The wide cruising area known as the Thames Estuary stretches from Aldeburgh in the north to Ramsgate in the south and westwards to Canvey, and as far up the Thames itself as one cares to cruise. It divides into three main areas with challenging but by no means fearsome sea passages between.

In the north is Harwich harbour, the finest on the east coast, with access to the rivers Stour and Orwell, with Walton backwaters just south of the harbour, and the rivers Deben and Ore sheltering behind dangerous shingle bars five and ten miles north respectively. South from Harwich the coastline has no shelter for some eighteen miles in a south-westerly direction, the channel between the mainland and the Gunfleet sands being known as the Wallet. It is an easy passage with a fair wind, but can be tricky to windward as, once the tide turns, small boats can only run back whence they came. ½-successful voyagers find themselves off the entrances to the rivers Colne and Blackwater, with a tricky but delightful choice of routes to the river Crouch ten miles to the south. From the Crouch to the Thames itself is more of a problem as it means going right out to the Whitaker beacon off the edge of Foulness Sands to take the flood into the Thames. The alternative is to pass into the Roach from the Crouch and follow the maze of creeks south to pass into the Thames via the ‘backdoor’ at Havengore, which is only passable at around high tide. Once into the Thames, the whole area between Southend-on-Sea, London Bridge, the Medway and the Swale is within easy reach, and can be worked in such long or short passages as one sees fit.

Scenically, there is nothing to beat Harwich and the Suffolk rivers. “The best views in Essex are of Suffolk”, is an old saying. The busy Orwell manages to remain attractive as it flows through wooded parkland past Pin Mill to Ipswich. The Stour is less favoured and much shallower, but has much to offer the small boat sailor. The Orwell is more sheltered in S.W. gales, but the Stour offers safe berths with the wind in the north or south. Leaving Harwich on the last of the ebb, one can take the flood into the maze of waterways made famous by Arthur Ransome in Sweet Water. There you will find exploration to bring joy to the heart of the dinghy man: lonely deserted reaches with such romantic names as “Great Oakley dock”, where barges once traded; with busy Walton at hand, via the public hard, with all the joys of the traditional seaside holiday including a sandy beach. Alternatively, the sailor who turns north from Harwich can choose from the ten miles of the lovely river Deben, among wooded heathland and meadows, and the mysterious river Ore, which is entered through a narrow gap in a bar shingle coast, and after passing the old historic town of Oxford becomes the river Alde, and after ten miles reaches Aldeburgh where the yachtsman who goes ashore will be amazed to find he is only a few yards from the open sea. Then the river runs inland for five miles of almost unbelievably delightful Suffolk countryside to the little village of Snape.

The sailor south-bound from Harwich who is not favoured by a fair wind must leave soon after half ebb and be well en-route off Walton Pier by the time the flood begins to run so that he can carry it round Colne point. There are no navigational problems, just keep half a mile off shore and you cannot go wrong. There is the Eagle Bank at the southern end but this will have plenty of water over it by the time you get there. Brightlingsea offers a fine hard (very suitable for launching) and opposite is the Pyfleet creek with miles of lonely moorings. The river itself is narrow but well worth a trip up at least as far as Rowhedge. Call in at Wivenhoe on the way and see if the Nottage Institute is open. There you will find pictures of real sailing boats: great cutters with booms up to a hundred feet long under a cloud of canvas, and, as a contrast, a submarine built about 1908 by the local submersible boat company. West of the River Colne is the Blackwater, to most of us the queen of them all. Broad, wide, winding among low marshes with pleasing hills in the background to the salty little town of Maldon, where the spritsail barges at the quayside are overlooked by the buildings clustering round a small but steep hill. The barges are all yachts these days, but they keep them in working rig, and most Sundays I find two or three of them beating up the river with me. The Blackwater offers anchorages in all winds and conditions.

South of the Blackwater is the Dengie Hundred, a peninsula between this river and the Crouch of Burnham fame. Offshore there is about 1½ to 2 miles of mudflats, a shallow channel at low water, and then sands reaching eastward for miles except for one gap called the Spitway. There could be no greater contrast to the passage down from Harwich. The coastline vanishes in the slightest haze, and one feels very lonely first trip this way. Marks are few, the most notable being the Buxey Beacon, but you cannot go far wrong with a flood tide behind you. Once in the Crouch there is a wide range of anchorages dependant on wind direction, but it is mostly an area of low sea walls, and one can have enough of this area after a few days.

If the wind has any north in it, one can take the ebb out of the Crouch to the Whitaker and then ride the flood tide to the Swale, Medway or Canvey Leigh area, but with the wind in the S.W. this is not to be recommended. It is a long beat from the Whitaker to shelter. Better to take the inshore route, get through Havengore (weekends only as it a firing range) as early as possible (perhaps two hour before H.W.) and get into the Medway if possible before the tide begins to ebb. This latter area has been well described in recent issues so I will leave it alone.

Whatever point you decide to start from, I promise you that if the weather is at all kind, you will love the Thames Estuary.