Planning first passage. Brightlingsea to Walton Backwater

[PeterWright]

Simple timing rule for all passages up and down the Wallet - be at Stone Banks phm at around low water. That way you work your tides. Not my rule, sometning I learned from the late sailing barge master Vic Wadhams in my younger years.

Peter.

 

[johnalison]

Simple timing rule for all passages up and down the Wallet - be at Stone Banks phm at around low water. That way you work your tides. Not my rule, sometning I learned from the late sailing barge master Vic Wadhams in my younger years.

Peter.

That’s only a mile or two from Pye End or No2. That might be OK on neaps but I would usually hope for a little more water, which is why I gave Frinton as my target. My impression is that the stream off Walton changes about 20 minutes before LW. It is not always wise to follow a sailing barge.

 

[Daydream believer]

In the days when I had my first Stella the seafarer echo sounder was next to useless when the depth was near running aground. The solution was an 8 ft bamboo cane with 3 pieces of tape on it. One at the draft of the boat.-3 ft 8 ins- One 6 inches above & one at 12 inches above. At the top I had a loop of cord that I could slip on to my wrist so I did not drop the cane.
I would sit to leeward & roll the cane like the hand of a clock in an easy motion with the end dropped in the water in front of me. As the boat went forward the cane made an arc then bobbed up behind me. I flipped it over to complete the circle & repeated the process. I did not need to look at it until it touched. Then I could check until the top band was exposed & told the crew to start the tack.
Many is the time I went through the Ray sand channel with it on the middle band.
I just put the cane on the cabin top & it was held there by the hand rail. I could reach it when I wanted it & I put my hand under the rail to use it with my elbow on the deck for support.
.
It works. Using that system, I ran aground on every sand bank in the Thames estuary, except the Cork, Cutler Whiting & Brake, plus a couple towards Southend. Try missing Foulgers Gat in F4 at night can give one a fright. But I got the Brake a few years ago & managed a repeat on the Gunfleet in the last 10 years several times as well. (But that was with a decent echo sounder)

 

[johnalison]

In the days when I had my first Stella the seafarer echo sounder was next to useless when the depth was near running aground. The solution was an 8 ft bamboo cane with 3 pieces of tape on it. One at the draft of the boat.-3 ft 8 ins- One 6 inches above & one at 12 inches above. At the top I had a loop of cord that I could slip on to my wrist so I did not drop the cane.
I would sit to leeward & roll the cane like the hand of a clock in an easy motion with the end dropped in the water in front of me. As the boat went forward the cane made an arc then bobbed up behind me. I flipped it over to complete the circle & repeated the process. I did not need to look at it until it touched. Then I could check until the top band was exposed & told the crew to start the tack.
Many is the time I went through the Ray sand channel with it on the middle band.
I just put the cane on the cabin top & it was held there by the hand rail. I could reach it when I wanted it & I put my hand under the rail to use it with my elbow on the deck for support.
.
It works. Using that system, I ran aground on every sand bank in the Thames estuary, except the Cork, Cutler Whiting & Brake, plus a couple towards Southend. Try missing Foulgers Gat in F4 at night can give one a fright. But I got the Brake a few years ago & managed a repeat on the Gunfleet in the last 10 years several times as well. (But that was with a decent echo sounder)

You’re a great help I must say.

 

[Daydream believer]

You’re a great help I must say.

Thanks for the vote
So you suggested a bamboo cane first, did you?
Loads of Stella sailors used them so not my idea.
Certainly better than "Trust to luck" Which is really clever advice.
I am only passing on years of experience. But what use is experience?

 

[DanTribe]

In the days when I had my first Stella the seafarer echo sounder was next to useless when the depth was near running aground. The solution was an 8 ft bamboo cane with 3 pieces of tape on it. One at the draft of the boat.-3 ft 8 ins- One 6 inches above & one at 12 inches above. At the top I had a loop of cord that I could slip on to my wrist so I did not drop the cane.
I would sit to leeward & roll the cane like the hand of a clock in an easy motion with the end dropped in the water in front of me. As the boat went forward the cane made an arc then bobbed up behind me. I flipped it over to complete the circle & repeated the process. I did not need to look at it until it touched. Then I could check until the top band was exposed & told the crew to start the tack.
Many is the time I went through the Ray sand channel with it on the middle band.
I just put the cane on the cabin top & it was held there by the hand rail. I could reach it when I wanted it & I put my hand under the rail to use it with my elbow on the deck for support.
.
It works. Using that system, I ran aground on every sand bank in the Thames estuary, except the Cork, Cutler Whiting & Brake, plus a couple towards Southend. Try missing Foulgers Gat in F4 at night can give one a fright. But I got the Brake a few years ago & managed a repeat on the Gunfleet in the last 10 years several times as well. (But that was with a decent echo sounder)

I had forgotten that. The sounding stick was common practice in Stellas. A bit of lead wrapped round the bottom helped.

