Poecheng
Well-Known Member
Just come back from our summer pottering.......
We got to Iken, anchored there for a couple of nights during which time we took the dinghy upto Snape at low water.
We went on a rising tide to Iken and at each turn of the withies marked a waypoint on a handheld GPS (Garmin Legend Etrex Hcx - supposed to be very accurate). We found the hardest part to navigate was between Barber's Point and the north side of Iken Church - this is where you are faced with a wide expanse of water and an invisible narrow channel. The withies are fairly widely spaced at certain limited points and even with good eyesight and a good pair of binoculars it was not always easy in a few parts. Generally though it was a case of get to the next and then you can see the one following - most of the time though you can see one or two ahead and even more in the twisty bits.
Visibility of the type of withy was helped by the red plastic cans on the plain sticks for port hand markers. There were occasional (green - but colour not easy to see at any distance) flags on the more branch-type starboard hand markers. The single stick/red can made it much easier to see as did the branch type.
Once at Iken Cliff, the withy along the shore (just past the steps leading to the house) is a starboard hand marker AFAICS though it is a single stick. The deeper water to anchor in is not easy to discern on the echosounder but is approximately in line with the withy just mentioned and the one that marks the corner as you turn to starboard (and away from the church) to run along the shore. Our first night was a little too close to the shore by the house and spent at an interesting angle. Next morning we re-anchored so that we were only just to the shore side of the transit between the two withies.
Confession and enlightenment
When we left Iken (c.5am) to head to Aldeburgh, there was already a lot of water. In the twisty bits between Iken Cliff and Iken Church we became confused by what I am now sure was an errant stick that took us off to port of the proper route. I then spent about 20 minutes and a lot of diesel converting our boat into a JCB until I became rather resigned to being stuck there for the day. I had set up the handheld GPS with a route (reversed the waypoints on the way in) but it was too busy to even monitor when you are trying to see what is before you. I presumed that the chart plotter at the chart table (Ray C80) would be no use in such very very tight/confined spaces (having looked at it since in more detail I may be wrong about that since the map detail is far, far greater than I had thought).
In the end I got out my Iphone, Google Maps, Satelite view and it showed very clearly a) where the phone was and b) where the channel was at low water. Instead of trying to go backwards it suggested the deep water was immediately ahead of us. I had nothing to lose so.........and lo and behold we were off and away again. We used the Iphone to get us round all of the twisties and a long way across the large expanses (where it is not quite as useful as there is no clearly defined channel). I did not try to navigate by my plotter/waypoints in the end and found the Iphone an incredible resource.
Iken to Snape
We went up at low tide in the Avon (Mrs P rowing all the way !) and at each withy/gateway waypointed it in the handheld, took photographs and described it (the waypoint is where we were rather than the withy itself) Many of the withies were in good condition but some were broken and some were missing. Where they were missing I made a waypoint to represent a virtual withy.
As someone said earlier in the thread, following lots of waypoints may not be the ideal way to explore this wonderful part of the area. Where the withies can be seen and their type determined they are great. The Iphone (or better a tablet with GPS) showing Google maps on satellite view is a very good backup/guide in relation to the withies/route.
I have downloaded the waypoints from the handheld but not yet typed up my notes made at the time or linked to the photographs taken; if anyone is interested in having them let me know.
We got to Iken, anchored there for a couple of nights during which time we took the dinghy upto Snape at low water.
We went on a rising tide to Iken and at each turn of the withies marked a waypoint on a handheld GPS (Garmin Legend Etrex Hcx - supposed to be very accurate). We found the hardest part to navigate was between Barber's Point and the north side of Iken Church - this is where you are faced with a wide expanse of water and an invisible narrow channel. The withies are fairly widely spaced at certain limited points and even with good eyesight and a good pair of binoculars it was not always easy in a few parts. Generally though it was a case of get to the next and then you can see the one following - most of the time though you can see one or two ahead and even more in the twisty bits.
Visibility of the type of withy was helped by the red plastic cans on the plain sticks for port hand markers. There were occasional (green - but colour not easy to see at any distance) flags on the more branch-type starboard hand markers. The single stick/red can made it much easier to see as did the branch type.
Once at Iken Cliff, the withy along the shore (just past the steps leading to the house) is a starboard hand marker AFAICS though it is a single stick. The deeper water to anchor in is not easy to discern on the echosounder but is approximately in line with the withy just mentioned and the one that marks the corner as you turn to starboard (and away from the church) to run along the shore. Our first night was a little too close to the shore by the house and spent at an interesting angle. Next morning we re-anchored so that we were only just to the shore side of the transit between the two withies.
Confession and enlightenment
When we left Iken (c.5am) to head to Aldeburgh, there was already a lot of water. In the twisty bits between Iken Cliff and Iken Church we became confused by what I am now sure was an errant stick that took us off to port of the proper route. I then spent about 20 minutes and a lot of diesel converting our boat into a JCB until I became rather resigned to being stuck there for the day. I had set up the handheld GPS with a route (reversed the waypoints on the way in) but it was too busy to even monitor when you are trying to see what is before you. I presumed that the chart plotter at the chart table (Ray C80) would be no use in such very very tight/confined spaces (having looked at it since in more detail I may be wrong about that since the map detail is far, far greater than I had thought).
In the end I got out my Iphone, Google Maps, Satelite view and it showed very clearly a) where the phone was and b) where the channel was at low water. Instead of trying to go backwards it suggested the deep water was immediately ahead of us. I had nothing to lose so.........and lo and behold we were off and away again. We used the Iphone to get us round all of the twisties and a long way across the large expanses (where it is not quite as useful as there is no clearly defined channel). I did not try to navigate by my plotter/waypoints in the end and found the Iphone an incredible resource.
Iken to Snape
We went up at low tide in the Avon (Mrs P rowing all the way !) and at each withy/gateway waypointed it in the handheld, took photographs and described it (the waypoint is where we were rather than the withy itself) Many of the withies were in good condition but some were broken and some were missing. Where they were missing I made a waypoint to represent a virtual withy.
As someone said earlier in the thread, following lots of waypoints may not be the ideal way to explore this wonderful part of the area. Where the withies can be seen and their type determined they are great. The Iphone (or better a tablet with GPS) showing Google maps on satellite view is a very good backup/guide in relation to the withies/route.
I have downloaded the waypoints from the handheld but not yet typed up my notes made at the time or linked to the photographs taken; if anyone is interested in having them let me know.
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