SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Hi, I'm thinking of travelling down a section of the tidal Trent and back, from Cromwell to torksey lock and then up the fossdyke in august. I just wondered if anyone had any advise.
I have a new 9.9 hp outboard, anchor, life jackets, not yet got a radio.

I am not familiar with those waters but often cruise the tidal Thames. I recommend that you check your tide times and plan your passages so that the tide assists you. It is soul destroying plugging against the tide. You also need to check the state of the tide needed to reach the moorings that you plan to use.

Finally, make sure that you have a good anchor ready for use in case anything goes wrong.

Thanks Dacs.

Carey.

I have done the tidal Trent from Cromwell to Torksey and into Brayford Quay at Lincoln quite a few times. Apologies to anyone not interested in cruising this section of the Trent, my reply will be quite long!!

Firstly engine size. I guess it depends on what size boat you have. A 9.9 on say a 25' boat may well struggle but on say a 21' should be okay. You need to factor in reserve for potentially punching a bit of tide. I have done it a number of times in our first boat, a Viking 23 with its original 1988 15hp Honda outboard. This coped well. We did the cruise last year in our Shetland 27 with a friend (who coincidentally bought our old Viking from us when we bought our Shetland 27) in his boat. Our friend put a new 15hp Honda on it. The last forty five minutes of our cruise back from Torksey to Cromwell were a bit stressful for him as the tide had turned and was begining to ebb. To be fair, it wasn't one of the regular lock keepers on duty and we were penned out too late into the tide cycle to do the trip with the best of the tide.

On the subject of tides, I don't try working out the tide times, I will always visit or phone the lock keeper at Cromwell and Torksey and ask their advice. I have always found them very helpful and very knowledgeable. I won't risk getting the tide times wrong by my mis calculation. It is a scary place if you get it wrong!

I would suggest a marine radio is essential for travel on the tidal stretch as well as a fully charged mobile phone. If anything goes wrong you have a better chance of getting help from other boaters on the river. The Trent is covered by Channel 74 and you can contact the locks from Holme Pierrepont down to Torksey via radio and more often than not the lock will be prepared for you with gates open as you arrive. Again, I would suggest essential to contact Cromwell and Torksey via radio. The law states you require a marine radio licence and need to pass a course to be issued a licence.

I would highly recommend wearing life jackets when on the tidal (on any waterway I suppose, you can't swin when your unconscious). The tidal section can be very wide in places and if the tide is running would make recovery into a boat a real problem.

Your boat is required to have working navigation lights. I recommend having your anchor (with sufficient chain and rope) set and ready for quick deployment.

There are visitors moorings at Cromwell with electric (cards purchased from the lock keeper) and water. There are toilet and Elsan facilities too. There are visitors moorings at Torksey, both on the Trent (tidal) side of the lock and on the Fossdyke side of the lock. There are toilet and shower facilities and a fairly decent pub a ten minute walk away. There is a cafe next to the lock keepers house.

En route to Lincoln from Torksey is Saxilby (about an hour) with CRT visitor moorings. (Public toilets opposite the visitors moorings) Lovely chippy in the village, nice cafe for breakfasts. Carrying on up the Fossdyke there is a pub called The Woodcock with CRT moorings, then Burton Waters Marina has visitors mooring (fee charged) Further up is the Piewipe pub with visitors moorings. Nice food and happy for you to moor overnight free of charge.

In Lincoln there are CRT moorings just before Brayford Quay but are often full. These have toilet, shower and Elsan facilities. We have always booked into the Brayford Quay moorings with electric and water and decent toilets and showers.(fee charged, £10 per night last time we were there) I understand they are about to dredge Brayford Quay and install new visitors mooring pontoons so always phone the Harbour Master to check.

Make sure you are carrying enough fuel as petrol stations are few and far between. You can top up at Waitrose in Newark (behind the CRT offices/Kings Marina and by Newark Castle train station) and a Morrisons petrol station a twenty minute walk from Brayford Quay in Lincoln.

Lastly, I would recommend the Trent Boating Association River Trent charts for the tidal section. It shows the line of navigation, where the shoals/banks/sunken islands are and which lines to take under the bridges. These navigational points are signed, but I would highly recommend the charts. It also shows you navigation points to look out for so can help you keep an eye on where you are on the river with corresponding kilometer marker posts to check on your location/progress. We usually cruise at 7mph and the journey from Cromwell to Torksey averages two hours forty five minutes.

It's a great trip, hope this helps.

Simon.

That's brilliant Simon, better than i could have hoped for, thanks for taking the time for that extensive reply.

Brilliant Simon, many thanks for sharing the info.