The Blackwater Estuary
The Blackwater Estuary is an excellent sailing area for dinghy cruising, and the Marconi Sailing Club at Stansgate, located halfway down the estuary on the southern side, is an ideal base for doing so. The following chart shows the deep water (blue) and above water at low tide (grey/blue) and land above water level at high tide (beige/green). The cavalier attitude of the dinghy cruisers to water depth allows us to sail everywhere except the beige/green, and the odd boat occasionally tries that as well.
With Marconi SC at Stansgate being the first all-tide launching site heading downriver, the tidal range allows a day cruise to start by taking a morning flood up to Maldon, ebb back down to the mouth of the estuary and then return in the late afternoon to the club on the first of the following flood, usually with a run ashore or two along the way. This 25 nm voyage would be a long day. More usually we follow the tide either up or down river for a few hours as we feel inclined.
The other estuaries on the Essex and Suffolk coast – Colne, Stour Orwell, Deben and Alde to the north and Crouch to the south are all within reach for an organised dinghy cruise.
Events
First or Second Saturday Cruises
The dinghy cruising group runs a series of monthly day sails from the club throughout the year, usually on the first Saturday of the month but sometimes the second to avoid clashes with other MSC events.
Training Days
We are also keen to organise training days, such as buoyancy testing, capsize recovery, dinghy cruise techniques and local navigation, passage planning and tidal awareness.
Longer Cruises
We try to organise a few extra cruises to further destinations a few times a year. We have been along the coast to Woodbridge on the Deben, sailing from the MSC, Burnham on Crouch, and have trailed our boats to Harwich, The Solent and Plymouth Sound in recent years.
The Boats
We tend to sail dinghies of around the size of Wanderers and Wayfarers (around 14 to 16ft), as these are seaworthy enough for us to sail without support boats, and other similar classes are welcome’ These lend themselves to independent cruising, without the complexity and restrictions of the larger yachts.
There are plenty of wayfarers and wanderers among the group, but also 3 club-owned wayfarers and a wanderer.
Usual arrangements
Our usual arrangement is to take as many boats as the people and conditions warrant, so everyone can find a place in a boat to suit them. In light breezes 2 or 3 people in a boat is ideal, while in stronger winds 3 to 5 people in a wayfarer is better. This is usually arranged on the day.
Cruises from the club usually leave the hard at around 10 am. And aim to return mid afternoon.
Standing Instructions
The rules are :-
- We will sail only if the conditions are suitable.
- Everyone is responsible for themselves and their boats.
- Bring drysuits (in winter), warm gear, life jackets, hats, gloves etc.
- Also bring food and drink.
We aim to mix and match boats and crews on the day so that everyone can join the sail.
Note that we do not use safety boat support so have to look out for ourselves and each other.
Dinghy Cruising Group Communication
We run an email-based communication system using groups.io. This is used to send out information about cruises and generally communicate within the group.
Members can join this by sending an email to MSCDinghy+subscribe@groups.io or by sending an email to the Dinghy Cruising fleet on dinghycruising@marconi-sc.org.uk
Calling Notices
As few days before each cruise, once the weather forecast is reasonably reliable, we send out an email to the group giving details of the intended cruise.
Further Information
For further information, please email the Dinghy Cruising fleet on dinghycruising@marconi-sc.org.uk or to join the group, please email MSCDinghy+subscribe@groups.io or ask around at the club.
Colin Wardell, March 2024