GaryandDawn

We are sad to hear the pub is going, we have hired from Broom for many years and have always had a quiet drink after our jouney from the south coast and then waiting for our handover time, it was the start of our holiday.

Was great to read about your holiday, my wife and i are on the water for two weeks in September, hiring from Broom, all being well. We love Cornwall, we have stayed at the Old Custom House in Padstow, you are lucky to live in a lovely part of the country which is probably very congested this year.

Excellent choice Kev, we have hired from Broom for many years, our very first time on a boat started with the cadet named Cavel, the last boat we hired was the Skipper but there is just summing about being on the Captain, plus the staff are very friendly and helpful, we were thinking of hiring around September but are a little unsure at the moment. Anyway, i hope you have an enjoyable time.

Maybe if they had made the little duckling out of lovely white chocolate and called it "ugly" that would have been acceptable and none of this fuss would have occurred, i wonder what Mr Garnett would have made of all this.

Congrats FTM, it brings back a memory of early 80s when a work colleague was a amateur radio operator in Cambridge, he had a set in his car and for some bizarre reason i remember his callsign, G6 IXV, the most i had was a CB radio in late 70s, i did manage to obtain a VHF DSC licence a few years back, essential for sea use i think.

My wife and i have hired Cavell and Delia when they were quite new, we found them excellent boats and just right for 2 people, they handled well and very comfy. We found the canopy effective although a bit fiddly to put back up, we only lowered the arch once and found it heavy and as Cambridge Cabby mentioned lower the TV aerial as we forgot just as we approached Somerleyton bridge..........it didnt get damaged thankfully, we did find the table in the dining area had a block of wood fitted to floor and we kept bashing our toes on it. The front berth is comfortable and has nice lighting which makes it cosy, the heating is very effective but you wont need it in July, the heads are compact and electric flush is handy however the shower takes a bit of getting used to. We have taken both boats to Norwich and on northern broads with no problems, these two boats got us hooked on boating, we have also hired Horatio and Fry which are bigger, then only three weeks ago we hired Skipper2 which is similar to the cadets. The staff at Broom are very friendly and nothing is too much trouble which is why we return. Have fun, we are sure you will enjoy the boat.

Alan, We are terribly sorry for your loss especially at this time of year. Please accept our heart felt condolences Gary and Dawn (a fellow sheffield lass)

I thought the same as Kiefsmate, there was no sound of overheat alarm and when port control was contacted the boat name wasnt mentioned, maybe the program makers aimed at non boat owners with no knowledge, but boaty people will pull it to pieces, i guess this could promote boating and encourage more people to take it up, we did enter the competition tho...........gotta be in it to win it. I will continue to watch a couple of old boys havin' a bit of fun.

We keep her at Newhaven Marina, which is between Brighton and Eastbourne, she is a good old Westerly Centaur, 43 years young, still original Volvo engine and never misses a beat, good job really as there have been quite a few windless days.

Just seen these comments on Broom boats, yes, they are brilliant boats very luxurios and very well equipped, my wife and i have hired DELIA, CAVEL, FRY and HORATIO they were fairly new with only a few engine hours but that was many years ago. We did have a go at hiring from Faircraft Loynes for a week and were hit many times by other boats, this did not happen with the broom boats as people thought they were privately owned...............i wish We certainly learnt a lot about boat handling, we now have our own yacht on the south coast, but would like to hire from broom again someday the trouble is the cost to hire for a week is our marina fees for a year. We do enjoy reading about peoples adventures on nbn, the broads are a wonderful place to be.

A brilliant fault free adventure which is down to the expertise of indy's crew with the technical knowledge preparing her for the journey along with the navigational skills needed to get her to Great Yarmouth, has the crew considered boat delivery as a full time occupation ? it is a great shame about the interruption of the trip. We will watch with interest tomorrow as the trickiest part of the trip awaits......Breydon Water Well done chaps and to the good ship "Independance".

Thanks for todays updates griff, hope you all have a peaceful evening.

I have just checked and we signed up on October 21, 2014, time flies, thank you anyway deebee29 for the welcome.

We are enjoying following you and your brilliant crew , you have a fantastic boat and we are dead envious, all the best and have a safe onward journey to Ramsgate.