Heading North (From the Orwell)

[Little Rascal]

We are hoping to head towards the Ore, Southwold, Lowestoft and maybe Wells with my little Europa on our trip this summer. The last few years we have headed south down the Wallet as the weather wasn't ideal for the Ore the last few time we tried. I'll be looking for some advice on passage planning as I prepare over the next few weeks. We usually base ourselves at SYH.

I've been using folio 5607 which stops at Orford Ness. Not quite sure whether to get the adjoining folio or Imray C28 which would cover the passage to Wells at half the price?

I've just ordered the new edition of the East Coast Pilot

 

[Lucky Duck]

I have found my copy of C28 to be perfectly satisfactory for my trips from the Orwell up to Southwold and Lowestoft

 

[Little Rascal]

Ok thanks. I do like the admiralty chart formats better really but I'm not really that likely to venture beyond Wells.

Can anyone tell me what to expect off Orford Ness? We are quite little to handle overfalls :/

 

[Bru]

Haven't seen on overfall yet of Orford Ness. Been that way several times including in our previous twenty three footer and had no bother

 

[Javelin]

You can go very close to the light house at Orford and miss any rough stuff, just make sure you keep going out until you're round the Aldeburgh ridge bouy.
I've sailed Harwich to Southwold on a tide in my old Pandora a number of times with no incident.

 

[LittleSister]

Avoid stopping at Great (?!*) Yarmouth!

 

[Leighb]

If you take the outside route, East of the Whiting and Aldeburgh Ridge, it should be fine with no overfalls, inside the Whiting can be lumpy on the ebb depending on the wind.

 

[Mandarin331]

Avoid stopping at Great (?!*) Yarmouth!

Yes, awful place for a yacht. Pretend it doesn't exist. Went through there many years ago en route to Norwich, as I its recall a sheer sided ditch lined with steel piling with strong currents all the way up to the town bridge, where we found a small knuckle with a ladder we tied up to waiting for the bridge to open, oh and not forgetting very strong cross currents at the entrance.

 

[Javelin]

Heard today that the Dutch Bavaria club visited these parts recently.
25 Bavaria's made the trip and some numpty at Great Yarmouth refused a request to allow them to moor up.

I maintain my rule of leaving Southwold and never turning to Port.

 

[ex-Gladys]

Yes, awful place for a yacht. Pretend it doesn't exist. Went through there many years ago en route to Norwich, as I its recall a sheer sided ditch lined with steel piling with strong currents all the way up to the town bridge, where we found a small knuckle with a ladder we tied up to waiting for the bridge to open, oh and not forgetting very strong cross currents at the entrance.

I've done a couple of holidays on the broads, and Yarmouth is the down side of travelling between N and S Broads, bad enough with a rugged old Broads Motor cruiser, but unthinkable in a nice yacht, tide runs at 4-5 kts...Would never stop there

 

[Little Rascal]

The only reason I would consider GY is that with our ability to drop the mast we can access the Broads more easily (?) than via Lowestoft/Oulton Broad, and free. We would need to moor for a few minutes to drop it though.

For Wells, I was thinking we should aim to arrive at HW -3 or a bit earlier, before the adverse stream sets in but with enough water for entry? With a passage planning speed of 3.5 knots on average (more in good conditions) it's quite a long trip for us - 15 or potentially 18 hrs (or more.)

So I was thinking of leaving Lowestoft with at least half of the previous fair tide and be prepared to slug it out against the 6 hours of foul. If we had decent weather we could get close inshore. Since this could be a long trip I'm also considering going overnight so we have the whole day to get into Wells. If we had kind SW's we would be quite a bit quicker.

 

[AliM]

Someone told us that a smallish yacht can anchor behind the breakwaters at Sea Palling, overnight or to sit out the foul tide. You had better get someone else to confirm that, but it sounded a good option in reasonable weather.
The only time we did it, we managed it in one tide from Lowestoft almost as far as Wells. However, coming back we were making no progress against the tide and a strong southerly wind, and had to duck into Great Yarmouth - not a pleasant experience!

 

[Little Rascal]

Thanks, yes I've looked at that and it might be an option if we were unable to make any headway or needed a rest. I'm not sure I'd want to be there in the dark though :/

 

[Leighb]

I've done a couple of holidays on the broads, and Yarmouth is the down side of travelling between N and S Broads, bad enough with a rugged old Broads Motor cruiser, but unthinkable in a nice yacht, tide runs at 4-5 kts...Would never stop there

We visited the Southern rivers last year, the trick with Yarmouth is to just plan your timing so that you do not have to stop. Book your bridge lift and then arrive at the entrance with adequate time to reach the Haven Bridge for your opening. We were a little early but just circled round for 5 mins until the bridge opened and through we went, on the way back we did not even have to wait. More important to get it right on the way out as the area between Breydon Bridge and the Haven bridge is somewhat unpleasant as there can be a lot of turbulence where the Northern rivers join.

The Harbour staff were all polite helpful and efficient. However everyone we spoke to in the area advised us NOT to stop in GY.

With regard to Lowestoft and the Waveney we found that very easy, Lowestoft harbour radio very helpful, RN&SYC extremely hospitable as always and I cannot speak highly enough of the very friendly helpful staff at Mutford Lock, just be aware if you use that lock that if like us you have fairly wide spreaders, you should plan to go alongside on the Northern side of the lock both ways. The footbridge over the East end of the lock does not open quite fully and we nearly came to grief, luckily SWMBO spotted the impending clash just in time.

