Saturday 17 July
Sunday 18 July
Monday 19 July
Tuesday 20 July
Wednesday 21 July
Thursday 22 July
Friday 23 July
Woodbridge
Woodbridge
Woodbridge
Woodbridge to Shotley Point
Shotley Point to Chatham
Chatham to Hampton Court
Hampton Court to Shepperton
returns to top of this page
But today there is a change of plan – we are going to head for home early. Why? Because we have just accepted an offer on our house which has been on the market since Spring, and the buyers want to be installed before the start of the new school year. Since we will have to move out for this to happen, we will need all the time we can have to make arrangement. So we are aiming to be back in our marina at Marlow on the Thames by Monday 26th July.
We will stay in Woodbridge until Tuesday and then start the journey back.
Today we didn’t do very much – just mooched around Woodbridge and looked in a few estate agents’ windows. We bought a guide to the harbours of Holland – apart from the symbols legend, its all in Dutch, so we then had to buy a Dutch - English dictionary – more preparation for next year.
There was a decent thunderstorm in the afternoon, then early evening saw clear blue sky – enough to get us out for a stroll - and now there is more rain and some seriously dark clouds.
Taking the mud, with the tide Mill in the background
Definitely low water - mud everywhere
Looking down stream - more mud
We have done odd jobs today, more painting and reading, and generally stooged around. The Anchor Inn provided an excellent Sunday lunch of roast beef and a number (not to be revealed!) of Abbott’s bitters were consumed.
It has taken us the whole cruise to realise that the stern navigation light is obscured by the dinghy when the dinghy is up tight on the davits – this is a bit of a problem, particularly with all this murky weather we are experiencing at the moment. We have obtained a new lamp, which Mike has worked out how to fit in a location which will be visible at all times. Luckily we have all the bits and bobs on board needed to finish the job off. The idea is to keep the original one intact.
This afternoon was spent working out the passage plans for the three main legs of the trip home – Woodbridge - Shotley Point - Chatham - Teddington. We can take advantage of the tides for the two long legs of the journey without any really early starts.
Tomorrow is Maureen’s birthday. Present(s) and card are in the bag! Phew!!
Must have been a rough landing!
Passage
planning the easy way!
It’s always sunny on Maureen’s Birthday and today was no exception. After breakfast Maureen opened her presents – The amber bracelet was an immediate hit – mainly due to the fact that Maureen had chosen it herself on Saturday! There were a few surprises too.
Wrapping had posed a challenge for Mike – he had remembered the gift wrap paper but only discovered late last night that there was no sellotape on board. The choices available were black, red or green insulating tape, duck tape, carpet-tape, retro-reflective tape and masking tape!
The final solution was making neat little double-sided rings of masking tape, which resulted in an invisible and very strong joining of the wrapping paper. This fully complied with my normal standards of wrapping impenetrability! I supposed I could have used two pack epoxy adhesive too.
We then decided to take the dinghy out on an exploratory trip further up the Deben to just short of the road bridge. First we had to check how much water there was over the sill of the marina - not a lot at 10:00 (see picture) but by 10:30 there was enough to get us out. This stretch of the river can be empty of water at low tide, and there was hardly enough depth for the dinghy. We rowed and drifted upstream on the tide and watched the birds on the mud flats. There are several more boat yards here but the opportunity to get boats out and down the river is severely restricted because of the limited water depth – but I understand moorings there are cheap!
Birthday lunch was at the Waterside Café right by the tide mill which has a good sea food menu – followed by a stroll through town to the King’s Head for further sustenance.
This evening we are going to the cinema to see Ladykillers.
Birthday girl and her new amber bracelet
Tide flowing in over the sill
Dinghy's eye view of the tide mill
Boatyards upstream from the tide mill
Eyeballing the sill confirmed that there was more than enough water for a safe exit. We set off at 13.30, a good hour before high water, and so had to punch the tide almost all the way to the entrance. The weather was overcast with a strong Easterly breeze, which got stronger as we got nearer to the coast. Woodbridge is about nine miles from the sea, so it took us an hour and a half to get to the exit over the shingle bar.
By the time we got to the bar (shingle variety, not the other!) there was a good Force 4 Easterly wind blowing – not ideal and we wished we were at the bar in the King’s Head! We got out OK but once we turned in the direction of Harwich we found ourselves with a following sea on the port beam which caused Starry Night to roll alarmingly at times.
The grill pan crossed the galley again with a clang that we could hear up on deck! (note to remove next time). We had to put up with this for well on an hour and the corkscrewing got to a point where we decided that “clipping on” was the prudent thing to do. This is where you attach your life jacket harness ring to a strong point on the deck via a strap with carbine hooks on each end. We have some 8mm eye rings next to the helm specifically for the purpose. This is the next best thing to being lashed to the wheel. It certainly made us feel more secure.
When it came to crossing the Harwich shipping lane we should have followed a course at right angles to the main channel. This would have put us beam on to the waves and the wind and would have been quite dangerous for us. There was no large shipping about so we clipped the corner round Landguard Point and picked up the small vessel inbound track, which was much more comfortable. We weren’t the only ones doing this.
Once inside the Harbour entrance things quietened down again. We were soon at the marina lock, which was already open.
Once in the marina we topped up with 45litres of diesel and found our berth – this time G23. The wind is still howling, but is forecast to die down and veer to Southerly or even South Westerly – this will be much better for tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Woodbridge Tide Mill - farewell
Ramsholt on the Deben
River Deben shingle spit and bar
Entrance lock to Shotley Point Marina
We set off from Harwich at 07.45 and headed South along the coast past Walton-on-the-Naze and then that bastion of decency, Frinton, followed by Clacton (first prize one week, second prize two weeks comes to mind – too far away to tell if this schoolboy gag was justified).
