Category Archives: RDA Journal

Tent of Dreams

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by Matt Lis

By kind permission of Watercraft Magazine.

There are still good old affordable boats waiting for the right restorers,
writes Matt Lis of Woodbridge & Waldringfield Boatyards.

Waiting in the Tent for new owners, the 1963 Blackwater Sloop Catspaw reminds Jack how much he loves sailing.

We all know of a boat that is at risk of being lost even though: “She is too good; somebody should save her”. In reality, many appealing craft are not saved but sometimes all these boats need is just a little more time for the right somebody to come along.

Woodbridge and Waldringfield Boatyards in Suffolk hold a small stock of such boats, which otherwise might have been broken up or burned. Most are locally-built or designed pocket cruisers, housed in an open-sided Tent of Dreams. Three boats from the Tent made it to re-launch in 2025 and are hoping to sail in the biennial 2026 OGA Deben Rally.

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A New Chapter for Deben Boatyard

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by Sam Whitworth

The Larkman family hand over to Sam and Kayleigh Whitworth.

Since arriving in Suffolk, we’ve been overwhelmed by the warm welcome we’ve received. The support, encouragement and kindness shown by customers, neighbours and the wider River Deben community have made us feel at home from the very beginning. We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to introduce themselves, share their knowledge of the river, and place their trust in us. It has reaffirmed that we made the right decision, and we’re excited to become part of this community.

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Churches of the Deben – Cycle Routes

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Regular readers of the RDA Journal will remember Gareth Thomas’s impressive project to visit and write about all 40+ of the Deben Churches. To be fair, he had no idea at the beginning of his project that there would be so many…

Gareth’s main purpose was to share his enjoyment with others and to remind people what architectural and historical gems lie tucked away, often in small villages from which the earlier congregations have moved away. But how should people reach them? Some of the walks on this site are designed to link two or three churches together — but what about cycling (or long distance running?) 

We asked keen cyclist Digby Thorogood to devise a route that linked these churches. He divided them slightly differently from Gareth (and skipped a couple) but produced a set of four cycle rides which can be enjoyed separately or as one long day’s pedalling (depending on the availability of Bawdsey ferry).  

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Report from the River Deben Association AGM 29 April 2026

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Words by Julia Jones, Photos by Anna-Marie Sellon

Dan Shemming and Matt Lis from Woodbridge Boatyard, giving a steambending demonstration at the AGM.

This was a particularly relevant and enjoyable AGM. Members had the opportunity to look at the exquisite sketchbooks of the ‘creative native’ Jackie Brinsley from Waldringfield before undertaking the essential association business. We also welcomed our new secretary Phil Skinner and new treasurer / membership secretary, Amanda de Margary. Out going secretary Caroline Peeke was thanked for her committed and effective work and also for being prepared to serve another four-year term on the RDA committee. Our co-chairman Colin Nicholson also entered his second four-year term. His is a demanding and varied role which he undertakes with great diplomacy and thoughtfulness, as well as a quiet determination to achieve results or (to quote his own remarks about the current crisis in the upper Deben area between Ufford and Melton) to persuade the statutory agencies to turn words into effective actions.  He deserves our gratitude. (The Minutes of the meeting and business papers will all be available on the RDA website as usual.)

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Learning the Long Way Round

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By Ariana Cottam

Ariana Cottam is a shipwright at Woodbridge & Waldringfield Boatyards. She was a member of the first year group at the Boat Building Academy to have equal numbers of male and female students. As a group they were awarded the Classic Boat magazine’s Rising Star award 2026. Here Ariana offers a glimpse of the work of her award-winning group and shares her first impressions of life on the Deben:

Ariana Cottam on the Deben, sailing Lo Verily (which she helped build)

The path that led to Woodbridge was not a straight one. It wound through regenerative seaweed and shellfish farming, ethical outdoor retail, and time spent guiding people on the water. Different as these roles were, they shared a rhythm of practical, community-based work with a strong connection to the environment. Boatbuilding, as it turns out, gathers all those threads together – craft, place, people, and the quiet satisfaction of making something that belongs to the water.

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Andy Seedhouse obituary

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By Victoria Smy (Andy’s daughter)

Andy was born in Dudley, Wolverhampton, and moved to Suffolk with his family in the late 1970s. It was here that he discovered Woodbridge and developed a lifelong love for the River Deben. Soon after settling in the town, Andy’s enthusiasm and ambition saw him purchase his first dinghy and rent a small patch of land beside the river.

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The Angelic East Coast Pocket Cruiser

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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.

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Citizen Science – Fish Survey 2025

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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).

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The Upper Deben – Understanding the River Upstream

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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. 

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