Woodbridge with a 2m draft - am I overthinking it?

[MagicalArmchair]

We loved visiting Woodbridge in Triola (our old Albin Ballad) with a 1.5m draft, however, even then I remember holding my breath as we navigated Troublesome reach and popped over the sill. I had resigned myself with Mirage, our Bavaria 40 with a 2m draft to sitting on a mooring at Waldringfield and taking our tender into Woodbridge... but am I overthinking it? My late fathers boat had a 2m draft, and he ventured once in there, but admitted he was worried he would get neaped in there so never returned.

The below week of springs is when we will be around this area on our cruise. This shows if we were to enter on 24th July, we'd have a luxurous 3 hour window to enter, and exit on Friday 26th July, we'd have easily two hours of tide over the cill.

What do people see on the approach? For instance, I know in Chatham Marina, when there is 2.4 meters over the sill of the lock, I will see 2.0 meters (pheh, plenty) on the approach as there is a lump of mud just outside the marina, this equates to around 1 meter over chart datum. I know the tide predictions are just estimates of course - once on the approach to Tollsbury in Triola, we had a 1.9 meters predicted, but due to a high pressure, the tide rose to just 1.6ms over their sill and we just scraped in (after running aground and kedging off on the approaches with the dog barking and the kids crying ).

So the questions then:

• With a 2m draft, on these spring times below that I highlighted, should I have any trouble at 1 hour before HW navigating the channel both ways? What do people see on the approach?
• I have no bow thruster, I remember it being tight in the marina for a 30 footer, others with bigger boats manouvered in there ok? The new boat does go splendidly backwards (Triola did not!)!
• Is the approach route below the right way to go?

Youngest crew, at the time back in 2016 of our last visit in Triola (He is a bit bigger now!!)

 

[MoodySabre]

I draw 1.7m and have always gone about as far as No 14 buoy and turned through Loders Cut. Should be OK - those tables from the Tidemill are invaluable.

 

[RivalRedwing]

IMHO you are overthinking a little - yes you will have to be careful with timings and consider giving the marina a ring from Waldringfield to confirm a suitable berth, but at springs you will be fine. The depth through Loders is meant to be the same as the marina sill, but Troublesome Reach really isn't that troublesome.

 

[alandalus11]

In reply to your query about it being tight in the marina. I wouldn't worry about that. As you enter and turn to port they have opened up the entrance massively so there is now a big area where boats can pass whereas previously it was a bit of a pinch point. One of the better improvements I think.

 

[LittleSister]

. . . yes you will have to be careful with timings and consider giving the marina a ring from Waldringfield to confirm a suitable berth, but at springs you will be fine. , , ,

But do take plenty of photos to post on here to let us know how you get on!

 

[PeterWright]

Hi,

We've been into the Tide Mill marina many times kver the past 14 years with our 6 foot (1.83m) draft and, so far avoided getting aground anywhere. However, we do try to avoid neaps, particularly if we plan to get out of the river over the bar on the same day as leaving the marina. I would not use Loders cut with 2m draft, troublesome reach is good if you stick to all the channel marks. On the way in, you want to cross the bar at or after HW -2 which gives you time to get up to the Tide Mill just before HW there (don't dawdle but no need to rush). Leaving, the cautious approach is to leavr the Tide Mill as soon as you have 2m over the cill which won't be far from HW and oick up a mooring at Ramsholt for the night to enjoy the delights of the Ramsholt Arms. The next day, you can readily leave Ramsholt at HW -1 to arrive at the bar just before HW to cross outward bound. We often leave the Tide Mill 1/2 to 1 hiur befire HW and hammer fown the river under engine to get out over the bar before HW +2 (falling tide) but I'm not sure I would be that brave with your extra 17 cm draft, particularly if there's any sea runnig.

I understand the visitor moorings at Waldringfield these days are restricted to 35 foot max LOA, which rules us out at 42 foot.

Despite having spent my schooldays in the 1950s and 1960s sailing from Waldrigfield, I would not today attempt the Deben in a yacht of 6 foot or more draft without a copy of the entance chartlet linked to on the East Coast Pilot and Crossing the Thames Estuary websites. It is completely revised every spring and, if necessary during the year. Mainstream published charts, paper or electronic, are invariably out of date. I always make sure I have the positions of the buoys from the chartlet loaded into my plotter. You can find posts by Cantata llinking to the chartlet and another for the Ore entrance on this board.

