Hockham Admiral

Keith and Lisa, Hi. What a super yarn... I don't know if it is intentionally funny but you've certainly entertained Mary-Jane and myself in the last ten minutes while I slowly read it out to her between fits of laughter! Jet engines at Watton! WOW, you are showing your age! Even when I flew Hunters and Buccaneers out of Honington, RAF Watton was just the home of Eastern Radar. Beccles YS, as I remember, the HM cleans out in the morning but there's little can be done until it's all renovated. It is now operated by Sentinel Leisure trust and it will help the Beccles HM if anyone can contact them and point out how old and decrepit the facilities are. Jim your exact comments above deserve their attention! The Head Office for Sentinel Leisure Trust is Waterlane Leisure Centre, Lowestoft. General enquiries about the Trust, in person or by post: Waterlane Leisure Centre Water Lane Lowestoft NR32 2NH Tel: 01502 588444 Fax: 01502 563829 Email: info@sentinellt.co.uk

Well at least they're prompt, Mandy! When are you planning to go over Breydon?

Dave, Hi I've had a close look at the brochure and I think the 360degs rotating view, coupled with the floor plan, back up Dan's comment. We had a Beneteau Antares 25 footer and she had about the same amount of space. You can get used to it because we spent 3 weeks onboard including a trip directly across to/from Ipswich-Flushing. It's what you're prepared to put up with! As for rolling about, well these sort of boats do just that unless you lash them securely to a floating pontoon! Then your duck can get on with breaking wind as much as it wants! Where I do agree is with the cost... I'd much rather have an old Alpha-type from longer for the same price! £700 (or was it £534) for a weekend? You're 'avvin a larf as we say in Norfolk! Just how much of that was the fuel deposit?

Hi to Peter and Sheila from us and welcome aboard the friendly forum! We don't have a Bounty but we're interested in all Alpha- types and hope to hear from you on the other parts of the forum. Peter, we use that () as well!

Sounds interesting, Mandy! I've looked at the specs and she does look very pretty; does she handle well? I thought the galley was in the lounge, though? If you call the wheelhouse the lounge, that is. That wave noise can be very bad until you're used to it. When we moored stern-on at Oulton Broad, on the pontoons, facing the broad, in a stiff s'westerly, we had great difficulty with sleeping! Anyway, looking forward to the next instalment.

Should be interesting on a Friday night!

Not everywhere is that low, Lori, Schipol is -11ft. They built enormous sea walls around Holland after the 1953 floods which killed thousands over here. If they ever had another I dread to think of the consequences.

If you're taking the boat back on Sunday, June a nice stopover would be at Sutton Staithe Saturday night. If you arrive there at lunchtime on Saturday you'll surely get a mooring! The Sutton Staithe Hotel is a nice watering hole but if you wanted a meal best to call today (01692 580244).

South Walsham is a lovely place to stop, June. Either mud-weighted on the broad or on the moorings close to the private moorings on Fleet Lane. It's about a 20 min walk to The Ship or the Kings Arms (still open?). We've had some very peaceful evenings there !

Now that must have been special, Dan! I just refuse to obey the pub's notice there if the tide is ebbing furiously; if you get it wrong you're looking at a disaster. Mooring stern on there at any other time is not for the faint-hearted!

Keith, Hi. What an enchanting tale of the nether hours! I could make quite a few 'punnies' on 'knocking' ... but won't! I used to have night cramps on Friday Girl 2 but found that eating a banana for supper would cure it. "Bananas can help because leg cramps can be caused by low potassium levels. Eating a banana or even drinking a glass of milk will raise your potassium and lower your chance of having leg cramps" Give it a go!

