walton backwater best entry time.?

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silverdawn

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Hi All, planning a short cruise from the crouch round to blackwater then up to the walton backwaters, never been up the wallet on my own boat so a new experience for me and the wife,
looking at the charts and depths at Pye End buoy the marker for entry into the backwaters I calculate that that with a draft of 4ft 3" I will need to arrive at high water - 4.5 hours giving me 1.5 hours of flood under me to cross the shallow sands from Pye End to Crab Knoll then into Hamford water. The east coast Pilot book and chart shows 1.2 metres lat but these are 2008 LW walton on the day is 1.0 metre, we intend to go into titmarsh marina.local Knowledge and upto date info would be most welcome.
 
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I draw 5'6" and would aim for half tide. At Stone point the buoys are quite close to the shore but it's pretty steep to round there so won't a problem. The important thing about the Wallet is go with the tide and a big wind over tide is to be avoided - it ain't otherwise known as Vomit Alley for nothing!

I'm jealous, being shorebound at present - a trip to the backwaters is just what I need right now. Marvellous:)
 
we draw 6' 6" and will also sneak in on a rising tide - anything over a half a tide is usually OK and the bottom's pretty soft.

Haven't been into Titchmarsh for a while now, but in anything other than a NE-ly Hamford is a great anchorage so I'd agree with Sailorman unless you have a yearning for pub grub over what you can rustle up at anchor.

Timing is poor from the Blackwater - I'd be tempted to take the ebb up the wallet and maybe drop the hook off pye end (if it's a calm day) or Ewarton in the Stour (if not) and have a snooze whilst waiting for some tide
 
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davidwf said:
Tichmarsh has a clay cill I have had to wait for water to get out on a couple of occasions, its strange but their website dosn't mention it.
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I have often wondered if the cill really exists anymore, the depths inside the marina don't seem very different once inside the marina basin, unlike somewhere like the Tidemill at Woodbridge where there is a very noticable change in depth after crossing.
 
The Tidemill has a concrete cill which you can see when the tide goes down as has Tollesbury, although that is a wide conrete area that you can walk over. I don't think there is a concrete cill at Tichmarsh but there is a shallow area before you reach the fuel pumps as you enter. The approach to the marina along the long pontoon is an area that has very shallow spots at low water.
 
I went into the Backwaters last Saturday evening within half an hour of LW Walton. It was a friend’s boat with a draft of 4 feet. The shallowest bit was between the Pye End buoy and the second channel buoy, where the lowest depth reading was 1.2 metres. I don’t know how accurate that reading was, and my mate looked a bit thoughtful at times, but we didn’t touch. We met the Walton Lifeboat going the other way and he obviously wasn’t too worried because once he passed us he increased speed considerably.
 
It's a usual jaunt of ours. I try to aim to be LW at the Naze which gives about an hour of flood 'in hand' by the time we get to Pye end. If you can get to the second channel marker without touching, you'll make it all the way!

We draw 1m and haven't touched there yet.

BTW, I agree about the marina. It's nice enough as marinas go, the carvery is cheap and good but it's still just a car park for boats with stifling high banks all around and costs a lot on money for the priviledge. Hamford Water, on the other hand, is superb.
 
We draw 4 foot (1.2m) and must say I have never even thought about whether or not I can get into the Backwaters on my way to Titchmarsh. I have ob a couple of occassions just touched getting into the marina. So my estimate is don't worry on neaps but on springs leave it 2 hours after LW to get into the Marina.

But as others have said Hamford water is much nicer. We've anchored there three times this season, the last being on Saturday.

It was a bit of a shock on Sunday morning to be sailing out along Pye end channel to find a freighter heading into Walton Backwaters - he would have been arriving about an hour before HT. It would have been even more of a shock if I had been anchored in the middle of Hamford Water and seen him approaching me ...... which many seem to do!

PS actually went swimming off the boat there on Saturday -- the first time for me on the coast. The water was very warm indeed and I haven't died from poisening yet !

Regards
 
As a very regular visitor to the Backwaters (but only ever once to the marina), my favourite advice from above is Slow_boats... if you can get to the second channel marker, you're OK.... anything after LW Springs +1h ish if you're brave and less than 2.0m draft, and +2h for a bit more relaxed entry!
 
swatchways said:
When we sailed when we were little we heard regular explosions, but I've not heard any recently....This is where it's going I guess...

http://www.exchem-additives.com/
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Thanks for the link swatchways that is interesting. I understood it was an explosives factory, maybe it was during the war. I guess what they make is explosive but they might not want to publicise making armaments (if they do at all).

If you look on google map you will see there are some small boats moored up that creek. I do intend to walk along the paths that go down to the creeks from the road in Great Oakley someday.
 
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