Feb 2001Fens Explo

Left home at 6.30, picked up John Chapman at 7.30, from Stopsley. Stopped of first at Brampton EA Office. JC knew some bod there. Bod has not got free Wash Ports tide tables, so phones up region at Goldenhay, Peterboro'. Go to Peterboro' and get tide tables. Look at top of River Welland and see where JC got stuck. No weeds here at present. Look at low footbridge on River Welland - OK. Stop in Spalding - quite nice. Look at open sluice to Coronation Channel round other side of Spalding (can't get out through tidal sluice at end of this, but wide enough for wind.)
Go down to look at tidal Fulney Lock, just outside Spalding. Longish tidal drain from here to Surfleet Lock - entrance to River Glen. Look at Surfleet Lock, talk to boaty bloke that JC knows, he says local shallow draught craft creep over RAF bombing range, past orange painted wrecks, used for target practise! - when doing passage from Fossdyke (yes another Fossdyke - this is the tidal River Welland Cut to Wash!). look at Pinchbeck up River Glen. See nb that JC bought across wash last year, outside owners house. Nowhere above Surfleet Lock where River Glen wide enough to wind 60ft nb! Only chance is confluence with blocked off Bourne Eau. Go down farm track to this - seems just OK. River Glen navigable for shallow (nb?) craft up to Baston, another 3 miles - nowhere to wind up here though! Go to Boston to see Grand Sluice. This is only 45ft, so has to be passed on level with longer craft.
Check out Tidal River Witham, below Boston Docks. Go to Sutton Bridge, near out fall of River Nene. Drive to old lighthouses at end. One was Peter Scott's house from 1933-39. See Wash for first time. It is below force three and good visibility. See island and across to Hunstanton. Can see bombing practice wrecks on sand banks. Go back to opposite Port of Sutton Bridge and famous cheese shop, in farm. (must be the only cheese shop with tidal range prediction chart up on wall!) Guvnor says all signs of wrecked coaster removed from turning point, just before Sutton revolving Bridge.
Ship wreck of Ladik.....There was a pilot on board, but master was doing winding movement, with still a fair flood on. Useless crew could not get bow rope onto winding bollard, tried 4 times. By that time ship was across the river, nearly out of turning basin. All thrashing around only got ship more up the bank. This was at 17.00 (dunno what day). By 23.00 ebb had nearly gone and ship broke its back (eventually in three places) as suspended, just by bow and stern. Crew walk away and give up on ship! Dutch lifting barge has just finished removing wreck. Put stern section and bridge on barge an towed back to Holland for retrieval of engine and all goodies. Rest of ship dumped at side of Nene, in three bits and cut up into 30 ton bits and scrapped, by road I think! See ships that are now back in port. Go to Wisbech and see, now much extended visitor mooring pontoons. Drop of JC and get home at 21.00