Hockham Admiral

What fantastic workmanship!

Hi, Kugabe and Welcome Aboard! There'll be three of us moored up at Reedham over the weekend if you make it there. All Alpha 35's, 2 forward drive and 1 centre cockpit, and hope to be outside The Lord Nelson. You'll be welcome!

Back in '81 we had a Colvic 30 and were stuck in Lincoln wanting to go under the Glory Hole.............. As it's non-tidal (locks both ways) we did indeed flood the bilges to about half way up the engine........ However it was a brand new boat and the bilges were squeaky clean! I certainly wouldn't do it with this Friday Girl!

Blue-Tooth?

Welcome aboard, Chris! At least you'll have a relatively quiet time with spaces to moor, I hope. And with Gold Gem you'll be able to get under ALL the bridges!

There are plenty of moorings up-river along the grass banks for £3/night, I recollect.

Poppy, I think you'd be surprised just how many of us there are who CAN get under bridges...........

Gav, Hi. If it wasn't so serious a matter I would almost think that the inmates had finally taken over............

OK, OK, I give in........... what's a CLAXON???

Thanks, Lori. Gav took the pic during the 4th celebrations! F-G was the only non-sea going boat there.

Those two men deserve some commendation for their bravery! The Yare at Reedham ain't for the weak-hearted.........

If you can moor at the Staithe then Horning is well worth a visit, because then you can choose either the Swan or the New Inn. We've eaten in both in the last fortnight and have had no complaints! Alternatively you can call ahead and book a mooring at the New Inn; free if you eat there. The butcher's shop is well worth a visit... her home-cured bacon is most highly recommended!

I must agree with Jill... The Ferry House at Surlingham will be a hard act to follow, especially with six of you!

Mark, Hi You forgot the breakfasts! There's a notice in the window from Enterprise Inns, dated Oct 6th, which says that they've been in to "secure the premises only, NOT to withdraw the lease". So I guess they're going to try to find someone who will pay their over-inflated lease prices!

Highside, Hi. How much per litre did they charge you?

Across where, Jonny?

It's even windier now!

You wouldn't want to get your cozzy on for that, Lori!

I was going to yesterday afternoon, Lori, but read my penultimate paragraph... Thursday morning and it’s off to Coltishall…. a slow cruise at 1200rpm to view the wildlife en-route. And why are the moorings at Hoveton Great Broad still closed? Approaching Wroxham Bridge we see 6ft 6ins on the board and under we go (Rod says it’s OK at that and it was!). The bridge did look quite close as we went under. The River Ranger told us that the Bure was navigable up to the head of navigation as the water level is quite high at the moment after the strong NW winds of late (beyond the Rising Sun). Back to Wroxham Bridge… Friday morning and the board showing between 6ft and 6ft 3ins; so we’re not going anywhere just yet! Lunchtime there was 6ft 3ins and the Pilot starts to take a few Alpha FD’s through for a while. The BA ranger later told me that the Pilot had snagged the bridge. When we woke up on Saturday morning the board was reading between 6ft 3ins and 6ft 6ins on a rising tide; so it’s “Hey Ho and off we goâ€â€¦. Gosh, the bridge did look very close this time with the board showing just over 6ft 3ins! So it’s on to Burgh Castle catching the flood just after the Thurne Mouth. Going through Gt Yarmouth at half tide is quite exciting! I was throttled back to 1050rpm to give me decent steerage but we whistled past the moorings getting a smile and a wave from the Quay Rangers! Then it was up to 1750 rpm (the maximum I ever use) and an hour’s slog to Burgh castle against a strong tide. The Fisherman’s was still open and we had an interesting chat with Jan for an hour. We then stayed overnight there for an early departure to Oulton Broad on Sunday morning. We arrived at OBYS on a rainy morning yesterday and were most grateful when Peter and Gerry turned up to tie us on. We moored stern-on on the west-facing side of the floating pontoon, which seemed like a good idea at the time. We later saw Clare and promised to meet up in Broadview at lunchtime. 2.30pm and we were just about to leave Broadview when Luke, Clare, R&R and Mason arrived….that put paid to that idea for another hour and a half! Overnight and the wind has blown up to a good F4-5 gusting 6 straight down Oulton Broad towards our bows!

