East Coast Pilot News
April 2021
 
  Dear Subscriber  
 
   At long last we seem to be emerging from the period of lockdowns, and many of us will be focused on getting afloat again. With that in mind, it's also time to update ECP readers with changes and developments that have emerged since Christmas, when we last got in touch.
 
   The main event has been the recent Trinity House surveys of the Deben and Ore river entrances, a normally annual procedure but missed in 2020 because of Covid restrictions. Whilst the Ore hasn't changed very much, the entrance channel for the Deben has continued to narrow and is now very close to the beach. Signs persist of a new entrance to the north becoming viable in the future, and indeed you may well see local fishing boats using it, but for now the buoyed route remains in the same area as before, at the southern edge of the estuary.
 
   Chartlets for the two entrances have been redrawn by Imrays, and are available as usual, free of charge, on our website Downloads page. Please be sure to read the notes that accompany the chartlet. These notes will, I hope, be updated in the next few weeks to include new aerial photos of each entrance.
 
   News Items  so far this year include a notice of fresh dredging in Harwich harbour, with spoil being dumped in areas that will hardly help us all, a restricted lifting schedule for the Haven bridge at Great Yarmouth, news about Mistley Quay, and ongoing occasional restrictions at Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale.
 
   In the Book Updates sections of our website, there have been only a few minor detail changes since December. The easiest way to look at the list of these is to go to our 'Summary by Date' page.
 
   May I remind you that we are on Facebook, with an ECP Facebook Group page - feel free to 'Join' us; we aim to add any updates or hot news on Facebook, and on Twitter, as and when they happen. Our website remains the prime source of information for pilotage news and book updates.
 
   The 5th Edition of ECP is available as usual online through chandleries or direct from Imrays themselves, along with all their numerous other chart and book offerings. If you haven't yet bought a copy, I should remind you that the 5th is the one that all our updates and additions are aimed at, previous editions now being extremely out of date. With the book, Imrays currently include a voucher for a free download of any digital chart to use with their 'Navigator' app, a really good offer.
 
   Finally, if your club is daring to plan any social events for winter 2021-2, we are willing as ever to turn up and talk about the book and the East Coast generally. If interested, just reply to this newsletter and we'll see what we can do.
 
   Our best wishes to you for a fine summer afloat!   
 
 Kindest regards,
 Dick Holness
 Co-author and webmaster
 East Coast Pilot. 
 
Header photo: Up the Thames, with the Barrier ahead.
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