THE RIVER COLNE enters the sea in the same area as the Blackwater and access follows the same pattern until you get to the starboard hand Colne Bar buoy. There you take a course of about 340º and follow the buoyed channel. To the east the bottom shelves steeply over the Colne Bar, and there isn’t much water over the Bench Head to the west either, so it’s important not to be drifted out of the channel.

The Colne is a pretty river in its lower reaches and a useful refuge in bad weather, but it shallows quickly once you get beyond the entrance. There is really only one option which is not tidally sensitive and that is to anchor in the Pyefleet Channel which extends round the landward side of Mersea Island. This opens to port just beyond the entrance to Brightlingsea on the other side. Avoid any oyster beds and don’t go far up the Channel as it shallows rapidly, but there is usually plenty of space to be had. There’s also lots of peace and quiet, a typically east coast view of low lying meadows and trees and the option of taking the dinghy into Brightlingsea if you need a spot of the bright lights (relatively speaking).

Getting into Brightlingsea itself presents no problem for yachts, but boats of any size will need to be near the top of the tide for comfort. There’s a buoyed channel from the Brightlingsea Spit south cardinal. When you get in, Brightlingsea Harbour maintains pontoons you can moor up against for a modest fee. From there you will need to take the dinghy or the water taxi ashore to use the facilities at the obliging Colne Yacht Club or to explore the (limited) eating opportunities. In season at the weekend the best option is to use the club’s own bar and restaurant. A new development, the Waterside Marina, has also now opened. Brightlingsea is an attractive and characterful port which still has a modest commercial trade and is well worth a visit.

Exploring further up the Colne can only be done on the tide. Wivenhoe is a charming little place with some nice pubs and a few mud berths where you can take the ground, but you will be lucky to find a spare slot in season.

A little further up you can tie up to the wall at Rowhedge on the opposite side of the river while drying out (always an uncomfortable procedure), or in theory you can get all the way up to Colchester for a mud berth such as presumably the Romans enjoyed when they founded the town in the first century AD. I have to say that when we tried it, courage failed and we turned tail on the evidence of the depth sounder well before we got there.

© 2008 Yachtpilot