 

[Little Rascal]

Any suggestions where to look for sailing directions for the actual passage north? East Coast Pilot doesn't really give much as far as I can see? Visit My Harbour has quite a bit http://www.visitmyharbour.com/harbours/east-coast/east-coast/ but I'm not sure how reliable or up to date this is?

 

[Mandarin331]

There's a pilot to the Wash and humber written by Henry Irving which is the bible to those waters, is that what you are looking for?

 

[Little Rascal]

Thanks, I ordered that today as it happens. Well the coastwise info in that link is helpful as long as its accurate?

 

[Colin K]

Hello,
Confirm Sea Palling is fine, the last twice that I did the Wells run i stopped there once as an over night stop once to sit out the foul tide. You enter the centre opening in the breakwaters and we had no problem with depth we draw 1.2m. I enter in the day light but once you get to grips with the place its fine.

Cheers, Colin.

 

[Little Rascal]

I realised I never followed up this thread, so I thought it would be worth reporting back on my summer trip.

We spent a few days waiting for good weather in the Orwell but eventually managed to catch a break for the trip to Southwold. With the wind in the NW (F4-6) we scooted round Orfordness within a 100 yards of the beach with plenty of wind but totally flat water and stayed close inshore all the way up to Aldeburgh.

Standing off at Thorpeness got a bit lumpy with wind over tide. Coming into Southwold was easy enough with a manoeuvrable little boat despite a large audience of holidaymakers. A nice welcome from the harbour office and rafting up with friendly people made for a pleasant stay.

We headed off for Lowestoft the next afternoon, making use of a break in the less than ideal weather, beating against a residual swell from the north making things interesting. It was flatter inside the Roads so approaching Lowestoft was uneventful.

We went into the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk for the night, intending to continue North as soon as possible. Considering the fact that we were a pair of scruffy Yobs in a tiny yacht, rather than Nobs or Snobs, we were made very welcome. The food was excellent at a reasonable price and for us at 19' the berth was actually cheaper than lots of other places.

Unfortunately my crew had to catch the train back to work and so I was singlehanding from then on. The tides worked out for an early start and so I left at 4am for Wells. With the wind in the West, I pretty much made the whole trip on one tack, racing the boat (spinnaker up quite a bit) as I was worried by starting a little late and light winds initially. In the end I made it to Wells in under 14hrs and was early on the tide.

Wells really is a lovely spot and these days most people can lie afloat on the pontoons. The only gripe as the owner of a small yacht is that they I was paying only a quid or two less than the 40 footers, at £20 a night it was by far the most expensive stay of my trip. It's not a big deal but it is a factor for us small boat owners. Its a nice vibe there though and the pontoons have a real sense of community, some good friends were made!

After a few restful days in Wells waiting for Westerlies, I was on my way back south again. This time I left at 9pm intending to get the hours of darkness over in the quiet northern part of the trip. All went well and I was buzzed by a low flying military aircraft a few times in the small hours. No idea what it was as I could only see nav lights but it must have been only a few hundred feet up and was definitely checking me out. Perhaps I was a target in an exercise or something!

The wind was building as I came past Caister into the Yarmouth Roads with some overfalls, and as the tide picked up against the wind it was getting distinctly uncomfortable. Although I was making good speed against the wind with the tide under me, after the first wave crest in the face and having no had no sleep, I decided to go into Great Yarmouth while things were still in control, rather than carry on to Lowestoft.

GY entrance was only a half a mile away so it was simplicity itself to turn and surf for the entrance. Flat water was a great relief but scooting up the river at 9 knots was quite a ride, especially not knowing what I'd find and after all the horror stories however I was able to raft up to a large Polish gaffer moored just before the Haven bridge. Without her it would have been a bit of a struggle, it's not a topside friendly place! Big fenders are a must. Anyway I was able to get the wet gear off and my head down for a few hours.
GY really is the armpit of Norfolk though - first thing I saw popping my head over the seawall was human excrement! I was able to walk through to the Yacht Station for a shower (closes 8pm) but frankly the standard of the facilities would have been bad in the 80s!

When the tide finally slackened, I dropped the mast and headed into the Bure. I was then set for a very pleasant week pootling about in the Broads, getting as far as Salhouse, Stalham and Potter Heigham. Very relaxing mentally after singlehanding at sea but the contrast between tacking every six seconds with every sixty miles was stark! You do really learn to sail in the Broads though and as long as you're not in a hurry even an undercanvassed Europa can get around and hands soon harden up!

Eventually I threaded my way down through Breydon and up the Waveney to Oulton Broad, where I got the train back to SYH for the trailer and recovered the boat at the Oulton slip (only possible at high tide for me.)

I have to say that the shower facilities on the Broads are pretty shocking, especially after yacht clubs and marinas. There aren't many of them, only in the major villages mostly and all are expensive. By far the worst were the two Broads Authority run Yacht Stations at GY and Oulton, particularly grotty, although the staff were friendly. I suppose most Broads cruisers have onboard showers these days but it really is a downside. The Broads are beautiful enough to put up with the lack of convenience(s) however and they're cheaper in other ways with free moorings so it's horses for courses, but it would be nice if the Broads Authority could join us in the 21st century...

All in all, it was a very pleasant trip 'going North', about 270 miles in total, and well worth the effort. The trip north to Wells over two fair and one fowl tide IS doable in a long day by a small boat in the right conditions but the option of going overnight or at least starting in the dark does give some flexibility.

Thanks all for the tips on here.

Jon

 

[Little Rascal]

A few pics...