At neap tides you tend to have more time here than at spring tides. On some very neapy tides the creek does not dry out and a canoe or dinghy can reach our pontoon for the whole tide.

In general if you can float off the pontoon or the quay you can still get back down the creek and the Dart, so long as you really know the channel !

Coming up river: Keep the Red BOW CREEK Buoy to port, and from there follow a natural curve maintaing that distance from the North (starboard) bank of Bow Creek, avoiding the wreck on the South bank.

When you are past the wreck and square-on to the derelict barn on the starboard bank head more to port to the South Bank and follow a natural curve fairly close to the S bank around the headland on the N bank. (You can then see Tuckenhay.)

Once round the headland get back into the middle of the river, and then head to the first Green Pole which is a little closer to the S bank. Keep the Green Pole to Starboard. Then keep the next 5 Red Poles all to Port. Yes the channel does swing wildly across the creek! Between the last two Red Poles the channel curves quite close to the N bank - if you aim directly between the last two poles you could go aground if you are short of water. (Currently the Poles mark the channel very accurately)

After the last Red Pole head to the port side of the creek and keep the blue mooring buoys about 4m to starboard,. When you reach the last blue bouy you can normally aim for the pontoon (the main channel actually loops to starboard from the last blue buoy, goes close to the bank and then cuts back in to the far end of the pontoon.) Coming up on a rising tide is easy, but going either way on a falling one can be rather exciting.
Of course, if you get stuck on the mud it is entirely your own fault!!

(These details last updated 15/07/05)

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