Monday 6 July
Tuesday 7 July
Wednesday 8 July
Thursday 9 July
Friday 10 July
Saturday 11 July
Sunday 12 July
Woodbridge
Woodbridge
Woodbridge to Felixtowe Ferry
Felixtowe Ferry to Dutch Tea Garden (Lowestoft)
Dutch Tea Garden to Langley Dyke
Langley Dyke to Brundall
Brundall
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The morning forecast was for more windy weather and heavy rain showers, but with lighter winds towards the end of the week. We made some preliminary plans to go to the rivers Ore and Alde, and Mike phoned around to determine the visitor mooring situation. The visitor buoys at Slaughden Quay Aldeburgh) were apparently in exactly the same place as when we had visited in 2004, but the visitor moorings at Orford had been moved to the other (South) side of the quay – just as well to know in advance.
We went for a long walk round Woodbridge and then in the evening went to the cinema which is just five minutes walk from the marina. We saw “Is anybody there?” starring Michael Caine – excellent.
One of the forecast rain showers - short and very sharp!
More wind forecast with strong wind warnings sprouting up round the East Coast – Forces 4, 5, 6 and 7 on the cards at different times of the next 24hrs. So we are staying put.
We took the bus into Ipswich to mooch about this nice old town and discovered a rather good coffee shop called JaCey’s where we had mid morning refreshments as well as our lunch. We also fitted in a lunchtime free organ concert in the St Mary La Tour Church, and a visit to the town hall art gallery during a thunderstorm, as well as some obligatory shopping.
The "Ancient Building" - now a Lakeland shop!
The morning forecast looks a bit more promising for Thursday but a disaster for Friday. Everyone seems to be making plans to escape the marina today and head out to sea the next day. We have decided to leave the Tidemill Marina this morning as soon as there is enough water over the sill and head down to Felixtowe Ferry.
We arrived at Felixtowe Ferry at 13:00 and picked up the same swinging mooring as we had last week. To start with there was a strong wind blowing down the river and this was creating quite an unpleasant random bouncy situation but after a couple of hours everything calmed down and we were in a perfect calm. This enabled us to concentrate on trying to acquire the definitive photograph of an East Coast fishing boat on its mooring.
Evening sunlight on the Felixtowe Ferry landing stage. The row of tyres is the edge of the quay for the ferry to Bawdsey, on the other side of the Deben.
Mike checked various forecasts available over the internet including the Marinecall local forecast covering selected spots along our passage. As is normal there was no agreement between these forecasts, leaving a lot to interpretation. The forecast sea state varied between an idealistic “rippled” and a no-thank-you “moderate”. After splitting open a tea bag and checking the contents on the inside of my morning tea cup all was much clearer and we decided that we would go for Lowestoft.
The passage plan had already been drawn up for an 11:00 departure but we advanced our departure time by about 45mins to give some flexibility in taking a more close-in route which would give us more shelter from the forecast North Westerly wind but would add some time to the passage. The crucial factor in the planning was timing the arrival in Lowestoft for low water to fit under the various bridges, which makes things much easier and avoids a lot of waiting for openings which are restricted in the times.
To begin with, the sea was smooth but the wind was on the cool side requiring lots of layers to stay warm. There were some horrendous black clouds visible, slowly making their way out to sea with lots of rain visible beneath. For the first two or three hours we managed to avoid getting a soaking but eventually our path crossed a rain cloud and we had to duck inside for an hour until it had passed.
Around Sizewell the swell became much more pronounced – about a metre coming from the NE even though the wind had been NW for several days. By Southwold there was a slight to moderate sea state super-imposed on top of the swell and for an hour we were well and truly bounced around. Then we were left with just the swell again by Lowestoft with just ripples on top. Most of the time we just serenely climbed up the swell and dropped gently down into the next trough. But occasionally everything would be out of sync and we would crash down into a trough just as the next top arrived and there would be a big thud and splash!