Quite so, David. That huge bow-wave one often sees is simply, in aeronautical terms, "drag" and increases directly in proportion to the square of the speed... (Help, please, Rod!).

Our “Indian Summer†holiday actually started a week ago last Wednesday when Mary-Jane took me for a 3-day Birthday-Break to “The Moorhen†in Horning. We arrived via Burgh St Peter where we dropped off clothes and food for our fortnight’s cruise immediately after leaving Horning. The Moorhen is a B&B on Lower Street facing the Staithe (see pic from our bedroom window) and we cannot but wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who wants a simply superb retreat! The breakfasts were a culinary delight! We had three meals out, Tuesday at the New Inn, Wednesday at The Swan and Thursday at the Bure River Cottage Fish Restaurant. At the New Inn we had an old favourite, Steak and Stilton pie. Wednesday night is Steak Night at the Swan and we both had the sirloin steak, excellent value at £29.95 for two and a bottle of wine! The 9oz sirloins were cooked perfectly and much enjoyed. Thursday night was a Birthday present from Son and Daughter-in-Law and Mary-Jane had a smoked salmon starter followed by scallops in a wonderful garlic and herb butter. I made do with Tiger Prawns in garlic butter with crusty bread followed by a whole grilled plaice with shrimp butter and vegetables; truly delicious! During Thursday we drove over to Woodbastwick to pick up the winnings from the Woodforde’s Wherry Trail; you visit 60 pubs and get a numbered stamp in each to win a 36 pint polypin of Woodforde’s… we chose the “Sundewâ€, which is going down very nicely! Friday morning and off to the WRC to pick up Friday Girl. We left at 10.20 and pushed the flood to Reedham where we had to dramatically reduce revs to keep within the speed limits! We arrived at Coldham Hall at 13.30 in time for a couple of pints before closing! Later in the afternoon Gav and Annie and Wayne and Tracey arrived. Saturday……….. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Sunday morning saw the sun shining as ever and we slipped our mooring at 10.00 to arrive at Reedham Ferry for lunchtime beers. The moorings are much improved now that the geese are departed and chicken-wire is nailed to the jetty walkways. After lunch I called an old chum who we haven’t seen for over 3 years and he turned up later on with his wife and children. The ladies and children had assorted alcoholic and fizzy drinks while Martin and I had two pints of our Sundew each onboard and then sat outside the pub for a couple of Old Sharpies! (Which is labelled as Ferryman’s for the pub). In the evening it was time for a bucket of mussels for me and strips of steak in a mushroom sauce for Mary-Jane. Monday morning was fine and bright and we left the Ferry at 08.30 to arrive at Gt Yarmouth at 10.10 using only 1200rpm. 1.30hr AFTER LW and the flood still hadn’t started on the Bure… I have always taken slack water at 1.00hr after LW with a pinch of salt and again proved it so. The flood finally caught up with us approaching the Stracey Arms and we passed by a very quiet looking Bridge Inn at 12.10 narrowly avoiding a mini-floating island enroute! Our destination, Womack Water, was quite crowded when we arrived at 13.10 and by mid afternoon was so full that numerous boats turned away… in October! We were told that Ranworth, our next destination, had been full for the last few days; so we opted to spend a further day at Ludham before arriving at Boulter’s, in Horning, for our engine servicing on Wednesday morning (at 08.30!). Leaving Sonny’s we found, amazingly, a spare slot on the Staithe immediately outside The Moorhen! Wednesday again and so another steak night in The Swan. TBC

And while we're talking about fuel, Boulter's are still charging £1.10 a litre!

Howard, Hi It's the one with the Indian restaurant above it... and it's Adnams Ghost Train at the moment at £2.90 a pint! Also I forgot the Boulevard Bar. Never been in but I will try it next week as the Lady's closed... Luke confirmed this today with me.

Forgiven!!!