Our schedule
for the rest of the week was to visit Bradwell Marina on the River Blackwater,
and then Burnham on Crouch before arriving at West Wick on Saturday where
we had arranged to meet the former owner of Lady Martina and his marina
neighbour, the pilot who had safely steered us into harbour on our previous
visit to Burnham (see Boating Highlights 2002!) We new that the weather
was set to deteriorate with gales forecast for later in the week and so
we opted to head straight to Burnham whilst the weather was favourable.
Once safely in the Crouch we predicted we could safely complete the 9
miles up to West Wick later in the week, even if the weather was not ideal.
As we cruised past Walton on the Naze we passed the North Sea Klipper
Albatros in
full sail, looking for all the world like she had just sailed out of the
last century. Built in 1899 Albatross is one of the oldest sailing ships
still afloat, now based at Wells-next-the-Sea offering cruises, sail training,
executive development and corporate entertainment.
We
had meticulously planned our entry into the Crouch with waypoints positioned
at each buoy. The entrance channel is between two sandbanks and although
it is marked with buoys they are quite small and not easily visible until
you get close to them. The apparently wide open sea is deceptive and we
were determined not to be caught out again - carefully monitoring our
depth and position at frequent intervals. The Inner Crouch safewater mark
is at the point where you can safely say you are now in the river and
can see land on either side of you - the only remaining hazard is to avoid
the large unlit buoys which mark power cables crossing the fairway, and
the numerous swinging moorings which fill much of the river.
We
had called ahead to Burnham Yacht Harbour and as we approached we radioed
our arrival and were allocated a berth on Bravo pontoon. Unfortunately
we forgot the first rule of motor boating (Fuel on Arrival) and had to
remoor the boat after we had topped up with diesel. We learnt from the
harbour master that going aground on Foulness Sound is a weekly event,
and even the Essex Police boat has done it three times! We also learnt
that the marina has recently been taken over by the owners of Shotley
Point marina, although the only noticeable difference was the absence
of the marina guide which has been handed out in other years.
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Cruising
Statistics
Distance:
42.6 nm
Total
to date: 172 nm
Avg Speed:
12 knots
Duration: 3.5 hours
Diesel:
221 litres
Wind:
V2-3
Mooring:
£22.10/night
Electricity:
Free
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