Day trips from Queenborough

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Charlandjaci

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Hello,
Moved boat over to Queenbourough.
Looking at suggestions for day trips from Queenbourough to .....
Will either be 2 young kids (4&5) with me and the wife, or just me and the wife.
We are still newish to sailing (3 years)
We have a 26ft sail boat
Kids love sailing, like it when the boat ‘goes over the waves’
Somewhere where we could pick up a swinging mooring perhaps, maybe even stay over night if possible.
Also any good fishing spots besides stagnate creek.
Thank you and look forward to any responses
 
Harty Ferry either round the outside or inside. Buoys to pick up, room to anchor.
The Ray - west of Southend Pier. Go well in. Easy anchoring or there are some buoys if you're lucky. When the tide goes out there is hard sand either side so great for swimming or football etc. (take a dinghy).
 
MoodySabre said:
Harty Ferry either round the outside or inside. Buoys to pick up, room to anchor.
The Ray - west of Southend Pier. Go well in. Easy anchoring or there are some buoys if you're lucky. When the tide goes out there is hard sand either side so great for swimming or football etc. (take a dinghy).
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Thank you
I’ll definitely look into it
 
All the way round Sheppey, perfectly feasible and a good day out. Probably best done clockwise.
I don't think you can use any fishing spots beside Stangate, I think it's all nature reserve.
 
Yes, just a bit unfamiliar with the area as only been up and down the Medway a 1000 times and up to red sands 3 times from Upnor.
Any local knowledge would be greatly appreciated, especially the family friendly locations as kids get a bit restless after a couple of hours
 
Just round the outside to Harty at the moment, Charl, until the bridge is sorted - this is the place to be kept up to date.
I think you've been out to Red Sands so know the spooky forts
 
Unfortunately easy day sails from the Medway are few in number. Most of the marina type destinations require a tide in a boat that can average 5 knots. Ramsgate, The Blackwater, Harwich, London, all a long day with children and a bit much in a weekend to get back home again too. The secret to keeping the children on board isn't slogging away upwind for 8 hours, having a quick tea and coming home leaving at 04.30 on Sunday morning.

So you'll have to look a little harder at your chart as I did when my daughter was younger, with a bit of imagination some closer destinations appear!

Stangate Creek as mentioned already is ok, but realistically that's well under an hour from Queenborough and no real options to get ashore. Not much to do other than what you've taken with you. It worked well for me when my daughter could sail her own dinghy and would sail around the anchored boat. We've also got paddle boards, which gives you something else to do particularly when there is no wind. Fishing can be good fun too.

Harty Ferry as Stangate but easy access to the back of the island via your tender and the slipway. The Ferry Inn does a lot of weddings etc so you're not guaranteed food if you go ashore, be wise to phone in advance.

Conyer Creek in the Swale is a tidally sensitive trip, plan to leave and arrive near HW, the trip under the bridge is interesting and sheltered water, although quite shallow. Marina bar and pub plus walking on offer, very pretty when the tide is in. There's a generator in the road at the Sheppey Crossing at the moment that powers the bridge, as it's temporary while the bridge lifting gear is fixed I'm not sure if they lift for yachtsman or just commercial vessels. The phone number for the bridge is in the ECP, they're generally really helpful.

Gravesend YC. Realistically about 3-4 hours from Queenborough. Sea Reach can be rough in wind over tide, in SW wind off the back of Grain you can usually get down the 10 miles to the Mucking buoys in a handful of tacks. Gravesend has everything a town has to offer good and bad, lots of wharfs/slips to get ashore including the yacht club. Ring first they have a dedicated visitors buoy.

Benfleet YC. Very friendly, tidally sensitive and you'll need to dry out either against staging or alongside their pontoon. If you call in advance and arrange I'd be surprised if they wouldn't send someone to help you up the creek. Pilotage skills required.

Sheerness Beach. On a nice day with no wind, go and anchor off Sheerness beach. Dinghy ashore for chips and ice cream (watch the dinghy!) and surprise the locals.

