The angelic East Coast pocket cruiser

Posted on by

By Julia Jones

(This article originally appeared in Practical Boat Owner in 2024.)

The 21ft Deben Cherub was designed for competitive class river racing.

It is 100 years since the first Deben Cherub was launched. Julia Jones looks back at the history of this 21ft river racing class:

Cherubs and I first met when I was less than two years old. I don’t consciously remember this, but my mother did. Years later she wrote to remind me that I’d been strapped into my pushchair and parked in the cockpit. The topsides were low enough for me to see out and when the little boat heeled slightly on a windy day, I was able to watch the wave patterns. ‘Over and go, over and go,’ I apparently chanted, allowing my parents to conclude that I was commenting on a wind-over-tide situation.

Continue reading →

Citizen Science – Fish Survey 2025

Posted on by

Report from the forth Fish Survey conducted by the RDA and the Institute of Fisheries Management July 2025 by Steve Colcough

Introduction by Richard Verrill

Estuaries are vital habitats for fish, playing a crucial role in the life cycle of many species. It is well recognised that estuaries are particularly useful in helping to support young fish stocks. Different species favour different habitat which might include gravel / sand beaches, mudflats, saltmarshes and sea grass. The River Deben can provide all of these.

Historically there was very little data about the young spawn fishes that used the Deben for their early development. Occasionally Eastern Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority (EIFCA) or The Environment Agency have done surveys and collected some data but this had ceased after surveys done in 2013 and 2014. Stephen Thompson from EIFCA approached the RDA in 2019 suggesting that the RDA and some volunteers might like to be involved with some Citizen Science. We formed a group of RDA volunteers and had training from EIFCA and The Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM) hosted at Hazelwood Marshes and arranged by Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT).

Continue reading →

The Upper Deben – Understanding the River Upstream

Posted on by

by Tony Carter

For many people, the River Deben is synonymous with sailing boats, mudflats and the wide estuary between Woodbridge and the sea. Yet long before the river reaches those familiar waters, it begins its journey quietly in the Suffolk countryside above Debenham, winding through fields and villages before making its way downstream. 

Continue reading →

Erosion on the Deben: Bawdsey, Waldringfield, Ufford

Posted on by

by Colin Nicholson

The tidal Deben Estuary is under assault, with Bawdsey Haven Yacht Club at the mouth of the estuary and Waldringfield Sailing Club half-way-up the estuary taking up the challenge to hold the line and retain public footpaths.  And at the topmost end of the tidal Deben, just south of Ufford Pools, the bank of the main river is threatening to collapse, putting that public footpath under threat.

The causes are complex with no single factor to blame and this journal article attempts to capture and promote the current position.  Further updates will be required as the situations evolve.  Taking each location in turn…

Continue reading →

Astrid Dixon / Llewellyn: skippered first all-female crew in the Tall Ships race

Posted on by

by Julia Jones

Dusmarie.

No-one, sailing through Ramsholt in the later part of the c20th will have failed to notice Dusmarie, moored just below the entrance to Kirton creek, unique, beautifully maintained and always with that indefinable air of capability and class. But what of the people connected with her? Astrid Llewellyn (née Dixon) who has recently died (22.1.2026) grew up on Dusmarie, sailed many thousands of adventurous miles on board, was the first woman to skipper an all-female team in the Sail Training Association Tall Ships race and supported her mother in making a distinctive contribution to girls’ outdoor education.

Continue reading →

The Deben vs the Orwell or Suffolk Against the World? The Classic Boat Awards 2026

Posted on by

Editors Introduction

Over the past few years the success of River Deben craft in the annual Classic Boat awards has been outstanding. This year two new categories have been introduced – for Yards & Harbours and for Rising Stars. We are proud to see the Woodbridge & Waldringfield Boatyard shortlisted. Matt Lis, who writes this article, is the General Manager of Woodbridge and Waldringfield Boatyards, but importantly, he also represents all River Businesses on the RDA Committee. We feel a collective pride in this success and ask all River Deben supporters to consider voting for Woodbridge & Waldringfield Boatyards as they offer increasing employment opportunities and develop the young craftspeople of tomorrow – as well as building and maintaining a wide range of boats and taking great care of the river environment.

