Jump to: January(to Widnes and Dungeon)
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Jump to: March(to Fidlers Ferry)
Jump to: June(to Eastham)
Jump to: September(to Warrington)
Thursday 20 January (Liverpool HW 12.36 9.0m).
High pressure - a cold sunny calm day - great for Marlin which has an enclosed wheelhouse with a diesel heater.
Enter river from marina at 10:42am - only boat. An oil tanker on the Tranmere berth and a cruise ship [Borealis] on the cruise terminal.
Head up the Garston Channel (buoyed) then follow my waypoints - which proved to be still appropriate this year - unlike last year.
The houses at Grassendale/Cressington in the sun:
Easy Jet plane landing at Liverpool Airport
Hale Head Lighthouse (disused) with Runcorn behind.
The sand banks off Runcorn were still uncovered, just, at this tidal state. The deepest channel is close to the north shore.
Foot bridge near Tescos at Widnes
Runcorn Gap: Rail bridge (with 3 main arches) and road bridge beyond.
Arrive at Runcorn Gap at 12:05 - head through North Arch of rail bridge - with current still strongly up river.
Widnes Church on the headland - with the Gateway Bridge beyond.
There is an eddy beyond Widnes Head (where the church is) so off Spike Island there is little current. I waited here for a while - so that the incoming current would be less, nearer to local HW.
Gateway Bridge with Fidlers Ferry Power station beyond
Spike Island [West Bank Boat Club]: the Lock gate and a boat moored alongside:
Note that a 6m metal cruiser was reported in 2019 wrecked off Spike Island - at 53°21.137N, 2°43.749W and has been abandoned there. The wreck was visible at LW in 2019, but now seems covered by the bank.
At 12:25 I passed back through the north arch of the rail bridge - at this time the current was still strongly inward (so against me) at about 2-3 knots. I tried to keep out of the main channel - to have a less strong adverse current.
Cormorant gathering at Pickerings Pasture:
I decided, after passing Hale Head, to follow the channel inshore (to
the north) past the Dungeon: with dumped tank traps and a quay from a
disused factory.
Apart from commercial traffic to Manchester Ship Canal (Eastham), the only other boat I saw, during the trip up to Widnes, was a sailng dinghy from Liverpool Sailing Club (Club house near airport gantry).
Arrive off Marina Lock at 2:10 (so 100 minutes from Widnes - at maximum speed through the water of 7 knots). I had more than 2 metres under my keel almost everywhere on this trip.
Overview of track on Google Earth:
Depths from this 2022 trip - here Garston to airport; then round
Hale Head; then through Runcorn Gap. [depths over CD, corrected for tide
using Liverpool tide-gauge; waypoints marked]:
25.2nm run - at displacement speed, but with tidal assistance.
Friday 4 March (Liverpool HW 12.16 9.8m). A very high tide - ideal for exploring shallow parts of the upper Mersey. Weather - sunny periods - NW 3 - some chop.
Lock out with 1 yacht, 11:10 in river (after getting fuel). Head across to Cammell Lairds then up river towards Eastham, and the MSC lock.
RFA vessels being refurbished at Cammell Laird's.
Tanker Seacod (188 x 32m) on the Tranmere oil berth, with tug. This
tanker has been embargoed - though German flagged, since carrying Russian oil.
Oil products tanker Tigris (120x20m) outbound from Stanlow.
Carmet ship and repair yard.
Then head along the south shore - past Mount Manisty, Stanlow Island (where the river Gowy emerges under the MSC).
Overview of Mount Manisty (at upper left) to Stanlow Island (at bottom
right)
Mount Manisty - artificial hill built from spoil removed
in construction of MSC.
A tanker seen in the lay-by of Stanlow Island
Stanlow Island.
After visiting Stanlow Island - I crossed to the north bank of the Mersey, near the airport, and then zig-zagged back to the marina - measuring depths along the way.
The chinese restaurant with a fine view - now with a tall tower
block behind.
My tracks (depth metres over CD) from 2021/2 trips - with southernmost being this trip.
The southern shore is much shallower.
Lock in to marina 1:40, only boat.
Friday 18 March (Liverpool HW 11.17 9.3m). High pressure, sunny day expected, but SE wind 2-3. Some fog early on - but soon burnt off.
Lock out with 1 windfarm boat, 9:30 in river. Head up Garston Channel.
Some navigation marks for the journey:
G11 buoy marking end of Garston Channel
Airport runway gantry - with lights on because of fog.
Lattice Perch marking Dungeon Point:
Hale Head lighthouse (disused)
After passing Hale head (about 10:36), see Runcorn steaming [Viridor
waste treatment plant, with spire of abandoned dockland church just visible in
front of tall chimney] in the distance:
Pass under north arch of Railway Bridge at 11:02 and head past
Spike Island (with boat alongside):
Head under Gateway Bridge (north side) and turn near "art installation"
Beware large logs - presumably brought down by storms in February:
Pass Hempstones Point at 11:20, with current still strongly up river.
Head under pylon crossing:
Then Fidlers Ferry Reach was in sight (at 11:27) and I decided to
turn around here.
Current was circa 3 knots against me, so I upped the revs to run at about 9 knots through the water - still only making about 6 knots in places.
Some other views from this area:
Fidlers Ferry Power Station:
Gateway Bridge:
Older road and rail bridges:
Remains of transporter bridge [and power house], on Widnes shore,
I reached the Runcorn Gap at 11:52 and Hale Head at 12:15, after which the current was favourable so I could revert to my displacement speed of 7 knots through the water.
Off Marina at 1:15 (so 105 minutes from Fiddler's Ferry Reach) and lock in to Liverpool Marina at 1:30 (only boat). 29.3 nm run. At tick-over on way up and at more cost on the way back.