 

[Daydream believer]

I had forgotten that. The sounding stick was common practice in Stellas. A bit of lead wrapped round the bottom helped.

I still have mine in the loft of my garage at 56 years old it will soon be an antique

 

[Khaos]

Hmm. I think for the time being I'll just stick to moving around shallow areas on a rising tide.

Though I'll keep the bamboo pole in mind if I'm faced with anything harder than mud/sand. One of the things I like about rowing a tender rather than using an outboard is that the oars serve as a low tech depth sounder.

If everything goes to plan I'll be exploring Flamborough in the not very distant future. I'll be sure to have an effective depth sounder by then.

Have you guys sailed around there? It looks treacherous as hell from a sailing perspective, presumably hence the the lighthouse.. But I love that place. Visiting places like that is the whole point of sailing for me.

 

[Daydream believer]

. One of the things I like about rowing a tender rather than using an outboard is that the oars serve as a low tech depth sounder.

No good. Too heavy & buoyant

 

[Yorkshire Exile]

In the days when I had my first Stella the seafarer echo sounder was next to useless when the depth was near running aground. The solution was an 8 ft bamboo cane with 3 pieces of tape on it. One at the draft of the boat.-3 ft 8 ins- One 6 inches above & one at 12 inches above. At the top I had a loop of cord that I could slip on to my wrist so I did not drop the cane.
I would sit to leeward & roll the cane like the hand of a clock in an easy motion with the end dropped in the water in front of me. As the boat went forward the cane made an arc then bobbed up behind me. I flipped it over to complete the circle & repeated the process. I did not need to look at it until it touched. Then I could check until the top band was exposed & told the crew to start the tack.
Many is the time I went through the Ray sand channel with it on the middle band.
I just put the cane on the cabin top & it was held there by the hand rail. I could reach it when I wanted it & I put my hand under the rail to use it with my elbow on the deck for support.
.
It works. Using that system, I ran aground on every sand bank in the Thames estuary, except the Cork, Cutler Whiting & Brake, plus a couple towards Southend. Try missing Foulgers Gat in F4 at night can give one a fright. But I got the Brake a few years ago & managed a repeat on the Gunfleet in the last 10 years several times as well. (But that was with a decent echo sounder)

Excellent idea, the old ideas are the best eh? I'm going to invest in one. I'm sure the marina chandlery will stock them. And if it doesn't suit me it will be good for the beans next year.

 

[Khaos]

No good. Too heavy & buoyant

What do you mean?

I row my dinghy in and out of Brightlingsea harbour all the time. Will be doing so in about an hour as it happens and it will be close to low tide. There's shallow parts with oyster shells, a serious hazard for an inflatable, but I can always feel the depth with my oars and avoid hitting them.

It can be difficult against the tide, but I've done it so often that it's never much of a struggle for me. I'm thinking I'll get longer oars at some point to turn it back into a strength exercise. It's just cardio now.

I could potentially row my Achilles 24. I've seen it done. Once I'm comfortable rowing my dinghy with longer oars I might give it a try.

 

[swatchways]

What do you mean?

I row my dinghy in and out of Brightlingsea harbour all the time. Will be doing so in about an hour as it happens and it will be close to low tide. There's shallow parts with oyster shells, a serious hazard for an inflatable, but I can always feel the depth with my oars and avoid hitting them.

It can be difficult against the tide, but I've done it so often that it's never much of a struggle for me. I'm thinking I'll get longer oars at some point to turn it back into a strength exercise. It's just cardio now.

I could potentially row my Achilles 24. I've seen it done. Once I'm comfortable rowing my dinghy with longer oars I might give it a try.

I can’t remember what sort of boat it was (was about 26ft I should think) but a good few years back watched one skipper who’d obviously got bored of the lack of wind or had a lunch date to keep whip out a couple of enormous oars and started rowing into the Orwell.

 

[Khaos]

Started out yesterday. My plan was to motor sail to Colne point, as it was directly upwind and my priority was making it before dark. I was being a bit lazy and just motoring along when my motor cut out. Its done this before when I go over big waves. I think the fuel filter is to blame as it started doing it the first time I tried using E10. Apparently the ethanol can pick up debris and gunk from and clog the filter. I thought it was the E10 it's self that was causing it, but this time was with Esso Supreme so clearly not. I'm about to look into it.

So once it cut out I had to raise the sails in a hurry as I was drifting in quite a strong wind. Cue the usual cascade of mishaps with the mainsheet caught around the spreader and the jib hanks getting jammed twice.

I kept going for a while under sail and kept restarting the motor, but it kept doing it and my progress against the wind was quite slow. So given the lack of anchorages between Colne point and Walton I decided to turn back at Colne point. I'm going to see what I can do with the motor today and also fix a small tear i found in the mainsail and set out again tomorrow. It will be a calmer day so no big waves to jolt the motor. But I'm hoping I can clear the filter a bit by forcing fuel through in the opposite direction.

