Up the Nene

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Mar 2005
Messages
12,954
Location
Buckingham
www.keepturningleft.co.uk
Got as far as Oundle this last weekend

the wind was behind us both ways

the Honda used less than a gallon of fuel

but we did a lot of slow sailing

the water is astonishingly clear

the stream has wonderful vegetation and loads of fish to be seen

like sailing through the top canopy of a jungle

the way a river should be

willbe posting films of the trip this week

but....

does anyone know how far it is by Nene from Wisbech to Oundle

Dylan
 
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Wisbeach

16 To Peterborough
23 To Water Newton
26 To Manford
32 To Fotheringhay
35 To Oundle

Nautical Miles

Courtesy Google Earth and the ruler tool and a lot of clicks

:D

A few locks on the way and some barge traffic.
Looks a nice trip

..
 
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42 then

Sixpence said:
Dylan, useful info on distances here
http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/river.php?wpage=NENE
Click to expand...

oundle bridge mile 38

wisbech mile 79.8

that feels about right

of course some bits were so lovely I motored back to do them twice

I wanted to have a second go at filming them and also for the pleasure of sailing them again

amazingly the wind was behind us all the way to oundle - then when this recent band of rubbish weather came in the wind changed and blew us back down the river

the wind on Monday would have been too peppy for the slufg at sea - but up a river with 20 knots blowing up the transom it was wonderful

I used a gallon of fuel in the Honda for the whole trip

I am planning to post the films from last weekend this weekend

starting off tommorrow with the material I shot lats Thursday as we went from Wisbech to just above Peterborough on the first day

and then post the films in order

just an experiment

The amazing thing was how clear the water was though - astonishing - never experienced a river like it

Dylan
 
Know just what you mean about the clarity, used to stop off at Bluebell Bridge after work. Six in the morning can be a very peaceful time when you can sit and watch fish swimming around below the bridge in the summer. Try pulling in to Ferry Meadows on the way back, just watch out for the geese and don't land on the island
 
Glad you liked it... looking forward to the film. The nene is my local river and I've explored every inch by kayak... I can get the boat out of my garden and in at Water Newton or ferry Meadows in 7 or 9 minutes respectively :D

I've always fancied sailing it - my Europa is probably just on the deep side - but my ultimate Nene boat would be a gunter rigged Heron I think: row when the winds against you and drop the gaff to get under most of the bridges... and just big enough to camp on board.

Did you get to Overton Lake at Ferry? Its the nearest thing we have to a broad...

Jon
 
it was an absolute delight

Little Rascal said:
Glad you liked it... looking forward to the film. The nene is my local river and I've explored every inch by kayak... I can get the boat out of my garden and in at Water Newton or ferry Meadows in 7 or 9 minutes respectively :D

I've always fancied sailing it - my Europa is probably just on the deep side - but my ultimate Nene boat would be a gunter rigged Heron I think: row when the winds against you and drop the gaff to get under most of the bridges... and just big enough to camp on board.

Did you get to Overton Lake at Ferry? Its the nearest thing we have to a broad...

Jon
Click to expand...

the river was lovely - really lovely

the locks are a bit of a pain

but it gives you a chance to meet other boaters

I did not get to Overton Lake - I am sure I could have done better had I taken a map or a river guide with me

I am planning on posting about ten short films about the river

the first three should go up this evening - provided the web behaves

Dylan
 
Sounds like you enjoyed the river, but shh don't tell everyone.

Nenepark.jpg


If you do it again call in at the yacht club and say hello, you may even change your opinion of stinky mo-bo owners
 
as the images shows

macnorton said:
Sounds like you enjoyed the river, but shh don't tell everyone.

Nenepark.jpg


If you do it again call in at the yacht club and say hello, you may even change your opinion of stinky mo-bo owners
Click to expand...

as the image shows there are places on the Nene where the wind seldom blows - but paddling is easy - and we had Henry the Honda available

| did see some yacht clubs .... but did not see any yachts

were there real yachts with sails on the Nene at one time?

We had no paddle handle - but a canal boater loaned us one for the weekend

which was very nice of him

Dylan
 
dylanwinter said:
...going very slowly
Click to expand...

There used to be quite a few 'plonkers' using the de-restricted mile below Pbro. It's the least lovely bit anyway so I hardly ever bother with it since doing my own (muscle powered) speed trials (12 minutes btw :D)

...Anyway the council have just closed the slipway so things should be a fair bit quieter now!
 
Dylan, I don't know if you noticed but might be of interest:


There is a large pumping station on the North bank of the Nene between Stibbington and Wansford on the North Bank. (Just before a low wire that crosses the river and before the A1 bridges)

This pumping station is actually the inflow for a man-sized tunnel that runs to Rutland Water several miles away. A friend of mine from Stamford actually worked on the tunnel in the 80's. You can follow it's path some of the way on Google earth...

It's not very well known but it's kind of cool that you could walk from Wansford to Rutland underground (if they turned the water off!)

Jon
 
dylanwinter said:
now it is wall to wall mobos

so no sailing boats at all that I could see - saw a couple tied to the liv-aborads before Peterborough

D
Click to expand...

At PYC there is a steel Bruce Roberts 40ft a Macgreggor 26x and an IP24, these must have been out at the time you passed.
Untill recently there was a Pacesetter 29 and three 26 ft folkdancers in the area, and when I sell my boat there will be a 30 ft (ish) motor sailor.

The club also has three toppers and a sailing dingy as well as several members own sailing dingy's, if you go into Ferry meadows there are many sails to be seen also the same at MNSC (Thrapston), so there are a few sails about on the river but not that many.
 
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