Anglia Sea Ventures

The coastline of East Anglia covers 250 miles (402 kilometres), from The Wash (England's largest tidal estuary) to the wide expanse of the River Thames. It comprises unspoilt beaches, crumbling cliffs, protected estuaries, shingle spits and Britain's best mudflats and salt marshes. There are also seven seaside destinations offering family fun and entertainment. If you are not familiar with the region, you will be pleasantly surprised at how large and navigable the rivers are in this part of the world.

Our base on the River Orwell is adjacent to Harwich Harbour, its estuaries and coastal areas offer some of the finest and most protected sailing grounds in the UK. Whether you are sailing for a day, weekend or week, there are many interesting places to visit. France, Belgium and Holland are all reachable within daylight hours and offer exciting destinations for a week or fortnight away.

East Anglian Weather

East Anglia has an outstanding sailing climate which is backed up by statistics from the Met Office. Eastern England receives less than 700 mm rainfall per year, compared with 800mm in north west Wales, 900mm in southern England (the Solent) and 900-1000mm in the south west. St Osyth in Essex (a place we regularly sail past) is officially the driest place in the UK with just 506.9 millimetres (19.96 inches) per year, averaged over a 40-year period.

The East is one of the less windy parts of the UK due to shelter from south westerly prevailing winds. We have never needed to cancel a sailing course or charter due to poor weather.

Many of the UK maximum temperature records are held by stations in Eastern England. The highest known temperature recorded in the area was 37.3 °C at Sudbury in Suffolk on 10 August 2003.

Inland of Harwich

The tidal Rivers Stour and Orwell inland of Harwich comprise 11 miles of wide sailing estuaries with several marinas and many sheltered anchorages and moorings. Harwich Harbour is at the confluence of the two rivers and is the gateway to the Essex and Suffolk coasts and the North Sea. You can easily spend a weekend sailing and exploring these two rivers alone.

North of Harwich

On leaving Harwich, just 5 miles up the coast you can enter the River Deben, a tidal estuary that is navigable from Felixstowe Ferry at its mouth to Woodbridge 10 miles inland. There is a marina and plenty of anchorages and moorings along its length.

Just a few miles farther north, and 10 miles from Harwich, is the entrance to the River Ore near Hollesley Bay. This beautiful estuary offers plenty of anchorages and moorings along its winding route which becomes the River Alde near the charming and fashionable seaside town of Aldeburgh.

Further north we come to the seaside town of Southwold. Yachtsmen and women may visit the town by entering the nearby River Blyth to its southern side and mooring along its northern bank.

Lowestoft, the most easterly town in the UK, is approximately 40 miles, or six hours, from Harwich. There is 24 hour access to two tidal marinas within the harbour walls. A further marina lies inside the lifting road bridge leading to the River Waveney which itself provides access to the Broads.

South of Harwich

Immediately outside Harwich is the Walton Backwaters. This was the setting for Secret Water, the Thirties children's classic written by Arthur Ransome of Swallows and Amazons fame. Little has changed since Ransome himself sailed here in the Nancy Blackett, his 28ft gaff-rigged cutter and today its 7,000 acres of mudflats, salt marsh and glittering creeks are preserved as the Hamford Water National Nature Reserve, managed by Natural England and the Essex Wildlife Trust. After sailing a short distance up the Twizzle Creek, we come to Titchmarsh Marina, at Walton-on-the-Naze.

Continuing south for 10 miles or so past the seaside towns of Clacton and St Osyth and past the large array of wind turbines on Gunfleet Sands, you come to the River Blackwater, a vast estuary that contains several marinas and many sheltered anchorages and moorings. The River Colne, which leads to Colchester, feeds into the North Sea via this estuary at Brightlingsea. One could easily spend a week exploring this vast expanse of water and its interesting places such as Bradwell, Mersey Island, Haybridge and Maldon, where one of the most famous Viking battles in Britain, the Battle of Maldon, took place directly beside the river in 991. The Blackwater was a source of fish and oysters for the town of Maldon during the Roman occupation. The remains of Saxon fish traps were discovered in the river in the 1990s

Continuing south we come to the Crouch and Roach estuaries which are of international importance for wildlife. The relatively mild climate and abundance of food attract internationally important numbers of wild fowl and waders during the winter months. An important breeding population of grey seal can be found basking in the sun at the mouth of the Crouch estuary at low tide.

Several miles inland lays Burnham-on-Crouch, home to the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club and the east coast's vibrant racing scene. This is where then Prime Minister Edward Heath won Burnham Week in his famous yacht Morning Cloud III which went on to compete in the infamous Fastnet Race later that year. There are several marinas and miles of sheltered anchorages and moorings within its banks.

London

The Thames Gateway is the area centred around the tidal Thames, to the east of London. The Thames becomes the North Sea at Southend-on-Sea. The river passes Gravesend, Tilbury and Dartford to the Thames Barrier. Passing through the barrier you pass the Isle of Dogs and cross the world famous Greenwich Meridian before reaching central London at Tower Bridge.

On the southern embankment of the Thames estuary lies the Medway, a popular yachting region. The area is steeped in history and rich in maritime heritage with Rochester's splendid castle and cathedral and The Historic Dockyard at Chatham, a prospective World Heritage Site.

Just east of the Medway is North Foreland where the North Sea meets the English Channel. The port of Ramsgate two miles south of here offers a sheltered haven for Yachts in three marinas.

Continental Europe

There are many ports and towns to visit on the continental side from Calais in France to Vlissengen on the Dutch south west coast. This coastline comprises a hundred miles of almost uninterrupted sandy beaches and sheltered harbours including the yacht friendly ports of Dunkerque, Nieuwport, Oostende, Blankenburge, Zeebrugge and Breskens in between.

Breskens and Vlissengen guard the entrance to the Western Scheldt (Westerschelde) - the estuary of the Scheldt River. It leads to the beautiful city of Antwerp which welcomes yachts in two excellent marinas.