Jesus ! nearly didn't make it back on the thames

[Lukey]

I was out fishing last night, got my small sib out ( 2.6m ) put on my 3.5hp motor, stuck the electric motor and battery in just in case, got in, launched, river look high and fast but bloody hell got out into the main stream ( launch in a shelter part near a island) and had the engine running full revs just to stay still !

engine decided to conk out, cue mad scrabbling to get the electric on before I drifted too far down stream, only just made it back.

Anyone else had that on a river ? normally the 3.5 engine will push her along at 3-4 knots at least.

Anywhere you can find out the flow on a river before you go out ( bit like traffic reports ?

[timw]

What part of the Thames were you on?

[Lukey]

Sodding sunbury ! wouldn't mind if it was tidal, I used to swim round there when I was a kid, I would have been washed away last night no problems.

[timw]

Mmm...don't know too much about non-tidal Thames.

Occassionally venture up past Kingston and river usually seems pretty benign...I suppose it does get quite hairy in full flow.

Was working on my boat in dry dock at Putney last night and the river was like glass. Even saw a fox walking along the bank as the tide was out.

[Lukey]

Thats my point its normally like a pond, slight flow but nothing much, I can normally go upstream with my 35ftlb electric motor and not really notice any real difference from going downstream.

Originally Posted by timw

Mmm...don't know too much about non-tidal Thames.

Occassionally venture up past Kingston and river usually seems pretty benign...I suppose it does get quite hairy in full flow.

Was working on my boat in dry dock at Putney last night and the river was like glass. Even saw a fox walking along the bank as the tide was out.

[timw]

I had heard that the Enviroment Agency were going to be messing about with the lock gates at Teddington and Richmond sometime around now.

Perhaps this was causing the strong current which would make sense as the Tidal Thames was at low water around 9.00pm and if the gates had be opened then the water would have been flooding back downstream.

No idea, but it's a guess

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Lukey

river look high and fast

There's your clue!

When the level is high the Thames can be very fierce, and really needs to be treated with respect. Contrary to what you might expect, the effect is much more dramatic on the non-tidal sections -- it makes much less difference on the tideway.

John

[Lukey]

I know that now ;-)

I just wasn't expecting it to be quite so strong, put the willies up me, certainly my old thoughts of not needing a life jacket as I am a very strong swimmer have going well and truely out of the window. I just thought that between the locks that the river wouldn't pick up that much speed.

Well it looks like a cheap lesson, could have quite easily have been a very costly one.

Originally Posted by John Kennett

There's your clue!

When the level is high the Thames can be very fierce, and really needs to be treated with respect. Contrary to what you might expect, the effect is much more dramatic on the non-tidal sections -- it makes much less difference on the tideway.

John

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Lukey

I just thought that between the locks that the river wouldn't pick up that much speed.

If you haven't already, go and have a look at one of the weirs next to each lock -- when the river is in spate it's an impressive sight. There can be a lot of pull above the weirs, which tends to make things a bit challenging.

You know things are really bad when the lock keepers start wearing life jackets!

John

[Lukey]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

If you haven't already, go and have a look at one of the weirs next to each lock -- when the river is in spate it's an impressive sight. There can be a lot of pull above the weirs, which tends to make things a bit challenging.

You know things are really bad when the lock keepers start wearing life jackets!

John

Is there anywhere where you can check on the state of the river either online or on the phone ?

[ian mcconnell]

lukey

contact the lock keepers they all have electronic guages in there huts that monitor river speeds and levels, they tend to open up the weirs during the obvious heavy rains but more so in winter because no one uses the river, if you went to the lock keeper first you will see signs hanging from the locks warning off strong currents. i went out a few weekends ago at stains, again strong currents in areas but then ive got a bigger engine on the back!

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

There can be a lot of pull above the weirs, which tends to make things a bit challenging.

I guess if you take a nose dive over one of the weirs, it gets even more challenging

[Tideway]

Originally Posted by Lukey

Is there anywhere where you can check on the state of the river either online or on the phone ?

The Environment Agency can give you the stream conditions. I've not used this service myself though, other than for booking angling trips.

For recorded information on Thames river conditions and strong
stream warnings contact Floodline on 0845 988 1188 and press 1 on
the keypad when prompted followed by the quickdial shortcut 011131.

This nugget is in the bottom right corner of the Visit Thames website see link:
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/

There is a shed load of fresh coming down at the moment, so I'm not surprised it got a bit scary. I'd dig that lifejacket out anyway at this time of year, as the water temp is going to be about 9 degrees and you don't have the buoyancy that you would in saltwater.

Have fun next time, just avoid it after any sudden, heavy rainfall.

t

[codprawn]

I thought most rivers were pretty fierce this time of year - think it has something to do with rain.