No Regrets Tidal Terrorism!

If you really want a challenge and the tides are with your go for Bray to Chatham in one day. It can be done, we left Bray at 10am and arrived a Chatham 11pm. (I wouldn't really recommend this for your first tidal trip though.)
 
Timing when to go down the tideway can be a real headache depending on the lock times at St Kats, you will nearly always have to punch the tide because St Kats is only open around high tide. Normaly you have to lock through Tedders about 3hrs before high tide at London Bridge but this is usualy when there is the least amount of water below Richmond and you risk running aground.

Best way i've found and the best way to introduce your swmbo to the tideway, is to go through Teddington on a really early high tide or just after, then stop at Chiswick Pier for a few hours, do some shopping have some lunch etc.. then leave 2hrs before the lock is due to open at St Kats and you will be first in the queue to get in, sometimes St Kats doesn't lockin twice if they run out of time.

I wouldn't try to get any further than that as the timing will be even trickier and it takes ages to get anywhere else interesting. St Kats is definately better than Limehouse for a first visit, just feels that bit more special to arrive at /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Getting the tides right is the thing, we did it, tides all wrong, left Weybridge at 9.00am, locked through Richmond 1/2 tide to find incoming tide just starting, i.e. no water, aground at Hammersmith, crawled down punching tide until it finally went ebb under London Bridge, London River like a plowed field with wash from river buses. Thoroughly uncomfortable motion until past St Kats when river traffic began to ease off and wash dropped off. Two of the kids choosing to get wet just so they could lean over the rain and not mess the carpets. Got as far as Limehouse. Pissing with rain, got well bounced by a passing high speed police launch there, scared SWMBO out of her wits, mother-in-law too, as we rolled 45deg each way with everything cascading onto floor including TV in his wash. Joint mutiny from SWMBO & mum demanding "beach it, do something - anything" to stop the bouncing around, in the end gave it up as a bad job as clearly a family in rebellion were not going to find any fun at all in the trip and turned round at 9.00pm thoroughly fed up. It was as black as what'sisnames's armpit by then, amber bridge lights in the rain easily confused with street lights over them, when the London River wash bit was past the sods all went to bed and left me to it! Made Richmond on a falling tide just after midnight, had to climb ashore over muddy piling to wake up lockie, Teddington by 1.00am, bless them, they were waiting for us, woke everyone up on the island above Teddington bashing in mooring pins at 0130am.

Next day all the females went shopping in Kingston 'till past 2pm leaving me sitting with an empty boat and holiday up the proverbial. We eventually got as far as Oxford and of course they spent another day shopping, bloody boat looked like an Argos Warehouse on the way home.

Lessons learnt- Don't miss the tides, London River is a miserable experience with wash in all directions, keep well over to starboard cos' those bloody police launches will come as close aboard as they can just for fun if they are in a hurry, and river buses are a lot quicker than you think and plainly own the river anyway, dose any weak tummys with anti-seasick pills after Richomond is passed so they can work by the time you get to London and keep the women away from shops. Oh, and I have the same hull as you, Ocean 30 single screw, so we don't fly anywhere either!
 
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Every journey begins with a first step and am going to assume that Mrs NoRegrets will be aboard.
High Water at Tower Bridge around noon would be helpful.
Day 1.Bray to Teddington Lock on first day.Leave Bray 8am ish (you are bit keen)
Moor above lock early afternoon and wander along in the evening to that nice inexpensive Italian restuarant in the High St,after dinner wander down to lock office,cough up for your mooring and ask what time you need to go through to arrive at Richmond barrier just after it has lifted.
Day 2.Punch tide (and find out just how slowly you will be going downstream) and arrive at St Kats around high tide.
Have ginourmous fun attempting to pick up waiting bouy outside the lock and then spend ages waiting anxiously for staff to call you on CH80.
Try not to hit anything expensive as you make your way to whatever back of beyond berth you have been allocated.
Moor up and turn off that bluddy noisy engine.......O joy ..peace and quiet......
HAVE VERY LARGE COLD BEER and then go to lock office to pay and to arrange lock out.First lock out gives you some flood tide to whizz back up river.

Nip down Wapping High St for meal at Il Bordello restuarant.

Day 3.Listen on CH80 for them to call you round to the lock.....then everthing in reverse.
In my humble opinion four days is just right for a comfy relaxing experience to
St Kats or Limehouse,anything further distance wise will be more like a test of endurance.
Chelsea Harbour is an alternative,but bit sterile and miles from civilisation.
 
Top speed according to GPS is 8mph on the single Perkins.

As this was just a health check for future reference, we didn't try firing up the Wing engine, but it's doubtful it would make any difference anyway.

7mph comes up easily enough, and 5mph, our usual speed, an effortless 13-1400rpm.

The off-river lake section at Caversham is a good place to see what a slow boat will do flat out, as it's not limited like the tidal River! (So I have been told anyway....)
 
"Top speed according to GPS is 8mph on the single Perkins."

On a big tide,incoming flow could be 4 mph,so at around 4 mph over the ground Brayman is correct in that you will have a problem getting to pool of London before the gate is firmly shut.Also be a bit reluctant to strain that engine at WOT for hours on end when a nice relaxing amble down at low revs is whats required.

