East Coast Tidal Pilotage Association / Passage notes

Ore, Alde & East Coast river bars

A Suffolk river entrance can look entirely different after a winter of easterlies. Shingle spits migrate, channels bend and the sea may break where a previous approach was straightforward.

RIVERS

Deben · Ore and Alde · Blyth

BEFORE ARRIVAL

Current local survey, harbour guidance, tide and weather

AUTHOR

Commodore Alistair Finch, RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Examiner

Start with local knowledge

The Ore entrance serves the Alde and Ore system; the Deben and Blyth have distinct approaches and their own local arrangements. Before leaving, obtain the most recent entrance survey and guidance from the relevant harbour authority or local pilotage source. Verify whether leading marks are established, what they lead over, and whether they remain usable in the conditions. Do not carry bearings from an old sketch into a new season.

Time the flood

A rising tide can provide useful depth and a chance to retreat if progress stops, but the best timing differs by entrance and vessel. Work from current local advice and corrected tide predictions. Strong streams, cross-set, swell and shallow water can make an entrance hazardous even when the arithmetic suggests adequate depth.

Watch the entrance from seaward if it is safe to do so. Breaking water, poor visibility or an onshore swell may call for a delay or a diversion. Have a safe alternative harbour and sufficient fuel before approaching. Avoid turning across breaking seas without room to manoeuvre.

After winter easterlies

Gales can shift a spit or scour a new channel. Compare the latest local information with the chart, identify the marks in good visibility and keep a lookout for uncharted changes. The home-page tidal calculator illustrates the rule of twelfths; it cannot establish the depth of a moving bar or predict the sea state.