does east coast stop at Suffolk?

[yondcassius]

Hi there,

Local library has a book on cruising the east coast.

I may be a confused old fart but I thought the east coast extended up the right hand side of England at least as far as Cleethorpes. Or it did in my school days. Further north from Hull was reckoned to be the North Sea.

The library book, however, thinks the east coast stops at Suffolk - Norfolk, the Wash and all points north don't get a mention.

Doesn't anyone sail south of the Trent and north of Ipswich? If not, why not?

Alan

 

[Gunfleet]

Navigating round that corner after Yarmouth is too blooming complicated!

 

[jet_morgan2000]

You drop off the top of the world if you travel further North than that !

I made enquiries about why there was not a lot of information North of the Wash, and the reply I revieved was that 95% of the Leisure Boating fraternity use their boats in the English water between Ipswich & Falmouth .... The North East of the UK and all of Scotland make up the other 5%.
Obviously they want to cater for the maximum number of Boaters because that is where they derive all their Mortgage re-payment money, and not from us tight fisted Yorkshire types.
Hope that helps to confuse you even more ?
Good Luck !
p.s. It IS possible to sail Norf orf of Scotland without dropping into the void.

 

[yondcassius]

This is not good news.
SWMBO wants us to move to north Norfolk - "you'll still be able to sail; it's got the sea nearby hasn't it?"
Wot do I do now?
Alan

 

[mtb]

Re: No its not

I think navigation around here is fine as long as you take into account weather.
In my humble opinion once you get passed Felixstoe it gets far to busy .
I play boats on the wash and now my tug is based at Wells Next Sea I will wander up towards Yarmouth , all fishing well trying to fish that is !!.
There is so much peace and space that one can enjoy uninterrupted sailing or motoring with out the constant "radio checks"
Cheers
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[jet_morgan2000]

Uncharted wates Mate !!! Uncharted waters !!!
Too many Waterspouts and 'Orrible goin's on !

 

[seaesta]

The East Coast from Scarborough to Scotland is a great cruising ground with good harbours and Marinas. Clear water and lots of sea life. The problem is the difficult bit between Scarborough and Yarmouth. We need more safe accessible ports of call to make round trips via the Forth/Clyde and Caledonian canals less daunting.

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: No its not

See below... it's not just me. We know someone with a parking space for a boat outside his house in Boston, but every time I look at the chart of the wash I think... nah. Too much local knowledge required!

 

[paulrossall]

It is a pity some folk give daft replies

My boat is on the Deben but I brought it down from Newark via the Wash in May. The problem is lack of ports to run to north of Lowestoft. The yacht club/berths at Lowestoft are excellent and going south you can go to Southwold where the folk are helpful but the enterance can be a bit tricky.
Yarmouth is a commercial port and has a dificult enterance in some sea states. Once in the berths are for commercial craft but it is possible to moor in an emergency.
After that you can go to Grimsby where the club will give you a warm welcome and access is OK, although I am never sure whether the lock keeper can give you access at all states of tide even though almanac gives restrictive access.
I came out of Boston and went to Lowestoft which took 17 hours. I dont see there is any great navigational problem the difficulty is that the is nowhere to go with easy access should the weather turn bad. Sure Blackney and Brancaster are interesting to visit but there are no facilities and it is not easy to fit Wells into the trip I did as you come out of Boston around high water and would have to wait off Wells for the next tide, in which case you might as well carry on to your destination. Hope this is usefull.

 

[extravert]

For anyone sailing with a reasonably deep fin keel there is nothing of interest on the East coast between Lowestoft and Grimsby, and that is over 100 miles. I would only sail there in order to get somewhere else. Maybe this is why your book stops at Suffolk I've been berated here before for saying that the East coast of UK is dull and boring, but it has little to offer compared to the other 3 sides.

There's an account of my passage through this part at
http://www.xrayted.freeserve.co.uk/section4.html

 

[ianwright]

The problem is that there are no deep water ports of refuge between Lowestoft and the Humber. I got caught out a few years ago when a passage between those two ports turned into a visit to Flushing.
Geography makes it unlikely that the situation will improve in the next few years..

IanW.

Vertue 203, Patience

 

[tynesman]

Who said the east coast is boring? yes it's not for the light hearted sailer,yes there is life north of hull,a lota lota life,and a great cruising coast.
Call into the Tyne anytime for a warm welcome

see you

Tynesman

 

[yondcassius]

Re: No its not

I'm pleased to hear somebody sails there!!
I like the idea of it being uncrowded, but am not so keen on having nowhere to run and hide when the weather is bad.

 

[yondcassius]

Re: It is a pity some folk give daft replies

Thanks for the info, yes it is useful.

 

[yondcassius]

Enjoyed reading your log of round Britain, hope to do the same one day - but probably NOT starting from east coast!

 

[yondcassius]

Re east coast
This is all very depressing.
SWMBO finally agrees to let me have a yachty (see other post) and then wants us to move somewhere where there is little point having one!
A masterstroke
I'll have to somehow persuade her we should stay where we are. At least here in the Midlands I have easy access to 5 motorways - make that 4; the M6 is currently being converted into a car park.
Assuming we stay put where do you suggest would be the best/cheapest/accessible cruising ground for a beginner?

 

[mtb]

Re: No its not

Well the wash is straight forwards,from the middle light ship just go through freemans channel and follow the channel to tabs head , the only thing to remember is if there's north or north east wind it gets choppy .

At night trying to navigate along the deeps is not a good idea because of the channel changes due to movement of the sand banks.
Don't forget to allow sea room off Gore point to miss the sand bank off Hunstanton.

The only time it got busy out there was when Endeavor and Albatross came in to Boston , then there were boats with owners that don't normally dare to come out !!!
( thank fully )
Take a good pair of binoculars up to Hunstanton have a look across the whole Wash you can easily see the sand at low tide .
I still cant understand why more people don't sail along this section of coastline Wells Next Sea is very cheap to moor and again unspoiled by over crowding
Cheers
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[yondcassius]

Re: No its not

Thanks for the advice Mick. I was working over in Cambridgeshire last week and drove over to Wells one evening. Lots of yachts moored around the place but unfortunately tide was out and the harbour office was closed so Ididn't get to talk to anyone that sails from there. I'd like to know where they sail to, and how easy (difficult) it is. Harbour office has a list of mooring fees in the window and as you said it is very cheap. I like that very much!
Regards
Alan

 

[pandroid]

Met a couple last year who lived in North Norfolk and kept their Westerly in Middelburg. (Holland). 300 quid a year, right in the centre of town, and all the cruising grounds you might ever want....

 

[Twister_Ken]

Go west young man

Maybe Milford Haven (loads of sheltered water) or Bristol Channel (big tides, nowhere much to go) or Pwhelli (pilly willy - big tides, places to go, some really tricky bits if you get daring).