Southwold Entrance

Bernie
Ive been in and out on a few occasions.
you can/should be able to download chartlet...I think its on same site as ore and deben?????
Outside entrance can be tricky in bad conditions but i dont think you will have them this weekend.
Call HM CH12 iirc for permission to enter...too many boats in the narrow entrance can be a bit hairy....even local boats dont call and they get the hump!
there was a guide to enter from south of the piers only a few yards from the south pier then when in between turn to port to enter...
when you enter keep well to starboard side as you go past the end of the piers ....this is the elbow....the middle of the entrance by the harbour wall is shallow even at high tide.....dont know whether you have springs or neeps at the mo......i think the pilot says only a couple of cables. you need to keep as close as possible to harbour wall for about 100 yards.then you can turn back to port for the middle of river. 1/2 rising tide would be a good time for a yacht....
Tide runs very hard nearly all the time.
HM will help with lines and ties you bow and stern to shore and back again. rafting will be a must this weekend.....
keep phoning....they are VERY helpful....

I am back in UK tonight so you can phone me if what ive said is not clear or you want more info..

Doug
 
Southwold is a place where everyone should visit, but I think you will find that many don't ever go back again. The harbour is OK but there were no facilities when I went, but that was a few years back. It is a treck to the town.

I dislike fighting tides, particularly when they are near to springs. Ideally you want to take the ebb up the coast which will give you a fast trip, but you then arrive at Southwold at low water.

HW Harwich on Saturday is 11.34BST. LW Southwold is 1615BST, about the time you might arrive, so you will have to hang around up there before there is enough water to get in. Then when the water is going in it runs at a hell of a rate, as fast as you will have encountered anywhere. We negotiated the entrance and when past the piers turned the boat around and went in backwards because that gave us much more controll over the boat. The alternative is to go in forward with the engine in reverse trying to slow you down and I don't know many boats that handle well like that.

I would continue to try and contact the Harbour Master (isn't it a "Mistress""??) just in case there is a rally going in. At most times you have to raft out.

Perhaps a better plan would be to wizz up the coast to Lowestoft for the night and then do the short journey to Southwold where you will have a the incoming tide taking you down to Southwold.

Next cloud on the horizon is that when you leave Soutwold, near the top of the tide you will fight the strong ebb all the way down the coast back to Harwich. Again maybe you should return to Lowestoft for the night and then leave Lowestoft at low water and wizz down the coast with the flood.

Rereading this I do appear to be a bit negative but I do detest fighting tides. Hope it goes well, I would be interested to hear how you find the trip.

Good Luck
 
Yes, you are being negative!

It's a lovely place. The entrance isn't that bad, the harbour master is incredibly helpful and friendly (or was a couple of years ago). The sailing club is welcoming and has quite acceptable showers, loos and a very cheap, friendly bar. The walk to Southwold town is pleasant - OK, it's a trek, but a nice one, and the pub by the harbour is quite good with decent food.

We loved it and will go back whenever we can - we hugely prefer it to Lowestoft!
 
Agree it's fine really.

The first time I did it I must admit I drove up there first to scope it out, because the plan called for a night entry. I asked around and the general local views seemed to be "coming up the coast, wait until it really is open before turning in" and "come in on the flood, and don't change your mind half way in"
 
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