All sorts of information: buoyage systems, lights, etc. The sailor’s pocket book By sir Frederick George D. Bedford · 1875 Also see the 1890 version: The Sailor’s Ready-reference Book: For the Use of the Royal Navy, the Mercantile Marine and Yacht Squadrons, Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford, Jan 1890 · Griffin & Company
A delightful book about sailing Shoal Waters, a 16′ boat, around the Thames Estuary and covering 70,000 miles or so from her base at Heybridge. The website has background and a number of articles. Shoal Waters continued her travels with a new owner after the death of Charles Stock and, in 2023, was for sale …
In the 1885 Dickens Thames Dictionary ‘Barges’ entry, he covers both dumb and sailing barges, his assessment of dumb barges and Thames Watermen is interesting and not complimentary. Here is what he says about sailing barges. It is a singular fact, not unnoticed by the committee, that whereas the men who work in the dumb …
Southwold and Its Vicinity, Ancient and Modern By Robert Wake · 1839 The last part covers Dunwich.
Two excellent books for the East Coast are Suffolk Sea Borders and Shoalwater and Fairway by H. Alker Trip who was based at Maldon in the years between the Wars. Some historical tidbits and challenging sailing, often at night, with no engine. He wrote a couple of others. Some of these have been reprinted but …
Some good eighteenth century detail on the area.
Lots of coastal history, some of it a bit doubtful but it is a good read. The book has some interesting picture plates. Interesting piece about Dunwich
Page 96 FROM THE COLNE TO HARWICH. …Trinity House. This serves as a land-mark, but will not be of any use to us, as its only advantage, beyond being a mark to tell ships out at sea what point of land they are off, is to clear the Longsand Head fifteen miles away out at …
Read more “1892 – The Coasts of Essex and Suffolk by Frank Cowper – Extract Harwich area”
Published in 1968 this is a fictional story contrived to tell of life on a sailing barge. Set in the 1930s and going, via Dunkirk, through the War much of it is set on the “Singing Swan”. The thinly disguised author joins as an occasional third mate and gives a brilliant description of what goes …
Good section on Gunfleet Sands. A Season at Harwich by W H Lindsey Download from iArchive
From: 1851 A Season at Harwich by W.H.Lindsey – there is also discussion of the channel passing north of Landguard. See page 206. Note: it is about 5nM from Walton to the Sands. Miss Archer, having asked the probable extent of the Gunfleet Sands, the kind host furnished his attentive guests with a description of …
This book, of local interest, is available online, A Floating Home. It was subsequently re-issued as a “A Floating Home and Born Afloat” by the son of the last residents of the barge in question who moved to Waldringfield along with parts of the deck house which still stands just off Cliff Road. The extra …
Squire Thornton Stratford Lecky , 1917 edition of Wrinkles, explains tides and instruments, lovely language.