Planning our first foray beyond the Blackwater.

Hunson

Hunson

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We are on hols in a few weeks and the plan (weather depending) is to head down to bradwell one night and then on out up to Shotley /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

Now out of my 27 waypoints in total. I have a little concern that I may be putting an extra 7nm on my journey that I may not have to.

Basically after leaving the Knoll my plans are to head half way towards the Wallet Spitway and then head up the Wallet following along the lines of 6,4 and 2.

After Wallet 2 I have routed my next waypoints to just south of Cork Hole then up east of Cork Sand Yacht Bn, then turing west following the yachting track towards Languard.

Do I need to do this leg or can I cut from Wallet 2 across to Languard. I put the leg in to ensure that we have plenty of water underneath.

Thank you for your wisdom in advance. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
I do this trip regularly from Bradwell and you are being way too cautious. Leave Bradwell soon after HW and head straight for the Bench Head. From there aim just off the end of Clacton Pier and then on towards Medusa. You don't need to go as far as Medusa - I use a waypoint at 51.50.00N 01.19.00E and then head due north.

There is plenty of water - I draw 1.7 metres. Just watch out for the pots off Clacton and in the Medusa Channel.

The Colne Bar is really only an issue at low water or bad weather. At more than half tide and flat sea I just go straight across about half way between Colne Bar buoy and the Inner Bench Head if not even closer inland than that.

Enjoy your trip - on a nice day it's a nice run. On a bad day it can be pretty lumpy up the Wallet.
 
Agree with Roger... you can just round Walton headland (between Medusa buoy and the headland itself) and follow the coastline into Harwich (through what I think is called Medusa channel from memory)..... it never goes less than 2m below the keel with our 1.75m draft..... just follow your sounder.... if it starts getting shallow, turn out to sea slightly!

We tend to round the headland, head for 'stone banks' buoy, and then straight onto Languard Cardinal where you join the preferred yacht track....
 
Keep the land on the left, and aim to miss Walton Pier by about 100 metres.
Seriously, nothing much in the way up there, I cut to Naze Tower by only 400 metres and then set a single leg waypoint to Wallet Spitway on the way back into the Crouch.
 
Thks Guys.

MS, I think then that our plans may have to be curtailed. Our week off is the 18th and our tides are early mornings and afternoons. I had thought that maybe I would leave Bradwell 2hrs after low in the morning about 4am, fighting the tide on the way up and hopefully arriving about 1hr after hw.

How long would the journey likely take. I had based my plans on an average of 4 knots.
 
Very happy to do that, just a concern about the time it takes to get there.

Other half suffers from a stress related problem, so don't want to put her under more pressure than she will be having as we'll be out on the high seas. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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Keep the land on the left, and aim to miss Walton Pier by about 100 metres.
Seriously, nothing much in the way up there, I cut to Naze Tower by only 400 metres and then set a single leg waypoint to Wallet Spitway on the way back into the Crouch.

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I have to say that this is pretty much my way of doing it too. Keep it simple, keep an eye on the depth, and you cant go too far wrong /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
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Thks Guys.

MS, I think then that our plans may have to be curtailed. Our week off is the 18th and our tides are early mornings and afternoons. I had thought that maybe I would leave Bradwell 2hrs after low in the morning about 4am, fighting the tide on the way up and hopefully arriving about 1hr after hw.

How long would the journey likely take. I had based my plans on an average of 4 knots.

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I think you have your tides askew. If you leave at this time on, say, the 18th, you will be about two hours after High Water, not Low. This would give you about four hours of ebb and, with a big tide under you, deliver you in the vicinity of Harwich around Low Water, or just after, not one hour after High. You would then have the first of the flood to take you into the harbour. You wouldn't be fighting the tide, as far as I can see. For that trip, you need to ride the ebb going northeast and the flood going southwest.

Being averse to 4 a.m. starts (and the light won't be good then, either) I would leave just before the afternoon HW and plan to arrive in Dovercourt Bay with a bit of ebb against me into Harwich - not far and the tide will be weakening at that point. Should be in by early evening. Much more civilised.

Watch out for poorly marked pots around the Naze and keep a close eye on the depth there too. The shoal water extends further out than you might think and its no place to run aground on a falling tide.
 
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How long would the journey likely take. I had based my plans on an average of 4 knots.

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From memory it's about 25nm from Bradwell to Shotley. Moving around the east coast is much helped by tides - the 18th is a spring tide so you'll have 1.5knots against you. With that under me I'd do it in under 5 hours but a good 6 against the tide. With HW at 1400 you could leave Bradwell soon after an early lunch, be at the Colne by HW and into Shotley for a tea-time pint. T'would be my plan.

If it blowing old boots then don't put your crew off by tackling The Wallet when it is lumpy - go to Brightlingsea instead and let it calm down.

I'm homebound this week - all this talk of trips makes me want to get out there with you! Hmm 18th August - now let me see.......
 
1. Distance

Outside the Power Station to the entrance of Harwich Harbour (off the old breakwater) is 23 and a half miles approx depending upon how close you keep in. So at 4 knots without any tide you would take just under 6 hours. An adverse tide will make this tedious (and longer of course) at 4 kts but a helping hand will make it a delight in the right weather.

2. Tides

I don't have a Sheerness table with me right now on which my tide data is based but using the Heybridge tide tables (I am sure you have one - if not pop down to Judy and Adrian at Stebbens Boatyard and I am sure they will give you one for 50p or so or Clint in CRS). HW Heybridge and Sheerness is just about the same - enough for planning purposes for this journey anyway.

