‘La Mouette’: a Seagull’s Story

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By Matt Lis


The vintage Everson-built 11 footer (Blue sail) with award nominated replica ‘La Mouette’ (Red sail)

A little over a year ago I was asked to write a piece for the RDA Journal covering the work carried out in restoring a yacht named ‘Falcon’. ‘Falcon’ had been shortlisted in Classic Boat Magazine’s annual awards in the Restored Sailing Vessel Under 40ft category and my piece began “An International One Design is not a typical Deben boat” but this year I am pleased to say that I am writing about a very Deben boat. Continue reading →

Learning more about Transition Woodbridge

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By Julia Jones

Transition Woodbridge is a name that keeps popping up. They’ve reminded us to publicise the ‘Great British Spring Clean’ and we’ve been working together with them and other organisations on ‘river cleans’ as part of the plastic prevention project.  I hear about their Repair Cafes, I notice people in gardening clothes in the boatyard, clutching shrubs. Who are these people and what’s the ‘Transition’ they are seeking? Continue reading →

Litter Pick – Tue 14 Feb and Sat 25 Feb

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What a happy bunch of liitterpickers! We had a tremendous turn out on the 29 January at the Melton Riverside Litter Pick and thank you so much to all of you who came out. We were over 30 in number and had a great couple of hours of clearing the riverside environs.

Please join us for the half term session on 14th February, meeting at Felixstowe Ferry Sailing Club at 10.30. Continue reading →

Advice for Newbies

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By Alice Thorogood

When your child starts dinghy sailing for the first time, it can be daunting to know what they need, especially if you are not a sailor. Credit: Alice Thorogood

Before my children joined the cadets I had very, very little experience of sailing. Everything was alien to me, from the sailing language, the kit they needed to what it meant to spend a day out on the water.

Continue reading →

Who owns the River Deben?

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By Sarah Zins

Few people, busy tacking their boat round a buoy or walking along the river path, stop to consider who owns the river, but once the seed of the question is sown, it becomes a source of fascination.

And the main answer is an easy one, but the little issues round the edges (sometimes literally) are knottier. So to the Easier One – the river is owned by the reigning monarch “in right of the Crown”, which means for the duration of their reign. It is not, however, the monarch’s private property and cannot be sold by them, nor are its revenues theirs. As you might imagine, the monarch is not rolling up their sleeves to discuss matters estuarine on a daily basis, so The Crown Estate is tasked with managing rivers and much other property in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is a separate Scottish Crown Estate which manages seabed and coastline around the Scottish coast. Continue reading →

East Coast Shrimper Rally 2022 to the Medway

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By Robin and Gillie Whittle

The proposed plan for the Medway rally, Thursday 14th to Friday 22nd July, was to sail to or launch on the River Crouch for a night at Burnham Marina, then onto Queenborough via Havengore Bridge.  After a visit to Chatham Dockyard the plan was to explore the River Medway up to Tonbridge.


Route to the Swale

We had already enjoyed a rally in May, 2009 which had the same plan and we decided that we would explore the creeks around the Swale instead.  In order to make the journey from the River Deben to Queenborough more balanced we decided to spend the first night at Bradwell Marina. Continue reading →

The Twelve Books of Christmas

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By Julia Jones

For our last issue of the RDA Journal 2022 we offer you reading recommendations from a dozen RDA Members and Contributors to The Deben magazine. Initially we just asked for recommendations (which is why the first two are quite brief) but then we began to ask people a little more about their reading habits – what sort of books they regularly enjoyed, did they usually buy or borrow books, did they use the library? Continue reading →

Avian Influenza and the Wild Birds of the Deben

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By Sally Westwood

It was unusual to see a dead Great Cormorant trapped between the pontoons in a marina, at low tide, on the River Deben. I have also seen a Mute Swan in similar circumstances a couple of weeks ago. It may be that both birds succumbed to Avian Influenza or they may have died of natural causes. The UK is experiencing a large outbreak, the largest recorded outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza which is affecting wild birds, poultry and captive birds1. Avian Influenza is a highly contagious disease in animals and birds stemming from influenza A viruses2. A very small amount of Avian Influenza virus strains can result in a high amount of fatalities in flocks of domestic poultry. Such strains are referred to as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Continue reading →