Crossing the Wash

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David1944

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I am hoping to cross the wash From Kings Lynn to Boston in the middle of April and I am looking for some first hand experience to give me some advice of the pitfalls and the best time to meet the tides.
I have a twin engined Fairline Carrera equipped for coastal trips and have my cert of comp.
Any help would be welcome
David
 
Although i've not done the actual trip i have done lots of trips into and around The Wash from Wisbech. This looks a very straight forward trip to me, the only real pitfalls are going to be the obvious ones of tides and sand banks.

From Kings Lynn to the Number 2 channel buoy is about 11 miles, then it's around 5.5 miles straight across to the Boston number 1 buoy and finally, around 12 miles to Boston.

When i'm passage planning i try to avoid pushing the tide, where possible, so i'd leave Kings Lynn 1 hour before high water. With a 15MPH (about 13 knots) speed limit, it's going to be around an hour to the Number 2 buoy. Dead straight from Number two to Boston Number 1 is 5.5 miles which will take no time at all and it'll be slack water, so it'll still be slack water as you enter the Freeman channel. I think the Witham has a 6 knot speed limit, so allow a couple of hours to get to Boston.

Not sure of local facilities at Boston, no doubt someone will be along soon who does.

Out of interest David, what navigation equipment is the boat fitted with ? Charts ? Sounder ?
 
Equip ment

Paul
Yes got a sounder, one thing that might put a spanner in the works I am leaving from Denver in reality, and from what I understand I would have to lay off the entrance to Boston to catch the next tide as I would not make slack water in time to travel up stream.
David
 
leaving denver on a spring tide I always leave about 1 hour after denver HW,I've not yet tried it on a neap but will do in april, you can leave anytime after HW as long as you are lower than the handrail by the lockies office and you should clear the bridges ok, if theres not enough water beware of shoals at stow bridge, denver to kings lynn is the only realy tricky bit of the journey.
I think boston grand sluice usually open at around 2 1/2 hours either side of HW.
Theres good sheltered anchorage at clay hole while waiting for the tide at boston.
If you are doing the return journey it gets a bit trickier on entrance timing to denver from the bulldog tide gauge.
 
David1944 said:
Paul
Yes got a sounder, one thing that might put a spanner in the works I am leaving from Denver in reality, and from what I understand I would have to lay off the entrance to Boston to catch the next tide as I would not make slack water in time to travel up stream.
David
Click to expand...

Not sure about the trip from Denver to Kings Lynn David, so don't know how long it would take, or what the tidal constraints are, maybe a call to the lock keeper at Denver. But, if you had to split the journey over two tides, i'd personally be mindful of the changeable weather in The Wash. If you get out of the Lynn channel and lose the depth to return, you'll also not have enough water to get into Wisbech or Boston, so if the weather takes a turn for the worse, you'll have to tough it out at anchor.

If i had to split the journey, i think i'd be inclined to wait at Kings Lynn. Hopefully someone who's done the trip can provide a bit more info.
 
Clay Hole has very little shelter if the wind is from anywhere other than the North. I spent a v. uncomfortable half tide in a South Westerly gale, wind over tide, until I pulled up the anchor and motored into the wind on tick over. The journey up river wasn't much fun either.

I suspect as you are asking this question however that you will not be trying this unless in settled conditions, in which case you will be able to tootle quietly over , do a bit of fishing and then go up from Tabs head about an hour before the following high water.
 
WoodyP said:
do a bit of fishing and then go up from Tabs head about an hour before the following high water.
Click to expand...
Then you'd be at the lock at HW ,about 3 hours before high water as lockings are a couple of hours before and after HW.If in doubt call the locky who's a freindly chap ;)
 
We (two narrowboats) came out of Boston, to go up the Welland, and decided to sit it out at Clay Hole to wait for the flood. The other narrowboat dropped ir's anchor and spent a very uncomfortable afternoon rolling in the swell. We went up the sands and dried out and listened to the cricket in the sunshine watching our friends discomfort. Quite a few photographs here

http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Tour_01/fen8.html
 
Splitting the trip and starting from Kings Lynn is good advice. Much more relaxing when you have spare time.
If the weather is OK you could head N/E out of the Freeman channel up to Long Sand to see the seals, rather than sit at anchor.

Shelter from an easterly/southerly winds can be found, but only when Roger Sand is exposed.... a few places to tuck in and rest next to it while waiting for the tide.

Depth of water on the bar about 400m N/E of No11 buoy (South of the clay hole) is the one to watch, plenty of water above half tide.

Don't be tempted to follow 10m fishing boats from Boston going in early, they have flat bottoms and very shallow draught!

Never had a problem with depth in the river unless upriver of Boston dock lock, and only then near low tide.

Phone number for the lock at Boston is 01205 364864.
 
read all your trips and I wondered why you didn't go straight up the Welland from Boston as we do
 
We were going to Spalding, and they wouldn't work the lock apart from immediately after HW; we left Boston somewhere just after HW so this meant sitting out a tide. They really messed us up on the way out; having arranged a lock out, and made the sluice keeper at Surfleet know we were on our way, the EA bods made us wait at the Spalding lock until visibly they could see the water was dropping, and we set off at max revs (perhaps 7-8 knots plus tide) and rounded into Surfleet creek with horn blasting, only to see the sluice dropping. What's worse, this was a Saturday and they wouldn't open the sluice on a Sunday, as the keeper was away. The prat of an EA lockeeper at Spalding, who had resisted all attempts by us to demonstrate how to work his lock, made matters worse by coming to fish later at Surfleet, totally oblivious to the predicament he'd put us in.
 
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