Ramsgate to canvey?

[steve yates]

Any reccomendations warnings, best practise for when I reach ramsgate and the final part of my trip from Cumbria to Essex? She is going into dauntless boatyard for winter, I'm heading round lands end on mon, and then will have a couple of stops for land based life things, but should be hitting dauntless either before last weekend in Nov or in early Dec.

All advice on passage plans and what to do/not do appreciated.

It's a westerly longbow ketch, long fin so no drying, but 1.5 m draight, so not too excessive.

Quite happy to stop off on the Kent coast as her friends there.

Major passage aside, I'd be keen, if it works, to stop at Leigh on sea long enough to get ashore and have a couple of pints in the crooked billet in celebration, before heading up the creek to dauntless and my lift out.

 

[Cantata]

Ramsgate to Benfleet is about 40 miles so pushing it on one tide. I would suggest breaking the journey, either anchor or mooring in the Swale at Harty Ferry, or mooring at Queenborough.

 

[Malish]

It's been a while since we did this (and then it was Ramsgate to Gillingham) but we always worked on taking a foul tide from Ramsgate to N Foreland, usually engine assisted, to be off the N Foreland for the start of the flood. Don't cut the corner too tightly at N Foreland as there is a Chalk reef there. It will be a long day, I would probably give Leigh-o-S a miss this time.

 

[MoodySabre]

Major passage aside, I'd be keen, if it works, to stop at Leigh on sea long enough to get ashore and have a couple of pints in the crooked billet in celebration, before heading up the creek to dauntless and my lift out.

It is possible to come alongaside at Bell Wharf and grab a pint but the timing will be crucial. The problem is that even at HW you can't just go out due south from Bell Wharf to get into the Ray Channel to get up to Dauntless - you have to retrace the channel out for a couple of miles.
In any case you will need to get to Dauntless near the top of tide so you won't do both on the same tide.
Yachts often spend the night dried out alongside Bell Wharf - on the inside. The mud is quite flat there.
You can get into the Ray Channel at any state of the tide and there are some buoys, including a Benfleet YC waiting buoy. The anchoring there is good too and as the tide drops it is very sheltered.

Good luck.

 

[RMA]

I have sailed from Ramsgate to Leigh many times. It’s about 6 nm to the Longnose Buoy off the North Foreland and then a further 30 miles or so to the Leigh Buoy (just west of Southend Pier) which marks the entrance to Hadleigh Ray and to both Leigh and Benfleet. It’s another 3 miles or so to Old Leigh and about 6 miles to Benfleet.

Avoid neap tides if you want to get into either Leigh or Benfleet; personally I wouldn’t want to attempt either if the HW height at Southend / Sheerness was less than 5 metres and would be happier if it was at least 5.2m. This actually works well as the highest tides occur in the afternoon.

I found that if I got to the North Foreland at around local low water I could get to Leigh with nearly an hour to spare before high water, although you can’t hang around and will have to motor if necessary.

The tide is against you as far as the Foreland so I normally allow 90 minutes to get there. Leave the gantry (you will know it when you see it) a couple of cables to port then follow the buoys west to the Copperas Buoy. From there I have found you can head straight to Southend Pier, although you need to watch for the south cardinal buoy to the south of the windfarm.

My normal boat speed is around 5 knots but the tide will start to help you soon after you turn the corner. If your speed is likely to be much lower than that leave Ramsgate an hour or two earlier and keep a closer eye on eye on the depth. If you want to sail all the way plan on anchoring or picking up a mooring in Hadleigh Ray, or spending the night at Queenborough.

Leigh Creek is quite well buoyed and should be ok for you from about an hour and a half before HW. You can tie up for a beer at Bell Wharf and Victoria Wharf but be aware that they are often surrounded by fishing boats.

There are detailed charts for Benfleet Creek on the Benfleet Yacht Club website.

 

[escapism]

Totally agree with RMAs advice. Ramsgate to Benfleet on a tide is a standard trip for BYC/IYC boats, but if there is a westerly or anything else slowing you, its best to divert to Q'boro or Sharfleet rather than try to press on. Anchoring or mooring in Hadleigh Ray is fine, but can be unpleasant at HT+-2.

 

[Tomahawk]

As you go up from Ramsgate to N Foreland you will see a standing wave just N of Broadstairs.. It looks really nasty and certainly scared the willys out of me the first time I came over it. Don't worry about it.. there seems to be a slight ridge on the sea bed of about a foot but enough to kick up the wave in 5 or so m of water.
Peters Fish Factory is good
The RTYC has a lovely view of the harbour. They used to be very welcoming of anyone arriving by boat. But is is now many pints since we left those shores.

 

[steve yates]

Very useful, thanks all.