tazman

As this was our last full night, the kids enjoyed some extra long playtime in the Arcades and even Gary got involved where he also spent a little while playing on the 2p machines! (at one stage his reaction to winning a game was quite amusing!) We had a very nice meal, before we headed to a table near to our boat, on which we were rejoined by Jim and Linda, who we had previously met at Thurne Dyke. We had to hand back Fair Freedom by 9am, as our trip finishes today, so everyone is up early and we depart The New Inn at seven thirty am. A short motor around to Freedom's yard and a somewhat tricky mooring is completed without too much trouble. Then it's time to finish the cleaning which we had previously started yesterday and begin offloading all of our luggage etc ready to head back home and the strains of "normality!" This has been an eventful trip and one which we will definately remember for a long time to come, with the drama's at the start, the memories of the encounter with the Albion, as well as all the fun my kids enjoyed at the various pub's we visited. We will definately be back on the broads again soon for another trip!

After mooring, Gary and I had a walk downstream to say hello to those we had passed on "Lady of Freedom" who were enjoying some english sunshine as they hadn't seen much in Scotland! Then it was time to take the kids for a walk upto the bridge inn for some lunch and fun on the Arcade machines. We later returned to the boat before heading back to the Bridge Inn a few hours later for dinner. Gary wasn't feeling too good at this stage as he was suffering from drinking more than he was used to the previous evening!!! THURS We pulled away from Acle a little bit later than planned, but the departure was fine, despite Gary's oppinion that he hadn't done as well as he'd hoped! We motored east towards the Stracy Arms looking for an ideal place to turn around, which we did so near to the engineering works between The Stracey and Acle Bridge. This time, The turn came-off much better than it had on monday when Gary got a bit confused about which way to turn the wheel when going astern! (not to mention getting caught out a little by the wind & tide!) Going up river, the initial plan was to turn onto the Bure and eventually head into Ranworth (Berths allowing). However the broads appear to be so busy this year, that upon arriving at around 11am we are greeted with the sight of Ranworth's main moorings being completely full, as well as all the Island's moorings also being taken with moored boats!!! Not only that, there appeared to be at least another ten or so cruisers "mudweighting", appearing to be standing by to "up anchor" and head in whenever a berth appeared. So our stand-by port of call at South Walsham was our next destination. Whilst motoring round towards south walsham we could see BOTH the "Albion" and "The White Moth" in the distance, with the latter heading into South Walsham. By the time we got down to South Walsham's Broad, there was The White Moth, tacking back & forth on the main broad itself! Like Ranworth, even here all the moorings were already taken! So now our options are becoming very limited and it looks like we will be heading either to Salhouse or even back to the yard itself for tonight! A short time later, Gary suddenly engages full astern! I ask him why he has done so, when he shouts out "THAT GREAT BIG BLACK THING!" and points forward; I turn around and see the albion very close to us (that close I could have shaken the skippers hand!) A few hours later, after waiting for a trip boat to turn in the river we are into Salhouse Broad. We head in to moor stern-to, (Gary should be good at this as he does it all the time when sailing) however we successfully moor at the second attempt after Gary decided to "Go around" when not happy with his initial line of approach. A few hours of relaxing after a phone-call to Steve (To book our table and arrange collection by car from the car-park) and we are walking through the woods in torrential rain (For some reason, it always seems to rain when I visit Salhouse Broad!). Steve collects us in the Car and we are soon enjoying a fantastic meal in "The Bell Inn" Martin (My son) has a second helping of crumble for the second year running! The food here is the best of our trip. Later it's another car ride back to the car park where we walk back to the boat, through the woods, avoiding the many frogs and puddles which have been brought-about by the night's rainfall. FRIDAY I'm up early again and managed to capture the sight of all of the local birds sleeping in some apparent segregation! Today we got things started a little later than previously as we are only heading a short distance to "The New Inn" at Horning where we will be having both Lunch & Dinner. We arrive earlier than planned and begin our mooring, with Gus on the quay-side pointing out where he would like us to moor. Gary misjudges his turn and we arrive further down river than we'd all have liked but, when we did eventually run astern to moor, Gary once again did really well and we are soon tied up with no drama's. Later after eating lunch, we find that Gus had moved our boat to his original planned berth by cleverly using the tide and the ropes of our boat to good effect, meaning he didn't have to trouble us for the keys or even start the engine!