After Clacton we made a zig-zag course in between the sand banks and down the spitways as we crossed the Thames estuary – Channels with names like The Wallet; East Swin, The Warp, Oaze Deep, and sand banks with names like Buxey, West Barrow, Gunfleet, Maplin Spit. The sand banks are quite noticeable as they tend to colour the water brown, and there are distinct lines between the deep, more blue water, and the shallower brown water.
As we approached the Thames and Medway shipping channels we could see a number of large ships heading in both directions. There is a sort of junction of shipping channels called “Oaze Precautionary Area” where special attention is required. It can be quite difficult to work out what is going on, even though we listen in to the relevant port control VHF channel.
We watched a pilot boat deliver a pilot to a large coaster inward bound to Rochester, which had slowed down to about 8 knots to pick him up.
Next on the starboard side we passed close to the wreck of the munitions ship Richard Montgomery with its masts and derricks still poking up out of the water.
We were soon into the Medway estuary proper – about 90 minutes from Chatham. By 15:00 we were announcing our presence to Chatham marina, a total of 7hrs and 15mins door to door (lock gate to lock gate).
We are now settled in at the marina and Mike’s brother Ian has joined us for the trip up through London to Teddington. And the sun is shining!
Farewell Shotley Point!
Red Sands towers - Thames estuary
Medway River estuary - always busy
Wreck of Richard Montgomery - too close for comfort - see diary for 10 June
By 09:00 we were at Garrison Point and the short stretch of open sea. Immediately we were confronted with about five large ships in the main channel heading for or coming out of the Thames – it was very busy. And it stayed busy right up to the Barrier. There were also a couple of tugs towing a new "Medway" safe water buoy out to sea.
We were overtaken by various large fast-moving ships which created a lot of wash. Otherwise it was a very smooth sea. As soon as we had the barrier in sight we made the obligatory request by VHF for permission to pass through. We were told to use Foxtrot span but also warned that the sugar ship Adelaide was going to perform a swing (do a 180 degree turn) and we had to pass with caution. Sure enough it swung broadside across the river assisted by a tug, right in front of the very part of the barrier we had been instructed to pass through! Anyway we slowed down (the tide was pushing hard so this didn’t make much difference) and detoured round and managed to line up with Foxtrot span OK.
We headed on past Canary Warf, Limehouse, and under Tower Bridge. The trip boats were now well in evidence, chopping up the water into a random watery mayhem, rougher than anything we had seen that day.
On under the numerous bridges we eventually passed under Westminster Bridge keeping to our side of the river, which put us fairly close to the Houses of Parliament et al. We were about half way along the length of the Houses of Parliament looking at the dining MPs on the outside balcony (it was 3.00pm – a long lunch?) when a police launch appeared form nowhere at great speed. It put itself between us and the HP, and looped around behind us, pulled alongside and engaged us in constructive criticism. Were we aware that there was a 70m exclusion zone alongside the HP? No we weren’t. Well there is and we should stay clear; we wouldn’t want you to be shot! – yes, that’s what he said.
How we were supposed to know I do not know – nothing was visible, and there was no mention of it on the hourly Port of London Authority traffic bulletins on the radio.
We plodded on with a tide giving us over 9 knots over the ground. When we got to Richmond the weir was still closed and we had to pass through the half-tide lock. This is now free but the people operating it believed in taking their time – it took nearly 40minutes to get through. It’s manned by the PLA.
Then it was on to Teddington lock (five minutes to pass through – thank you Environment Agency)
We dropped Ian off at Kingston so he could get his train home and headed on to Hampton Court for the night. Nearly ten hours of cruising time all told, and 62 miles.
A good night’s sleep will be had by all.
Ian and Mike enjoying a beer
Industrial serenity on the Medway
Buoy thieves?
Sugar boat turning round at Tate and Lyle Wharf right in front of the Thames Barrier and Foxtrot span.
Richmond half tide lock - very slow but now free!
Today we have done just six miles and two locks. Its been a lovely day of warm sunshine and relaxation.
The day started off with a stroll round Hampton Court Home Park – the back way in to the formal gardens was still blocked off for the flower show. We thought that limbo dancing our way in was more risky than limboing our way out! (See diary entry 7 June) After that we headed up river to Sunbury to do a little bit of food shopping. Then we headed further on up.
The lock keepers at Sunbury had set up a couple of blackboards outside their hut. One had today’s weather forecast, and one had the forecast for tomorrow. They were complete with little pictograms of the weather, wind speed, and temperature. This was obviously quite unofficial but not a bad idea.
We stopped for lunch near Shepperton on the old course of the river which was by-passed by the Desborough Cut and which created Desborough Island. This part of the river makes a big loop and is quite twisty, hence the perceived need for a short cut. But it is very pretty.
We stayed here all afternoon for some serious relaxation. This evening we took the dinghy out for a run. Firstly we wanted to give it a good run in fresh water as the last time it was used was in salty conditions on the River Ore. But we also wanted to explore the maze of waterways at the junction of the Wey and the Thames. Besides Desborough Island there are three other islands – D’OylyCarte, Lock, and Hamhaugh. We gave this area a thorough going over, and also made an illicit trip a short way up the River Wey lock cut, which is under the jurisdiction of the National Trust – my defense is that we are fully paid up NT members!
Finally I have a confession to make. The recent run of bad weather is all my fault and can be traced directly back to the purchase of a wide brimmed sun hat at Shotley Marina on the 13 June!
Hope this one has good brakes!
Sunbury lock keeper's weather forecast
Copyright © 2004-2009 Mike Hawkridge