Blimming heck somebody who moves even slower than me,been waiting ages for that .
 
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I'm sure I read (somewhere) that a 4mph tide does not actually slow you by 4mph though, illogical as it seems?

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Well, if you read it somewhere it must be true !

However, believe me, it's no fun being locked out. Listen to the old farties - Limehouse may not have the ambiance of St Kats but its a really nice place to be tucked up in, getting in and out is better organised and IMHO it has much to recommend it. The DLR is only a few minutes walk.

BTW, how long is it since this new toy did a trip down the tideway? You will get rock and rolled by the trip boats etc and any dross or gunge in your fuel tank will get a right stirring up. First time I did it in my trusty old P32 I had clogged filters by the time I got under Tower Bridge and limped into Limehouse with greatly reduced revs - quite scary at the time and I learnt a lesson in fuel tank and filter maintenance

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If it's a big tide , you'll be surprised at the speed it will move ...

We once had a very slow narrowboat come through that wanted to punch the tide to Limehouse , we advised him against it , but he knew best ...

Off he went , he returned shortly afterwards having got nowhere quick , and with an overheating engine.

If you plan things through , it will be ok , but to echo what the others have said , take the ebb down and come back in on the flood ...

It can get pretty wild in the pool , we regularly get narrowboaters arrive white faced and muttering 'never again' after they have taken a Thames Clipper wash over the bow and flooded their front section ...
 
Have a backup plan for when St Kats get technical problems. Learned that one, almost the hard way, a couple of years ago. Booked a berth in St Kats for New Year, had an arranged arrival time on 29/12 (dark but that's tide times) and all fine and spendid. Called them on Ch80 as arranged at London Bridge. Silence...and repeated silence. Checked radio with VTS and fine. Mobile to St Kats, no reply. Checked number in case almanac and phone directory and chart all wrong. Called VTS, did they know of a problem (thinking bomb scare) and they knew nothing but I was the third boat to ask in the last 15 minutes. Called Limehouse, lock closed for spannering and only one person on duty who suggested South Dock so South Dock it was. Cheap as chips in there, wned by the local council. Surrey Quays shoplex for SWMBOs but never found a good pub.

St Kats had problems with the bridge over the lock and could not let boats in or out, but not manning the radio/phone when boats were expected and booked in was thoroughly unprofessional. Indeed IMO they perhaps should have had it put about by VTS on 14 and contacted booked boats directly but hey ho, they do seem a bit haphazard at times.
 
Limehouse is fine by me, I'll guzzle Bolly or munch on Yesterdays Daily-Mail-full of Chips with equal pleasure /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

We'll batten down the hatches just in case /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
She is a heavy old boat she will be fine, I have done it in all sorts including a 8ft inflatable as part of the Round London Boat Race and my little fletcher. If you do run into trouble there are plenty of places you can stop in an emergency including, Chiswick and Chelsea both of which you can crawl back to if you have no joy or cant get into Lime house or St Kats for whatever reason.

Enjoy
 
Remember that Limehouse currently doesn't have its waiting pontoons after they were condemned by the H&S lot and taken away ...

I would say do the Limehouse run the same way as the NB's , leave Tedders on or just before HW Teddington , take the ebb down ( 3-3 1/2 hours ) and into Limehouse. Make sure you pick a day that will get you into LH by 1800 as that's their knocking off time. So HW Teddington no later than 1430 ...
 
couple of thoughts
I concur with suggestion of St.Kats/ Limehouse. Remember that access to St Kats is not fast, they can have you waiting around outside (uncomfortably) for 1 hour and more. Dont discount overnighting Chiswick Pier if it helps with your tide considerations.
Recommend lifejackets and VHF.
Police security checks are frequent - if boarded you are expected to have a voyage plan, even a rudimentary
leave here time, get there time is fine, also you are expected to be aware of exclusions zones at Westminster and MI6.
 
Anything else I need to know?
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Read up on the rules and traditions for navigating on the tideway so you don t run the risk of being apprehended by men in black in fast ribs!!!! Don t forget to read up on straw bales hanging from parapets.

Chelsea dock is a nice place to stop of on the way to St Katts.
 
If your making your first trip then go to St.Katherines or Limehouse and relax and enjoy the experience. You can lock out of each marina for a few hours to trip down to the barrier
ect. but get your timing right.
 
Personally with a fairly slow craft I would wait and go with the club on my first outing down there.

I have seen many a couple in the last thirty five years, where SWMBO now refuses to go anywhere down there because the old man has put them in a risky situation and has frightened them beyond their limits.

My own mother is one of them! (I will leave the sinking story to another day!)

If you go with a club and you get something around the propellor under southark bridge (both props in my fathers case) - there will be someone around to hand you a tow rope and panic avoided.

I dont mean to put the frighteners up you but the tide can whip through there at 3-4 knots at times and if something happens you will need to act fast.

Do not even think of throwing the anchor out - been there done that. It will not hold in that current.

Better to wait until you can do it right.

Agree with others St Kats is a must and Limehouse second.
 
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