The Bawdsey Sea-mark and Churches
Until 1934 a 50 foot high seamark on Bawdsey Cliff marked the Sledway.
Until 1934 a 50 foot high seamark on Bawdsey Cliff marked the Sledway.
King’s Fleet on the Deben Port of Goseford – Canes Seed – Edward III’s Fleet – Charles I engineers
A group of twenty dumb barges or lighters has protected the northeast of Horsey Island, by the entrance to Walton Channel, since 1988. They constitute a one kilometre sea defence guarding the island against northeasterly waves to which Hamford Water is exposed, this is the …
According to a FaceBook post That’s the remains of the Sailing Barge Westhall of Rochester Off. No. 127259 built by the London and Rochester Barge Co. for their own use in 1913. Converted into a motor barge in 1948 and finished trading in 1965. Laying for some years as a houseboat at Gillingham, Kent. Westhall …
We know from Walter Tye’s book that Kingfisher was used in the mud digging for the cement works. His information was firsthand from the crew. Robert Simper says that Kingfisher was built by William Colchester in 1878 as a tiller-steered ‘stumpie’ (no topmast)1Kingfisher – Topsail 44, Barges on the Deben by Robert Simper. However, the …
Capsized on the sand near Cork Spit, this is on the south side of the channel opposite Wadgate Ledge. See RNLI report
Off Harwich is a starboard hand buoy named for Captain John Washington. Some sailors know that he was an important figure in the history of the Haven. Washington was a sailor, explorer, cartographer, hydrographer, linguist, humanitarian, scientist, spy and engineer. His work on the port was a tiny part of what he achieved.
Stone Banck is marked n 1686 Collins Chart and buoyed in 1821 probably for cement stone dredging. Part of the Medusa Channel.
Good description of local sandbanks and buoys.
TBA
We use knots as a measure of speed on the water. How does this work, and how did it come about? The history of the “knot” is intimately tied to the method used for measuring it and this presents a variety of conflicting and confusing sizes and units. Conversions to metric units are given where …
See Graeme Spence
A Seasonal Buoy warning yachtsmen and destination for swimmers. Has been Felixstowe Pt., Home Pt. and Cottage Point..
Also see Gunfleet Old Light House and Beacon. Gunfleet Sand is a hard shingle bank extending from the Buxey Sand and running northeast towards a few miles off the Naze: it partially dries at Low water. Goldmers Gat separates it from the West Rocks to the north. The Swin Spitway at the south end separates …
Cork Sand is situated between the Gullet/Stone Bank to the west, Roughs Shoals to the east, West Rocks or Goldmer’s Gat to the south and Harwich Deep Water Channel to the north. There is also a little used channel for small vessels between the Cork Sand and West Rocks. Just to the east is Cork …
Today, the Ray Sand Channel dries at about 0.6m or 2′ but it was not always so: it has changed depth from 13′ CD to 2′, a reduction of 4.5m over only 75 years: the channel now dries. The channel has little use today, other than a shoal draught shortcut between the Blackwater and Crouch. …
This is positioned on the boundary of East Suffolk and Babergh local authorities. Not very imaginative.
Peter Bruff, aka the East Anglian Brunel, was the Civil Engineer who built the Breakwater at Landguard Point …
Pillar replaced buoy – Tide Gauge – Wadgate meaning – Settlement – Harbour
Between 1808 and 1812, twenty-nine Martello Towers were built along the coasts of Essex and Suffolk: eighteen still exist, with one over-built (R): eleven have been lost. The sources given below cover the history and current state of the Towers: the objective here is to show, on the overview map, the positions of current towers …
Samuel Pepys, known for Samuel Pepys Diary is covered fully elsewhere. Of local interest is that he was M.P. for Harwich and …
There is little activity at Kirton Creek nowadays. However, it was once the mouth of the Mill River and, after enclosure, boasted a Brick Works. This was dependent upon barge transport which seemed quite challenging given the nature of the channel. A relic of that era is the hulk of a Thames Sailing Barge which is slowly being claimed by the mud.
Surveyor, Nelson & Medusa Channel, Station Pointer, Double Sextant, Charts.