The week of 18th August is springs (not the highest) falling away to the bottom of neaps by Tuesday 26th. So assuming you go on 19th, you will get a good helping hand. HW Heybridge is 1457 (BST). Let us assume that this is the same as HW Sheerness (we can alaways adjust it later). Best helping tide from around the Colne Bar Buoy to the Naze starts one hour after HW Sheerness (there's some help before that but the best over the whole trip starts at that time) so you want to be around the Colne Bar around 4pm. It's 6 miles approx to the Colne Bar from Bradwell (outside in the River) so slip your berth in Bradwell just after an hour before HW Sheerness (2pm) and that will give you ample time to get to the Colne Bar area. (I subscribe to the advice given earlier about cutting out unnecessary doglegs). Then assuming a 4kt average you get a helping hand all the way to Harwich. Without a tide you would be there by 8pm; with the tide in this plan, I would expect you to be at the entrance to Harwich Harbour at around 6.15pm or better. There would still be some ebb to face coming out of the Harbour but nothing too fierce and its dying all the time. If you get delayed coming round, it just moves you into a more favourable tidal window as you go into Harwich.

What if you can't face hanging around in Bradwell until then? Not a problem but SWMBO needs to appreciate progess will be slowish against the tide, that this is normal but it gets quicker. If its a lovely day it won't matter. I think we all enjoyed our first foray out from the Blackwater - a mixture of slight apprehension giving way to thorough enjoyment as the progress was ticked off. It's a great journey on a good day with lots to watch on the coast as you go up: e.g. time your distance between Clacton and Walton Piers - 6nm. The warning about pots is worth heeding.

Coming back, the trick is to be off the Naze as the tide turns: you take the remains of the ebb down the Stour or Orwell (both gorgeous Rivers) and out to the Naze just in time to get the flood all the way up. You might just see TG out and about.
 
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What if you can't face hanging around in Bradwell until then? Not a problem but SWMBO needs to appreciate progess will be slowish against the tide, that this is normal but it gets quicker. If its a lovely day it won't matter.

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Sail across to West Mersea in the morning and pick up a mooring in Mersea Quarters for an early lunch before setting off?
 
DTC: The tides are not the only thing I have had askew whilst looking at this. It took me about 8 waypoints to realise that my scale on my Harwich chart was 1:35000 and my Suffolk/Essex coast was 1:120000. Still I am sure I will make more errors before then, just have to make sure there done on land and not water.

MS: Thanks for that, tidal flow was going to be my next set of calculations. Which is why I asked the question. My lengthy track based on no tide was going to be about 8 - 9 hours, which would have taken us into early evening.

What would blowing old boots be considered to be for not going up the wallet. We had planned for this trip to be done the week of the 7th July, but as the weather wasn't pleasant in any means it was postponed.

TG: Wow, thank you for that fully informative passage plan. Going by my marine store tide table taken for Mersea Hard you are about spot on as I take the tide time + 35 to make maldon high tide and take away about 15 to give me HW at Heybridge. Leaving a small margin for error.

I don't think we will have a problem waiting for departure time. We will probably be going over everything at least 3 times to make sure we have/done/got everything we need.

Weather will be our main concern for this week. As MS has said and I have seen mentioned here before, there a times to avoid the wallet.
 
Don't get too hung up on planning the trip to the tiniest detail.... you'll need to change it on the fly as things develop anyway.... get your waypoints sorted, and departure time, and let the rest sort itself out...... I hope above all, that you enjoy the trip..... as others have said, in the right conditions, a trip up the Wallet can be an absolute cracker!
 
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What would blowing old boots be considered to be for not going up the wallet. We had planned for this trip to be done the week of the 7th July, but as the weather wasn't pleasant in any means it was postponed.



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The key to the Wallet is this - when the wind blows with the tide (e.g. going north on the ebb with a sw wind) the sailing can be fine even in quite strong winds (although I would be wary of anything higher than F5 - you will find even that quite a handful in a small boat and gybing could be dangerous) However, with wind against tide (e.g. beating back down again on the flood with the same sw wind) can be very unpleasant indeed, as these conditions kick up a nasty, short chop that will make you miserable and slow you down very significantly.

Best conditions are with an offshore wind across the tide, giving you a reach. NW is good. So is SE.

BTW watch out for the Gunfleet Sands (marked by the buoys you mentioned) They are very steep to and your echo sounder won't give you much warning before you hit them. Better to stay closer inshore, where sea conditions will also be easier in most cases.

But don't let all these warnings put you off. Choose decent conditions for the first venture and you will quickly see that this is an easy, pleasant and rewarding passage.

Good luck.
 
As the prevailing wind is s/w ish I have often found that I can sail (as opposed to motor) down to the Blackwater(but back for you) by taking a long leg out past Medussa towards Wallet no2 & then use Bench Hd as a waypoint taking you N of N.Eagle & Colne Bar on the rising tide.It takes longer than the shorter route from Medussa to Bench but you may get to actually sail.All the other advice is spot on.
 
Thank you guys for all the adivce. I am probably micro planning as its the first time and playing safer with deeper water.

Will review and make the adjusted waypoints as mentioned in the advice above and replan.

I am sure I will be back again with more questions. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Please do!

We've all made that first foray away from familiar home waters as skipper, so well aware of the concerns it raises in your head.... and I am sure that we are all more than happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have.

This time next year, you'll look back on it and think "what on earth was I ever worried about!"

Let us know how you get on....
 
So my passage plan of head East until out of the Wash, then head South until I'm level with the Deben at which point I head West until I find the mooring, isn't too complicated then ? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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