A wrecked Phoenix Breakwater is also to be seen, broken in two, in the Thames estuary off Shoebury Ness in Essex. It broke while being towed from Harwich in June 1944. To avoid it causing a hazard to shipping in the Thames estuary, it was beached on the mud on the northern edge of the Thames dredged shipping channel. It is about a mile from the beach. It is not quite covered at high tide, but it is topped by a beacon to warn shipping of its presence. It makes an interesting destination for a walk at low tide. The hole it has gouged in the mud around it can be used as a swimming pool, where reckless youngsters can use the Phoenix itself as a diving platform . Many unfamiliar with the mudflats have been trapped by the tide and the confusing, changeable channels and have had to be rescued by