The rally will be held at Ipswich Beacon Marina (Formerly Ipswich Haven Marina) from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026 and the Midsummer Dinner will be held at the last Anchor within the Marina starting at 7.30 pm on Friday 19 June. While we would welcome as many members arriving with their boats as is practicable, those who wish to attend the dinner by car would also be most welcome. Parking is available close to the Last Anchor.

To book for this event, please fill in the invitation e-mail which East Coast members should receive in early June, filling in the information requested. I need to receive these by 10th June to meet my commitment to the marina and restaurant to provide them with numbers before the event. The restaurant also require a deposit of £5 per head so you will need to pay your deposit into the Branch account by that date and remember to ensure it is deducted from your bill on paying. The branch bank account will be identified on your invitation.

Those coming to the dinner by car would be welcome to join in the Saturday activities.

The branch bank account details will be included in the email and if you have any question please contact us via addresses on MOA Contacts page on the Info Exchange.

Friday 19 June:

Passage to Ipswich – arrive at Ipswich Beacon Marina, check in at the Marina office. Pilotage notes
are included below. 19:30 Midsummer Dinner in the Last Anchor

Saturday 20 June:

Some activity in the town of Ipswich – to be advised nearer the date. 15.00 All are invited for drinks and nibbles aboard Wild Thyme

Sunday 21 June:

The Rally will disband. Remember to call Ipswich lock before leaving your berth and safe passage home. Of course, you’re welcome to spend more time in Ipswich if you wish, but make your own arrangements with the marina beyond Sunday night.

From the South.

From the South. To work the tides at this end of the passage, it’s good to aim to be somewhere around the Stone Banks PHB at low water Walton on the Naze. This will ensure you get the benefit of the ebb tide down the Wallet or the Swin followed by the flood up the Orwell. However, the tides for this event hardly suit this unless you’re fond of 0300 starts. If you have the time available, from Kent it may be worth setting off on the Thursday and stopping overnight somewhere.

To enter Harwich, aim for the Cliff Foot PHB but leave it just to starboard, following the recommended track for yachts marked on your chart. Now is the time to start keeping a listening watch on Harwich VTS (Ch. 71). There is plenty of water for a yacht, provided that you leave the Harwich Shelf, a small E cardinal mark, to port and you can leave the main channel to the Panamax container ships coming and going from Felixstowe dock and the Harwich–Hook ferries from Parkestone Quay, just up the Stour. On arriving at the Guard PHB, you will have to cross the mouth of the Stour estuary so keep a good lookout astern and up both estuaries. Continue on the recommended Yacht track, leaving the Shotley Spit S cardinal mark close to starboard then the Shotley Horse small E cardinal mark close to port then the College and Pepys PHBs both close to starboard. As you clear the Felixstowe dock berths on your starboard hand, you can start making use of the marked channel up the Orwell estuary, subject to keeping a lookout for commercial shipping making their way up to or down from Ipswich. It’s also time to swap your listening watch from Harwich VTS (Ch. 71) to Orwell Navigation service (Ch. 68). Follow the Orwell marked channel up past the picturesque Pin Mill where you are likely to find several Thames Sailing Barges gathering for Saturday’s Pin Mill barge match. When you come to the Orwell bridge, it is time to call Ipswich Lock to warn them where you are and that you will arrive shortly and wish to lock in. On arrival at the lock, follow his instructions. The lock has pontoons on each side which you can make fast to so there is no need to tend the lines as the level changes. However, one or both of these pontoons may be removed to allow a large vessel to pass through – a pretty rare event these days. The pontoons are long enough to accommodate several yachts each. On entering the dock, call Ipswich Beacon Marina (Ch. 80) to ask which berth you have been allocated. It will probably be well up the dock and on your port hand. 

To leave the dock, you should call the lock before letting go your lines and, as always, follow his instructions.

From the North 

To work your tides, you will want flood for the whole passage, but it is not practical to leave either the Deben or the Ore at less than half tide. A possible option, if you have time, is to leave as soon as it is safe after half flood and carry the flood to Shotley Marina (24 hr. entry by lock) or Suffolk Yacht Harbour (24 hour entry without lock or cill).It will then take only half a flood tide on the next day to be in Ipswich.

From further North, you will inevitably be punching the tide at some stage. If you come from the more Northern Suffolk coast, you will arrive inshore of the main shipping channel into Harwich so must, at some stage, cross it.

Before crossing, set a VHF listening watch on Harwich VTS (Ch. 71). Then, if the channel is clear, cross at the Yacht Crossing Track marked on your chart between the Platters S cardinal mark and the Rolling Ground PHB.

Once across, head west along the recommended track for yachts leaving Inner Ridge and Deane PHBs to starboard then NE leaving Landguard N cardinal mark to starboard to arrive at Cliff Foot PHB. From Cliff Foot, follow the route from the south. 

Predicted tides for Walton-on-the-Naze in BST are as follows:

                        HW      LW       HW      LW

Fri 19              0317    0919    1529    2145

Sat 20             0404    1007    1614    2234

Sun 21            0453    1058    1702    2327

Mon 22           0545    1153    1753    –

HW at Ipswich is approximately Walton-on-the-Naze +22 minutes.

These notes are intended as a general guide. Members participate in Association events at their own risk and safe navigation of their vessel remains the responsibility of the respective owner / skipper at all times.