Wednesday trip on tidal bit - grateful for advice

[irs101]

Hi
I'd really appreciate advice on the trip I'm planning to do on Wednesday from Limehouse down to Leigh-on-Sea.

We made the trip up yesterday - first time we'd done it, been looking to do it for a couple of years and was getting a bit obessive about it. A bit grim rain-wise, but motor-sailed the whole way and, apart from assisting a broken down yacht at Erith, went completely smoothly.

Planning to return on Wednesday & forecast has gone from good to bad very quickly. Under some pressure not to postpone the trip because friends have taken days off work to come along. So I just want a sanity check from you guys.

Leaving Limehouse near the top of the tide at 8am, wind forecast (XCweather) as northerly low F5 falling F4. Will probably have a 1 to 2 hour wait in the Ray off Leigh to get on our mooring. Obviously we'll get soaked, but mainly light rain forecast so visibility should be OK for the estuary.

Obviously if the forecast deteriorates further then I'll re-evaluate, but as it currently stands I'm thinking it could be a fun, if wet, sail. But I really don't know west of Canvey well, so please could you point out anything else I should think about?

Thanks

Ian.

 

[Gumpy]

Personally having looked here:

http://www.accuweather.com/ukie/sailing-...y=3&fhour=0

I would postpone.
I am still dubious about next Saturday when we are due to go to the Medway as in the Barge anything over F3 is uncomfortable to say the least.

Julian

 

[ianc1200]

Julian

are you still thinking of continuing onto the Blackwater? I'll be at Bradwell over the BH weekend, and following weekend.

IanC

 

[Gumpy]

Depends on the weather.........
Can you Email ( pargebarge@btopenworld.com) me the waypoints, in some form that i can import, that you used on the TNC trip save me plotting them.............Yes I am lazy!


J

 

[oldgit]

I would leave the trip until weekend nice weather forecast.
All I can see are Those N 25 mph winds in the Swatchway.Might be OK ..........
Promised trip to friends is of no importance,if they are non saily types,they may not thank you for any "Bracing salt water experiences"
Weather at Sheerness
As sampled at 22:24

Dir/Beaufort: N F6

Wind spd: 31 mph / 26.9 kt
Wind gust: 33 mph / 28.7 kt
Avg (5m): 32 mph / 27.8 kt
Avg (1h): 30 mph / 26.1 kt
Max. gust: 38 mph at 21:21 /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif



Sure everybody must have this by now. Webcam

 

[oldgit]

did you go?

Sheerness today
Wind spd: 29 mph / 25.2 kt
Wind gust: 34 mph / 29.5 kt
Avg (5m): 33 mph / 28.7 kt
Avg (1h): 33 mph / 28.7 kt
Max. gust: 51 mph at 9:30 /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[irs101]

Re: did you go?

We did. I was going to postpone, but Limehouse couldn't give me a berth beyond Friday. So I had to at least move her - perhaps to Galleon's.

We'd all taken the day off, so we met up Tuesday evening anyway and discussed. My crew - two very good friends - were clear that, if I thought we could make it safely, they were up for whatever the weather could throw at them. The wind and rain through the night, even in a protected marina, filled me with doubt and I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. But by the morning it had calmed down.

We left at 8am. The sail cover was off, but for emergency purposes rather than the expectation of sailing - we motored all the way. Conditions in the protected early parts were fine. I'd made lots of contingency plans and identified Dartford as the last point at which I'd turn back for London. We got their quickly and in good shape.

The wind got stronger towards Tilbury but, with little traffic around, we were able to cut corners and head for the more protected northern side if it started to get uncomfortable. Gravesend was my last refuge, but we were still in good shape and all keen to continue.

However I'd identified the northbound approach to Shellhaven as a potential problem and, boy, it didn't let me down! Must have been constant high F6 or F7 roaring down and whipping up the water. Heading straight into it, the boat handled pretty well. She tends to throw up a lot of spray, which was blown straight back, but the action wasn't anywhere near as bad as it could have been. Only problem was the sail starting to break lose - and once the wind was on the beam, that would have been a major issue. So I clipped myself on and threw a load of rope round it.

Visibility was good and I could spot buoys some distance away. So we made a good course past Shellhaven. Once past the terminals, even though you're not supposed to, I looked to cross the channel to get some more protection from the rough water. We waited for one ship to pass, but with nothing else in sight we headed across just past Scar's Elbow.

I wanted to get as close as I could to the mud banks, but wasn't taking any chances with the Middle Sand - despite the neep tide theoretically giving me enough water. So passed just north of Deposite and headed for the Leigh buoy.

Turning into the Ray dead on low water, the neap tide meant it was quite full, giving us another soaking. But soon we were behind the mud and we picked up a buoy near the north side of the channel. We swung around a lot, but it was comfortable enough, even as the tide came in, to go below and drink tea for 3 hours.

We picked up her mooring, packed up the boat in the lee of the cliffs and were home by 6.

My crew absolutely loved it and I learnt alot about both my own abilities and my boat's. First time I'd been out in a really strong blow and she handled well and her oversized VW engine didn't miss a beat. I also learnt never to trust wind forecasts on Metcheck. XC and BBC were probably near the mark most of the way, apart from around Shellhaven. The coastal forecast was pretty close, but I don't think we experienced the really strong gusts occuring further out in the estuary - which is what I was counting on in my planning.

Many thanks for your advice. While I went ahead anyway, it really forced me to think much more carefully about the trip, planning in a lot more escape routes and thinking about what I would do in different scenarios.

Ian.