Estuary tales

Crossing the Thames Estuary can be a big deal in hairy conditions- so there's always a frisson of excitement when you set off. We left Burnham-on-Crouch at 1000, coincidentally at the same time as a large police launch and his three outriders, black high-speed inflatables crewed by black-clad marine police. It looked like SIRENA IV was either being escorted like a VIP, or arrested. 

They soon roared off in a cloud of spray when we reached the main channel, heading for who-knows-what watery law enforcement. The wind was behind us so we had a lovely sail with the foresail billowing out in a warm breeze, fourteen miles out of the Crouch into the shallow waters of the Estuary. Here there are many dangerous sandbanks on which countless boats have come to grief, but thanks to large buoys which mark the safe routes, it should be straightforward (in good weather conditions and with carefully planned tides) 

Loud explosions and huge palls of smoke aren't what you expect when helming a yacht. Lesley's startle reflex being 11 on the Richter scale, she nearly jumped out of her skin. At first we thought the police had found themselves a properly big incident, but no, we'd forgotten the firing range sited in this area.

Harty Ferry

After a spell of motoring (we were directly pointing into the wind and there wasn't enough deep water to tack, and by deep I mean 4 metres) we were able to sail south on a beam reach, in a Force 4 from the west, with SIRENA stretching her legs at more than 6 knots. At one point a chunky container ship bore down on us near the eerie Red Sand fort (a strange concoction on stilts) and we had to take avoiding action, even though we were sailing. The lowest depth we saw was just five feet under our keel, and that was four miles out in the middle of that huge expanse of water. 

Other boats on the moorings in the Swale

Finally we got close to Whitstable and turned right into the Swale which runs south of the Isle of Sheppey. Soon we were dropping the sails and picking up a buoy at Harty Ferry. It had been a very smooth passage despite shallow water and unexpected explosions.