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Fancy a sail on the good ship Wivenhoe - Fingringhoe - Rowhedge Ferry? Course you do. Which is just as well, seeing as though the maiden voyage for the 2012 season started over the Easter weekend. Talk about choppy waters - sick bags at the ready ahead of the Rowhedge mooring. And that was just for the bonzo that was boarding the boat.

Boom boom.

But before you head down to the old Sailing Club and the jetty to for the journey over to the Other Side, what you will need is a handy Ferry Timetable for 2012.

And whaddya know?

A trip down to the Bookshop / other reputable local retailers, and for the price of £1.50, the 20th anniversary issue is now available for any salty seadogs that wish to up anchor for a pint at the, um, Anchor.

Hurrah!

What should essentially be a glorified bus timetable is actually another brilliant read. I blogged last year about how dressing up the tide times with hyperlocal aquatic words of wisdom and stimulation requires some degree of creative thought.

The 2012 timetable surpasses the esteemed 2011 scribbling’s, with a timetable that covers everything from crabs to sea kale.

Cripes.

It almost makes the hyperlocal high tide data something of an unnecessary distraction.

Catherine Alexander, Marika Footring and @MrBoom have come up with a cracker of a read that is worthy of your £1.50 - which coincidentally is also the rather generous price for a single to Rowhedge. Best get a return though, y’know, just in case…

Contained within the colour production [ooh] are ideas, inspiration and interpretations of what the muddy banks of the Colne means for the people that live, work and enjoy the estuary. Ferry founder Brian Sinclair offers a historical approach about the aims of the organisation; Birder Supreme Richard Allen offers up his amazing illustrations, and Mr Mule comes up with some beautiful words to capture the passing of time over the Colne.

Chairman Alan Thomas talks of the successful 2011 season, both in passenger numbers and patronage from some generous sponsors, Wivenhoe Town Council, May Fair and RBS. Secretary Richard Allerton writes a fitting tribute to Ferry Bo’sun Doug Meyers - Mr Ferryman. A simple blog post can’t capture the moment - the obituary and tribute is required reading.

Poems from Phoebe Southgate and George McKissock set the scene ahead of your sailing. Equally poetic are the words from our friends at Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve, with top tales for spotting an elusive Nightingale.

Diary dates are filled in with the Nottage Summer Exhibition running from 13th May to 16th September (Elizabeth Morris, Robert Mowle and Ken Kempley) and the Rowhedge Strawberry Fayre taking place on 30th June this summer.

Brian Sinclair covers the resurrection of the ferry, looking back over the past twenty years from a plywood boat to the rebuilding of the jetties and the current slick service. David Ward of the Beth Chatto Gardens gives some advice on growing coastal plants (Drought? What drought?)

Wild Swimming on the Colne offers up an alternative way to reach the Other Side, and one which I’m about to brave myself after taking two summers to pluck up the courage.

Wetsuit ahoy!

Boat building sits comfortably with a piece on pan fried pollack with curried mussel beurre blanc.

Blimey.

A short overview on smuggling on the Colne claims:

“Rowhedge was considered one of the roughest of all Colne and Blackwater villages.”

Equally intriguing is the claim:

“What remains is a warren of tunnels, particularly under Black Buoy Hill. Some are said to run up from the river to the High Street via St Mary’s and the Black Buoy pub. Many tunnels are blocked off. A knock on cellar walls reveals a hollow space behind, and who knows what lies there…”

Probably a May Fair survivor from the early ’80s…

The Witches of Wivenhoe (past, not present) are explored by David Williams, and Ginny Water (most definitely not a Witch of Wivenhoe) fondly remembers a dawn picnic on the river Colne. With a 4am start, the early bird catches the bacon.

And finally, the Bank Voles at Ferry Marsh are mentioned in great detail by Darren Tansley, the Water for Wildlife Officer of Essex Wildlife Trust.

Sixty-two pages, ferry sailings from April through until October and even a Who Has Caught the Crab picture competition.

Happy sailing.