Peter.

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Thank you for all the responses! That is a great comfort.

Hi,
...
On the way in, you want to cross the bar at or after HW -2 which gives you time to get up to the Tide Mill just before HW there (don't dawdle but no need to rush). Leaving, the cautious approach is to leavr the Tide Mill as soon as you have 2m over the cill which won't be far from HW and oick up a mooring at Ramsholt for the night to enjoy the delights of the Ramsholt Arms. The next day, you can readily leave Ramsholt at HW -1 to arrive at the bar just before HW to cross outward bound.

I understand the visitor moorings at Waldringfield these days are restricted to 35 foot max LOA, which rules us out at 42 foot.

Despite having spent my schooldays in the 1950s and 1960s sailing from Waldrigfield, I would not today attempt the Deben in a yacht of 6 foot or more draft without a copy of the entance chartlet linked to on the East Coast Pilot and Crossing the Thames Estuary websites. It is completely revised every spring and, if necessary during the year. Mainstream published charts, paper or electronic, are invariably out of date. I always make sure I have the positions of the buoys from the chartlet loaded into my plotter. You can find posts by Cantata llinking to the chartlet and another for the Ore entrance on this board.

Peter.

We'll give that a go, get to the bar at HW-2, they will be springs, so whilst it will be alarming being swooshed in, there should be plenty of depth and we'll follow the chartlette (https://www.eastcoastpilot.com/media/other/1889/Deben2024chartletandnotev221-5-24.pdf) and make sure our transits are good and we are not being swept too far sideways by the tide.

I had no idea Walderingfield was restricted to 35 foot max, I must have missed that in the pilot book. I think they do say they leave some space for boats to anchor between the moorings, so that would have had to be the plan B I suppose!

The kids loved Ramsholt last time we were there, so we will follow that advice on exit - we did have the dog on board so it was a good place to give him a run up and down the beach also!

But do take plenty of photos to post on here to let us know how you get on!

I'll pop some photos up of Mirage wedged on the sill once we have completed our visit!

 

[RivalRedwing]

I had no idea Walderingfield was restricted to 35 foot max, I must have missed that in the pilot book. I think they do say they leave some space for boats to anchor between the moorings, so that would have had to be the plan B I suppose!

It is a bit tight at Waldringfield; there is mention in the pilot books of space in the moorings close to the yacht club, but I doubt you will feel comfortable stopping there in a 40 footer. I've regularly seen larger boats anchored slightly upriver of the moorings at Waldringfield, plenty of space and depth there.

 

[Prologica1]

We loved visiting Woodbridge in Triola (our old Albin Ballad) with a 1.5m draft, however, even then I remember holding my breath as we navigated Troublesome reach and popped over the sill. I had resigned myself with Mirage, our Bavaria 40 with a 2m draft to sitting on a mooring at Waldringfield and taking our tender into Woodbridge... but am I overthinking it? My late fathers boat had a 2m draft, and he ventured once in there, but admitted he was worried he would get neaped in there so never returned.

The below week of springs is when we will be around this area on our cruise. This shows if we were to enter on 24th July, we'd have a luxurous 3 hour window to enter, and exit on Friday 26th July, we'd have easily two hours of tide over the cill.

What do people see on the approach? For instance, I know in Chatham Marina, when there is 2.4 meters over the sill of the lock, I will see 2.0 meters (pheh, plenty) on the approach as there is a lump of mud just outside the marina, this equates to around 1 meter over chart datum. I know the tide predictions are just estimates of course - once on the approach to Tollsbury in Triola, we had a 1.9 meters predicted, but due to a high pressure, the tide rose to just 1.6ms over their sill and we just scraped in (after running aground and kedging off on the approaches with the dog barking and the kids crying ).

So the questions then:

• With a 2m draft, on these spring times below that I highlighted, should I have any trouble at 1 hour before HW navigating the channel both ways? What do people see on the approach?
• I have no bow thruster, I remember it being tight in the marina for a 30 footer, others with bigger boats manouvered in there ok? The new boat does go splendidly backwards (Triola did not!)!
• Is the approach route below the right way to go?

View attachment 179709

View attachment 179711

Youngest crew, at the time back in 2016 of our last visit in Triola (He is a bit bigger now!!)

