East Coast Rivers Cruising Companion

Maximise your enjoyment of cruising on England’s East Coast rivers, from Lowestoft to Ramsgate, with this long-established guide which has been significantly revised for its 21st edition.

Since Maurice Griffiths described this book as ‘the East Coast yachtsman’s bible’ in the 1950s it has been guiding cruisers up the rivers, curlew-haunted creeks and intricate shoals and swatchways with comprehensive pilotage and navigational information set in the context of their history and unique character.

The extensive revision and reformatting for this latest edition add to these much-loved aspects of the book by providing:

• New details about where to anchor, moor or tie up
• More information about the facilities available
• Enhanced guidance on where to provision, eat out and what to do ashore
• QR codes to give quick access to the latest information on harbour and marina websites

Over 200 colour photographs (most of them new to this edition) and over 70 chartlets illustrate the text, making navigation easier and enhancing the cruising experience.

You will not only be able to navigate the waters safely but also to absorb the history and atmosphere, allowing you to enjoy this extraordinary sailing area to the full. It provides local knowledge ashore and afloat and is truly your friendly companion in the cockpit.

About the Author

Janet Harber went afloat from a very young age, starting on her father’s cruising boats. In the 1950s her father, Jack Coote, wrote a series of articles on various East Coast rivers for Yachting Monthly magazine, which were soon published in book form – in the first edition of this cruising companion. During this time Janet and her sister Judy spent their childhood weekends and summer holidays exploring the rivers and creeks of the Thames Estuary in the family boat Iwunda, helping with the research for East Coast Rivers.

As a teenager she sailed with Ocean Youth Club, and, after training as a photographer, lived and worked in London where she raced Merlin Rockets on the Thames at Ranelagh Sailing Club in Putney.

While working at Yachts & Yachting magazine Janet kept her family’s Hunter Europa, followed by a lifting-keel Hunter 701 at Paglesham on the River Roach, and cruised the East Coast rivers in the summer holidays. She also crewed on Sonatas and Impalas and raced at Burnham and on The Solent. Janet shared a Twister and later a Dragon with her father, and in recent years she and her husband sailed a lifting-keel Fox Terrier on the River Ore.

Nowadays Janet sails on her sister’s lifting-keel Parker 325 based on the Deben and Orwell rivers.

Praise for East Coast Rivers Cruising Companion

‘There’s a reason why this book has stayed in print for so many years.’
– Sailing Today

‘To read this guide is to go on a journey with someone who is steeped in the East Coast Rivers and knows intimately its swatchways, creeks, mud and sandbanks, and who is familiar with the history of the rivers and their associated literature.’
– The Deben

‘Unlike other more concise, but similarly comprehensive, pilot guides, in this publication essential information is complemented by quotes, local history, family history and additional photographs to provide the reader with a greater insight into the nature of this cruising area.’
– Little Ship Club

‘This publication is exactly what it says on the cover – A Companion – and a very good one at that!’
– Cruising Association

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• 1. Lowestoft
• 2. Southwold
• 3. Orford River
• 4. The River Alde
• 5. The River Deben
• 6. Harwich Harbour
• 7. The River Orwell
• 8. The River Stour
• 9. Walton Backwaters
• 10. The River Colne
• 11. The River Blackwater
• 12. The River Crouch
• 13. The River Roach & Havengore
• 14. The River Thames
• 15. The Medway
• 16. The Swale
• 17. Cross Estuary Routes
• 18. Ramsgate
• 19. Seventy Years of East Coast Rivers
• Bibliography
• Index