Woodbridge & Waldringfield boatyard team 2025

By Matt Lis

The Awards

Now in their 19th year, the Classic Boat Awards are run by Classic Boat magazine a British publication nowadays owned by the Telegraph, Each year, the magazine’s editors choose a shortlist of boats which have caught their eyes over the previous 12 months, within the magazine, at boat shows or perhaps by accident, and then that shortlist is put to a public vote to decide the winners. This decade a Woodbridge-built or -restored boat has been shortlisted every year but one and every year that boat has finished on the podium in its category. This may be the strongest showing of any single river in recent years.

Continue reading →

So, who’s the oldest boat on the river? A report from the Boats Still Floating 2025 project

Posted on by

By Julia Jones

The Boats Still Floating project was an attempt to list as many as possible of the boats on the Deben during 2025 (including houseboats) which had been built before 1950. We found 66. Click HERE to go straight to the list. 

Thank you to all who contributed.

I won’t keep you waiting for the answer: in 2025 the oldest boat, still floating on the Deben is TRY AGAIN, built in Guernsey by George le Maitre in 1861. Then, she was registered as an oyster fishing boat. These days she’s a thoroughly capable family yacht, moored at Ramsholt during the summer and owned by Matthew Longfellow. Many ‘owners’ of these historic vessels – Matthew may be one of them – prefer to describe themselves as custodians. They know that it takes unremitting vigilance, care, effort and expenditure of both time and money to ensure that the boat will continue floating even when the former owners are six feet under.

Try Again (1861).

Continue reading →

Deben Sea Walls, Salt Marshes, Cuttings and Tides

Posted on by

Editors Note

One of the most striking exhibits at the Waldringfield Tidelines exhibition in August 2025 was a set of posters produced by Bob Crawley and summarising his research into the Deben sea walls. Although Bob admits that the work has raised more questions than it has answered — and therefore his findings are provisional — the beautifully presented posters will certainly open many people’s eyes to a feature we too easily take for granted. 

  • Poster 1 asks When and Where were the Sea Walls Built?
  • Poster 2 discusses The Tide Level Problem
  • Poster 3 offers a Salt Marshes and Sea Walls Briefing 
  • Poster 4 explains Dating Sea Walls by Salt Marsh Elevation
  • Poster 5 focusses on Sea Walls Near Waldringfield
  • Poster 5a Sea Walls in the Deben Estuary
  • Poster 6 explores Waldringfield’s Mystery Cuttings

There are references and suggestions for further reading. 

By Bob Crawley

This began in early 2025 as a survey of the relationship of clay levels to sea walls, but developed into a wider investigation of the Deben sea walls. Along the way, interesting findings were made. The work has raised more questions than it has answered, so findings are provisional. The results were presented as a slide presentation below or as set of posters for an exhibition held in August 2025, attached <here>.

[Show picture list]

Bob Crawley

With a background in Computing and Communications technology, Bob Crawley relocated from London to Suffolk in 1987. Being near the North Sea led to wreck diving on the East Coast and other water sports. Later, living in Waldringfield triggered a belated enthusiasm for yacht sailing. This fitted neatly with an interest in the history of our local waters and estuaries, especially the Deben.

Some Portable Magic: RDA Books for Christmas and the New Year

Posted on by

Introduced by Julia Jones

‘Books are a uniquely portable magic,’ wrote Stephen King. Although Stephen King is not on my personal favourites list—and isn’t on this RDA list either—he is undeniably someone who understands about the relationship between words and readers and the ability of books to lift us away from our everyday preoccupations, fire our imaginations and extend or transform our understanding of the world. It doesn’t always happen, but when one finds a book that seems to speak directly to one, one has found a treasure. In this article, for Christmas and the New Year, some of the RDA Committee members and magazine contributors share their finds from 2025.

Continue reading →