East Coast Pilot News ... 21st September 2014 |
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Dear Subscriber,
Looking back on this summer while the first mists of Autumn drift past the window, it's been a memorable one for weather. Some prolonged settled spells, and no long periods of bad weather. Someone at the Southampton Boat Show remarked to me the other day that "if you didn't use your boat much this year, you never will."
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But we all seem to lead busy lives these days, even those lucky enough to be retired (who say they always wonder how they found time to go to work) and not everyone can keep going off sailing. But in my case I have managed to cruise almost every part of our wonderful East Coast, either on my own boat or as deckhand on someone else's, but everything else has suffered - my list of jobs to do at home is now extensive!
So if there has been a pause in updates on our website, and if a couple
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of months have sailed past since the last one of these newsletters, that's why. The sign on the door said 'Gone Sailing'.
Book Updates
adjusted following the opening of the Thames Gateway container port.
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In the course of our extensive cruising we also spotted plenty of opportunities for changes to the way places and pilotage are described in ECP, but most are so significant they will have to wait for a new edition sometime.
News
News items come and go on the homepage of the website, so it's worth keeping an eye on it every few days to see what we've picked up. As I write, Havengore Bridge is 'down' yet again, the latest in the sorry stream of mechanical failures. The number of leisure sailors this affects may be not great but this is an iconic route, restricted enough already by the military activites there, and it is disappointing indeed to see it subject to so many unscheduled and prolonged closures.
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Out and About
In my cruising this year I rediscovered the fun you can have just pottering about in a small area for a few days. I spent a week on the Blackwater and Colne, not going far at all each day, but moving on and making the brain work a bit on pilotage and boat handling away from my home waters.
Much further from home I discovered the delights of Southwold Harbour for the first time - only managed one night there, but what a lovely place, and a friendly welcome at the Harbourmaster's office too. We shall be back!
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While Colin too has been enjoying the Blackwater, his home river (did you see his lyrical article about it in YM?), Garth has been getting in sea miles everywhere including across to the Netherlands, and giving a lot of his time to the 'EAST' project. The talking season seems to be getting under way again too, with several club evenings lined up for one of us to come along and chat about ECP.
I'm starting to think about tweaks to the ECP website during the coming winter, so I'd be really pleased to hear ideas, comments and suggestions about the site and what we could do to improve it for you. Bear in mind that I'm no web developer, I use very simple editing software, so be gentle with me.
I look forward to a deluge of helpful suggestions!
Kind regards,
Dick Holness
Co-author and webmaster
East Coast Pilot.
Header photo taken by Dick Holness, in the Butley River.
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