Where Did The Love Affair Begin?

[Lulu]

I wasnt worrying, so dont worry. If i could press the laughing one again i would 

[stumpy]

First put into a boat by my old man - lugsail dinghy on Thorpeness Meare then graduated to crewing on a Dragonfly round the cans at Waldringfield just down from where Pastor was,  discovered the Broads through the Sea Scouts on Valoma out of Thurne dyke - the rest is (50 years of) history.

[NeilB]

Great topic !

My parents had been boating on the Broads since the early 50’s so I was sort of born into it really.  First trip was apparently about 2 months before I was born !!!

Since then it was usually a 2 week summer and a 1 week spring or autumn holiday, sometimes a boat & sometimes a riverside cottage and launch.

When I hit 18 1/2 and finishing college / apprenticeship I started work in the marine industry and I’m still in it 27 years later!

My wife is not too keen on boating but she does love Norfolk, luckily work provides the odd boating fix.  Next trip is a short break in April & a week in August.

[PastorsDayOff]

Thanks NeilB. I wasn’t sure what response I would get to posting the topic, it was simply what came into my mind visiting the town I began growing up in. Sadly at that age now where I can remenisce!

I like the idea of being introduced to boating before you were born, though we tried this with our son (now 20), but he sadly finds this boating thing too slow.

[JawsOrca]

It started seeing a Hoseasons catalogue when I was a kid, mum was too much of a wimp to let us holiday when we was young, something about us failing in (or her failing in)

So it was only when I was 18 and could book my own holiday, me and dave got the coach up from london, arrived in a busy Norwich bus station some 10 hours later (or it felt that), eventually we found the train station and walked down the lane to Silvercraft in Brundall.  The yard looked horrified! although so did we, the boat looked new and massive (Silver Melody), after a 2 second trip on the river (To be honest the older chap taught me loads, most of which I still use even now) we headed down to reedham! A week later we returned the boat floating in many pieces and loads of paint missing and the rest is history. (We now live afloat, have Orca in Norfolk and I now work in the industry).

[PastorsDayOff]

10 minutes ago, JawsOrca said:

It started seeing a Hoseasons catalogue

Now there’s a memory. We almost looked forward to the new Hoseasons catalogue coming out as much as we looked forward to Christmas.

 

I remember my dad telling us one year, after the catalogue had just arrived, that we couldn’t afford a boating holiday that year. When our holiday came, he packed the car with camping gear, and we drove off expecting to be under canvass for a week, only to turn up at a boatyard at Kingston upon Thames, to spend the week on a Bounty 37.

[BroadAmbition]

There wasn't an exact date / week as I remember.  My first time on the Broads was 1960 with Mum / Dad / family / friends.  I was only months old.  Thereafter every year so I just sorta grew up with it.  I too as a young lad was most upset when we had to hand the boat back, so upset it ached.  Spent the next 50 odd weeks wishing my life away for the next fix.  'My Dream' was to one day have my own boat and get rid of that ache, it took me 47 years to do it mind. It was due to the Broads that I joined the RN as I was just hooked on boats, the RN seemed the obvious choice as in those days (70's) they had plenty of em

Griff

[TheQ]

Arthur Ransome has a lot to answer for, towards the end of your trade training in the RAF you are asked what stations you want, that normally means you don't get. but on this occasion due to AR I chose RAF Neatishead and got it..

As soon as they held a course at Horning I was on it, learning to sail in Enterprises about 1980. Thereafter borrowing RAFSA Albacores or Enterprises, Until I bought a laser.  Thereafter I've sailed most weekends since then.

[smellyloo]

Born in Beccles ................

Loved fishing ..............

Longed for a boat ............

Saved up pocket money and bought an old grp dinghy ..............

Converted an old set of pram wheels into a trolly ...........

Pushed said dinghy to river to go trolling (oar power lest you cry foul)

Saved up more money and bought a seagull .............

Bliss

Always loved boats and water since but currently boatless

[Katie]

Both my father and brother were in the RN so caught my love of boats from them! We had a boat at Ely then Littleport when I was 10 -15 and had many trips up The Ouse to St Neots and St Ives. Reconnected to the water on The Broads 24 years ago with the children , then Simon was hooked!  Hired  yearly, eagerly anticipating the Hoseasons catalogue, until we finally got our own boat last May. 