Soon after completing the repair to the propulsion system, Andy returned with some heavier spanners etc and a few spares for our prop shaft leak. He had the repair completed amazingly quickly, - We have always been very impressed with him and his boatyard and this proves so even more. Both problems was definately nothing which neither Andy or ourselves could have forseen nor avoided as it was one of those things which could have easily gone wrong at any stage. Despite his brilliant efforts to get us repaired and ready for departure, time was now against us so we took the descision to stay in Thurne Dyke for another night as it was coming upto One O'Clock and given the distances planned we would be lucky to get a berth anywhere else at this time. (having originally planned to head towards Acle) So the rest of Sunday was spent with a combination of relaxation, a walk to the Lion Inn for a spot of Lunchtime refreshments, followed by a really nice evening meal. At the Lion Inn, there is a large "family room" which has a large quantity of toys and games for children, including a GIANT connect four! The portions were of really good size and even the "kids meals" were really quite substantial. In the Afternoon we met up with Jim and Linda (least I think it was Linda - apologies if it wasn't!) who moored up thier small sailer just along from our boat and then promptly moved thier boat down to join ours and create a bit more space further up. We got chatting to them and found that they are regulars on the broads and come sailing every year for a number of weeks. They were very nice people and joined us for drinks after dinner and had coffee aboard with us following our meal. Animated discussions were held which went on until late into the evening before we all retired to our beds and Jim and Linda returned to thier sailer next door. MONDAY After much relaxing on Sunday, we decided to move-on with our boat now fully repaired and all systems again functioning normally, thanks to the excellent service recieved from Andy & freedom cruises. By the time we went to pull out of Thurne in the morning, it was alot more quieter than when we arrived and our first depature on "our own" went very well with no major drama's! Our plan for the day is to head down river to the Stracey Arms windpump for lunctime, or mid morning, before heading back up to pull in to the Bridge Inn - Acle. The river is again very busy and Gary is having fun on the wheel avoiding all those vessels which are being unpredictable, but seems to judge the sailing craft's movements well as he is usually a "yachtie" himself. It doesnt seem very long before we arrive at the Stracy Arms pump and lets hope this approach goes to plan - IT DOES! a much less hassled arrival than our previous attempt and we demonstrate how it is usually done. Now for a short walk to the shop at the Wind-Pump. The kids & Gary all chose something from the shops. Later on we find Gary is outside Baby-sitting Karl on a swing who has fallen asleep on it! Thats Karl Not Gary! After a spot of lunch we leave our berth before finding a place to turn Fair Freedom, which is a little tricky because of a strong crosswind! finally the bow comes around and we are off again up river for the short journey back to Acle. On arriving at Acle we find that all the berths are taken already and it's only lunchtime! There was opportunity to moor stern-to next to Horizon Craft/Bridgecraft's yards but with the strong crosswind, Gary decides that he may give this one a miss as he is inexperienced at reversing such a craft. So we take the descision to head further up-river to the Dog Inn - Ludham Bridge. Upon navigating the tight confines near to Ludham bridge, it becomes apparent that this too is completely full as well! The broads are Heaving this year! So it's further up the Ant we go and set plans to head towards Stalham, with Richardson's yard being our fall-out option. Going up past Ursted Church on the narrow sections it seems that Richardson's yard is having a major turnaround day with all the oncoming traffic we pass - Gary does a brilliant job in confined spaces! Once we get to Stalham, We do end up putting into Richardson's yard which is unsuprisingly quite empty! We opt for a stern-to berth in the north-eastern corner of the yard next to reception and maintenance. Conditions here are less windy and the mooring is done without a hitch. Later we take a long walk into town, passing Tesco and St Mary's before eating in the Swan Inn. TUESDAY On Tuesday we weigh up our options and decide that we would go into town for some brief shopping at tesco's before returning to the boat and considering our options on where we could go to. We considered Sutton but eventually decided to spend a day relaxing in Stalham as the town was nice and we had a good berth (on experience we may end up with endless motoring trying to get to different places only to find them full) As were decided to stay in Stalham We took the short walk to visit the nearby "Museum of the Broads" A warm welcome on arrival and we find that the whole family (Three adults & Five Children) were admitted for a mere £14!!! most excellent value, especially when considering the size of the place. Not only this but each of the children was given a hand-held audio device which when passing a number on an exhibit, they press it an an audio description of the exhibit in front of them is played through the speaker on the handheld! A Brilliant concept which the kids loved. Gary did some boat cleaning in the afternoon and took things a little too far when I found he had borrowed a bucketful of fairy liquid from the cleaners office!! We returned twice to the Swan Inn, once for lunch and again at dinner time where the food was excellent and the publican most obligingly helpful, despite an obvious shortage of staff for the evening, meant he was even doing some waitoring duties too, and was the one to bring us our food! Gary decided to "let his hair down" a little and had alot to drink (for him anyway - he is usually a tee-totaller back home!) He admitted the following morning that he had probably exceeded his own limit as he apparently felt quite ill by the time it was bedtime! Over dinner, I noticed that there was a very nice poster on the wall of the Pub, which potrayed "The Rat Pack" playing pool - a copy of it might make an excellent addition to my wall at home! Gary and I later discussed our plans for the following day which involved an early departure so we could guarantee a quieter passage down the Ant and additionally a Berth near to the Bridge Inn - Acle. WEDNESDAY Gary seemed to take a little longer to get himself going when we woke him this morning, which was when he admitted he might have had a little too much to drink! Seems a couple of Glasses of wine and he's anyones! Engine checks complete and weed filters cleaned (they were pretty much empty anyway but always best to keep them tidy) we depart at our planned time and pretty much had the river to ourself until we were past Barton Broad, when it was starting to get a little later and people were beginning thier days movements. As we get further down river towards Acle it becomes aparent that either there are alot of people going to the Bridge Inn - but hopefully some of those vessels ahead of us are going to be heading onward towards Great Yarmouth. Running at engines full ahead we slowly overtake some of those vessels we are following which includes another from our own hire yard - she is called "Lady of Freedom". We later discover that they too are also heading towards Acle and pull into a berth behind us when we arrive at the Acle Bridge moorings. We find a berth which is about a five minute walk to the Bridge Inn and put into it. Gary again does well on the helm despite again being a little tense about things, mooring again is trouble free.