Bombers – Northfleet – Maunsell – Tilbury – Barrier – Storm – Late arrival
Great Britain’s coasting pilot: Being a new and exact survey of the sea-coast of England and Scotland, from the river of Thames to the westward and northward, with the islands of Scilly, and from thence to Carlisle…. The first part and the second part less.. Author Collins, Greenville, Printed by Freeman Collins, and are to be …
This was initially a translation of Spieghel der Zeevaerd published by Waghenaer. For some time they were known as ‘Waggoners“. the Shoe and Whittaker beacons are shown. Bawdsey Haven is not. Shoebury to St Peters is interesting. The inset table shows English Leagues to be 3 Nautical Miles as opposed to the Dutch four. 1588 …
How many bells at what time in a watch – What were the watches – Dog Watches – How was the day reckoned?
The magnetic compass has developed, not as quickly as one might think, over the last seven or eight centuries. Mariners have been navigating the seas out of sight of land for much longer than this: directions had to be based on the bearings of the Sun and stars although local use could be made of …
1801 Nelson in HMS Medusa with Capt. Gore is guided by Spence to scrape out to sea.
Deben and Orwell have Bloody Pint – King Alfred vs the Danes – Martellos – Stone Heaps
Edward Vernon served on Admiral Sir Cloudsesley Shovell’s flagship at the capture of Gibraltar. He was later captain of the ship that avoided disaster in the catastrophic loss of Cloudesley Shovell’s fleet on the Isles of Scilly in 1707. The Rum Ration He is known for his 1740 order that rum should be diluted with …
Broke Hall – Broke family – Sea Fencibles – HMS Shannon – USS Chesapeake – Wickham Mill – Carronade – Gunnery
Great Britain has led the World in many things, mostly good: maritime safety is but one example. Before the mid nineteenth century, local …
Robert Fitzroy had overcome the confusion caused by “Larboard” and led the change to using “Port”. However, all was still not well. Until 1930 helm orders were tiller not oriented. Putting the tiller to port, would turn the ship to starboard but a wheel to port would turn the ship to port: the opposite effect. …
Once we’ve realised that Port is on the left only when facing the pointy end (not Italians – see later) we take these terms for granted. However, those of a curious bent might wonder how they came about . About ninety percent of us are right handed. Since roman times , at least, we have …
Google Books Has a good description of shoals. Shows SHMs such as Cutler being Red Cones. Some good Middle Ground Buoys at Gabbard. 19 feet into Harwich. Submarine Bells Description of Deben. The coast . The coast from Orfordness trends southwestward for 3 miles and is a low shingle beach , from thence it curves to the southward for 2 miles to Orford Haven ; this forms Hollesley Bay . From the entrance to Orford Haven is a beach running 2 miles in a southerly direction to Boathouse Point , and from this point it runs southwestward for 2 miles to Bawdsey Cliffs . Orfordness and the coast for some distance to the westward is steep – to , but in Hollesley Bay and off Bawdsey Cliffs the 3 – fathom contour extends 0.6 mile seaward .The objects upon this coast which will be recognized are Crouch lifeboat houses , a small cluster of huts painted black and used only for fishing boats . Shingle Street , a cluster of cottages at the entrance to Orford Haven , and five martello towers between the haven and Bawdsey Cliff . The Colonial College , a large brick building with turrets and a flagstaff , close northeast of Hollesley , and just south westward of it is a large bare field that from a distance somewhat resembles Bawdsey Cliff , and Hollesley Church are prominent objects in the well – wooded background . A large white house among wood inland and to the northward of Bawdsey Cliff , a windmill at Alderton , and Bawdsey Church , with its broad stunted tower , are all plain objects . Coast guard.On the outer beach at 1.2 miles northeastward of Shingle Street is a small balck hut , with a flagstaff near it , the watch house of the coast guard , and at northeast extreme of Shingle Street is a large gray two – storied coast – guard house , with a flagstaff near it . Next to this house , there is a long , low , red building with a lookout turret in the middle . Martello Tower ( W. ) on Boathouse Point is East Lane coast – guard station , surmounted by a flagstaff , and the chimneys are whitewashed . Rocket stations . There are life – saving rockets at each of the above coast – guard stations . Bawdsey Cliff is of a reddish color and bears upon its face numerous marks of land slips . Bawdsey Manor , a conspicuous brick house , stands at the south west extreme of Bawdsey Cliff , and close eastward of it is a flagstaff . A glass house stands a short distance northeastward of the manor and is conspicuous in the sunlight . Bawdsey Sea Mark , an obelisk painted red and white in horizontal bands , stands near the northeast end of the cliff . Woodbridge Haven , or the entrance to the River Deben , is immediately westward of Bawdsey Cliff . The coast from the entrance trends southward for 4 mile to Tower T Point , from thence it assumes a south – southwesterly direction , and consists of cliff , alternating with grassy bank , for a distance of 1.2 miles to Felixstowe Point , when the high ground trends more westerly . From Felixstowe Point a low shingle beach extends 2.5 miles to the southwestward to Landguard Point , where it forms the eastern side of the entrance to Harwich Harbor . The golf pavilion , a white house , 600 yards southward of Tower T , and Felixstowe Hotel , surmounted by a clock tower , and standing on the cliff at Felixstowe , are conspicuous from seaward .