For the approach into Lowestoft we had to turn with the swell on the Starboard beam which lasted for an uncomfortable fifteen minutes before the final turn and the run into the harbour entrance which would put the swell behind us. The tidal stream was running at nearly three knots across the entrance. In order to maintain a track in the direction of the entrance gap between the harbour walls (quite important!) it was necessary to point Starry Night about thirty degrees to port of the intended direction. To the naked eye it looked all wrong, but the chart plotter showed a perfect straight track aiming for the harbour.
Permission had been given by the Port Control for us to enter, but no mention had been made of the enormous dredger sitting in the main channel between the harbour entrance and the bridge – for a small boat like us, invisible until you were inside the harbour walls.
We paused while another boat passed by the dredger’s starboard side after which the dredger started to move back towards us and to close the gap on that side. After a short VHF conversation we clarified what was required and passed him on his port side, getting a cheery wave as we went by.
We fitted under Lowestoft Harbour bridge we plenty of headroom to spare, and continued on our way to Mutford Lock. Mike had booked a 17:00 locking the previous day so it was just a matter of calling on VHF73 to let them know we were on our way. The lock keepers, who also run the Yacht Station at Oulton Broad, are really very helpful and it is a pleasure to deal with them. Their only fault is that they cannot control the weather, and just as we arrived the heavens opened and we got completely soaked mooring up at the waiting pontoon! It did wash the salt off!
Once the rain stopped, we locked through and were on our way across Oulton Broad just before the start of the Thursday night power boat races. We stopped at the Dutch Tea Garden staithe in Oulton Dyke, glad to be able to rest. A good night’s sleep was had by all!
Fishing boats dancing on the morning tide in the Deben Estuary
The shingle banks at the entrance to the Deben with an outbound container ship from Felixtowe Container Terminal which is on the other side of the headland and on the River Orwell - well out of the way!
This one just missed us - the next one didn't. It was cat and mouse with the clouds all the way up the coast.
The dredger in the entrance to Lowestoft Harbour. We had to squeeze through the gap on the left. And we did fit under the bridge just visible in the background - with lots to spare!
Today was spent gently pottering from the Dutch Tea Garden to Langley Dyke. It is spring tides and according to the tide tables we would be in for a very high “high water”.
Sure enough as we approached Herringfleet staithe where we had intended to stop for lunch, there were just a few inches between the river level and the quay side, and the water level was still rising. So we carried on.
Reedham Bridge opened just as we arrived (as had Somerleyton), and we could see at Reedham Quay that water was already overspilling the quayside, not that we had intended to stop here. Our thoughts were an a baked potato and a pint at the Reedcutter at Cantley, but the situation was even worse there. The staithe was well under water and there was no way of getting off the boat without waders.
So we carried on to Langley Dyke which had been our intended evening stop anyway. Here, there was about six inches of quay heading still exposed and one remaining space on the staithe proper. This is an isolated location with no passing traffic, no pub, no shop, no nearby attractions, no hire boats! We are right at the end.
However, as usual, nothing is perfect! There is a small brick hut about fifty yards behind us which contains the local farmer’s irrigation pump driven by a large electric motor, extracting water from the dyke. It was going flat out for about an hour this afternoon, making an irritating background noise. However, all has been quiet since; hopefully he doesn’t water his crops in the night. I can see why the end mooring was the last one to be occupied. We make a good sound barrier!
Reedham Quay under water and tide still rising
Langley Dyke
The closed Wherry Inn at Langley Dyke looking very forlorn
The chap in the next boat declared that he was going to stay put for the day, clearly not bothered by the 24 hour mooring limit nor the noise.
After breakfast, we headed back to Brundall at a dawdle, as the river was very serene and quiet, and we were enjoying the tranquility. We were back in our berth by lunch time. The afternoon was spent polishing the superstructure, and tidying up blemishes in varnishwork.
Heading up the dyke to our marina
Today we will be doing touristy things by car, and have our Sunday lunch booked at the Olde Sadlery in Neatishead - a favourite of ours for its carvery. Tomorrow there are a host of boat jobs to do including a 100 hour engine service, and making arrangements for the lift and antifoul in August. With any luck we will be finished in time to head home Monday evening.
Copyright © 2009 Mike Hawkridge