RIVER STOUR
The River Guide
This section contains important information about approaching the River Stour at Sandwich. It has been split into sections for easy reference, but we highly recommend that you read all sections prior to your journey.
Speed Limit
There is an 8 knot through-the-water speed limit on the river.
Please be sensitive to your wash – as many of the boats you will pass are liveaboards.
This Chartlet is kindly provided by Robert Holden who runs a historic yacht out of the Stour. Please note that it is supplied only as a guide and no liability whatsoever is accepted for inaccuracies caused by shifting sand/mud banks, or marks blown off station in gales.
Sandwich Bridge Opening
The swing bridge is operated 24/7 365 days a year, with just 1 hour notice.
Call 01843 585624.
VHF Ch8.
Navigation advice
Approaching the River
We recommend approaching the river in settled conditions, during daylight hours, if conditions are at all marginal we would suggest berthing in Ramsgate (24hr access, VHF Ch14), until weather/light/tides are suitable. Please feel free to call the harbourmaster for advice – Ian 07463 721714. Arriving at the fairway buoy one hour before HW Sandwich Quay is ideal as the run up to the town will take about 3/4hr (see note below on tidal flow in the town).
The River Entrance
The entrance to the Kentish Stour is in Pegwell Bay, approximately 1NM SW of Ramsgate Harbour. Follow the Ramsgate Channel (either from the North or South) until you get to the Fairway buoy. Although the location of this Safe Water Mark moves as the river entrance shifts, it will generally be found about 0.5NM to the NW of B2 (SHM), which marks the NW edge of the Break Sand.
Once at the Fairway Buoy you can use the Charlet below to navigate across Pegwell Bay and in to the river. If you are just stopping for one tide, or for the night, then anchoring just inside Shell Ness offers excellent shelter and beautiful scenery. It is a bird sanctuary with no road access and we have a colony of seals living in this area of the river.
Nearby Boatyards
As well as the public quay which is run by Dover District Council 01304 821199, there are three other boatyards. Visitors pontoon berthing with electric and water may be possible, but always call first. Near the river mouth there is Richborough Marine – 07792 003376, downstream of the swing bridge Sandwich Marina – 01304 614813 and above the bridge – Highway Marine – 01304 613925.
Tides
As a general rule the river is accessible on every tide (springs and neaps) with a draft of 2m or less. Vessels with up to 3m draft can navigate the river on large spring tides, but we would suggest this piloted by either the Harbourmaster, one of the local boatyards, or someone with very good local knowledge. For tide times see Highway Marine’s tide tables (adjusted for BST and Sandwich secondary port correction). www.highwaymarinegroup.co.uk
Contacting the Harbour Master
The Harbour Master, Mr Ian Broughton, can be contacted on Ian 07463 721714.
VHF Channel
VHF Ch8 is used on the Stour for all boat movements and general communication, but please note there is no full time listening watch, contact would need to be made initially by phone for harbourmaster, boatyards, or bridge.
Important Navigation Advice
Please ensure that all lateral marks are followed well inside of Shell Ness. Once round Shell Ness, the next bend (turn to Starboard) has a particularly narrow channel on the very outside of the bend, do not be tempted to cut the corner! Once you reach Richborough Wharf (piled quay to Starboard), the river narrows and the deep water will generally be found mid stream. Two notable exceptions are Back Sand Point and Bloody Point, where (unusually) the deep water will be found very much on the inside of the bends. If you find yourself at either bend at mid tide or below, do not use the outside 50% of the river.
Heading Upstream
Heading upstream, take note of the port hand mark once round Back Sand Point, this keeps you away from some very large submerged concrete pipes to the South.
In the ‘Upstream Winding Hole’ we can swing up to 85ft boats.
Mooring
As you arrive in the town you will see white capped timber fenders running along the quayside, you can lay here. This is a public quay and vessels of any size will find space to moor (contact Dover District Council for berthing). Toilet and shower facilities are available between 0900 – 1700. Note, the upstream end of the quay has deeper water (near the naval gunboat), 1.5m of water can be found here at LW, whereas the downstream end of the quay almost dries.
The Swing Bridge
The swing bridge is operated 24/7 365 days a year, with just 1 hour notice. Call 01843 585624. For large vessels we have two ‘winding holes’, one downstream of the town and one upstream. If you contact the harbourmaster he will advise (and usually escort large vessels to ensure they swing correctly).
Note on tidal flow: In Sandwich town the tide only begins to flood approx 2.5hrs before HW Sandwich, therefore the tide runs hard in this period and still floods for half an hour after HW on a neap and up to 1.5hr after HW on a big spring.
Care should be taken when approaching the bridge. You can either arrive at the town quay for slack water (see above), or if you come up with the flood tide, spin well before the town quay (put the bow into the reeds and allow the tide to spin the stern) and then lay starboard side to the quay. If your boat handles well in astern, stem the tide and ferry boat glide over on to the quay port side to.
If you would rather not turn (or stop) in front of the bridge with the tide flooding, you can communicate with the bridge (VHF Ch8) who will have the bridge open in good time so you can pass straight through and spin in the winding hole above the town, in a long section of river with no obstructions.
Please call Highway Marine for detail on where this is 01304 613925.
Overhead Power Cables - Important
The river is navigable as far as Grove Ferry about 13 miles upstream, through mainly open fields and marshland. However, please note that while yachts can safely pass through the bridge, through the boatyard and as far as the winding hole to spin, they MUST NOT go any further than this. 0.8NM above the bridge there are overhead power cables and even small masted yachts will not pass under.
To explore the upper reaches of the Stour we would suggest a max draft of about 1.5m and (as above) no masts!
Note on tidal flow: In Sandwich town the tide only begins to flood approx 2.5hrs before HW Sandwich, therefore the tide runs hard in this period and still floods for half an hour after HW on a neap and up to 1.5hr after HW on a big spring.
Care should be taken when approaching the bridge.
You can either arrive at the town quay for slack water (see above), or if you come up with the flood tide, spin well before the town quay (put the bow into the reeds and allow the tide to spin the stern) and then lay starboard side to the quay. If your boat handles well in astern, stem the tide and ferry boat glide over on to the quay port side to.
If you would rather not turn (or stop) in front of the bridge with the tide flooding, you can communicate with the bridge (VHF Ch8) who will have the bridge open in good time so you can pass straight through and spin in the winding hole above the town, in a long section of river with no obstructions.
Please call Highway Marine for detail on where this is 01304 613925.