MacGregorSailors.com

This is my first attempt to post photos. This is all one the River Orwell on the East Coast of England.



If you are interested in knowing more about this area, or just want to see some great sailing video, check these out...

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/sailin ... he-orwell/

Okay..that worked...yeah!!!

Here are a couple more...

btw, that slipway shot on Dylan's video is the ramp (Brits call it a slipway) I use.

Nice

My grandson likes to sit in that same spot when he is out with me! thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

It's a great place for sailing. I can't wait to get back on the water.

Is that the Orwell bridge in the background? Can you sail under that bridge? (I was just wondering if you can get all the way up to Ipswich from there) - Do you go to Royal Harwich Yacht Club too? wow.

What are the launch ramps like? Are they really really long at low tide? (Inquiring minds wan to know! )

Thanks for posting. I love KTL, Dylan does incredible work, exceptional quality. I was stationed at RAF Woodbridge back in the 80s, lived in Trimley St Mary. My son was born in the Ipswich hospital. Unfortunately I hadn't discovered sailing yet but spent a lot of time cycling through East Anglia.

BOAT wrote:

Is that the Orwell bridge in the background? Can you sail under that bridge? (I was just wondering if you can get all the way up to Ipswich from there) - Do you go to Royal Harwich Yacht Club too? wow.

What are the launch ramps like? Are they really really long at low tide? (Inquiring minds wan to know! )

Yes, that is the Orwell bridge, and you can sail under it easily. Then, after a pretty ugly dockside stint upriver, you get to a really nice marina (Neptune) right in the heart of Ipswitch and a couple of very nice pubs!

You can see the ramp at Woolverstone that I use in the KTL video. It has one of the funniest warning signs you are likely to see. That ramp is only useable about 2 hrs on either side of high tide. There is another ramp (slipway in Brit) across the river at Suffolk Yacht Harbour that is available at all tide states, but it is really steep. I broke my winch strap there 2 years ago, and have not used it since.

I am playing with the idea of applying for membership at RHYC. They are in the same place as Woolverstone Marina, and offer some good deals for secure on-site storage.

I will be in the UK for another 5 years (I hope) before I retire. I figured that, if I wanted to learn to sail, this was the place. When doing dingy training on a local lake, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA---super organization) instructor told me that "if I learn to sail in Suffolk/Norfolk, I could sail anywhere". I took the Day Skipper training and here I am! It is a blast, and I just wish I had more time to spend on the boat (don't we all?). The only catch is that you really cannot just jump off the boat and swim. Most of the water is way too cold for that.

jstyers wrote:Thanks for posting. I love KTL, Dylan does incredible work, exceptional quality. I was stationed at RAF Woodbridge back in the 80s, lived in Trimley St Mary. My son was born in the Ipswich hospital. Unfortunately I hadn't discovered sailing yet but spent a lot of time cycling through East Anglia.

I love that part of the world. I work on RAF Alconbury. Woodbridge was closed years ago, but there is a nice vineyard right close to there. I did all my yacht training on the Orwell and Deben. The RYA has, in my opinon, exceptionally great sail training. I will miss the UK when we go "home".

Baha wrote:Yes, that is the Orwell bridge, and you can sail under it easily. Then, after a pretty ugly dockside stint upriver, you get to a really nice marina (Neptune) right in the heart of Ipswitch and a couple of very nice pubs!

It looks like there's a navigation lock and swing bridge at the entrance to that marina. Do you have to lock through every time you enter or leave the Neptune Marina?

Tomfoolery wrote:

Baha wrote:Yes, that is the Orwell bridge, and you can sail under it easily. Then, after a pretty ugly dockside stint upriver, you get to a really nice marina (Neptune) right in the heart of Ipswitch and a couple of very nice pubs!

It looks like there's a navigation lock and swing bridge at the entrance to that marina. Do you have to lock through every time you enter or leave the Neptune Marina?

Yup...locks are pretty common on the rivers. I just checked Ipswitch tidal charts...there is currently over a 4 meter tidal range, and that is coming out of Springs. The big yachts at the end of navigation (which Ipswitch is) couldn't handle that. Sometimes you get a sill lock, which could really mess up your centerboard if you are not paying attention.....