Back in to Boston.

The swinging of the lamp continued and it was great to hear of the good old days working in the rivers of the Wash

After about an hour the flood started and slowly the strength of the current over rode the strength of the wind and we came off the bank, swung round and headed inwards for Boston.

As we got further down the channel it looked like the main channel would be the River Welland that proceeds to Fosdyke and Spalding. There was a port in old times but as ships grew in size the port lost its importance. There is a yacht harbour there now. The channel looks nice and wide at the start though.

The beacon to the left defines the Welland and the outfall of the River Witham, or The Haven, that leads to Boston is between the two beacons. We are still very early so we are just puttering along at slow speed.

I like this photo of the rickety old ladder and stays with the mud and the hazy light of the Haven Beacon.

Tabs Head marks the divide between the Witham and Welland rivers. Those fishermen just get everywhere don't they!

The tide was coming in, but didn't appear to too strong at this stage. It was easy to sit in the middle of the channel that could easily be seen between the mud on either bank. At some stages we just drifted along out of gear.

Here is a little more pylon porn, as you don't see examples like this everyday. The stump, like the cathedral in Ely, acts as a a great lighthouse as it can be seen from miles away. The small yacht that over took us when we were beached appeared ahead. He had dropped his mast and was also drifting along waiting for the tide to make.

As we got further up the Haven we came to the port area. It was a busy old harbour in the 11th and 12th Century and by 13th Century it was thought to be No.2 in the country. Due to political reasons, among other matters, trade collapsed in 1470. It took unto 1762 for an Act of Parliament to straighten the Witham and a sluice to be built. These, along with draining of the surrounding Fens, meant that the water could be channelled and scour out the Haven to provide deep access to the port.

In 1884 the dock was built with a lock that could take vessels of 95 mt and 13.8 mt. In actual fact they can take longer vessels when the tide makes a level. There is room for 11 ships when the dock and the riverside berths are all full. That would be a sight to see.

When the dock was built fishing was becoming a major industry on the East Coast and a big fleet grew at Boston. Between the wars most moved to Hull and Grimsby as the infrastructure there made things cheaper for all. It seems there is still a bit of a fishing trade going in but it seemed to be scallop and cockle dredgers that we passed on the quay side.

This is the Black Sluice where the Black Sluice Navigation or the South Forty Foot Drain enters The Haven. It was navigable for over 20 miles from about 1760's but the original lock fell out of use around 1964. In 2009 a new lock was opened and was to be the first part of a new Fenland Link that led to Spalding, then across to near Peterborough and then to the Middle Levels for access to Ely and Bedford. The complete scheme would include the canal route from Bedford to Milton Keynes. There would be improving drains for navigation and digging new cuts and building new locks. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether it will be built and if so, when.

Like Wisbech Boston has some incredible buildings for such a place, and they are due to the wealth brought by the shipping trade. This was originally the main quay with the customs house and warehouse on the bank.

As we approached Town Bridge we can see the cream coloured Assembly Rooms which were built in 1872. There was a fire in the 1960's but the building was saved and is now a night club, with shops on the ground floor.

We were soon in sight of the Grand Sluice and Lock and had now to wait for water. We had caught up the sailing boat and the three cruisers finally caught us up. We wanted to be early as when the tide does come in it rises pretty quickly as this is the head of the tide. We are too long to pen up so have to catch the level. If we were not here narrow boats are too slow to make up distance quickly and we could well miss our slot. We went in the lock with the last of the cruisers and waited with the outer doors closed that gave us enough room to hang on a couple of minutes for the level and we were through and on the Witham.

Daryl stayed with us to the C&RT visitor moorings before heading off home. We had a great time and good weather. He exudes confidence and clearly has made it his business to know all there is to know about getting across the Wash. He comes well equipped and the whole experience is stress free and enjoyable. If you need any more information contact Darly on washguide@gmail.com Give him a good bit of notice if possible to enable him to sort out the best tides and times to fit in with your plans.