Looking for sheltered estuary setting in the East

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks again for you answers. I was checking some moorings in Blackwater and it does not look bad.
And how good is sailing in River Orwell and River Stour? Is there room for sailing on any water level, or rather high tide is recommended?

Both rivers are sailable at all states of the tide, they just get a little narrower at LW

I have a boat based in Shotley marina, if you would like to see the Orwell and/or Stour by boat, drop me a PM, i'd be pleased to give you a tour.

 

[philld]

And how good is sailing in River Orwell and River Stour? Is there room for sailing on any water level, or rather high tide is recommended?

You can sail the Orwell and most of the Stour at all states of tide. You won't be able to get to Mistley at low water, but apart from that the main channels are perfectly navigable. Also you have the Deben, the Alde, and the Walton Backwaters close by, but access to those is limited by tide.

 

[Kukri]

Thanks again for you answers. I was checking some moorings in Blackwater and it does not look bad.
And how good is sailing in River Orwell and River Stour? Is there room for sailing on any water level, or rather high tide is recommended?

Orwell - good sailing at any state of the tide. Harwich Harbour likewise.. Stour - tide restricted above Wrabness.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Orwell - good sailing at any state of the tide. Harwich Harbour likewise.. Stour - tide restricted above Wrabness.

That is all perfectly true. But, the Orwell is littered with moorings and/or boats, whereas the Stour is pretty much "uncluttered". There isn't much past Wrabness anyway, is there ?

 

[johnalison]

That is all perfectly true. But, the Orwell is littered with moorings and/or boats, whereas the Stour is pretty much "uncluttered". There isn't much past Wrabness anyway, is there ?

Yeah but. The wind always blows one way or other in the Stour but you can sometimes get several hundred yards of sailing in the Orwell before the next bend and you get in to a big hole in the wind.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Yeah but. The wind always blows one way or other in the Stour but you can sometimes get several hundred yards of sailing in the Orwell before the next bend and you get in to a big hole in the wind.

The Orwell can be an awkward sail indeed. When i came back to Shotley after the maritime festival i managed to sail from the bridge to Felixstowe without tacking or using the engine, don't get to do that too often. A couple of Mondays ago i had a sail down the Stour, wind on the beam, all the way to Wrabness without tacking, stopped for lunch, all the way back on the opposite tack.

Conversely, as part of a club navigation challenge, a couple of Saturdays ago, it took us over 4 hours to get to the cardinal posts and back, and 1000 tacks going down.

 

[sailorman]

The Orwell can be an awkward sail indeed. When i came back to Shotley after the maritime festival i managed to sail from the bridge to Felixstowe without tacking or using the engine, don't get to do that too often. A couple of Mondays ago i had a sail UP the Stour, wind on the beam, all the way to Wrabness without tacking, stopped for lunch, all the way back on the opposite tack.

Conversely, as part of a club navigation challenge, a couple of Saturdays ago, it took us over 4 hours to get to the cardinal posts and back, and 1000 tacks going down.

:encouragement:

 

[PaulRainbow]

:encouragement:

I seem to remember being similarly corrected once when i was at school Roger, the teacher said it wasn't up or down, it was along. So i'm really confused now

 

[sailorman]

I seem to remember being similarly corrected once when i was at school Roger, the teacher said it wasn't up or down, it was along. So i'm really confused now

Down to the Sea :encouragement:

 

[johnalison]

Down to the Sea :encouragement:

And up to London.:encouragement:

 

[PaulRainbow]

And up to London.:encouragement:

But from Narfuk it was down to London

 

[sailorman]

And up to London.:encouragement:

Only when on a Train

 

[sailorman]

But from Narfuk it was down to London

Up the Smoke on a train

 

[tjbrace]

Orwell and Stour are good places to visit from Blackwater. ?

 

[Habebty]

And the Blackwater is a good place to visit from the Orwell and Stour

 

[Habebty]

Up the Smoke on a train

Quite so, but its up to Cambridge from Ipswich on the train, well at least from Haughley Junction!

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

Quite so, but its up to Cambridge from Ipswich on the train, well at least from Haughley Junction!

Does this reflect the perceived heights of Cambridge Uni. over the sea level of Suffolk Uni?

 

[Old Harry]

Does this reflect the perceived heights of Cambridge Uni. over the sea level of Suffolk Uni?

I understand that none of the Cambridge University's were ever Polytechnics, if that helps at all

 

[slawosz]

And how about river Crouch, is it good for sailing, considering I don't want to leave it and sail on open sea?

 

[Tam Lin]

And how about river Crouch, is it good for sailing, considering I don't want to leave it and sail on open sea?

No, it’s a ditch!