Chart View
Click on pins to link to the post. The control Icon permits the base map to be changed and different layers to be (de)selected. Where pins are close together it may be necessary to zoom in to resolve them.
Reference
Some suggestions for reading about the area plus links to a number of older books available for free online. Also links to reference information.
Banks
At sea, our waters are shallow with many named shoals and sandbanks. Some dry out such as Cork Sand, others lurk just below the waves. Inland, our rivers have many creeks and their banks have features worthy of mention. These come and go over time and the names change. How they change and the origin of the names can be of interest.
Charts
I am told there are people who do not care for maps, and I find it hard to believe. Robert Louis Stevenson Charts, Pilots and Sailing Directions of the area. Ignoring Ptolemy, who gives little detail, the earliest Pilot claims to date from 1190. More detail emerges from the eighteenth century and there are many …
People
People with a connection to the area or important mariners are, in a few cases, such as Washington recognised in the name of a buoy or feature. Others have a connection with the area and are still of interest such as the men who surveyed our shallow waters. Several of these, such as Washington, Hewitt …
Sports Data
A selection of information and sources of data useful for local: Sailing Kayaking Swimming Topics open in new tab Local Real Time Wind and Sea Local Forecasts Environment for Swimming Tide Predictions and Data Webcams Shipping Information Channel Weather Planning Pilotage Info Charts & NTMs Other & Clubs Medium Term Forecasts Weather Background
Channels
Our waters are shallow with many shoals and sandbanks. The safe channels have been known for many centuries and some, such as the Spitway, are mentioned in old documents. There are also our rivers which have names for the different reaches and creeks. As the same term often applies to both the bank and the channel, i.e. Ray Sand, some items are allocated to both categories.
Features
These items refer to features in the area such as the Martellos or Walton Castle that are not navigational. Other items are about topics that cross several categories such as Cement Stone Mining.
Nautical
Age of sail terms and concepts, navigation, seamanship etc.
Boats
About specific vessels such as ships, shipwrecks, sailing barges and less obvious vessels such as concrete lighters and forts. Sailing vessels and Mason’s Barges at Waldringfield are a particular interest.
Beacons
With modern navigation aids Lighthouses, Lightships, Beacons and Seamarks have become a rarity. In the past, however, there were ..
Buoys
Buoys marking our waters are of four basic types. Whilst not of great interest in themselves their names, or the reason they are there, can tell a tell.