We had arrived at Freedom's yard after driving through some quite horrible rainy weather to brightening skies. Unload both my car and that of gazpode's little accent and we are all ready to pull "Fair Freedom" out of the yard. A full brief follows with the engineer who runs through all the usual items and then it's out onto the river. Once happy the helm is handed over to gazpode (who is our pilot/helmsperson for this trip as Martin who usually comes with us has a major project on at work and is unable to join us this time) A quick trip past the "Ferry Inn" and then its time we turn our boat around in order to drop off the engineer back to the yard. We pull into the moorings at the end of the yard and wave goodbye to the engineer and then chug off down river towards "Thurne" our destination for today. En-route down the river, it is as busy as one would expect for August and we have to give way occasionally to some sailing vessels, some of which are tacking back & forth across the river! Before long, Thurn Dyke begins to appear within view, but before we are going to turn into the Dyke we have to first avoid two more yachts which are in front of us. Behind one which has just Tacked and then a quick blast of throttle to go behind the second. Turn in and then give Gaz the command to throttle back and into slow astern, so that we can begin to line up for the spot which ive identified for mooring up. However when asked, it appears gaz has it in full ahead! Check on where the lever is and it's actually full astern, yet the boat appears to be gathering pace! We are now hurtling down Thurne Dyke at around 7 knots and somehow, Gaz manages to steer the boat and avoids a collision with any of the boats which are already moored up on both sides!!! As we reach the end of the dyke there is an area around the pumping station which is free and I tell Gaz to steer the boat towards this area so that I can jump off...Which I do, taking the bow-line with me. Then, using every bit of strength I manage to bring Fair Freedom to a full stop, (however in the process my trousers began to partially fall down, but not all the way, meaning I only ended up giving the whole of Thurne Dyke a "Partial Moon"!!!) Then once the bow-line was secured on the shore, we manage to kill the engine, and then turn the boat around using some spare bits of long line and the lines already fitted to the boat, and align the boat alongside, Starboard-side-to facing back towards the river, and then afterwards Gaz sorts out the springs so the boat will not float out into the river and will also be held in position. A quick investigation later and it becomes clear that the boat had become Jammed in Full Throttle Foward position! A call to the yard follows and we discuss the problem with the engineer which we then identify as a sheared pin on the gear selection/throttle system. We were actually heading to Thurne anyway and are now safely moored so we arrange for the engineer to visit in the morning, before we head to "The lion Inn" for dinner. The dramas do not end there! As we arrived back to our boat followng a very nice & filling meal, we are told by a man fishing that he can hear our bilge pump running! Both myself and Gaz consult the manual and look around for the pump switches which we are unable to find following an exhaustive search. We then had no option but to call the yard again to ask them about it. A call back from Andy who tells us that the pump is auto only and there is a method to turning it off, by pressing a button deep in the bilge, which we achieve using our boat-hook. A noisy night with repeated interuptions follows, and I am now worried as to why the pump keeps activating. I will have to ask Andy about this in the morning, when he arrives to repair the Throttle problem.