That's about the lot I think of, assuming you've been to the Darnet forts, submarine at Strood etc
 
Suprised that Sharfleet has not come up on your radar.
Go into Stangate and turn to Port after two commercial bouys and wreck bouy into Shafleet Creek.
Your first visit might want to be around low water to see whats in there.
You will need a depth sounder and chart or like me a chartplotter/laptop/ Ipad and fishfinder to ensure you do not find the bottom especially when the tide is covering the mudbanks and bars.
On a flood go in from Stangate and continue round into Sharfleet for some considerable distance before you run out of water. :)
Anchor up in whatever water you are comfortable with ( we like a metre or two under keel) for lunch /fishing /bird watching
Frequently a few seals can be seen on the south bank about 3/4 of the way through creek.Very sheltered when other more popular locations are exposed to winds especially from the East.
Check out mud flats over towards Half Acre Creek and you will see a wooden Beacon . BW No7.
This will give you an idea of when enough water to exit the Creek around HW via Half Acre out to main river and back home on the ebb. You can of course go back out the way you came.

We can go when the water is this far up the beacon. Keep beacon to starboard about 10 metres especially if going out real early.
Having been going in there for many many years have now run out of excuses for not paying attention and a woeful ability to find the bottom............ and are now recycling some old ones.
Years ago, rapidly running out of water made a skipper snap decision that the location of some seagulls must indicate the channel.
They were standing on the bottom.
It took two embarrassing hours to float off.

Do have somewhere a classic photo of a yacht perched right on top of bar that goes across creek opposite Sharfleet Saltings. Another 6 inches and he probably would have made it.
 
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These suggestions are all for mooring overnight.

You could travel past Gravesend to Erith. Moor off Erith Yacht Club. Going further upstream you could go to Greenwich. The Greenwich Yacht Club have moorings and a pontoon, plus a nice clubhouse. Not too far to walk into Greenwich.

Alternatively take the tide to Ramsgate. The kids will love going ashore here and there is a proper sandy beach.
 
For an hour or two sail then 'upriver' to Gillingham or MYC or Chatham for a stop and a run around ashore without needing to use a dinghy, or The Strand or various other clubs for a dinghy ride.

Otherwise if you want overnight, and can manage 6/7 hour plus days then Burnham on Crouch and Brightlingsea are both good for children. Also Tollesbury, though this is a longer day as you will need to leave near high water, and also arrive near high water.
 
Sharfleet is also good for an quiet comfortable overnighter in sheltered water with decent holding for the anchor and virtually no passing traffic
 
Can you take the ground? If so Faversham and Oare creeks are worth a look. Good pubs, boatyards, walking, shops. Cinema! But you will need to go up on the flood and stay for a tide, and be ready to sink your keel (s)in to soft gentle mud
 
Town Wharf at the top of the creek has frequently been used by Mobos.Very soft mud underneath and just lean against the wall.

Do believe bridge has been removed for a survey.
Conyer is very similar but with water and power and an absolute bargain price wise.
 
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I have a 20 foot sailing boat I keep in Queenborough harbour and I also have 2 children aged 7 and 3. I find options are limited in entertaining them but seal spotting is always a favourite at low tide. They can be found on the west banks of stangate and sharfleet creeks, usually in groups of 2 to 6. A larger colony lives on the large sand bank between Harty and shellness, sometimes as many as 70, but again you have to be there at low tide
 
Off at a bit of a tangent, we sailed from Gillingham for many years but, as our nippers hit 6 or 7 and the demand for beaches grew, we moved over to the Orwell. A bit more of a drive from Rochester but better family boating.
 
lincoln said:
I have a 20 foot sailing boat I keep in Queenborough harbour and I also have 2 children aged 7 and 3. I find options are limited in entertaining them but seal spotting is always a favourite at low tide. They can be found on the west banks of stangate and sharfleet creeks, usually in groups of 2 to 6. A larger colony lives on the large sand bank between Harty and shellness, sometimes as many as 70, but again you have to be there at low tide
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Thank you, I think you might be moored next to me at Queenbourough, I’m the 26ft named Phoenix.
thanks for the info, will check it out, kids loveseal spotting
 
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