current, a stand-alone HATCT, including its rotor, power train, electrical system, control system and support structure, was designed, and in situ experiments for a whole rising tide period were carried out in a water channel in Zhoushan, China. The experimental results show that the turbine that was designed had a good starting characteristic that began generating at a tidal current velocity of 0.588m/s. Both the MPPT control strategy to capture maximum power under the rated tidal current velocity and the power limitation control strategy to limit output power above the rated tidal current velocity were verified.