Havengore Bridge,

[Davidrss38]

Has anyone used the Havengore bridge to get to or from the Thames to the River Crouch. If you have what depth did you need, and what depth did you see as you crossed the sands.
Traveling from the Crouch to the Thames/ Medway would be so much quicker if the Havengore was I viable option. I need 6ft 3 in to float. High water springs with flat water may be OK, but I would like to here from others that have made the passage
Happy Sailing
Davidrss38

 

[AliM]

Ask that on the East Coast forum. You are more likely to get the definitive answers.
I'd be surprised if you could do it with 6ft 3in draught, but perhaps you'd make it on the highest high tide.

Getting from the Crouch to Medway is not too hard, by the normal route, if you time it to get to Whitaker No. 6 at LW so you get favourable tide for both legs.

 

[Davidrss38]

Thanks for your responce.
I've sailed the longway via No 6 many times. but the shorter route is very tempting when tide and time are right, it could take several hours off the trip.

 

[Marsupial]

The last time I did that trip is was in a bilge keeler with a 3ft draft, and even then on a spring tide we claimed a ploughing shield!

 

[Slow_boat]

I've not tried it but don't the timings mean plugging a foul tide up the Thames?

 

[jhr]

Ask that on the East Coast forum. You are more likely to get the definitive answers.

I.s.t.r. that a couple of East Coast forumites did exactly this trip last year and posted about it on the East Coast Forum. I'd always been interested in the trip in an academic sort of way, having read about the route in Reeds, so it was interesting to hear of people actually doing it.

Just found the post. Here you go.

 

[MoodySabre]

Some info on depths now on the East Coast Pilot download charlet here.

I have thought about doing it but drawing 5'6" have ruled it out. The Roach Sailing Association have guidance here. They did have a guided run through a couple of years ago.

 

[Amulet]

I met someone coming through at HW Springs last year (I didn't try it, we were anchored in the Yokesfleet.) His was a skittery wee boat that would have drawn about 3 ft max and he'd had to get out to push he said (can't think how in the mud).

My guess is that try it with your depth invites a video camera and U-tube posting!

My experience is that, if I cock things up, someone has a camera to hand.

 

[Davidrss38]

Thanks to all for feed back on this subject I have looked on the link for the east coast forum it would seem one boat drawing 1.2 saw 0.9 under the keel.
Just what I need but it would need to be flat water. More research needed before I try.
Thanks all.

 

[Gumpy]

Just a quick extract from an article I wrote for Blue Flag, the DBA magazine, after we did it in Parglena, our barge, High Tide was 13.48 / 5.7m at Southend.
Parglena draws 3ft and is not what one would call seagoing.

We were undecided where to go from Queenborough however the forecast for the next day was 1m swell in the estuary and up to force 4..........
Not something I fancied so it looked like a trip up the Medway

We left Queenborough at 9am and decided to have a look to see how bad it really was.
The answer, it wasn’t bad at all, almost flat calm, so we set off across the estuary towards Shoeburyness and then off up towards the Crouch, this involves running up the Edge of Maplin Sands and then turning back on yourself to get into the River Crouch. As we reached South Shoebury buoy where, on certain states of the tide, you can turn across Maplin sands and go in to the River Roach at Havengore I called the MOD range officer to see if it was ok to cross the firing range and go that way. He said it was, so we duly steered towards Havengore. This passage involves crossing the Broomway an ancient road that is about half a mile out to sea at high tide and only about 6 ft below the surface on a spring tide. We noticed a bit of sand being brought up in our wash as we neared the entrance but no where near as shallow as a canal. Having said that I would not recommend doing it on a neap tide when there is a bit of swell on as it could be possible to ground a barge. Waited for the Bridge keeper at Havengore to lift the bridge and passed through about an hour before high tide.

 

[FullCircle]

Thanks to all for feed back on this subject I have looked on the link for the east coast forum it would seem one boat drawing 1.2 saw 0.9 under the keel.
Just what I need but it would need to be flat water. More research needed before I try.
Thanks all.

Having done it a few times (and I am a member of the Roach Sailing Assoc) over the years, I would not recommend going deeper than about 5ft 6ins, prudence would say 5ft, and that close to the top of Springs.
A small change in air pressure, or some previous week strong weather may move an inch or two of the sands.

I have been grounded out there for a tide, and it isn't my favourite memory of the East Coast.

I am afraid I would either go round the top, or change my boat.

Smug Git: Thats why I bought a Lift Keel Sun Odyssey 35.

 

[davidej]

I've always wanted to do this passage.

A few years ago I found myself in the Roach (in a bilge keeler, draft 1.1m) at a spring tide and decided this would be the opportunity. I called up the bridge operater to ask a few questions and got the reply "I dont know - I have never been in a boat - I just pull levers".

I am afraid I let disgression be the better part and regret it as I now have a 1.6m draft fin keeler!

 

[nathanlee]

Has anyone used the Havengore bridge to get to or from the Thames to the River Crouch. If you have what depth did you need, and what depth did you see as you crossed the sands.
Traveling from the Crouch to the Thames/ Medway would be so much quicker if the Havengore was I viable option. I need 6ft 3 in to float. High water springs with flat water may be OK, but I would like to here from others that have made the passage
Happy Sailing
Davidrss38

I wouldn't attempt it with that draft. I did it in 2008 in my bilge keel Corribee (other direction), and spent a good deal of the trip poised on the depth sounder showing less than a meter. We did set off early, but still, it's very shallow.

 

[nathanlee]

I've not tried it but don't the timings mean plugging a foul tide up the Thames?

He said Thames to Roach, but still, yeah, you're screwed for tide times. I ended up punching the ebb up the Thames. Never, ever again. Ever. If you're going the other way you will need to find somewhere to wait for the tide since you won't get down the Thames against the flood either.