Thames windfarms

Champagne Murphy

Champagne Murphy

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Is there ANY safe, windfarm-free passage across the Thames estuary?
3 weeks ago we went south from Harwich to Ramsgate. the winds made going outside Foulgers a goer so we tried the Knock deep. Got to the bottom, even more of the flippin' things. What with hotel rigs, work boats and the turbines themselves it wasn't possible to see a safe route between the Long sand construction and Kentish Knock at the South end.
Anyone got any good ideas?
 
Champagne Murphy said:
Is there ANY safe, windfarm-free passage across the Thames estuary?
3 weeks ago we went south from Harwich to Ramsgate. the winds made going outside Foulgers a goer so we tried the Knock deep. Got to the bottom, even more of the flippin' things. What with hotel rigs, work boats and the turbines themselves it wasn't possible to see a safe route between the Long sand construction and Kentish Knock at the South end.
Anyone got any good ideas?
Click to expand...

Fisherman's Gat we came through on monday
kin wind mills on every bank in the estuary, most stationary when we came through :rolleyes:
 
Came back from Oostend on thursday, cracking sail, NWly one tack all the way, no engine at all. But even then Galloper was covered in the flogging things. I wouldn't mind so much but getting a chart with ANY of them on is impossible. Lord help us all in fog
 
Champagne Murphy said:
I wouldn't mind so much but getting a chart with ANY of them on is impossible.
Click to expand...

Really? The Galloper has been on charts since 2009 as I recall. To say they are 'orrible' things is fair enough but in fairness there is loads of info out there.

There is also this

http://www.crossingthethamesestuary.com/page9.html

For some info - certainly that the Knock Deep is a bit 'congested' I admit you have to click the 'Temporary Notices to Mariners' button which is a bit of a fag. :rolleyes:
 
I agree I am remiss for not doing all the corrections, life gets in the way, but it's the rather arbitrary nature of their sudden appearance and the almost complete, simultaneous blockage of routes across the estuary that I find so irritating. Its like trying to drive North and finding you have to divert via Anglesey. Even the most up to date Imray charts (2012) have little or no reference to them and my chartplotter (updated last year) has NO indication whatsoever of any of them. If fog were to spring up then vessels without radar would be in serious trouble.
Then there is the ever present risk of being scolded by Mary Ann, the guard ship, and made to feel like a naught boy for using valid routes and obeying all the rules eg 500m from work vessels etc.
We (Tiller Girl and I) had an email exchange the week before I went and the notices were late from the Admiralty.
Wouldn't a regularly updated chart, like say the Deben and Ore entrances but on the web be a good idea? It's much easier to read, intuitive etc.
NB I'm not suggesting that Tiller Girl should do this, the website is a fantastic resource that we are all really lucky to have, but it wouldn't hurt the Admiralty to crawl in the new century.
 
Champagne Murphy said:
I agree I am remiss for not doing all the corrections, life gets in the way, but it's the rather arbitrary nature of their sudden appearance and the almost complete, simultaneous blockage of routes across the estuary that I find so irritating. Its like trying to drive North and finding you have to divert via Anglesey. Even the most up to date Imray charts (2012) have little or no reference to them and my chartplotter (updated last year) has NO indication whatsoever of any of them. If fog were to spring up then vessels without radar would be in serious trouble.
Then there is the ever present risk of being scolded by Mary Ann, the guard ship, and made to feel like a naught boy for using valid routes and obeying all the rules eg 500m from work vessels etc.
We (Tiller Girl and I) had an email exchange the week before I went and the notices were late from the Admiralty.
Wouldn't a regularly updated chart, like say the Deben and Ore entrances but on the web be a good idea? It's much easier to read, intuitive etc.
NB I'm not suggesting that Tiller Girl should do this, the website is a fantastic resource that we are all really lucky to have, but it wouldn't hurt the Admiralty to crawl in the new century.
Click to expand...

I noted that the French are not reliant on windmills but use little huts ashore with cables coming out of then
 
Champagne Murphy said:
I agree I am remiss for not doing all the corrections, life gets in the way, but it's the rather arbitrary nature of their sudden appearance and the almost complete, simultaneous blockage of routes across the estuary that I find so irritating. Its like trying to drive North and finding you have to divert via Anglesey. Even the most up to date Imray charts (2012) have little or no reference to them and my chartplotter (updated last year) has NO indication whatsoever of any of them. If fog were to spring up then vessels without radar would be in serious trouble.
Then there is the ever present risk of being scolded by Mary Ann, the guard ship, and made to feel like a naught boy for using valid routes and obeying all the rules eg 500m from work vessels etc.
We (Tiller Girl and I) had an email exchange the week before I went and the notices were late from the Admiralty.
Wouldn't a regularly updated chart, like say the Deben and Ore entrances but on the web be a good idea? It's much easier to read, intuitive etc.
NB I'm not suggesting that Tiller Girl should do this, the website is a fantastic resource that we are all really lucky to have, but it wouldn't hurt the Admiralty to crawl in the new century.
Click to expand...

I agree that it's not the best. It was the London Array that was late, not the UKHO. The latter make no attempt to provide frequent updates - when you see their world wide responsibilities I guess it comes down to resources and their basic message is to indicate an area of construction and expect us all to keep clear. By the way the London Array is the only construction site that has attempted to provided weekly updates and they are to be congratulated for that (I think). I have a line of communication with Dong who are doing the Gunfleet Demo site so I hope that will be fruitful for us but the rest seem to assume they are out of the way - and so they are for the big stuff.

Frankly I think it is possible that now they know they can erect these turbines in deepish water (ie 20m), virtually no place is safe unless the real bottom is unstable.

A web based resource is possible - I have been thinking about this and discussing it with Colin but frankly it comes down to cost. At the moment, I am happy to do what I do on the basis that I can do it on Monday evenings. But to go further in terms of coverage would quickly extend the time commitment too far plus it really needs a bit of investment that would mean charging for the service. I could expand on that but perhaps not now.

I sense also that East Coast sailors are much more interested in changes perhaps simply because our area does change in a way that affects us whereas for the south coast sailor I guess some of my 30 yr old charts would still largely get me by.
 
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