My tracks (depth metres over CD) from 2022 trips.
Thursday 2 June (Liverpool HW 13.42 8.5m). Not a very high tide - so stay in outer estuary. Wind S 2-3 and partly overcast, some chop where inbound current opposed by wind.
Lock out with 1 motor boat, 12:00 in river. Head across to Cammell Lairds then up river towards Eastham, and the MSC lock.
RFA vessels being refurbished at Cammell Laird's.
Tanker Lyric Magnolia (250 x 44m) on the Tranmere oil berth, with tug.
yachts racing near Tranmere
Carmet ship and repair yard - looks abandoned except for jack-up rig 7
stationed outside. [Actually has been taken over by MST - who build smallish
military boats]
Cross to Garston - with Easy Jet planes coming in to Liverpool airport close above me. Then, as tide slackened, return to marina - lock in at 2:05.
10.5 nm run - mostly at tick-over.
Depths of 2022 trips, including this one:
Friday 9 September (Liverpool HW 11.14 9.1m, LW 17.59 1.5m, HW 23.28 9.6m). Because high water is more than an hour later in the upper Mersey, the return trip, even if against the current at first, would need to be at over 15 knots to get back to the marina on that high water. Going up to Warrington in Marlin thus needs two conflicting tidal conditions: a big spring tide to have enough depth, and a second high water tide early enough to get back into the marina before 10pm (last locking time). This day provided the latter, and the tide of 9.1 was close to what I had experienced on my two previous trips (9.2m, 9.5m)
I set off, entering the Mersey at 9:15, as only boat leaving. The current was favourable, so I could proceed at a modest fuel-economic speed - about 6 knots through the water. I followed my previously set waypoints - see here. It was very calm with some sunny periods.
The new building behind the chinese restaurant with fine views.
G11 buoy off Garston - the last navigation buoy on the route.
The fine houses near Garston:
Hale Head lighthouse (disused) passed around 10:15
Birds (Canada geese and cormorants, mainly) gathered on the river bank
at Pickerings Pasture.
The factories at Runcorn steaming away.
The elegant footbridge near Tescos at Widnes.
The rail and road bridges at Runcorn, with Widnes church in the
foreground, reached 10:41.
I had not previously noticed that the rail bridge (built 1868) has decorations on
each of the castellated tops of the 3 main supports. This image (central) appears to be of
Britannia (the other two are a Liverpool cormorant and the City of London arms).
I went through the north arch of the rail bridge.
The boats at Spike Island - with the lock gate. The closing of
Fidlers Ferry power station, which had pumped water into the Sankey
canal, has resulted in a dire lack of water - bad for fish, water fowl
and boats. Some work seems to be under way - it is intended to seal the
lock gates more effectively and to make the canal basin more water-tight.
Wrecks of wooden Mersey flats on the bank just east of Spike Island.
Gateway Bridge
The "flower" art installation on the bank with Fidler's Ferry power
station behind.
The river narrows where electricity pylons cross it (near the power
station, after passing Hempstone Point) - with increased current and deeper water. The floating logs
and branches become more of an obstacle in the narrower sections - and I
had to back out of contact with one long log.
[image on way out]
The van der Graaf tower at Daresbury Lab in the distance.[on way out]
Swans on the river bank [on way out]
Fidler's Ferry yacht club and boat yard, reached 11:15.
[nearby tide gauge gave end of low water stand at 10:45 and rise by 1.0m at 11:15]
Fidler's Ferry lock gates.
Fidler's Ferry Inn.
Sankey Brook entering the Mersey [photo on way out, nearer HW]
Forrest Way Bridge, reached 11:32,
Curiously the Forrest Way Bridge appears to have lit navigation
markers on the two support columns.
Bank Quay: pipe bridge
Transporter Bridge, reached 11:42, with current up river at over 3
knots. So 2 hours 27 minutes for trip up.
Transporter Bridge "car".
Box girder bridge. I turned around here at 11:45.
Track of my route in the upper Mersey:
With inward current of over 3 knots, I headed back out at my full displacement speed (7 knots). I tried to keep out of the main current by running in shallower water, where possible. By the time I reached Fidler's ferry [12:22; tide gauge gave HW at 12:30, 2.6m above the level of the LW stand], the current had slackened. From then on, I was on a falling tide, so took care to stay in deeper water. Near the Gateway Bridge, the sandbank in the centre was dry when I passed at 12:48.
After passing Hale Head, outbound, at 1:19, the NW force 3 wind against the strong ebbing tidal current made for a lumpy sea. I was off the marina lock about 2:30, so 2 hours 45 minutes from the transporter bridge, too late to lock in to the marina [13:20 latest]. I decided to shelter close under the Wirral shore to wait for the next marina lock, scheduled to re-open after 9:11pm. I headed for the moorings off Tranmere, just S of the oil terminal. I had hoped to find a deep water mooring to wait on until closer to LW when I could take the ground. Instead, after killing time, I decided to go for a drying mooring - and found a suitable one with a pick-up buoy. I was aground about 3:05 and was able to get a rest and do some boat chores. I have not dried out on this beach for over 20 years, but I found that it still provides reasonably firm sand with shelter from many directions. The current on the moorings can be significant.
Tracks near Tranmere beach - drying position is most SW.
Marlin on Tranmere beach:
A fine sunset behind the Tranmere oil terminal.
I refloated at 8:28 and waited on the mooring until the time to cross the short distance to the marina lock. The marina lock opened at 9:15 and Marlin and a large survey boat went in.
Estimated distance run 40 miles, all at 7 knots or less through the water.
If higher resolution versions of the above images are wanted, please contact me. All information given in good faith, but please do not rely on it.
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