Great reply! I almost believe you.... Seriously great meeting you, and I love your abode!

Thanks Brian, from both myself and Martin.........High praise indeed! Well my kids make me smile everyday even at 5am! Here's to next years trip!

We got talking to the crew on one of Ricko's boats next to us after we noticed their emergency repairs to the gel-coat. (It appears that they were clobbered up the stern by one of the Horizon boats down at Acle...) (The Broads equivalent of a blue on blue encounter!) The impact was hard enough to throw one of the crew down the length of the boat. A 999 call for a paramedic for an injury because of a boat smash was apparently responded to with a paramedic, and ambulance, a police car and two fire engines... We call the pilot and there is so little traffic coming north on a Friday afternoon that he actually walks up to take us south. We drop him off on the starboard side just after the bridge and carry on down to Wroxham Broad. Here the skipper decides that we can let the kids have a session at the helm, using the flagged buoys in the broad to give them something to steer for (playing slalom) First the two who are allowed to do it on their own are given a go with supervision right at hand... Their sister is a natural but the skipper is actually still in charge (as she is under eight) And Ryan is allowed to see what it would be like from the skipper's lap After a few trips back and forth across the broad, picking our route to avoid the yacht that is also tacking up the broad, and the day boats that just don't know where they are going we are off down the Bure again. One of our junior forum members does his bit to attract attention to the flag! j The river is a bit busier now We eventually arrive at Horning and line up to reverse into our reserved mooring at the New Inn (our seventh and last Broadland pub for this cruise) and Guz is on hand to help us in. Up to the bar for a round and bring the drinks back and sit on the boat watching the boats go by.... And feed an overseas visitor who cruises by Then into the pub for our final night meal... Finishing up with the last ice cream of the trip!

Off we go again, up into the upper reaches of the Bure, into unexplored territory for me as we didn't get through Wroxham bridge last year. Plenty of room at the Viaduct moorings the other side of the railway bridge. Very scenic up here reminds me of the upper Ant, going up to Dilham but a lot wider.... We knicknamed this bit "Goose Green"... Passing through Beulagh we saw a survivor from the BBC's filming of "The Big Six" (was that really filmed back in 1983!) Coming up towards Coltishall it gets a bit shallow near the bank, you can tell from the cow but the goose is also standing up! shallow.jpg Into the expanse of Coltishall Common and plenty of room to moor-up and let the kids play around. Our junior crew-member seem to think his siblings have shrunk!

Up early (as usual) and Martin disappears with the dog for a while. Once the kids are up it is Bacon Butties for breakfast. Martin has disappeared again, someone who's little daughter rode her bike down from the car park is struggling to get her, her bike, their own bikes and their other clobber back to the car park so he seems to have ended up carrying the kid's bike for them. "Prisma" calls in to say goodbye as they are heading off down river. The kids have seen an old friend from last year and call him over... They are also decreasing the bread supply feeding a baby coot and its mother (someone had a late brood this year) I took a quick shot of the inside of the cabin and what would you give as a title for this shot? Ok Martin has called the pilot at Wroxham and we need to go pretty sharpish. Coming up on Wroxham bridge and there is another boat already waiting on the pilot pontoon, so we have to moor in front of them, there is just about enough room (our bow is actually under the footbridge!) The pilot takes that one off so we can walk the boat back on the ropes (I'm getting used to doing this sort of manouvre now) and then its our turn. The pilot then does a stern-to parking at the Hoveton moorings, and we can slip up to Roy's for some essential supplies.

