Ray Sand Channel/Charles Stock

[ianc1200]

Yesterday I (mainly motored) my Anderson 22 "Sea Moon" from Bradwell, through the Ray Sand channel about 9am, up the Crouch/Roach off into Yokesfleet creek, where I first saw Charles, I assume he'd just come through Havengore. I went around to Havengore by Sutton's Boatyard, arriving at the bridge about 1 hr after HW. Then via the Narrow Cuts to anchore in Yokesfleet creek for about 45mins. Later I almost caught Charles up again (I was motoring) but saw him go along the edge of the sands and go through the Raysand Channel about 3.5 hours after HW. The sands are marked as drying 1.2m, the tide was (at Harwich) 3.36 HW 0.7 LW. As I'd come through 1hr before HW and had 1.8/1.9m depth of water, I was surprised he made it. Calculating 3.36 - 0.7 = 2.66m drop in 6 hours, ie 0.44 per hour, so 3.5 after HW = 3.36 - 0.44x3.5 - the drying height of 1.2 = aprox 0.6m depth. Is this it's worked? By the time I'd got to the Spitway buoys he was miles away, but saw him again this afternoon going past Bradwell, again the canny sailor he is, it was a falling tide but making headway with the northerly wind which developed late on.

regards

IanC

 

[tillergirl]

Well nobody knows the waters round there better than Charles Stock and I do think he can float on a heavy dew with his board up. Plus also don't forget that the sands do alter. I found much less water near the Buxey Beacon last week than I expected - not that that means there is more water in the Rays'd!

According to the Co-Tidal Charts, HW in the Rays'd is 30 minutes later than HW Walton which itself is 10 minutes later than HW Harwich. So you could say that he went through the Rays'd 3 hours after HW Harwich. Differences on heights of tide at the RayS'd are a factor of 1.22 on Walton or approx 1.20 on Harwich. So there is a range of 3.2m at the Rays'd. Using the Rule of Twelves or is it Twelths, in the first hour it will drop 0.26, the second hour 0.52 and the third hour 0.78 or a total of 1.56, leaving a height of tide of approx 2.45 (I have applied the extra range at the Rays'd symetrically). Drying height 1.2m = 1.25m depth - I could just about have bumped through!

Very quick mental stuff (apart from the reference to the Co-Tidal charts) so there may be an error here. Don't forget that you can ge the height of tide at Walton by listening on Channel 69 to London VTS. At 15 and 45 minutes past the hour, they broadcast, inter alia, heights of tides at four locations - usually includes Walton but also Margate (why?), Shivering Sands and somewhere else I've fogotten. So if you have previously worked out your 'go for it' depth related to the height of tide at Walton, you can make the very latest decision.

I was told by our launchman that some locals had walked the sand at LW springs and there was more water to the East of the traditional marked spot - in fact, this was always so on old charts as I recall.

 

[DanTribe]

We had a poke about at low water on Sat evening.
The Rays'n bouy is in deep water in the Crouch, the channel appeared to be completely dry but perhaps slightly deeper to the east by about 100metres. [Just slightly damper really]
I was surprised how the "lump" just north of Outer Crouch has grown, it's almost an island and steep to. Don't cut the corner between Rays'n & Crouch bouy.
I can also confirm that the Sunken Buxey shoal is still there and hard!

It's good to see Charlie Stock still doing his rounds. For entertainment, ask for his opinion on modern marina culture yachting.