Thursday, 29 August 2013 I awoke to a typically Norfolk Broads misty morning at 06.30. Not to worry, we aren’t intending to depart until 10’ish because Grau, our final stopover, is only an hour or so away. I did mention earlier a list of things you might bring if you came this way and we’ve added a few more which might be useful: Fold up bikes (if you either have them or have room for them). If not you can hire bikes quite easily here and they would give you a much wider radius of exploration. Books, if you like to read for relaxation, would be very useful. A wheelie-bag for shopping if you’re into the heavier items we tend to buy. Things we’ve not needed: VHF radio, they don’t answer you anyway here in Friesland! (But one would be very useful elsewhere in Holland, for locks and marinas). Lifejackets (but this is a personal choice) because we’ve always moored side-on to a fixed jetty. Except for very small children the Dutch just don’t use them. It’s now coming on for 8 o’ clock and the viz has picked up a bit; I’m sure it will be fine by 10. It was! And so on to Grau, our final stopover. Another tight mooring spot but yet again passers-by took a line without being asked, all very friendly. Here are a few pics of this very old sea-minded town. The workmanship on the Wherry moored nearby us is amazing, where there’s wood it’s varnished and everywhere else is polished. The sail-raising gearing is a masterpiece of old-fashioned engineering! She was built in 1920 and is a credit to her owners. Somewhere in there is one just for Lori! The last pic is of this very old fashioned hotel we are sat in at the moment (20.15 here). It's a real throwback to the '20s!

I do hope you don't laugh too much at his "funny" moorings, June!

, No, frankly, I can't! :naughty:

Now onto today where we left Joure at 08.30 and stopped at a riverside mooring later on for breakfast when we found an empty space. These moorings are superb and nearly all have access to a well-maintained footpath which follows the river; ideal for country walker types! We had planned to stopover in Terherne but there was nowhere apart from two yards to moor; so we carried on to Akkrum. We're so pleased we did! It's a cracking little place and we found a delightful old Dutch guy (by my standards) running his bar at lunchtime who spoke no English. Amazingly enough he managed to pick up most of my Dutch (I wasn't writing it) and we had a delightful half hour in his company. He was a big fan of our Royalty and knew all about their love of horses. Now I’ll have a (little) rant at BR; here’s how it should be done! Express trains hurtle past our moorings (on time) every 20 minutes or so (hopefully not through the night) and immediately they have passed the bridge swings open until the next one is due to arrive. It’s all controlled remotely and they have cctv cameras covering both sides of the bridge. “Hardstikke Lekker” or ‘Pretty damned good’! Here’s yet another for you, Dan, they do seem to like ‘em! Also a private island for Robin! And the tugboat with a miniature one towed behind for the children. (It actually works)!

Alan, yes you're right, Broom Chris is a gem, but I cannot understand why Broom don't put the Broom Cupboard close to the petrol pumps, unless it would make delivery a problem. Chris was saying there is not much trade and he has had to stop selling perishables because of them going out of date, milk, butter and the like. Just imagine as a cruiser pulls up for fuel and wifey says we could do with some of this that or the other, you know what they're like. To me anyway the Broom Cupboard is out sight and out of mind to passing trade. Just a thought. And you're completely right, Keith! We've moored at bells next door on and off for over 30 years and we've never even heard of the Broom Cupboard....

Thanks, Alan. I'll check it when we're next onboard Friday Girl (in 10 days!) and let you know.

Great pics, John. Here's one I took in Lemmer at the weekend... a V-four! Not as impressive as your T'Bird but it does have that aura about it!

Keith, Hi from us. Where did the good fish and chips come from, please?

I bow and scrape........ you assume correctly but who's your translator? Mine is only in my head and though my Dutch vocabulary is reasonable I don't make any claims on my spelling! (and the Dutch do pronounce a 'g' as an 'h', hence my mistake).

I knew you'd be able to recognise it, Dan! Tony B, who works out of Brooms' yard is refurbishing Friday Girl's windows while we're away... I'm very hopeful that he's not following this blog and getting any ideas!

You managed to locate the yard, Alan?

Alan, Hi. It was over 100 metres long; I recollect about 115 and its weight was over 3,500 tons. Whether that was empty or not I'm not sure. (And yes, they do put the weight in tons, not tonnes, over here on commercial traffic).

I really feel for you on this one, Dave (and welcome aboard from us).

I'm not sure, Clive; could you knock one up for 60 grand?