We took the kids to the Ranworth Visitors Centre last year and they loved it so much that they definitely wanted to go back again this year. The downstairs is a shop with wildlife related items (which may keep mummy happy, as long as she is there without the kids saying "please mummy") and a feely table with various wildlife artefacts that the kids find amazing. But upstairs they have all sorts of things to amuse little visitors (jigsaw, drawing items, etc.) Someone managed to get something out of Mum, without even being able to talk yet! Back to the Staithe and let the kids get the rods out, or go and run about on the grass. Some of the boys off one of the other boats have set up a cricket wicket on the green, one problem with that here is that three of the boundaries are the edge of the staithe, it made for some interesting techniques in recovering their tennis ball from the water. Between the boats was easy, it was the dinghy dyke that gave them the most problems! (I did see the Skipper get one of his long lines out and throw the end over to the otherside so that they could drag it along the dyke to recover a ball at one stage!) Ian (Palmtree) came in again with the two ladies (Gertie and Tilda) for a quick walk ashore (and to do the necessaries!). Two sisters on long leads can get everbody into a tangle quite quickly, especialy when trying to catch each others tails! ( I did find it amusing to hear Ian's new "control" command of "LADIES!") We got talking to a nice couple on "Antares of Orwell" next to us, a nice salty bottom boat that was paying a short visit to the broads. Among other things they mentioned the problem of having a holding tank with no pump out facility, which meant heading out to sea to do a dump every so often... (Now that could become a real problem if the tides were wrong to get through the Bure bridges at Yarmouth!) The skipper bought the kids a football in the local shop (a bad idea as there was water on three sides and it was a choice of putting the ball away or making the kids wear their life jackets!), so the ball want away until we found a better spot to use it! We left Ranworth after lunch and made our way up towards Horning again looking at some lovely properties as we did so... And we met some heavy traffic on the way! For the first time this trip we made it past the Freedom dyke without turning in and continued up through Horning village to Salhouse Broad.

Off we go again, down the dyke to the river for the third time this trip. It is just about lunchtime so we are heading down to Ranworth in the hope that we can get in there as the "lunchtime stoppers" pull out. Oh it is still rammed, so it is a case of dropping the mud-weight or going over to the Ranworth Island moorings and tying up there for a while. The island will let us let the kids (and dog) off for a run around. It is very windy so Martin takes her in side on and we then pull her round to stern on using the ropes again. Ah-ha he has her positioned so that he can see the staithe from the bow and keep an eye out for any movement. Martin is off taking lines from some other boats who are finding the conditions a bit hairy and I can make friends with some of the local birds and a heron decides to stroll past me.. Ah Martin is back just as I've made friends with an Egyptian... He reckons it is time to go! We motor off towards the staithe and just as we approach one of the boats shouts "Leaving in a minute!" Lucky or what! Out she comes and in we go for our THIRD stern-to parking manouvre of the day (OK we cheated a bit over on the island!)allowing for the drift and getting the stern in close enough to pass the lines over to our neighbours. We are in and I can slip over to the shop/post office and pick up the fishing licence that I forgot to get before we came and then we can break out the rods and introduce the kids to the art of fishing. Tonight we will be going to our fourth Broadland pub, The Maltsters. Martin has been over to book the table and has brought a menu back so we can have our order ready when we go over. What is this a choice of a 10oz rump steak for £10 or so or a 20 oz for a fiver more. Will I...? Oh yes lets super size it! (and make sure we have some doggy bags with us for any remainders).

The wind has really got up today and now I found out why Martin had really come all the way down here. A big empty bit of mooring and a nice wide river, a couple of fifty foot lines (that he had brought with him) and we are about to "wind ship", i.e. turn her around using the ropes. The tide on the flood and a wind wipping down against it. The river is getting choppy! Martin works out that the tide will effect the boat more than the wind so its a case of rig a line from the port midships back to the stern and shore, undo the bow line and shove her bow off whilst pulling in on the port stern line. Then once the bow starts to move up stream with the tide walk the stern downstream and pull in on the midships line to complete the turn. All aboard and we set off back up river. We reach our third Broadland Pub, The Bridge Inn at Acle (for the second time today) but this time there is about an 80ft section of mooring free so we can go straight in. The kids liked the Bridge Inn amusements last year but this time it appears that the quad bike track is out of action with bits of the safety bumpers missing. Oh well they can still play on some of the other games. Our table is in the "Kiln Room" the big circular thatched extension bit and we have our meal and its back to the boat again. Another boat has squeezed into the space behind us and the lights from the pub are streaming through the fence to give her a "zebra" effect...

