What a fantastic place Limehouse Basin is. I haven’t berthed here before and we have been very pleased. It is friendly. Staff are supremely helpful and all ones needs are met in the locale. I can remember the basin with a few old ‘manky’ craft within many years ago. It has been transformed, as has the whole area. Pleasant looking flats, tasteful dock building conversions and areas of green space… Well done to Limehouse!

We arrived following a night at the Greenwich Yacht Club, another friendly waterside stopping point, but alas the club itself wasn’t open for refreshments that evening. The one down point about Greenwich is the wash and rise/fall of water as the fast twin hulled ‘clipper’ ferries rush by… We slept late on our first quiet morning!

Sailing up Barking Creek…

On the way up from Erith we sailed up into Barking Creek stopping at the bridge, which only has around five metres clearance, while a coffee was enjoyed … and await more water for boat to completely swing to her anchor. We motored clear of the creek.

A stately creek heron…

Approaching the Thames Barrier.

Once back out into the Thames highway, sails were again set … we ran upriver, chased by a spritsail barge which later turned out to be the Lady Daphne … we went through ‘our opening a little before they did theirs. A friend of mine took a cracking set of pictures of Whimbrel going through … our engine was running and prop was engaged!

Barges seemed to be everywhere on the short sail up to Limehouse from the GYC – a certain amount of tacking was needed: the river is horseshoe shaped, but as the mate said,”…could have put the engine on…” and waste fuel?

“Not likely…!”

The Ardwina near to Limehouse Dock … we chased round ‘onto’ her quarter giving the skipper a ‘fright’ we think!