Lowestoft to Bradwell Essex

Fire99

Fire99

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Hi All,

What are your thoughts on cruising a planing motor cruiser (around 23ft 200hp) from lowestoft or Yarmouth to Bradwell Essex. I'm not familiar with the waters on the Norfolk / Suffolk Coastline?

Any particular things to watch out for? Also taking the boat over land is an option if the sea-going passage is not possible..

A bit vague? but any thoughts, however general would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,

Nick
 
Nick
I keep my yacht at Bradwell but I'm only familiar with the stretch to Harwich - known as The Wallet (a familiar boating term!). It's harmless enough provided it's a slight sea and wind is with tide. It can a bit lumpy for a planing boat otherwise. Once you're down to the Colne it flattens off anyway.
The entrance to Bradwell is OK if you have a detailed chart. Just go down to the green buoy before turning up the creek. I guess you do not draw much - under 3 feet and it's OK at anything except LWS. The lowest water is in the channel between the orange cans and the withies.
If your cruising speed is high enough then you could do the trip in one - us sailors don't like to rush things and it takes me 5 hours to get back from Harwich with tide and a fair wind.
Roger
 
We used to do exactly that in a Bayliner 2452 (about 23 feet) with 200 hp but only as far as Harwich, if it is a petrol boat then I believe that is still available at Levington when you get there. Pick the rigt day and avoid the overfalls, usual caveat re gear charts etc but it's an easy enough tripp, watch out for the pots / nets and it should be uneventful.
 
As the trip would take about 13-14 hours in a sailing boat you should be able to do it in a fraction of that time and so all during one tide. That gives you the opportunity to avoid wind-over-tide and associated rough water - look at wind forecasts and tide tables and try to get both wind and tide behind you. There are several refuges along the way - Southwold, Ore, Deben, Orwell - in case the weather changes or something goes wrong.
 
There are no particular hazards although the water is not very deep.
You can keep fairly close to the shore all the way down past Southwold ,stay out to avoid Aldeburgh Ridge & go round Orfordness.You can then go inside or outside Whiting Bank,between Woodbridge Haven & Cutler crossing the shipping lane at Harwich(keep a good listening ear to VHF VTS Channel 71 for shipping movements) past Stone Banks & Medussa down the Wallet past Colne Bar buoy & Bench Head & into the Blackwater.The entrance as described is well marked into Bradwell Creek.
You need to be well aware of the tides as they can be quite strong in the first part of the journey.
Coming back from Lowestoft to Deben we touched 10 knots over the ground in a 27ft yacht,obviously with the tide.
I have not attempted to set out the precise navigation as that is up to you,but only to try & indicate that with good tidal planning it is really a Mk1 eyeball job & pilotage rather than deep sea stuff.
 
Hi Roger,

Thanks for the reply.. My previous boats were at Maylandsea (just down the 'river' from you) and this one will hopefully end up maybe at Bradwell so i may see you there /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Im pretty knowledgable of the blackwater and colne but have never ventured up past Harwich so the Suffolk/Norfolk coast is a bit of a mystery to me..

Thanks though and hopefully catch up soon around Bradwell
 
Thanks everyone for your help on this one..
It looks like a trip that would be good experience with the necessary planning and precautions...

So long as im happy the mechanics are sound and a suitable auxillary engine is available i think this will be a go-oer so to speak..

I'll keep you posted how things pan out..

thanks,

Nick
 
Hope you enjoy the trip. Dare I suggest you might buy a pilot book which would not only help with the trip, but would also IMHO help with your enjoyment ouside the area you say you know well. I bought 'East Coast Pilot' a year ago, I reckon it's a great book and seems much more up to date that the old East Coast Rivers. No connection etc etc.
 
Do it on a nice calm day and you'll do fine if its your first offshore passage. Keep the land on the right and in sight when going south.

Aim to do the passage in wind with tide conditions and that'll make the waves the smallest.

You'll then find that you want to complete the trip to calais to fill up with Booze!!

When you do make sure you don't over weight the forecabin with beer and make it difficult to get on the plane.


Have fun
 
Thanks for that,

I'm sure when it goes well it is very addictive. I've done a few trips in previous boats up the blackwater and round the coast a little but nothing like this trip.

I'm sure the trips to Calais (and the like) will follow accordingly if i manage to keep land to the right this time and dont end up drifting off the coast of greenland /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Does anyone know if the run out of Lowestoft is fairly straight forward? As a child i never got further past Oulton Broad.
 
Grandmothers and eggs etc..

Do you carry a small backup outboard of a couple of horsepower? Useful on that trip as the number of barely marked pots needs to be seen to be believed.
 
We are often out around different fishing spots in areas along that stretch of coast.

Keep an eye open for nets/pots, there are loads of them scattered everywhere. Take a very sharp knife, if you snag up on one, just cut it and drop it.
Apart from that you should have no problems.
 
Thanks for the info and pic links....
Do you think Lowestoft is the better option than Gt Yarmouth.. Both are equally easy to get to...

Looks quite exciting though /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
This is the interesting question.
I have a 2hp outboard for my tender but this is a hopefully soon to be acquired boat.

What HP outboard would people recommend for an auxillary on a 23ft motor cruiser?
 
Thanks for the info on the pots/nets..
I'm trying to be pretty well prepared so i have most possible eventualities covered...
I'll make sure some decent knives are on the inventory..

Oh and i'l make sure its the 'ships mates' job to get wet if we have to cut ourselves free /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
This breaks down into two stages - Lowestoft - Harwich and Harwich - Bradwell.

A sailing boat would make two tides of it, unless she had a fair wind.

Refuges en route:

Southwold, the Ore and the Deben are all tide restricted. This is much less of a problem for a powerboat, of course (less draft, more horsepower!) but it remains a factor, eg you may be limping in under auxiliary! I definitely advise buying the "East Coast Pilot" and reading up on these.

Harwich is a superb all weather port of refuge - you can get in there in any conditions, day or night. Ample choice of marinas.

No point going into Walton or Brightlingsea.

The Admiralty small craft folio for Thames estuary North covers it all IIRC
 
IMHO Lowestoft is a much better starting point than Gt Yarmouth. Firstly mooring up in the river, no real decent
moorings, 'cept to the quayside which is horrid, nasty
rise and fall, nasty current in river, and very mucky and
very commercial. Two bridges to negotiate, the town
bridge only opens a few times a day. (Thats the main reason
i moor in ABP Marina Lowestoft)
In lowestoft to get to sea from the Broads you need to go
thru the Lock at Oulton Broad, very helpful.
Once thru the Lock a short distance on your St'bd you come
to ABP HAVEN very friendly, if you have time stop for a cuppa
they welcome visitors. Further down there is the town bridge
which opens frequently 24hours, or at LW you could probably
pass under. After the bridge on St'bd is the Royal Suffolk
Marina, they also do visitors moorings.
Have a safe trip, remember what Vitalman said going south
keep land on right /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif If not could be hello Whitby /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
When i go south i keep well offshore cos of all the POTS
round Southwold and Aldburgh and the like. Cheers Tony
 
Lowestoft far better IMHO, pleasure boat friendly with plenty of visitor moorings if the weather picks up and you change your mind. Lowestoft town centre and train station few minute walk from RN&SYC.

Great Yarmouth is more of an Industrial working port with no safe moorings and not particularly pleasure boat friendly.

I always keep well out at Whiting bank or less it is a very calm day, keep some distance away from Sizewell & Orford Ness until near to Felixstowe to avoid the pots & nets.

The Orwell or Hamford Water are really the easiest place to stop should the weather pick up once you have passed the Ness.
 
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