This may be of interest to anyone who paddles in the Dee estuary in the vicinity of West Kirby and Hilbre Island.

Over the last few months, the amount of sand and silt being deposited on the tidal flats around West Kirby has increased significantly – several feet in places – and the nature of the sand/silt appears to be changing too. The coastguard was recently called out to rescue a woman in close proximity to the marine lake. They described the location as ‘more like quicksand than mud’, which has not been the case in recent years: Woman rescued after getting stuck in quick sand in Wirral | Wirral Globe. 

It’s worth taking into account both the decreased depth at certain points (i.e. increased likelihood of grounding)  and the potential hazards of the mud in the event of an, ahem, ‘boat carrying adventure’. To be honest, I don’t know how extensive this issue is, but there is no harm in being aware that conditions have changed.

Here are some (hopefully) useful pointers for anyone paddling out of West Kirby, headed for Hilbre: 

• A high tide of at least 8m is necessary if you want to avoid a mud-slog. 
• On an 8m high tide, you can get on the water at least 90 minutes before high tide, and paddle back into the slipway at least 90 minutes after high tide. (The higher the tide, the longer your ‘window’ for paddling, obviously).
• You can keep clear of the sandbanks between West Kirby and Hilbre using the following technique:
  • Initially, head for Talacre Lighthouse. 
  • Only ‘turn in’ toward Hilbre when you can see the gap between Hilbre and Little Eye. 
• In the event that you end up doing a mud-slog back into West Kirby, the area indicated on the attached aerial image is your best option because the ground is a lot firmer here than elsewhere (This is the path taken by the tractor that takes the sailing boats in and out). 
• Wherever possible, when it is safe to do so, please try and keep your distance from the flocks of seabirds which are frequently to be seen in the area, to avoid putting them to flight. This is particularly important in the winter months when the migrating birds are likely to have depleted energy reserves.
• Hopefully obvious but…. please don’t feed the seals. 

Kind Regards, and Happy Paddling!

Tim. 

Woman rescued after getting stuck in quick sand in Wirral Wirral Coastguard Rescue Team was called to an incident on Tuesday afternoon (September 16) and found the woman trapped in quicksand. www.wirralglobe.co.uk