Sailing directions for the river Thames, from London, to the Nore and Sheer… – Google Books Extract THE SWIN AND KING’S CHANNEL Buoy on the Middle, No 3, black3 fathoms starboard. Whitaker Spit buoy, red, with staff and triangular vane3 fathoms larboard. South buoy of the Swin Spitway, blacklarboard. Gunfleet beaconlarboard. Gunfleet buoy, No. 9, …
Read more “1817 Norie Sailing Directions Nore to Orfordness”
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”
Lighting is a vital area and providing fuel or power has been a difficult problem. The oil-based systems, often using whale oil, for fixed and floating lights needed an operator present so were impractical. for buoys The first successful system was the Pintsch gas light which had been developed for railway lighting; this was trialled …
Basic weather and real time data for local sailing.
From Channel Coastal Observatory graph showing temperature range by month for 2018-2020 data. Month Degrees C January 6.7 February 6.1 March 7.6 April 9.7 May 12.6 June 16.2 July 18.4 August 19.9 September 17.6 October 14.3 November 9.9 December 7.7 Some data here on temperature rise. There are better figures for Sizewell somewhere. About 0.75 …
Includes the first use found of the name Deben and some notes on distances. See here.
TBA
See also Thames River Charts, Deben Entrance Charts and Pilots and Harwich Haven Charts and Pilots 1688/9 Halley’s Survey presented to the Royal Society but whereabouts not known. Results incorporated in his Channel Chart. See Halley 1903 East Coast Rivers by Meesum 1923 East Coast Rivers – on file 1933 File:Admiralty Chart No 1610 North …
“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.” Albert Einstein George Arnott suggested that most local churches “…stand on the banks of a creek and were at one time accessible by boat, so that material.. could be brought by water…” 1Locations of local Churches – Arnott, W.G. (1950) Suffolk …
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 …
Navigation buoys have existed for centuries but, by the nineteenth century, differing systems caused confusion and prompted attempts to develop a common scheme. Growing trade, steamships, ship and buoy lighting technology increased the complexity of the problem which was not resolved, due to politics and war, until the late twentieth century.
Here at David Rumsey Collection.
Harwich inset by Captain Washington. 1852 A new chart of the River Thames. With its entrances David Rumsey Collection.
Good section on Gunfleet Sands. A Season at Harwich by W H Lindsey Download from iArchive
From Facebook October 3, 2016 If we wanted to swim the whole Suffolk Coast it looks like 44 miles in total. This could be divided into nine sections with the longest being 6.5 miles. Sections could be attempted when conditions were right, maybe one every few weeks. It can almost be done River to River …
The post is 2450m from P Tower. Probably, at least 3000m will need to be swum. At 2m/100m this would take an hour. The tidal stream is stronger offshore, and one would be swimming across it. The image of the flood at Wadgate Ledge, on a not especially strong tide, gives an impression of …
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 …
Tide Predictions Harwich Haven Authority/Leisure produces annual tide tables as well as a tidal atlas. The tide does not turn at HW or LW anyway in Swimscapes Bay. The tidal stream turns to flood north about 4-4.5 hrs after HW and to ebb north about 1.5 hrs before the next HW. In time I’ll work …
Available at David Rumsey Collection. Note Gunfleet, Walfleet, Easton Ness. also see 1683 Greenvile Collins chart of Harwich Haven – East Coast Curious
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.