August Cruise – 2024 Blackwater and Clacton Airshow

August Cruise 2024 revised please click HERE to download PDF

Day 1 – Assemble Burnham Marina. Day 2 red line to Bradwell. Day 3 – blue line to Tollesbury. Day 4 Tollesbury. Day 5 – purple line to Brightlingsea. Day 6 – blue dashed line Clacton Airshow option. Day 7 – no line to Burnham

This combines the Blackwater Cruise with the option to see the Clacton Airshow by boat or Taxi

Itinerary

Saturday 17 August (HW 11.41) depart URYC 12.00 take the ebb to Burnham Marina. Booked 1 night.

Sunday 18 August (HW 12.21) Recommend depart Burnham Marina 10.15 or 1 hour earlier if the wind is from the Northeast – East.  Maintain speed over the ground at a minimum of 3 knots and punch the tide toward the Raysand Channel (HW circa 12.15), aim to cross the sands 1 hour before HW enabling bilge keel boats to ‘cut the corner’ just after at Holliwell point (see red line on chart – follow 2.5-3.00m actual depth on your echo sounder). Destination Bradwell (15 miles from Burnham). Arrive circa 15.30. Stay 1 night. 

Monday 19 August depart Bradwell from 10.30 at the earliest, smaller boats should depart first as timing your arrival is important. Follow the well buoyed channel, particularly in Woodrolfe Creek, to Tollesbury Marina. (HW 12.53). All boats to have left Bradwell by 11.50. Note it is important to stagger your arrival at Tollesbury, as, due to shallow water, there is not much room to hang about outside the marina waiting to go in. It is strongly recommended to arrive with 100m-200m between boats so you can go straight in. TIP: please familiarise yourself with the layout of the marina before you arrive, as at high water the large boats on the hammerhead of each row of pontoons float so high you often cannot see the pontoon identifying letters!

20 August – day at Tollesbury. In addition to the marina facilities you can take a short walk into Tollesbury  village – pub, shop, tearoom. If you want to be more adventurous consider taking a15 minute taxi ride to Wilkin’s Jam tearoom, museum and jam shop. 6.2 miles.   

21 August depart Tollesbury from 13.30. Note it’s not the depth over the sill that restricts departure times, it is far more likely to you will run aground in Woodrolfe Creek unless you leave nearer 1 hour before high water (HW 14.20 spring tide). Destination Brightlingsea (8.5 miles) arrive circa 16.00 -17.00. 2 nights booked.

22 August – Clacton Airshow option. Members can either take their yachts and anchor off Clacton that afternoon/evening if the weather is fine. If not, it is possible to stay a second night at Brightlingsea and travel to the airshow by Taxi. It is also possible to travel by bus to Wivenhoe and complete the journey to Clacton by train or bus. However, for 4 people sharing it’s far quicker to travel by taxi and the cost is about the same.

Unfortunately, there is no longer a direct bus to Clacton from Brightlingsea. This means taking a train to/from Wivenhoe to Clacton (one an hour departing at 5 mins past each hour from Wivenhoe to Clacton): Bus times for the  number 87 bus from Wivenhoe to Brightlingsea please click here

23 August depart from anchor at Clacton or from Brightlingsea 09.30 destination Burnham Marina via Raysand Channel (18 miles) arrive 15.00 -15.30

24 August depart Burnham 12.00 destination URYC (arrive before HW 16.54)

Please click here to download a PDF of this post including maps etc

Tollesbury marina layout (work out where you are going before you enter}