Bradwell Marina to Holland

[Jon4468]

Read all about it in the next club Jib sheet

I heard you went to the pub and did some head banging?

 

[Daydream believer]

I heard you went to the pub and did some head banging?

It still hurts.

 

[trellsy]

"Thank you all for your assistance. I wanted to provide a quick update. I departed Bradwell on Friday, August 4th, at 11:30 AM, approximately two hours before high tide. Unfortunately, there was no wind at all. I spent a significant amount of time navigating against the tide south of the Gunfleet in the Kings Channel and reached Long Sand Head by 4:30 PM. I changed my course to 130 degrees, but due to my early departure and the influence of spring tides, the tide pushed us closer to the Galloper Wind Farm, forcing us to adjust our direction. We entered the TSS separation zone by 10:00 PM, and it was a very busy area! By midnight, we reached the Imray NS51 point, which positioned us south of the shipping lane and Westhinder.
As we continued, we gradually caught the flood tide towards Breskens. The tide's strength increased, and while we were motorsailing, our speed over ground (SOG) reached 10 knots. We arrived at Breskens around 5:30 AM. We decided to stay in Middelburg for the following two nights due to heavy rain and strong winds.
Our next stop was Goes. Regrettably, we realized that the only suitable weather window for our return was on Thursday. Consequently, we made our way back to Breskens through the Hansweert canal. We departed Goes at 9:15 AM. Unfortunately, we underestimated the wind's impact against the tide in the Westerschelde. We encountered 27 knots of wind opposing us, while the tide flowed at 2-3 knots in our favor. This combination left us battered and exhausted when we finally reached Breskens at 3:00 PM.
The next day, we set off from Breskens an hour prior to high tide. We tacked to Blankenberg, completing the journey in under four hours, although it felt much longer. On our way back, we faced calm winds and opted to head towards Harwich. We crossed the first shipping lanes to the west of the anchorages, bypassing Westhinder and taking a more direct route. The anchorage was busy with over 25 ships. We arrived at Ha'penny approximately 12 hours later, having followed a direct course of around 295 degrees.
Friday proved to be a fantastic sail back to Bradwell. We departed during Harwich's low tide minus two hours, as the wind, blowing at 18 knots, was practically on our nose. We just managed to scrape into Bradwell at low water plus two hours.
A heartfelt thank you to Sabre for providing the charts and books. I have returned them to your locker."

 

[Daydream believer]

I am sitting reading this post in the harbour in Ostend where I have been for a couple of weeks. ( hopefully Boulogne tomorrow)I cannot understand why you chose to go through the Swin Spitway when all you had to do was go to the Knoll & sail along the N side of the Gunfleet Sands up the Wallet Then bear off for the LSH Once past the sands.

I did say that I had never encountered any shipping in the Sunk area & unusually I was called up not once but twice by Sunk VTS with requests to change course for 2 ships that were restricted in ability to manoeuvre. I told Sunk what course change I would make & they conveyed that to the ships in question. Both captains agreed to the change & thanked me via Sunk which was most unusual

I actually thought that I had broken my 13.5 hour crossing record by 10 minutes to 13 hours 20 mins but that was from Bradwell & my other trip was from the moorings at Stone so it is debatable as it takes some time to get from Bradwell to Stone. So I think my old record still stands

 

[johnalison]

I cannot understand why you chose to go through the Swin Spitway when all you had to do was go to the Knoll & sail along the N side of the Gunfleet Sands up the Wallet Then bear off for the LSH Once past the sands.

I have done both routes when we were based in the Blackwater. As far as I recall, the Swin route is slightly shorter but the choice may depend on the weather. There is also the feeling that I want to get far away from England as soon as possible, and the fact that I enjoy being out of sight of land.

 

[trellsy]

I am sitting reading this post in the harbour in Ostend where I have been for a couple of weeks. ( hopefully Boulogne tomorrow)I cannot understand why you chose to go through the Swin Spitway when all you had to do was go to the Knoll & sail along the N side of the Gunfleet Sands up the Wallet Then bear off for the LSH Once past the sands.

I did say that I had never encountered any shipping in the Sunk area & unusually I was called up not once but twice by Sunk VTS with requests to change course for 2 ships that were restricted in ability to manoeuvre. I told Sunk what course change I would make & they conveyed that to the ships in question. Both captains agreed to the change & thanked me via Sunk which was most unusual

I actually thought that I had broken my 13.5 hour crossing record by 10 minutes to 13 hours 20 mins but that was from Bradwell & my other trip was from the moorings at Stone so it is debatable as it takes some time to get from Bradwell to Stone. So I think my old record still stands

My choice was based on variety over practicality! Ive tacked down the wallet so many times this season. It was just different!