Speleologist

The idea of no go areas is a complete nonsense. It seems to be based on the fallacy that all SUP users would be happy to just paddle around a restricted area. As a kayaker, should I choose to travel from Coltishall to Norwich, that is a perfectly reasonable ambition. Why should no a paddleboarder be able to do the same? The comparison with cyclists and motorways is completely false. There is always an alternative route. There is nothing to stop me cycling (or walking) the length of the UK. Why should I not be free to paddleboard the length of the Broads? The only issue is the competence of the people involved on both sides. Confession time: I am a Stand Up Paddleboarder. I am also a sailor, motorboater, powerboate, kayaker and windsurfer. I see no reason why all these cannot co-exist. I appreciate that as a windsurfer it is unlikely that anyone would make a multi-day journey, but in all the others it is possible. I sometimes wonder if it is more a case of being opposed to thoise who are "not like us." I am very familiar with the vitriol thrown at cyclists by a subsection of motorists, but I am a cyclist, car driver, motorcyclist, pedestrian and horse rider. All have an equal right to use the roads. I firmly believe the same principle should apply on the water.

There are no monsters on Breydon if you understand the tides, work with them and keep inside the marker posts

As any proper tide table should be. Without wishing to confuse too many people, a tide table for a standart port must not be corrected for summer time, or secondary port calculations will be wrong. The summer time hour, whatever the time zone, (I work mostly in CET these days), should be done before adding the hour for summer time.

I'll see what I can do come October.

The Glasson Branch does have locks, but the local hire companies don't allow you on there. One day I would like to approach Glasson Basin from the sea. it looks to be a seriously challenging exercise in getting the tides right!

I think |I know that swan! I took a walk down the Glasson Branch when I was in the UK last month. It was an interesting time to visit due to both the lack of water in the basin and the outer sea lock being out of commission, resulting in no water in the outer harbour.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to produce a Broads holiday tale this year. Last October I had the opportunity to forgo my rag and stick roots and do a short cruise on Moorhen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However with time in the UK being severely limited it looks as if the only UK boating I will mamnage this year is a three day cruise on the Lancaster Canal with my cousin. We plan to take a trip through the countryside where our shared family have their roots.

It was a typical half decker hull that had more recently been fitted with a more modern Bermudan rig, which was definitely not original. I suspect it was one of the many one off designs that predated the establishment of the one design classes.

That certainly seems to be generally the case, although some years ago I had contact with a member of another forum who owned a half decker called Flash, that had reputedly once belonged to Arthur Ransome, and thus seems likely to be the Flash that the twins sail with their father. I actually got to sail the boat.

An additional conundrum: I had always assumed that the Grizzled Skipper referred to in Coot Club was YBOD number 56. However further investigation on the YBOD class website shows that Grizzled Skipper was built in 1938, several years after Coot Club was published in 1934. Furthermore it appears that YBOD 56 was known as Papilio between 1938 and 1958, only receiving the name Grizzled Skipper some 24 years after Coot Club was published. I have also been unable to find any record of an earlier White Boat having been known at one time as Grizzled Skipper. It seems likely that Ransome had a White Boat in mind, since the name follows the class tradition of being named after butterflies and moths. Was it a fictional name? Was an earlier White Boat known as Grizzled Skipper at one time. Was the boat a real boat called Grizzled Skipper but not a White Boat? Does anybody have any further information on this conundrum?

Is this the app called "Anchor Watch Pro?" If so it is not advice on where to anchor or how to anchor. It is an anchor alarm. It uses GNSS to lert if you drift from a set radius.As such it can be very useful in any situation where there is a risk of dragging and a chartplotter based anchor alarm is not available. Thus it would fit the needs on the Broads very well. I have had mudweights drag in windy conditions and recognid=se the importance of an alarm if staying overnight. My experience of Anchor Watch Pro is positive. i have used it in coastal anchorages, the rivers Orwell and Stour and the Broads. It is a valuable additional safety resource. Just be aware that, as it uses GNSS, it will devour mobile device batteries very quickly. Make sure you plug in to a charger if using overnight.

A few years ago I had the wonderful experience of being the instructor/safety for a group of 16 year olds undertaking a D of E expedition under sail. They chose the D_Day landings as their project theme. For their practice expedition they sailed from Hample to Gunwharf, where they visited the museum. They went to Langstone Harbour, where a broken cassion for the Mulberry Harbour still survives. They visited Stansore Point, where some of the cassions were built and they sailed up the Beaulieu river to Exbury, wher SOE had their D-Day planning headquarters. For the main expedition they crossed the channel to Oistreham and went up the canal to Pegasus Bridge, wher they visited the museum. From there it was down the coast past all the main landing beaches to anchor inside the remains of the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches. Then to Cherbourg to visit the German U-Boat there and finally back to the Hamble. It was a delight and priviledge to be able to help younsters another 2 generations removed from thoe tumultuous events to discover the history for themselves.

NeilB has summed up saildrives rather well. The hull seal is a potential weak point, but can easily be fitted with an alarm to alert you of any developing issues. Water ingress in the event of prop seal failure is an issue. Every time I have had something wrapped on my prop it has let to the seal being damaged. It's an easy fix but it does entaly taking the boat out of the water. Grounding it shouldn't be an issue. The key is in the name. They are designed for fitting to sailing yachts and so are protected by the keel and by a rudder that is much larger than on a motor boat. There is one other major benefit. By keeping the propeller well away from botht he keel and the rudder the propwalk is minimised. As an instructor I find that this makes teaching students to handle a yacht in reverse is a whole order of magnitude easier. The Yanmar ones that we use also have proved durable. We are just replacing them after the first failure on our 5 yachts. They are 7 years old, which doesn't sound like a lot, but the yachts are in use around 40-45 weeks a year and the units have done in excess of 6000 hours.

My first dial up internet connection was only 300 baud. Just about OK for email and usenet, but that was all new at the time. Most people still didn't know what the internet was. As for Windows, I first encountered it as runtime Windows 286. It shipped with Pagemaker and only loaded when you ran pagemaker. Apart from that I was using Wordperfect and Lotus 123 which were purely text.

If anyone wouldlike to know more about hiring Moorhen, here's the link: https://www.eastwood-whelpton.co.uk/the-fleet/classic-cruiser/