ramsgate to st Kathrines tower bridge

[geoff9959]

Hi there,
anyone have a route for sailing to tower bridge from Ramsgate. I know what your thinking 'Why would anyone want to leave Ramsgate' I'm planing to sail in April 2010 just me and my wife. she is a bit nervous about the trip, I'm not....well a bit....Looking at the charts it seems an over nighter in queensborough or possibly into the Medway. any ideas would be great. thank you.
geoff.

reducing crime by refusing bail.

 

[RAI]

When I did that trip I picked up a buoy in Queensborough. Then waited for the tide. Being a slow old sailing boat, it was all a bit critical timing to reach St. Katherines when the lock gates open. I started at some unearthly hour and ran into fog at dawn. Great fun.

 

[Captn D]

De ja vu

This is becoming a popular route see here. Please don't make this mistake.

 

[CliveG]

Here is a link to our trip up river last year.
With photos and timings etc.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212867

 

[nathanlee]

I have never sailed from Ramsgate, but I have stayed over at Queensborough, and been in and out of the lock at St Kat's on a good handful of times.

I can recommend staying over at Queensborough. I had a good night there moored against the concrete lighter, although free moorings are apparently available further up the river.

You can easily get to St Kat's from there in a tide, just make sure you're out in to the Thames at lw slack.

There is plenty of shipping around, but don't worry about it, you've got loads of room and it's not even slightly concerning. Just be aware they are there and enjoy the trip. Big ships all but vanish after Thurrock, and once past the "dome" you've only got the high speed passenger cats to deal with. Again, don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds.

If you get to St Kat's outside of the lock times, it's ok. You can either spend a night on the buoys outside (if you have a larger boat), or moor up on the inside of the pontoon (which is what I did). The wash off the passing boats is a pain in the back side, but they stop long enough during the night to get a decent sleep.

Finally, pick your weather. Not because it will affect your trip much, but because the Thames is a truly depressing river when it's overcast and 'orrid. When it's sunny, on the other hand, it's one of the most majestic trips you'll ever take, right in to the heart of our country.

 

[PeterGibbs]

Hi there,
anyone have a route for sailing to tower bridge from Ramsgate. I know what your thinking 'Why would anyone want to leave Ramsgate' I'm planing to sail in April 2010 just me and my wife. she is a bit nervous about the trip, I'm not....well a bit....Looking at the charts it seems an over nighter in queensborough or possibly into the Medway. any ideas would be great. thank you.
geoff.

reducing crime by refusing bail.

You will have gathered that Queenborough is good for mooring overnight, but that's the limit of its charms! Hard to get ashore too.

But stay there you must, because you need the whole tide+ to get up the Thames to the Tower area. Unless you draw nothing watch out when leaving the Medway for London, the route to join the channel westwards is circuitous because of the large bank directly off the Medway.

As I report elsewhere on this forum, Limehouse is a good stopover - more forgiving and if you phone ahead, you'll get help to put in to a cheaper berth than St Cats. DLR is right next door for trippies out - useful if the weather is poor.

There is a nice marina in the Medway which has to be approached near the top of the tide, a useful alternative to Queenborough, but when you leave it will not be at LW-1 which is what you need to start your journey west.

Good sailing!!

PWG

 

[RivalRedwing]

Hi there,
. I know what your thinking 'Why would anyone want to leave Ramsgate'

Must admit the efficiency and organizational skills of of the marina staff means that my line of thought is 'why would anyone want to visit Ramsgate'

or has it improved?

 

[Amulet]

Two equivalent threads running

My remarks are on this one.

 

[mollyoxford]

I liked Ramsgate!!! Though the berths are a bit of a tight fit - we couldn't get a fender in between us and the next boat. Can't recall what we did. let it down till it was flat, maybe.

 

[geoff9959]

It's not too bad it's cheaper then a lot of places the only down side is the +-2HW gate.

 

[geoff9959]

Thank you very much your advise is very sound and i'm getting very excited about the trip. April weather may let us down but thats sailing. you are right about the centre of our country. it's a great place to visit and if I can get there by boat all the better. see you on the water.
Geoff

 

[geoff9959]

thank you all

Just purchased the charts for the trip, got the pilot books, moved the chartplotter in to the cockpit, got the wife, got the boat, got the days off, all I need now is a force 3/4 S, SW flat seas, It's not much to ask is it. have one of the political parties promised better weather if we vote for them?