Walton Backwater unlit buoys

[Gargleblaster]

Arrived at the Pye End buoy on Friday night about midnight. Decided to continue onto the Walton Stone to anchor. Could see the Crab Knoll red and green winking. Got past the first three buoys and then bang. Hit a green unlit buoy - now got a few green marks up my port side. Then later I managed to leave two red buoys to starboard and found the ground. Managed to get off OK on a rising tide.

Is there a trick to being able to determine where the unlit buoys are or should you only enter at night if you know it like the back of your hand?

 

[Leighb]

I have not come in at night, but have - only once - left in the dark from Titchmarsh. It was also blowing with heavy rain so very nasty.

Fortunately we were with another boat who was just ahead and had a powerful torch on the bow for buoy spotting. It was not just the unlit navigation buoys, but lots of unoccupied mooring buoys that were hard to see at night in the Walton channel.

What struck me at the time was that most of the buoys that were unlit were those that were most critical, such as the 3 reds near Island Pt which are right on the edge of the steep to bank. Terribly easy to miss one of those and go aground, it happens quite often in broad daylight. Was that where you got stuck?

I would think that the only easy answer for the entrance if you are not familiar with the Backwaters, is a chartplotter with the latest charts, and in view of recent changes that would be out of date anyway.

 

[nortada]

Walton Channel In The Dark - Not For The faint Hearted!

Having used it for the past 20 years I have a reasonable idea of The Backwaters but would still think twice before moving during the silent hours - too many moorings & unforgiving depths.

I certainly would not move in bad weather during the hours of darkness & Stone Point in the dark

If inbound I would anchor off (out of the channel) & if outbound repair to the bar until tomorrow

 

[TopDonkey]

I've found myself in similar circumstances previously, and at one point, it was so dark and i couldnt see a thing even with my floodlight on, that i came to a stop and had a think for a while, then fired up google earth on my phone and did satellite view and followed the contour in on that, it was absolutely spot on and brought me in perfectly.

I have since used it on quite a few other occasions and it has always worked flawlessly, so if you are stuck and need directions, its worth firing up google earth on your phone next time

 

[johnalison]

I came in in the dark a couple of years ago and although we have sailed out of Titchmarsh for many years now I found it very hard. You shouldn't go aground if you go from one light to the next, but as you found, you can easily hit something.

If you are in the area regularly, the easiest way to be safe is to save your track on a plotter and either follow it or convert it into a route. I have done a similar thing for Tollesbury, which is equally useful in fog.

 

[nortada]

I've found myself in similar circumstances previously, and at one point, it was so dark and i couldnt see a thing even with my floodlight on, that i came to a stop and had a think for a while, then fired up google earth on my phone and did satellite view and followed the contour in on that, it was absolutely spot on and brought me in perfectly.

I have since used it on quite a few other occasions and it has always worked flawlessly, so if you are stuck and need directions, its worth firing up google earth on your phone next time

Very true - I too have used Google Earth with some success but because of a rapidly changing situation, the Google Earth overhead of Stone Point & the Backwaters generally is not sufficiently up-to-date.

Moreover, it is not possible to identify which mooring buoys are currently occupied or vacant, or boats at anchor, who regularly do not show anchor lights.

Additionally, because of the ever changing wind over tide situation, the back eddies, together with differing vessel profiles, it is not possible to establish how vessels are lying relative to the channel

Understandably, there is a continuing problem of long term mooreres in the Walton Channel being struck by passing vessels

Clearly, long term moorers or anchorers cannot use their anchor light without flattening their batteries but one trick some are employing is to place a couple of solar white garden diode lights on board to give some indication of their presence. At about £1 per light much cheaper than being run into in the dark & long lived, they require no maintenance

With the high incidence of sunny days in Portugal this form of illumination will be very effective but even in the UK, these lights seem to last long enough. To increase the burn time it is possible to replace the 700mA rechargeable battery with one with a greater capacity but having never carried out any trials not sure how big the gain will be

Unfortunately, such lighting can lead to extra confusion to a vessel underway

 

[Marmalade]

Is there a trick to being able to determine where the unlit buoys are or should you only enter at night if you know it like the back of your hand?

Sorry to be a smartarse but...

Use chart and compass - course from buoy to buoy easily plottable. Someone with torch to ensure you don't actually clonk them. Pilotage 101.

 

[Kukri]

I used to sail out of Walton and thirty-five years ago I got overconfident and spent an educational night on the Pye, which i don't recommend...

I will enter and leave at night but only in near perfect conditions.

One thing about the buoys is that unlike the big Trinity House buoys which used to be unlit (eg Stone Banks and the wreck buoy adjacent to Wallet no 4) they won't actually sink you if you hit them.

Forty years ago i was sailing up the Wallet on a fine clear night with a land breeze and a good tide in a clapped out old Dragon with my girlfriend asleep in the cabin and a folding dinghy lashed on the side deck when I saw a big black shape slide rapidly past the end of the boom - the Wallet no 4 wreck buoy - a few feet the other way and I would not have been here to tell the tale...

 

[Gargleblaster]

Sorry to be a smartarse but...

Use chart and compass - course from buoy to buoy easily plottable. Someone with torch to ensure you don't actually clonk them. Pilotage 101.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is.

~ Yogi Berra

 

[nortada]

If in doubt don't!

Sorry to be a smartarse but...

Use chart and compass - course from buoy to buoy easily plottable. Someone with torch to ensure you don't actually clonk them. Pilotage 101.

Great theory that unfortunately fails to take account of the mooring buoys or anchored boats!

Proof in the pudding is the continuing number of collisions occurring in the Walton Channel.

Is use of a solar garden diode lights as an anchor (or 'on buoy') light legal?

 

[Austerby]

As part of my YM practical last year I had to sail down the Orwell, out past Harwich and into Hamford Water after dark and anchor on a specified contour line. That was quite a challenge, particularly on a falling tide and with the unlit bouys around and no moonlight. No electronic aids allowed so all on back bearings, depths taking tidal heights into account and speed/time distance estimates. I ended up a little way off where I was meant to be but at least anchored (under sail) in the right depth and a safe place. I felt I'd earned my YM that night.

 

[Captain Haddock]

As part of my YM practical last year I had to sail down the Orwell, out past Harwich and into Hamford Water after dark and anchor on a specified contour line. That was quite a challenge, particularly on a falling tide and with the unlit bouys around and no moonlight. No electronic aids allowed so all on back bearings, depths taking tidal heights into account and speed/time distance estimates. I ended up a little way off where I was meant to be but at least anchored (under sail) in the right depth and a safe place. I felt I'd earned my YM that night.

Top man!