Leaving the Deben.

[bromleybysea]

I keep my boat in Woodbridge which, given my draft of 1.8m, I can leave no earlier than HW-1. By the time I get to Felixstowe Ferry it's at least HW+1, nearer HW+2, so the ebb is well under way. I usually anchor up for a tide somewhere in the river before leaving the river on the next flood.
But next week I would really like to get out on one tide. Am I being over cautious in being reluctant to leave on a falling tide?

 

[Sailing steve]

I use wilyweather tide height predictions for depths on the Deben and Ore bars both entering and leaving and leave at least a 0.5m safety margin over my draft for crossing and a whole lot more than that if there's any east in the wind as you'll probably already know it gets very choppy on both.

Usually leave Woodbridge at HW and wait at Felixtowe ferry for the predicted time to cross. Going south presents a dilemma though - the later you leave it the less contrary ebb tide you'll have to face but going later decreases the depth on the sudden shallow patches on the Wadgate Ledge.

Ask me how I know...

 

[MoodySabre]

It's a few years since I've been to Woodbridge. Drawing 1.7m I used to leave asap and motor down the river and straight out.
Someone once told me that if the Horse Sand is covered then there is enough water to get out. I don't know if that is still the case.

 

[John 32i]

Nothing wrong with being over cautious. We came out this morning 45 minutes after HW which we not normally do (or recommend) sea was very flat and lowest depth we saw was 3.5 M

Very nice sail to Pyefleet where I am now sitting in the sun with a cold beer!

 

[Malish]

Ask John White, the Harbourmaster, details on the ECP chartlet, and then report back his response (please)

 

[johnalison]

Nothing wrong with being over cautious. We came out this morning 45 minutes after HW which we not normally do (or recommend) sea was very flat and lowest depth we saw was 3.5 M

Very nice sail to Pyefleet where I am now sitting in the sun with a cold beer!

I agree. If you know the entrance well and are confident you will be going back and forth and almost any tide with enough water. For the rest of us it is better to err on the safe side, though I might be happy to leave an hour or so after HW.

 

[Lucky Duck]

My recollection of club cruises to the Tide Mill in a boat with a similar draft to the OP was that if one left as soon as the cill allowed then the ebb wasn’t encountered until Ramsholt.

Annoying this meant the return trip to the Orwell was almost entirely against a foul tide.

 

[LittleSister]

I keep my boat in Woodbridge which, given my draft of 1.8m, I can leave no earlier than HW-1.

You can probably shave some time off your timing assumptions, it seems to me.

It's about 8.6 nm from Tide Mill entrance to the squeaky bit of the Deben entrance. I am surprised it would necessarily take 'nearer' 3 hours to get there if under motor, with a weak flood tide against you about half the way, and some ebb for the rest.

You say you can leave no earlier than HW-1, but on some days next week the 1.8m window appears wider than that according to Tide Mill's tide tables. That table will give you a general indication according to the actual day you are doing it, but you need to be all ready to go earlier than that and looking at the actual tide gauge at the cill, as actual heights/timings will vary according to weather, river flow etc.

 

[PeterWright]

Hi all,

This morning (18 July), drawing 1.85m, we came out of the Tidemill YH and had to wait8 minutes beyond the Tidemillprediction for the required depth to show on their gauge, so if it ears one way a bit on some days and the other way on other days, I reckon it must be pretty good. We moored down river making 6 knots over the last of the flood and up to 7.5 knots after the ebb started helping between the Rocks and Ramsholt. Over the bar we saw a least depth of 2.8m, keeping fairly close to the buoys (none more than 5 m on the beam) which I judged to be perfectly safe despite the short chop making our 10 tons hobby horse a bit. Of course we faced the ebb tide all the way to Ipswich and a head wind to Cliff Foot buoy but the genoa made a gentle and peaceful ride up the river until the wind again came ahead just before the bridge. Having crossed the Tidemill cill at 0530, we were moored up in Ipswich before 10.30.

For all the variations of the bar I have seen over the past 50 years, Getting out of the Tidemill and the Deben in one tide has always meant getting over the cill as soon as you can on the flood, making good time down the river to the bar and crossing the bar on the ebb.

Peter.

 

[bromleybysea]

All good advice. I have always been very cautious about crossing shallow bits on the ebb especially where the ebb is particularly fierce and the channel narrow. But I do run aground much less these days than in my impetuous youth. All looks doable for Tuesday morning's tide. I think I'll give it a go. I'll let you know how I get on!

 

[snowbird30ds]

If it's any help we left the deben yesterday afternoon 2 3/4 hours after predicted low water and lowest seen on depth sounder was 2.9m, no keel offset is set and we draw a metre, yes we are a stinkie not a raggie.

 

[shanemax]

Sunday 20th/Monday 21st Southerlies coming straight into the river and very very rough over the bar with breaking water every where.