About the Book
The Routes
There are 32 routes covering most passages across the Estuary. Routes are, however, limited to the ‘inside routes’; those that weave through or cross the various sands. This is because there must be a practical limit to the size of the tables included in the book, and the ‘outside routes’ (which are effectively only to and from the Suffolk Rivers) are simpler to plan. Please see the ‘Routes’ page for a list of all the routes.
Route Guidance
Each route is described in the text of the book and comprehensive waypoints are provided. For clarity, each route is broken down into a number of sectors, each generally corresponding to a change in course or where different tidal data needs to be used for accuracy. The text includes information on potential hazards, distance and track direction. Waypoints are described by Lat/Long and a brief general description.
Passage Planning Tables -
This is the unique feature of the book.
The problem with passage planning for transit across the Thames Estuary is that each route is effectively a number of different sectors requiring a course change, often meeting the tide at a different angle.
For many, passage across the Estuary will be impossible on a single favourable tide so a compromise is required. Where do you take the adverse tide? At what point will an adverse tide have the least negative effect? For some, depth of water over the sands will be crucial; this may mean losing the benefit of some of the tide for later in the passage.
Because of these factors, passage planning will be far more complex than the south
coast cross-
How do the Tables Work?
Each column in a table represents a sector. It shows the duration for the table speed to complete the sector for every 15 minutes of the tidal cycle. So know your start time for that sector (relative to HW Sheerness) and you can instantly read the estimated time you will reach the end. By moving that ‘end’ time to the start time of the next sector, you can immediately know the expected time of reaching the end of the next sector. On so on until your journey plan is complete.
The column of ‘duration’ times for each sector enables you to see at a glance the most favourable tide by scanning the column. Review your plan quickly and easily to take any adverse tide in the best place.
Want to ensure you arrive at a landfall waypoint with enough flood to carry you to your destination at the head of a River? It is as easy to start at the final ‘arrival’ time you want and work back in reverse order to see the start time for the passage.
Want to ensure you reach a crossing point for one of the sands on a rising tide? Identify the crucial sector, select a start time for that sector for the state of tide you want and read the tables, first, backwards to find the departure time and second, forwards for the estimated time of arrival at the landfall waypoint. Do not forget that the tide will have turned at various points in the Estuary at different times: for example the tide will have started to flood at the Middle Sunk before LW Sheerness. Details of these differences for crucial points in the Estuary are shown in the route guidance information.
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