CSCC Reports 2008: Thames Source to Sea : Shadwell to Erith - October 2008

Stephen, Eoin and Chris met Dan J (still not paddling) for steak and ale pie in the Prospect of Whitby after the shuttle had been run. An instructor at Shadwell Basin Outdoor Activity Centre kindly allowed us to leave our boats on SBOAC premises out of harms way.

Not long after we set off downstream on the ebbing tide, somewhere near Greenland Dock, Eoin tested Chris's deep water rescue skills which fortunately proved sufficient, aided by Eoin's calmness and co-operation, to get him safely back in his boat within a couple of minutes.

The weather could not have been better - sunny, warm and hardly any wind. The surface of the river was variable with a noticeable chop in some reaches but flat calm in others. We passed Canary Wharf, Greenwich College, the Dome, the Thames Barrier, the Woolwich Ferry and countless freight terminals, power stations, sewage treatment works, derelict wharfs, land fill sites and a surprising number of flat blocks and houses.

We arrived at Erith just after sunset but before dark. The distance covered was 15 land miles (24km, 12Nm).

More pictures here.