Foulness/Shoebury Qinetiq area pilotage

Cantata said:
Somewhat surprised to see that the NE Maplin is apparently inside the danger zone!!
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I thought that. But one year I accidentally parked my old Evo25 well inside the Maplin for a fair few hours. If I had a VHF they would no doubt have been barking at me.
 
tillergirl said:
So the old half tide route over Foulness is not on then! Not that I've ever had the courage to do it.
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Oh it was, just not where I happened to be...... before the days of GPS, and the incident brought forward the purchase of a Dinghy Decca.
 
Out of interest, I plotted the stated coordinates of the inner and outer firing areas onto the relevant chart ...

ShoeburnessRange.jpg


The dashed outer firing area is fairly similar to the indicated area on the chart. The solid red line of the inner area however is quite different

The six warning flags are as indicated (albeit not very obviously) on some charts and are all at the Southern end of the range

The "flag" on Foulness Island is actually a black ball hoisted to the yard arm of the observation post

It is interesting, to say the least, that there are no visible indications of whether the range is operating within the Crouch. I suspect the outer firing area is not considered significant under normal circumstances and when it is actually in use is patrolled by Sentinel or operated under a clear range procedure although that is not what is stated on the Qinetic web site

Of course, you can (and should if intending to transit the firing areas) contact the range and check Range Control: 01702 383211. Marine Control: 01702 383311, Marine VHF: Channel 72 & 16 (Call sign "Shoe Radar")

The stated position is that when the flags are flying and the range is operating, the entire area, inner and outer, is prohibited to navigation

When the range is not operating, the outer area is freely navigable and vessels can pass through the inner area in transit but must not linger

I would be very interested to get my hands on a copy of the range byelaws (not, as far as I can ascertain) available on-line as I discovered that the Lydd range is actually navigable at any time even though the blurb likes to claim otherwise and frighten mariners away. The devil is in the detail of the byelaws (in the case of Lydd byelaw 8e permits vessels to transit the range at any time if they have reason to do so e.g. heading for the harbour at Rye)
 
simon14b said:
It might be that my memory is playing tricks on me, but I am reasonably certain that there are red flag displayed on the North shore of Foulness island. Think that was the case when I was going past about three weeks ago on my way towards Burnham.
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I confess I had the same thought from last year but there is no mention of such a flag in the official info and I wondered if it had been discontinued or whether my memory was at fault

There is a flag marked on the chart close by Crouch Corner at 51°36.88'N, 0°54.43'E (about 0.4NM inshore of the Inner Crouch buoy)

Edit: The flag in question is located on the South bank of the Crouch directly under the "r" of "Crouch"
 
Sixpence said:
Probably teaching granny to suck eggs here, apologies if so, but I believe it all falls under the Range byelaws and the Military Lands Acts, 1892 to 1903
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It does indeed but it's the details of the specific byelaws for the Shoeburyness Range that are not readily available (whereas some, at least, of the other coastal ranges publish the byelaws on-line)

As I discovered with regard to Lydd when planning ahead for our spring cruise, there could be a significant discrepancy between what the range operators would LIKE to do and what they are legally entitled to do - in the case of Lydd, they suggest that mariners must keep clear of the range when, in fact, the byelaws explicitly state that there is no restriction on navigation and that the range must cease fire in a vessel transits the safety area.

I suspect, in fact, that Shoeburyness is off limits when the range is operating because the wording of the notes and notices differs from other ranges where navigation of the safety area is discouraged but not actually banned but being a curious sort of fella I'd like to get my hands on the hard facts :)
 
Relevant to this thread is that Peter Hibberd, Chief Instructor of the Woolverstone Project, is today planning to sail (in one of the Project's Access dinghies) out through the Havengore route and around to Southend. He attempted this yesterday from Paglesham but was advised by the bridge keeper to turn back as it was fairly fresh outside for a small dinghy. He has spent the night at Suttons Boatyard, Wakering and will try again today.
This would suggest, provided you contact the bridge keeper, that any firing is halted if you use the route during weekdays.
BTW Peter is undertaking a Bridge (Orwell) to Bridge (Tower) sail to raise funds for the Woolverstone Project.

Re the Red flags, these always used to be displayed on the N shore of Foulness in the Crouch when firing was underway (and also on the Foulness shore of Quay Reach in the Roach), but have not been there recently myself.
 
Jan Harber said:
Re the Red flags, these always used to be displayed on the N shore of Foulness in the Crouch when firing was underway (and also on the Foulness shore of Quay Reach in the Roach), but have not been there recently myself.
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There used to be permanent one in Devil's Reach of the Roach as well. It was very useful for judging the wind when tacking up against a southwesterly, or taking down against an easterly. It was badly worn last time I saw it which was over a year ago.
 
Jan Harber said:
.............
This would suggest, provided you contact the bridge keeper, that any firing is halted if you use the route during weekdays.......
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In my experience, Jan, it's not wise to turn up and hope. Better to contact them the day before and check. No doubt there is big money involved and they won't necessarily pause for a passing mariner. Having witnessed live firing while on passage along the Swin it is most certainly serious stuff they do sometimes - it was like a scene out of 'Sink the Bismarck'...
 
A couple of years ago we were returning from the Swale, and while crossing the Mouse channel towards SW Barrow heard the range guard boat repeatedly calling "Yacht NW of SW Barrow please call as you are in the danger zone" We were pretty sure as it was not us as we were between No14 and SW Barrow, but as I could see no other yacht ahead I called them up to make certain. They replied that it was a small red yacht - we are green - and that it was close inshore and well in the danger zone.

They had obviously suspended firing because of this vessel which AFAIK never replied.
 
Did not mean to suggest you should turn up and hope. During the week you must definitely contact the Range Operations Officer beforehand; and although firing doesn't usually go on over weekends, you should still check first.
Peter Hibberd did get through yesterday in his dinghy en route to Southend, but by the sound of his report the Bridge Keeper kept him waiting until fairly late in the afternoon, presumably until the firing had finished for the day.
 
Convenient it is but however we look at this route it is not one that can be planned with certainty (is any). I had a very interesting walk dodging quicksand along Havengore Creek - in the gut, a habit of mine started after walking in the middle of the Blackwater (boat in tow) from Thirslet to Osea with the incomming tide - what anexperience! I found what looks to be the high point where the tide falls into Havengore. I'll dig out some pics.
 
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