 

[johnalison]

Started out yesterday. My plan was to motor sail to Colne point, as it was directly upwind and my priority was making it before dark. I was being a bit lazy and just motoring along when my motor cut out. Its done this before when I go over big waves. I think the fuel filter is to blame as it started doing it the first time I tried using E10. Apparently the ethanol can pick up debris and gunk from and clog the filter. I thought it was the E10 it's self that was causing it, but this time was with Esso Supreme so clearly not. I'm about to look into it.

So once it cut out I had to raise the sails in a hurry as I was drifting in quite a strong wind. Cue the usual cascade of mishaps with the mainsheet caught around the spreader and the jib hanks getting jammed twice.

I kept going for a while under sail and kept restarting the motor, but it kept doing it and my progress against the wind was quite slow. So given the lack of anchorages between Colne point and Walton I decided to turn back at Colne point. I'm going to see what I can do with the motor today and also fix a small tear i found in the mainsail and set out again tomorrow. It will be a calmer day so no big waves to jolt the motor. But I'm hoping I can clear the filter a bit by forcing fuel through in the opposite direction.

That’s a shame, since the wind would taken you nicely the rest of the way, judging by what it was doing while I was out off Harwich. I was told that Esso have low or zero E, which is partly why I fill my car there.

 

[Khaos]

That’s a shame, since the wind would taken you nicely the rest of the way, judging by what it was doing while I was out off Harwich. I was told that Esso have low or zero E, which is partly why I fill my car there.

Yeah. It was still a good day overall though. The downwind sail back to the anchorage was fun. Also that's the first time I've manoeuvred into an anchorage using the jib rather than the motor.

Esso now says that they may have up to 5 percent ethanol. They said it was zero up until last year. Still better than E10 though.

 

[Khaos]

I just put the filter back on after blowing through it and pumping petrol through it the wrong way and I think the motor is running better now. Just seems to have more power and a deeper sound. So hopefully that will be a good enough fix to get me through tomorrow.

I noticed another problem though. The water spraying out of the motor isn't as much as it used to be. I think the intake might be partially blocked. So now I have to find where it is and unblock it.

 

[johnalison]

Yeah. It was still a good day overall though. The downwind sail back to the anchorage was fun. Also that's the first time I've manoeuvred into an anchorage using the jib rather than the motor.

Esso now says that they may have up to 5 percent ethanol. They said it was zero up until last year. Still better than E10 though.

Although it can be done with a hanked jib, a furling jib is a fantastic resource for anchoring or picking up a mooring. although I am with the crumblies in a marina now, mooring and anchoring under sail was very much part of our life earlier, my finest moment being to up-anchor at the Rocks and tie up in Maylandsea creek, without starting the engine.

 

[Daydream believer]

Although it can be done with a hanked jib, a furling jib is a fantastic resource for anchoring or picking up a mooring. although I am with the crumblies in a marina now, mooring and anchoring under sail was very much part of our life earlier, my finest moment being to up-anchor at the Rocks and tie up in Maylandsea creek, without starting the engine.

Mooring in the Crouch on our buoy off the crouch YC among the Stellas soon, taught one how to pick up a buoy in the 70s. The space between the boats in those days was very tight & furling jibs less common. But motoring on to a buoy was a whimp's way of doing it. Most sailed on to their moorings as a matter of course after racing as the finish line was so close. It is not really that difficult.

 

[johnalison]

Mooring in the Crouch on our buoy off the crouch YC among the Stellas soon, taught one how to pick up a buoy in the 70s. The space between the boats in those days was very tight & furling jibs less common. But motoring on to a buoy was a whimp's way of doing it. Most sailed on to their moorings as a matter of course after racing as the finish line was so close. It is not really that difficult.

I used to raft up to friends’ boats under sail, which was a doddle in my then Sadler 29. I got some startled looks at first but they learned to trust me. I still have friends, but some have stopped sailing and I don’t get the chance to those sorts of meets these days. The hardest thing I did was to effect a crew change under sail off Osea, which turned out to be harder than anticipated, but no damage done and we had a good laugh about it.

 

[Khaos]

Mooring in the Crouch on our buoy off the crouch YC among the Stellas soon, taught one how to pick up a buoy in the 70s. The space between the boats in those days was very tight & furling jibs less common. But motoring on to a buoy was a whimp's way of doing it. Most sailed on to their moorings as a matter of course after racing as the finish line was so close. It is not really that difficult.

When I first bought my boat it was on a mooring over at west mersea. There was a boat next to me and the guy would come every so often on his own and spend the day sailing. I kinda took a liking to him, although we never spoke. I was a total beginner and had never even manoeuvred a boat before. I was always very careful not to crash into his boat. I could tell he knew what he was doing. He'd always come in with his jib, rush to the foredeck, and grab his mooring. Then this one time I was preparing to go out and he was heading back. He came right past me, we acknowledged eachother, he tried to do his usual thing, and missed. He ended up stuck on the mudbank. I pretended not to see.