Basin Pleasure Boats

CLASSIC OYSTER SMACK RACING ON THE BLACKWATER ESTUARY

Sailing on classic oyster smack 'Peace built in 1909 at Brightlingsea Essex, in the Mersea Week series of races, August 2017.
Skipper Angus Milgate and crew know the quirks of the Blackwater estuary and the right tactics for these races.

CRHnews - Slippery TOWIE Pole Dancers Heybridge Regatta

A mast acts as a greasy pole for young people to have fun trying to 'walk the plank' during this year's sunblessed Heybridge Regatta 2011 - which is a whole lot more than racing with boats.

Racing with smacks was first recorded on the Blackwater in 1783 and with an increasing interest in pleasure boating, initially by the wealthier population, similar competitive attitudes created the Basin Regatta.

The first Regatta held in Heybridge Basin, on the 2nd August 1859, was a grand affair sponsored by several Members of Parliament and the West Essex Militia Band entertained the visitors outside the Jolly Sailor as competitors took part in water and shore events.

The sea wall is an ideal position for spectators to view events on the river and in 1892 the Essex Chronicle reported a large crowd had turned out for the Basin Regatta even though it was the wettest day experienced that season.

By the early 1900's the Blackwater Sailing Club commenced holding regattas with participation by the Basiners, including on one occasion the practical help of James Woodcraft who procured a gallon of beer for 4/- (20p) to refresh the band.

Mr Bentall supported these events with his barges Violet and Hyacinth which were used as committee boats until 1913. Restarted after the First World War the Basin Regatta continued until 1937.

After a gap of nearly forty years without a regatta, a group of enthusiasts including the late Cecil Stebbens, Tom Polden, Arthur Holt and others restarted the Basin Regatta in the Queens Jubilee year of 1977.

It was a great success attracting over three hundred entries, even a barrel of beer was provided free to the quench the thirst of the visiting competitors.

With only two exceptions a regatta has been held each year since then, organized by enthusiastic and dedicated group of Basiners.

CRHnews - Flotilla fly 'Grand Union' Jolly Roger

A flotilla of 16 boats visited Chelmsford’s city centre in mid October 2016 and created a spectacle for on-lookers whilst also demonstrating the recreational potential of the waterways.

The welcome visit comes amidst concerns by Essex Waterways Ltd who say they are currently struggling to get the water level in the basin back to normal as the water loss through high lock usage is not adequately replenished by the current piped system.

The alteration of the river system in Chelmsford to provide its flood relief scheme resulted in the loss of the original feeder route and subsequent developments have piped sections and then rerouted these so that the current supply is inadequate.

The EWL say that as a result of considerable new development around Springfield Basin maintaining water levels is important and the proposed canal link, known as The Cut aka Grand Union, would achieve their aim as well as allowed boats into the city centre to visit the waterside shops and restaurants.

The fantastic flotilla spent one night moored in Springfield Basin.

They came from Sandford Boating Club based on the 14 mile long Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation and were on their ‘end of season fish and chip cruise' to round off a successful season of boating on our local waterway. Some had travelled from Paper Mill Lock in Little Baddow.

There are nearly 300 boats on the Navigation and the skippers of the visiting boats commented that it is a pity that the Navigation is not linked to the city’s rivers so they could boat right through to the new Bond Street shopping and restaurant area, something that still remains an aspiration in the council’s development policies.

The Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation runs from Springfield Basin in Chelmsford to Heybridge Basin, Maldon where it connects with the estuary.

Opened in 1797, it enabled Chelmsford to trade around the coast and change from an agricultural town to a manufacturing centre.

The Navigation is now maintained and operated for public benefit by Essex Waterways Ltd, a volunteer led not-for-profit company wholly owned by The Inland Waterways Association, a national charity.

# A major project has commenced at Heybridge Basin with Essex & Suffolk Water replacing the upper lock gates and the sliding lower gate over the winter.

Part of the upper timber gate has been delivered and the rest will short arrive for assembly on site and installation.

The lock will close at the end of October until Easter for this work, an unusual project which will not be repeated for a long while.

EWL will also be carrying out other lock gate repairs and replacements over the winter.























# Water droplets on the river is a royalty free tune by the talented - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Bass fishing in Tollesbury 2016

A morning catching bass in Tollesbury Essex England using a Super spook junior surface lure.

Sailing Harley Quinn - River Crouch Mini Cruise, june 2019

A hot, but breezy early summer weekend out on yacht Harley Quinn. Brightlingsea - Yokesfleet - Pyefleet - Brightlingsea. Very breezy conditions with wind over tide saw some rough seas & anchorages but still an enjoyable experience. Took the advantage of late start on last day of giving the boat a good clean as as you can see in the first part of the video their is a major bird poop problem. Will have to construct a bird scarer for the boom. The hot sun saw me with mild sunstroke so will have to learn from that for the future.

Connect with me
instagram -
andyseastcoast@yahoo.com

Discover the Essex coast

Essex has one of the longest coastlines of any county in England, it certainly has the longest pleasure pier in the world. Indeed Essex boasts a real maritime flavour. The resorts of Southend, Clacton, and the quieter resorts of
Walton and Frinton offer all the traditional fun of the Seaside and much more. Less well know is the quieter side of the coast where ports steeped in heritage, such as Harwich, can be found. Maldon and nearby Mersea Island have been described as the 'New Brittany'. You can sample famous seafood in rustic family run restaurants serving fresher than fresh world famous Colchester Oysters, whilst watching the boats bobbing in the water.
Get a sense of true maritime Essex by taking a trip on one of the many Thames Barges moored at Maldon. Alternatively, visit the coastal towns of Burnham-on-Crouch (the Cowes of the East) and Brightlingsea that come alive with yachts during the boating season.

Steve Releases a Striper on the Essex River

Steve Releases a Striper on the Essex River

River chelmer fishing 2lb+ perch

This is part 2 or the River Chelmer.There is a few better perch fish to 2.7oz and a few pike, It was mainly short after work secions that made this video. CHEAK OUT OUR OTHER VIDEOS. Small Fry Productions...

LSFUK - Winter Pike fishing the river Chelmer Essex 12lb & Jack

Warren, Jack and Sam target pike on the backwaters of the river Chelmer, Essex. 12lb & Jack pike taken to live baits and herring.

Visit our website
livestreamfishinguk.com

Facebook page
facebook.com/Livestreamfishing

Facebook Group
facebook.com/groups/livestreamfishinguk

Like & subscribe :)

Chub fishing on the river Blackwater

Welcome to my first video. You join me today on my favorite venue the river Blackwater on the Berkshire/Hampshire boarders for a couple of short roving sessions targeting chub and perch. Thanks for tuning in and Please enjoy.

Drop Shot Fishing on the River Chelmer

I haven't caught a Pike in years and although my target species was Perch, when this opportunity presented itself, I had to give it a go.

Thanks go out to Graeme and Mike Pullen over on the Totally Awesome Fishing Show Channel for the inspiration to give drop shot fishing a go and trying videoing my session.

Check out their channel. There's a huge amount of stuff to be learned from them.