Woodbridge to Tollesbury?

[Moondancer2]

Thinking of sailing from my half tide mooring in Woodbridge to Tollesbury in my 26ft bilge keeler. Anyone got suggestions on the best route, likely time it will take and the best way to work the tides? And suitable stopping points on route if needed?

 

[Sailing steve]

Leave Woodbridge two hours or more before you intend to cross the Deben bar on a falling tide. Use Willyweather tidal height data to find a saftey margin over the bar you're happy with and work back from that for a departure time. If you arrive early for the bar then pick up a buoy at Felixtowe Ferry and if you're late then forget it.

Initially hug the coast and fight the remaining ebb tide then head seaward due south to clear the Wadgate Ledge shallows and cross the shipping lanes into Felixtowe at or near the recommended track monitoring VHF 71 then head toward the Naze and it's conspicuous tower.

By the time you arrive off the Naze the early flood should have started and that will carry you toward Walton pier, Frinton, Clacton pier and Point clear. Once you've got over the Cole bar then make a course for the Nass beacon off west Mersea and then pick up the buoyed channel into Tollsesbury when it should be around high water and you can go straight in.

Prevailing winds are westerly which means a long beat down the coast. Watch out for pots and lines off the Naze. The Wallet can get surprisingly choppy with wind over tide.

Divert early into the Orwell or Walton Backwaters if the going gets tough as once past the Naze there's nowhere to stop until Brightlingsea.

I'd suggest a reasonable back of a fag packet time for the entire trip would be between 6 to 8 hours but that will of course depend on your course made good and speed.

 

[tillergirl]

At the risk of a series of glib answer to your question.

Assuming you would passage plan based on 4kts STW (i.e. the average boat speed over the whole passage ignoring the tide)?

The quickest passage at 4kts STW is 4hr 9 minutes between just outside the Deben to the River Blackwater 'entrance', approx 3.44nm away from Tollesbury Marina IF you departed outside the Deben at 6hrs before HW Sheerness. Mathematically the slowest passage is 7 hrs 53 minutes provided you departed 1hr 30 minutes before HW Sheerness. For the time being regard HW Sheerness as an hour later than HW Walton/Harwich.

Of course the most important tidal gate is exiting the Deben and you will need to decide when you are happy to exit. The next important tide gate is arrival at Tollesbury (for the marina, saltings or mooring?) If you did depart from outside the Deben to achieve the quickest passage you would arrive in the Blackwater when there is still 1hr 50 minutes of flood. So completing the passage to, say, the marina you would arrive quite nice to get over the cill of the marina. But a different departure time would have a different conclusion. My tables will predict passage durations and ETA at the state of the tide for each 30 minute departure time and that will answer the second tidal gate question.

In addition to Steve's comments, you can always pick up a mooring in West Mersea to wait for the tide or anchor. If your timing is such that you are close to HW in the Blackwater, don't bother about picking up the Nass Beacon at West Mersea, aim directly for the Indigo cardinal buoy or the Tollesbury No 2 (it was moved in the last week or so) and pick up the South Channel. There are three white waiting buoys at the top of the Leavings and the tide gauge can be seen with good eysight or bins from those buoys. The South Channel will pretty much dry at LWS.

Opt for some alternatives for exiting the Deben and your passage duration times and ETA can be predicted.

 

[Aquaboy]

Well the first thing I would want is a N.E. breeze. A 7am tide in Woodbridge will give you time to get to the Ferry around low water.
It'll be neaps so I would wait for the flood to get started and creep out the northern entrance, the route will be clear cause its low tide. it'll also be calm so if you do touch (unlikely) you just sit there and wait a few mins. Its deeper towards the Bawdsey side and gently curves around that way. Once clear you can head for the Naze tho obviously you have the main shipping channel to cross. You'll still have almost 6 hours of flood pushing you the right way and a 7ish tide in the Blackwater. Once down there (or should that be up there) they'll be plenty of water so i'd just run straight over the Eagle and or Colne Bar and head straight for Tollsbury.......

In NO way should you follow any of this advise.....

 

[Greg2]

.
In addition to Steve's comments, you can always pick up a mooring in West Mersea to wait for the tide or anchor. If your timing is such that you are close to HW in the Blackwater, don't bother about picking up the Nass Beacon at West Mersea, aim directly for the Indigo cardinal buoy or the Tollesbury No 2 (it was moved in the last week or so) and pick up the South Channel. There are three white waiting buoys at the top of the Leavings and the tide gauge can be seen with good eysight or bins from those buoys. The South Channel will pretty much dry at LWS.

When we visited Tollesbury in July we didn’t see the white visitors buoys at the entrance to Woodrolfe Creek (might have missed them but we did look) and the tide gauge at the entrance to the marina has the top part missing as it has corroded so not so easy to spot.

 

[tillergirl]

Tollesbury may have serviced the buoys but they are there most of the time! They have just serviced the No 2 and the No 6 got moved as well earlier. They do constantly attend to them. The two gauges near the waiting buoys are one on the bank by the Leavings, the other on the saltings side at the entrance of Woodrolfe. They do get weedy!

 

[morgandlm]

Sailing Steve has covered it really. I have done this passage several times in a 26 foot Sadler although going to Bradwell rather than Tollesbury. The only thing I would add is that you have an option once clear of the Deben to anchor for a while rather than fighting the ebb. I have done this a couple of times, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and rested up a bit and then once the flood goes in your favour you have plenty of time to carry the flood all the way and arrive at HW. I fought the ebb once with unfavourable wind and worked hard for a couple of hours but probably only took 30 minutes or less off the total passage time.
David Morgan

 

[Malish]

Leave the Deben 1 hour before the high. Drop into Harwich (at high water) and stop at Ha'penny Pier, go for a walk, maybe via the Alma or have a snooze, wait for about 1 hour after the low and then proceed to Tollesbury. Likely to require a long summer day but who is in a rush

 

[Major_Clanger]

Unless you're familiar with the entrance, don't leave the Deben on a falling tide.