Can't even rely on the tides these days.

[Javelin]

The big issue with having a boat that draws 6'4" in a place like Southwold is I need a Spring high to get my keel over the slipway sill so our travel hoist can pick it up.
Yesterday we picked up oldish Sunfast 36 which draws a little over 6'
We thought it would be tight but the tide yesterday was 2 feet above prediction so easy.
Today we wanted to launch the sunfast and get mine out.

Even though prediction was in theory higher today we were at least 2' lower so the Sunfast only just got in and mine still sits waiting.

Tomorrow prediction is higher again but not by much.
Running out of time to get her washed, painted, saildrive seal replaced, rig checked and back in for the trip to Ostende

 

[pvb]

Not sure I'd consider keeping a 6'4" draft boat in Southwold!

 

[tillergirl]

High pressure sitting over us. Perhaps the Northerly wind will help.

 

[CX54WEK]

Not sure I'd consider keeping a 6'4" draft boat in Southwold!

Me neither!!

 

[sailorman]

Not sure I'd consider keeping a 6'4" draft boat in Southwold!

cheap mooring you cant have it both ways & you can always go to Lowestoft for the w/e too :ambivalence:

 

[pvb]

...& you can always go to Lowestoft for the w/e too :ambivalence:

Oh, joy of joys!

 

[ex-Gladys]

High pressure sitting over us. Perhaps the Northerly wind will help.

Yeah Met observations for yesterday show a 1032 high at 1400, so that's 19cm depression of the tide.... NTSLF.org gauge for Lowestoft shows actually a bit higher than predicted yesterday lunchtime, but about 0.2 down since then...

 

[chinita]

I blame Easter. Always late or early, never on time.

 

[Javelin]

Well today prediction was a 2.5 - Lowestoft gauge predicted 2.1 and we got 2.0
So boat sits there for another two weeks, grrr.

As far as keeping a boat here that draws 6'4"
I can get in the harbour 2 hours after low water and 3 before low water.
(possibly 2 hours before low water but not had the guts to try it)

Which I don't think is that bad at all especially as it takes 10 minutes from mooring to the sea proper.

Lowestoft is and never has been high on the list of preferred ports although the RN&SYC is a nice place to eat once in a while.
Breskens however is 12 to 13 hours and with a SW wind we get a nice angle each way.

 

[johnalison]

There is a lot to be said for being tidally-dependant. It imposes a rhythm onto one's sailing life and puts you in tune with the elements. I have been tide-dependant in Heybridge, Maylandsea and now at Titchmarsh and often think about how dull it would be at, say, Brighton.

 

[pvb]

I can't imagine the frustration of being tide-dependent. My leisure time is precious, and if I want to spend it using the boat, I want to do exactly that - not wait hours for the tide to be high enough to get out. A friend has his boat in Tollesbury, and daysails there seem to be rare things. Madness!

 

[Koeketiene]

Well today prediction was a 2.5 - Lowestoft gauge predicted 2.1 and we got 2.0
So boat sits there for another two weeks, grrr.

Don't moan.
People keep telling me that the lack of water is part and parcel of the East Coast cruising experience.

 

[Tomahawk]

That is a tad unfair. There sre other joys, like the faouling rate that eats up AF in a week as well as andbanks that go walkabout.

 

[stuey_two]

I can't imagine the frustration of being tide-dependent. My leisure time is precious, and if I want to spend it using the boat, I want to do exactly that - not wait hours for the tide to be high enough to get out. A friend has his boat in Tollesbury, and daysails there seem to be rare things. Madness!

It sounds as though you are temperamentally unsuited for sailing on the East Coast - many of the nicest places to sail and visit are only accessible at or near high water.
As for oportunities for day sails from Tollesbury, they are not at all rare but do have to be synchonised with the times of high water and have to be either less than 3 hours or more than 9 hours. Not a problem for me or many other berth holders there.