Saturday 6th September to Sunday 7th September Ref: 2014/6
A safe and well-navigated cruise with the latest River Deben Entrance chartlet http://www.debenestuarypilot.co.uk/maps.html in company with Broom Owners club vessels Ikon and Lady Caroline but delayed by companions preference to avoid cruising during poor visibility due to their unfamiliarity working with radar and so more preparation and an earlier start would have been desirable.
It started foggy but visibility improved and we ended up cruising late with some concern about making the Tide Mill on time. Because of the adverse tides the trip was much longer than expected and ideally we would have left at 0700 UTC, an hour earlier. The leg against tide from the haven entrance to the Tide Mill took 1 hour 15 minutes and we arrived an hour after high water instead of before. The close proximity of moored vessels alongside the channel and my wish not to make wash also delayed us. The depth over the sill was therefore a worrying 1.8m instead of the 1.98m (neaps) and 2.59m (spring tides) that could have been expected. We learnt the following characteristics for water over the Woodbridge Sill. (A weekly tidal sheet with actual figures is available from www.tidemillyachtharbour.co.uk)
Spring Tides: 2hrs before HW 1.83m: 1hr before HW 2.29m: HW 2.59m: 1hr after HW 1.91m: 2hrs after HW 1.37m
Neap Tides: 2hrs before HW 1.22m: 1hr before HW 1.68m: HW 1.98m: 1hr after HW 1.52m: 2hrs after HW 1.07m
We were unexpectedly met at Woodbridge by David and Becky Giles and family who had followed our progress on-line and opted to visit us at this destination and we welcomed them on board before being fortunate to witness the rare operation of the Woodbridge Tide Mill being tested after renovation and repair. Finely ground flour from the Mill made excellent pancakes later!
22.8-25-21.5 degC; 1013mb steady; 71-62%RH; calm seas; poor visibility; little breeze
