So this is why I bought a SIB

[Stigomery]

First proper family outing today, and what a day... Not too much, not too little. Sunshine, calm, a bit of chop later on. A pint in the sun, kids on the ringo, swimming and mud slides... We even caught a fish! Awesome!

Thanks to Fenlander for the Mersea Island tip... And another mate to the Tollesbury marina tip...







Spot the SIB:



Spot the SIB graveyard:

[Stigomery]

And the trip report:

[SeanKent]

Sounds like a lot of fun, I got out for the first time yesterday, will do a post.

[Fenlander]

Good choice of day Stig. Never been to Tollesbury marina that I can remember... do they charge for a while on the pontoon... do they have a shop for drinks/ice creams... toilets?

[jeffstevens763@g]

Excellent day stig nothing better many more to come.

Cheers

[Mickhitchuk]

iPhone app looks good, which one is it?

[Stigomery]

Originally Posted by Mickhitchuk

iPhone app looks good, which one is it?

It's the RYA SafeTrx one. You can plan a route, set alarms to notify people if you don't return or simply track your trip.

[Stigomery]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Good choice of day Stig. Never been to Tollesbury marina that I can remember... do they charge for a while on the pontoon... do they have a shop for drinks/ice creams... toilets?

Well, I don't know if they charge or not, I spoke to a berthed yachtsman and he said just stick it in an empty berth and move it if the owner comes back.

There's a bar/club house with food, hot choc and beer! Not sure about ice cream. It looked fairly posh inside but no one seemed to mind us in our shorts and flip flops. Toilets. A swimming pool (if you can get access - members only)

There's a lot of activity in there and we didn't fully explore. Lots of small sailing dinghies/training school/club next to the marina. Next to that an outdoor "natural pool" that is municipal and supposedly a cafe nearby but we didn't find it.

Channel in is fairly tidal and narrow, big boats are bound by the 1.5 hours either side high tide restriction common in these muddy parts.

[Stigomery]

Originally Posted by Stigomery

It's the RYA SafeTrx one. You can plan a route, set alarms to notify people if you don't return or simply track your trip.

Oh, it kills the battery so i keep mine on charge whilst in the boat.

[Mickhitchuk]

Thxs for the info, at the risk of turning this into an iPhone topic the battery on the SE lasts me all day streaming the 5C lasted a morning

[Stigomery]

@Fenlander your query about ice cream and toilets raises a good point for me. My kids are 6 and 8 and thus having a "destination" with exciting prospects like ice cream is a good motivator if things get a little tiresome and anything over 45 minutes motoring can get tiresome. Do you have a list of good places you like to head for when setting out from Mersea Island?

One thing that I have noticed which I wasn't expecting was how difficult it can be to observe things from the water. I honestly thought (in my novice mind) that we'd see lots of easily identifiable "destinations" from the water, but what I'm quickly realising is that is far from the case. Maybe it's the low rise from the beach and shifting sand bars of this specific coastline that makes things "interesting" but I think it's actually more to do with proper planning before setting off.

North Norfolk I know all the harbours and tide windows having holidayed there for years, I know where one can get ice cream and where one can get an evil stare... Not so for the Suffolk/Essex coastline so any tips within each reach of The Mersea slip would be grealty appreciated.

[Fenlander]

I asked about facilities as it's nice to know where there are some but in truth even if they are with us our kids are 19 & 21 so don't demand breaks in the same way as younger ones.

But what we tend to do at Mersea if weather suits is to go out for a couple of hours one way then return to the pontoon for a cafe lunch and head out again after. Also we usually pull up on the steep beach just by the houseboats and take half an hour wandering about there.

Had the sea been smoother yesterday we'd planned to go to Maldon but I had to pull the captain card when we were about 15mins away as I could tell the return was going to be so much more uncomfortable the more time went on.

I can understand what you mean re seeing destinations and landmarks... that's just how it is at sea. From my past experience as crew for dad I well remember even a higher vantage point and polished chart table wasn't always enough to make it easy to spot a harbour entrance... pre GPS too.

Our greatest boating pleasure is the two weeks in Scotland each year where all the features are larger and you don't quite get the feeling you mention. When they designed that coast there was a lot of thought put in!