Thames Estuary Advice wanted

[milltech]

This post is in two parts, where to go and when to go, but first let me grovel about putting a mobo question on Scuttlebut, being an old and slow mobo I thought the body of experience would be more appropriate here.

I have an old lifeboat temporarily moored at Levington and I want to get to Southampton. The last and only time I did this was 1981, although I did come past outside of everything en route from Scotland a couple of times in the later 80's. So first the navigation.

My initial thoughts were to take the Medusa Channel, or maybe what looks like deeper water just to the East, to a point halfway between the Wallet No.2 and NE Gunfleet, skirt the Gunfleet 6m line heading south down the Kings Channel, but where to cross the Sunk Sand?

Then Foulgers Gat to Elbow and then the Gull Stream or something like that. All advice welcomed. This request includes even totally different routes as there appears to some suggestion in the books that to follow the big ship channel out of Harwich and then turn south outside of almost everything is a good idea. However that advice was for Calais which is almost the same but not quite.

Next, timing. Boat Speed 8 knots. I thought it would be possible to leave just after low tide and carry a making tide all the way but it falls apart after North Foreland, so if stopping, Ramsgate looks the best funk hole rather than my original thought of Dover.

However if going non-stop straight past both to Brighton or further West, where's the best place to face an unwelcome tide? Dover straight does not seem to be it, so perhaps the Thames Estuary would be a softer option. All contributions on both route and timing would be well received.

Thanks in advance.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[RMA]

How about cutting across from the Medusa to the Sunk Head, down the Black Deep to Foulgers Gat and the straight across to the North Foreland?

I think I would avoid crossing the Sunk Sand if possible. Last year I cut across near the old SW Sunk beacon at about half ebb and found depths of less than 2 metres, but things could have changed since then.

If you want to stay close to shelter then the best bet would probably be the Wallet, the Spitway, East and West Swin and then across to the Kent Shore.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Peppermint]

Re: Last time

I did the same trip, I left to catch the tide, went through the Medusa ( my draught 1.20m), North of the Long Sand Head, outside the Kentish Knock to Ramsgate. We caught the tide at about 05:00 and, conditions being mainly light, we arrived at Ramsgate by mid afternoon. I doubt we exceded 5 knots through the water at any time.

Don't do what we did. Which was to get down from Ipswich the day before and spend the night on the Harwich Jetty. It was very uncomfortable all night even though wind speed was zero.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[pvb]

Going outside...

Going outside everything always seems a fairly good option, as it's much more straightforward than messing about round the sandbanks (and I had a very scary minute or two a couple of years ago crossing at the SW Sunk beacon!). I favour following the ship channel out of Harwich to Cork Sand, then past Roughs and Sunk to Long Sand Head, then straight down outside Kentish Knock. Ramsgate is a very convenient place to stop.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Going outside...

I am another "outside everything" type, with "inside everything" (Wallet, Spitway, Swin and along the Kent coast) as my preferred option. But I must admit that I have taken the Foulger's Gat route a couple of times recently - much depends on wind direction and strength.

<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?

 

[paulrossall]

Did the trip 4 years ago, from Harwich to Ramsgate and took same route as Peppermint. Left about 0830, or maybe a bit later, and arrived Ramsgate about 1700. We sailed to Long Sand Head and then motored and boat speed is no more than 5 knots. I am a great believer in going into port at night, particularly with a boat that is new to you and a couple of pints does help me get a good nights sleep. Good luck with the trip. Paul

<hr width=100% size=1>" there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats".

 

[TheBoatman]

If you decide on a stop over in Ramsgate you should plan to leave Ramsgate about HW Dover +2. You can safely use either the inshore route though B1 or go out to the Gull before heading south.

Best of luck

Peter

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[LadyInBed]

Keep it simple

I'm also in the outside camp, it’s not that much further. Head out to about 1º 42 or 43E follow that track South on the GPS till the bottom of South Falls aiming to be there at about HWD+6 then run through the straights just out of the Ship channel.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Mirelle]

Gosh, I made that as clear as mud!

What I wanted to say was that, in general, I think it is just as simple to go outside everything; it make the passage a little longer but this can be a worthwhile price to pay for easy navigation, when making a passage between Harwich and Dover.

It depends, in a sailing boat, on where the wind is - if it is W of SW then going outside everything gives you a final beat when going North which can be avoided by taking Foulgers' Gat.

But in general the "cross sand" routes are of much more use when aiming to or from the Colne, Blackwater and Crouch.

If one has a weak crew or a doubtful boat then "inside everything", with the options of making for the Colne, Crouch or Swale for a break, makes some sense.

<hr width=100% size=1>Que scais-je?

 

[milltech]

Thanks for the advice

I will take your excellent advice and go outside.

My day has been further improved by the discovery that what I thought was an engineering fault that was going to take hours of engine room struggle, was only a buggered up system courtesy of some witless tanker in Southwold, and will take five minutes to fix.

Thanks again to everyone. What a wonderful place this is!


<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>