inside or outside the sands for Woodbridge haven to Ramsgate - Calais

J

jezjez

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 Apr 2006
Messages
438
Location
Deben
Visit site
I've just been reading some 2009 forum advice about Ramsgate to Calais and the Goodwin Sands. We are starting from the Deben and planning to sail down to Ramsgate first before heading on to Calais.
I've got a copy of the Thames Estuary crossing guide (yesterday) but I wondered what people thought about going via Fisherman's Gat etc which knocks off 8 miles or so from the route "going outside everything".
Any advice welcome - except really bad advice; that will, sod's law, be the bit we follow to the letter.
Cheers
jez
 
Plan your route for both otpions.
if on the day wind, tide, and visabilty are suitable take the inside and save the 8'
 
Foulger's Gat will be open, marked by the wind turbines rather than the SWMs that used to be there. Crossing at the Little Sunk (near the Barrow No 2) is easy so you have the inside routes of either crossing the Swin or going up the Black Deep to Foulger's.

Call the Guard Boat, the Mary Ann 1 when you near Foulger's just in case but the activity on the Wind Farm is reducing each week as commissioing proceeds
 
Did this (from the Orwell)for the first time recently and planned to go round the outside.A lovely if cold Easterly made that hard work so changed my mind and went through Black Deep and Fishermans.No problem at all and would do the same again.
 
I don't think I would ever bother to go outside from Harwich, but maybe from the Deben it might be a little different. It is very nearly a straight line from the Naze to the North Foreland across the sands. There should be about 3.5m over the Sunk west of the Little Sunk at LW, so we have it much easier than those from the Blackwater.
 
Under sail, it all depends on the wind direction. If it's blowing southerly, you have to sail a lot further anyway and standing out North of the Cork, round Long Sand Head and then tacking back in is a realistic option, but beware of shipping at the Sunk roundabout!

In almost any other wind, I would go for Tiller Girl's optiom of Foulger's Gat. To get to the Gat, either N or S of the Cork, according to wind again then N of the Gunfleet. You can go N of the Sunk as well or cross the sand at Barrow no. 2 buoy (see the chartlet on Tiller Girl's website). From there, Foulger's is just a short hop across Black Deep (look out for the ships again!).

We'll be doing Harwich - Ramsgate on Tuesday, if the weather serves.
Looks like it won't. Forecast is southerly with gusts up to 43 knots, depending which forecast you want to believe.
 
Last edited:
jezjez said:
about Ramsgate to Calais and the Goodwin Sands.
Click to expand...

Via Foulgers Gat for me too.

Ramsgit to Calais - N or S of Goodwins depends on your time of departure. Done both, usually North of Sands starting at slack water before the stream in Straits starts SW but watch out for being set onto Sands - not sure if the tall chimneys are still near Sandwich, used to be excellent for a back bearing.

When the SW set has been a very early start I have left Ramsgit to take the last couple of hours of stream South inside the Goodwins to cross the TSS at the South end of the Sands as the tide turns back to NE taking me up towards Calais.
 
Karouise said:
......
Ramsgit to Calais - N or S of Goodwins depends on your time of departure. Done both, usually North of Sands starting at slack water before the stream in Straits starts SW but watch out for being set onto Sands - not sure if the tall chimneys are still near Sandwich, used to be excellent for a back bearing............
Click to expand...
Towers are long gone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top