[Guest]

21 hours ago, Lulu said:

I wasnt worrying, so dont worry. If i could press the laughing one again i would 

Oh I missed this one.

You quite clearly were:

22 hours ago, Lulu said:

Ummm I think I must have pressed the wrong emoticon Jay. It should have been the worried one

[ExSurveyor]

My love affair with the broads began as a 14 year old when the family went on Juliet 3 in 1974

Matron joined us as my 13 year old girlfriend, loved them both ever since.

( we need a vomit emoji  )

[Boatingman]

I got the bug from my father

We had a small boat moored in Folkestone Harbour

Then he wanted to take the family on the broads and off we went

That was 1964 been every except two since

Ray

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Boatingman said:

I got the bug from my father

We had a small boat moored in Folkestone Harbour

Then he wanted to take the family on the broads and off we went

That was 1964 been every except two since

Ray

Nice story Ray

What do you think of the broads now in comparison to the 60s and 70s?

[Boatingman]

In general a lot quieter in particular Southern Rivers

Boats in those days where nearly all hire boats, with virtually all one week holidays starting Saturday now with a lot more short breaks boats seem to stick above Acle.

 More gadget's today most not required in my view

A lot of moorings lost now with the closing of hire yards with moorings there becoming private

Ray

 

 

[JanetAnne]

Managed to read Coot Club for the first time last season finally  This year my target is to read The Big Six. 

Can you tell I don't get a lot of time to read for pleasure?

[grendel]

I dont get much time to read, but I do spend nearly 3 hours a day in the car, where a good audio book does just fine, I have the whole Arthur Ransome series on audiobooks

[PastorsDayOff]

I haven’t read these books for years. I think I need to get some copies, especially now living in Coot Club country and having a boat on the Broads. Might help with the adventure.

[unclemike]

1 hour ago, JanetAnne said:

Can you tell I don't get a lot of time to read for pleasure?

you've learned to read now then, last time we spoke you were still on janet and john

[quo vadis]

Roger red hat for me

[PastorsDayOff]

5 minutes ago, quo vadis said:

Roger red hat for me

Don’t remember too many boats in the village with three corners. Oh it’s so sad that I know that!

[VetChugger]

Mine started during a work break while doing my nurse training. Found an old Moores brochure amongst all the mags and was hooked from there in. Within a week two of us had booked two weeks on lovely little wooden cruiser in March  out of Langford Jillings yard when he had less than a dozen boats. We then progressed to hire every one of them before trying another yard!

[chrisdobson45]

At the age of about 10 my father found an old photo album of a holiday in the early 1950's (when he was 18) on the Norfolk Broads. A group of friends, accompanied by someone's father hired a Broads wooden Classic from Moore & Co at Wroxham. He decided that our next summer holiday would be a boat on the Broads, Golden Gleam from Pearson Marine at Reedham. Every year for the next 11 years we had at least one  holiday on the Broads, with Brister Craft at Brundall (then Wroxham), Aston Boats at Beccles and finally Harvey Eastwoods of Brundall.

After university I lived in Norwich for a few years so I suppose the magic of the Broads became a bit "normal". Last year's holiday on Brinks Royale 3 reignited my love for the Broads and brought back many memories of long ago, to a more gentle and innocent time....

[Vaughan]

I also, have a photo of me on my father's ship, HMS Duncansby Head, taken before I was born. It's a photo of my mother, of course!

When my daughter was about ten, she attended the sailing school at the NBYC on Wroxham Broad. I think they were sailing Toppers, but I wasn't there at the time. She was in the boat on her own, surrounded by other kids and instructors, but was not enjoying this at all! When the wind got up and it all started leaning over, she decided once was enough, stepped off the windward side, left the boat in the middle of the broad and swam ashore. Efforts by instructors to persuade her out again all failed!

She still drives motor cruisers though - in fact she owns one.

[Springsong]

April 1950 See photos I was born May 1949 I was introduced to the Broads that's me  

nearest the the camera. 

We hired from Windboats in those day my Father's sister and family used to take Monach.

The second photo is at age 16 in my first hire in Vestella 7, the parents were good

repeat customers of Landamores by then so they allowed me to hire in my own right

parents of course paid and were on a Vesta.