The Dardanelles.

I had marked the latest buoy positions on the plotter and approached midway between the Haven and the West Knoll and shaped a course for the starboard hand Knoll buoy.  It all went rather well and we took the flood past Felixstowe Ferry and up to the Rocks.  The rocks was a bit busy it being a nice day and everyone was wanting to get on the beach, so I happily dropped the hook off Prettyman's Point just a bit further down river.  There were a couple of barges anchored off, there seem to be quite a few doing the rounds these days.

This is a view from Prettyman's Point looking upstream towards the Rocks.

 I did take a splendid vid of the Depen bar on our departure the following day.  Sadly I tried a different format; one which is meant for emailing.  The quality is very poor unless viewed on a very small screen and then you loose the detail.  Never mind, next time.  I must say I have just had one of those one in ten year sails.  We left the anchorage under sail, sailed down river, out over the bar, down to Harwich, through the harbour and up the Stour without the engine going on.  What joy for old Tutak, and me come to that.  When I say I didn't use the engine, it's not quite true.  I was keeping a listening watch on channel 71 for Harwich VTS and nothing was coming in or out as I verified on the AIS so I carried on sailing towards the deep-water channel and started to cross, definitely not 90 degrees more like 15.  All of a sudden I hear this on the VHF - "Harwich VTS this is warship 'Trumpeter' permission to enter the deep-water channel and proceed inwards, over".  Now he's not exactly going to say "no" is he.  I looked over my shoulder and I could see a monster bow wave heading my way so I did flick the switch and get a hustle on out of his way.  Warships don't show up on the AIS.

The warship "Trumpeter".
 

Coming round the point I spied this pair on the redeveloped Felixstowe container terminal.  Little and large except the little is large and the large is ultra large.

This pic shows the true relative size of the vessels.  Ok the smaller of the two is actually a fairly standard size, there is one in-between but the big one is the massive "Beartrice". 

Far away from the bustle of the port we dropped the hook in the Stour, you can still see the cranes and hear the containers being loaded as the wind was from that direction.  But we could have been a million miles away as the sun went down off Stutton Ness.

 

Then it did a strange thing and came back up again, the next morning, fair enough.

Stutton Ness is a bit like the rocks only fewer folk come hear.  Nice beach and a rather pleasant place on a sunny day.

Downriver a bit on the other side is Wrabness Point.

It doesn't have beach huts on the beach it has beach front properties.  I suppose they have to have something, after all it is on the wrong side of the river as it faces north.

What a liveaboard, the tug "Fenland".

 I felt a bit ashamed as I had the engine on and the Thames Sailing Barge "Thallata" was tacking down river, albeit with the tide.  She used to have the rig off "Memory", now a hulk at Tollesbury.  I wonder if she still has?

 This old girl had just pulled out in front of me, off the Parkstone quay terminal.  I crossed behind it from left to right to get to the Bathside; the power of the engines was pushing the river back up against the tide as it accelerated to 8 knots.  Such was the turbulence I had to disengage the autopilot and hand steer!

Trinity House, the building on the left is where they monitor all the automated lighthouses, amongst other things. The main section is the pier with the lightship on it being fettled and the sheds where they refurbish the buoys.  The pier to the right of the gantry is the old train ferry pier, long since disused.  Would I be right in thinking that the gantry is used to support the adjustable track ramp for the trains?  It looks up to the job.

Halfpenny pier was busy, but isn't it always.  You used to be able to stay there during the day for free.

 And what do we have here, are these arriving from Finland or going, maybe they're not going to Finland at all.  Amazing what you find on the Navy yard.  Looks like they are strapped onto skids for loading, then some BIG forklift picks them up.

Once again we leave the hustle and bustle behind and head for the Backwaters of Walton with the Pye sand making itself known for all to see.  We crept in with barely 18" under the keel over the flats.

I stuffed the keel onto the mud opposite the anchorage off Stone point at the entrance to the Dardanelles to await sufficient tide to enter my secret anchorage.  When the tide goes out that's it, the gates are shut, no one in, no one out, perfect peace.