Notices to Mariners - Week 9

[tillergirl]

UKHO Permanent/Temporary/Preliminary Notices - Only two this week and those on the Thames and unlikely to hinder use.
1. ENGLAND - East Coast - Depths. - Four slight reductions of depth in Hope Reach/Sea Reach of the River Thames between the Lower Hope of Cliffe Fleet buoys. Unlikely to hinder leisure craft.
2. ENGLAND - East Coast - Depths. - One reduction of depth in Gravesend Reach of the River Thames close to or alongside a Northfleet jetty. Unlikely to hinder leisure craft.
Local
1. Harwich Haven Authority - Survey Operations – Titan Discovery - the survey vessel Titan Discovery (Callsign: 2HCR3) is undertaking survey operations in Harwich Deep Water Channel between the Beach End and South Threshold until approximately 04 March 2025.
2. Maintenance Works at Halfpenny Pier, Harwich – Update 2 - the pontoon bridges at Ha’penny Pier have been returned and foot access to / from the pontoons has been returned to normal use. Further maintenance works are ongoing at the main pier until mid-late March 2025. The tug Jean T (Callsign: MVS06) and a barge will be working alongside the pier as and when required. Mariners are requested to keep well clear and pass at slow speeds during these works. This notice replaces local notice to mariners No. 07-2025, which is now withdrawn.
3. Obstructions – Boulders in Harwich Harbour – Update 2 - the boulders previously identified in Harwich Harbour have been relocated to the edge of the deep-water harbour basin - latest locations and depths as follows:
Boulder Latitude Longitude Depth below chart datum
1 51° 56.825'N 1° 18.310'E 14.4m
2 51° 56.834'N 1° 18.306'E 14.8m
3 51° 56.846'N 1° 18.295'E 14.5m
All positions are WGS84
This notices replaces local notice to mariners 13-2025, which is now withdrawn. Further work is planned to remove the boulders permanently, update to follow.
4. 2025 Kings Lynn Fisher Fleet Flushes - fisher fleet flushes are scheduled for the following dates in 2025. Flushes will take place 3 hours after AM High Water for approximately 4 hours.
Thursday 30th January –Monday 3rd February
Thursday 27th February – Tuesday 4th March
Friday 28th March- Wednesday 2nd April
Saturday 26th April – Thursday 1st May
Monday 26th May- Saturday 31st May
Wednesday 25th June – Monday 30th June
Friday 25th July- Wednesday 30th July
Friday 22nd August -Thursday 28th August
Saturday 20th September – Friday 26th September
Saturday 19th October – Friday 24th October
Monday 3rd November – Sunday 9th November
Wednesday 3rd December – Monday 8th December
All Masters of Fishing vessels in the Fleet are instructed to ensure that adequate lines are used as normal during spring flush tides. Flushes will be carried out with an approx. dock level of 7.0M.

That is it. Images at: Notices to Mariners

 

[shanemax]

Boulders in Harwich Harbour ?????? Anyone guess where they came from ?

 

[DanTribe]

Boulders in Harwich Harbour ?????? Anyone guess where they came from ?

They are a naturally occuring geology. They were once collected and made into "Roman" cement at factories in Harwich and Waldringfield
Big business I believe.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Boulders in Harwich Harbour ?????? Anyone guess where they came from ?

@tillergirl looked into it once prompted by me. It seems they are mostly glacial erratics, not the concretions mentioned by @DanTribe in #3. Seee Origins of the boulders

 

[DanTribe]

@tillergirl looked into it once prompted by me. It seems they are mostly glacial erratics, not the concretions mentioned by @DanTribe in #3. Seee Origins of the boulders

Ah, just when I thought I knew something!
Time to re-visit my half remembered preconceptions. Every day is a schoolday.

 

[tillergirl]

Here's a picture from HHA's work in 2023. When is a stone is a rock is a boulder?

 

[dolabriform]

I've just had this from the Dover Harbour Master:


Notice to Mariners 03/25


Southern Breakwater Light timing mechanism


Mariners are advised that the Southern Breakwater Light timing mechanism has a fault resulting in a delayed activation to the lighting at the Western entrance on the Southern Breakwater

 

[tillergirl]

There you are: IT!

 

[LittleSister]

. . . It seems they are mostly glacial erratics . . .

Here's a picture from HHA's work in 2023 . . .

They look quite erratic. Not your regular, common or garden boulder.

They don't look big enough to be bothering shipping, but must be if the HHA are going to the cost and trouble of removing them. Do they get exposed by suction dredging, I wonder?

 

[tillergirl]

They look quite erratic. Not your regular, common or garden boulder.

They don't look big enough to be bothering shipping, but must be if the HHA are going to the cost and trouble of removing them. Do they get exposed by suction dredging, I wonder?

Yes I think so. Then they netted them and dragged them out of the way before devising a way of netting them. I think we would suppose if a container ship sat on one the boulder would just go deeper but perhaps the risk of not doing that might harm the bottom. Funnily enough I went to Finland for work and I was surprised by all the boulders that were spread around in the forests. I was told they were erratics left by the glacier retreats. And the moose fences. All major roads had moose fences because a moose had the perfect height to go straight into the windscreen and occupants. If a fence broke and moose got onto the roads, the police came and shot the moose because moose are like political ministers; they can't be told or herded. Whoops. I am drifting.