View attachment 179712

I would just add to be watchful of high pressure. Tidal predictions are based on 'normal' pressure of 1013 so high pressure can reduce depths. I've been in and out happily with 1.8m draught on the higher tides.

 

[MagicalArmchair]

I would just add to be watchful of high pressure. Tidal predictions are based on 'normal' pressure of 1013 so high pressure can reduce depths. I've been in and out happily with 1.8m draught on the higher tides.

We once ran aground on the top of the tide just outside Tollebury with a nice and hot high pressure overhead (in the old boat of course!). I had expected another 0.5 meters of rise of tide... that never came, so we just, just scraped in at high water after rudding aground to the right of the entrance, with the dog barking and kids shouting, and kedging off from the dinghy.

(drifting my own thread here) So how much can a high pressure hold down a tide? Half a meter? Quarter of a meter? A whole meter? The length of a peice of string? What is the most you have seen?

 

[prologica]

We once ran aground on the top of the tide just outside Tollebury with a nice and hot high pressure overhead (in the old boat of course!). I had expected another 0.5 meters of rise of tide... that never came, so we just, just scraped in at high water after rudding aground to the right of the entrance, with the dog barking and kids shouting, and kedging off from the dinghy.

(drifting my own thread here) So how much can a high pressure hold down a tide? Half a meter? Quarter of a meter? A whole meter? The length of a peice of string? What is the most you have seen?

@MagicalArmchair The general wisdom I follow is “A rough guide is that a change in pressure of one millibar will change the sea level by one centimetre. Tide tables assume a standard pressure of 1013 millibars. This means that a pressure of 1040 mb, pretty high but not abnormally so, could give a sea level lower by nearly 30 cms than expected.”

 

[prologica]

@MagicalArmchair The general wisdom I follow is “A rough guide is that a change in pressure of one millibar will change the sea level by one centimetre. Tide tables assume a standard pressure of 1013 millibars. This means that a pressure of 1040 mb, pretty high but not abnormally so, could give a sea level lower by nearly 30 cms than expected.”

Don’t forget that wind plays a part too and can hold back the tide or push more tide in.

 

[ex-Gladys]

My memory of a couple of visits to Woodbridge is the cill as well! On both occasions the gauge showed more than 1.5m (Gladys's draft) and on one occasion we bumped over, on the second we had a 20 min wait on the rising tide.

With regard to actual tidal heights vs predicted, In January & February 2023 there were 116 high tides (two a day for 59 days). Usually we see a few surges in a year, over that period over 60 of the high tides were surges. Observation this year in the winter makes me think that whilst atmospheric pressure is significant, wind direction and strength is probably more of an effect. On one occasion this year there was a tidal surge on a SW gale. The only conclusion I could draw was that the SW was holding up and "stacking the tide" up, as opposed to pushing more water into the funnel that is the southern North Sea

 

[RivalRedwing]

The depth gauge on the cill is accurate and there are mooring buoys outside if you arrive early

 

[Lucky Duck]

If all else fails I have seen the marina staff use the workboat to careen boats over via their main halyard

 

[ex-Gladys]

The depth gauge on the cill is accurate and there are mooring buoys outside if you arrive early

My experience suggests otherwise...

 

[Lucky Duck]

Just stumbled across this thread from 2021, post #11 to #14

Titchmarsh marina with a 2m draft - easy right?

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Just stumbled across this thread from 2021, post #11 to #14

Titchmarsh marina with a 2m draft - easy right?

And we loved it, got in fine, and all the worry was for nothing! One of the kids favourite places in the world now.

We are assuming the same with Woodbridge following this assistance….

 

[Lucky Duck]

I am sure it will be just fine

Do keep an eye out of racing dinghies right up by Woodbridge as there isn’t all that much space to manoeuvre for larger boats

 

[MagicalArmchair]

We arrived safely with 2.3/2.4 meters of water at the sill at 13:55, so easily 30cms under the keel. It was deeper than that on the rest of the approach (the minimum we saw I think was 2.8). HW was at 14:37 predicted at 2.52. Barometric pressure was 1019, so I figured the tides would be depressed by around 6cm. The channel was very well marked, the only thing that confused me a little was the new position of number 13 green bouy vs Navionics, on the west side of the river rather than East.

The below is our track that hugged the marks.



At LW, the berth we are in only has about 1.1m in it, but the bottom is very soft.

It was worth the planning. The kids love the place and there is lots to do here.

Thanks for all your assistance.