The sign on the Staithe gives the position of our second Broadland pub, the Kings Arms, but not the phone number. Then we remember that they will probably have an advert in the "Broadcaster" magazine and we soon have the number, and book our table. A short walk up to the village and we have a round of drinks in the bar whilst waiting for our table to be ready. Into the restaurant, and the train buzzing around overhead keeps the kids amused for a few minutes... A nice meal follows and then the kids ask for ice-cream as a desert.. Back to the boat and switch on the TV and a DVD to amuse the kids... 30 minutes later the TV switches itself off... The Inverter batteries are flat?

The skipper rigged the spring line and gave a brief explanation of the departure plan and then I let go the bow and stern lines and get ready to slip the spring. The boat goes astern, the bow starts to swing out but not enough to clear the boat in front.. A couple more tries of this and it still isn't working so I hop ashore and take a turn around the post and hold it that way. Back she comes, out goes the bow and Martin is off... OK so I'm 40 feet behind him, he is sitting on the port side steering, the engine is clattering away, the wind is blowing my voice away, and the mooring line is whipping away from me "MARTIN!!!" I can't hold the line and have to let go! "MARTIN!!!" He can't hear me! So now Fair freedom is too far out for me to jump back aboard so I dash up to the boat ahead and try to get on from there but she is already past it, so I go for the next boat ahead but too late again.. Back to the dyke and I can't catch up before she reaches the end of the dyke with 20ft of line trailing behind her.. "MARTIN DONT REVERSE!!!". To late, Martin selects astern and the rope tail suddenly gets shorter! The engine is still reving but the pnumatic drive isn't turning the prop any more....I get around to the other side of the dyke in time for Martin to throw me the bow line and one of his long spare lines from the stern and we pull her into the north bank. Well we have turned her around but not it the way we had hoped to.... A rather sheepish looking skipper reaches for his mobile phone to break the bad news to the boatyard.... "They are bringing another boat up to tow us to somewhere where they can lift the boat out"... After about an hour we see "Absolute Freedom" arrive at the end of the dyke and the boatyard crew inform us that they want to walk "Fair" down the dyke using the lines and will set up the tow once we get alongside "Absolute". Between the four of us whe manage this manouvre fairly easily and with bow and stern lines and springs rigged we are off down river heading for "Le Boat" at Horning where they have a hoist. On the way we see the only other forum flag that we saw all trip, Bobella is going down the Bure near the abbey. Unfortunately we still have the TV ariel up rather than the flag staff.. As we pass the abbey one of the rangers hails us from the bank "Is one of you disabled?" "Yes, we aren't doing this for fun!". As we approach Horning we need to get ready to switch from towing alongside, to line astern, as the dykes aren't wide enough for two boats abreast. We will also need to swing right across the river to make the turn, and the downstream traffic is heavy. The boatyard lads call for assistance to hold up the oncoming traffic and Andy comes out with the Horning Ferry and some bad news... "The hoist in Le Boat is ok but they are worried about the state of the quay that it is sitting on and aren't actually using it themselves these days..." "I think we better take her back to Freedom and see what we can do ourselves" Getting two 40ft plus boats one behind the other around a turn into a tight dyke wasn't going to prove easy and eventually it was achieved by a combination of the manouvrability of the ferry and having "Fair's" mudweight dragging astern to stop her swinging around. Slowly the procession of vessels gets back to Freedom and "Fair" is warped in stern-on to the quay she left only yesterday. There the engineers start to make use of that large engine hatch, moving bits and pieces to get to the weed hatch. A small splash and a muttered curse indicates that he has just dropped a spanner in the bilges but the crew of "Fair" have come prepared and have even brought a magnetic retriever with them and the spanner is easily recovered! One of the engineers notices the sound of running water down in the aft cabin and lifts the invertor batteries out to discover that the stern gland is now leaking. A battle with various stiltson wrenches sorts that out whilst his mate is still working on the prop wrap. Weed hatch open, and a sharp knife is at work on the prop wrap, whilst Andy shows off his splicing skills rigging a replacement stern line. An hour or so later and everything is back together and we are ready to go out again, a marvelous bit of work from the Freedom team! Now all they have to do is finish getting "Absolute" ready for her new crew who are due in about another hour...

04:30 and its the "Waaa I'm awake and hungry".. I'm determined to get some good sunrise shots this trip, Karl will make sure that I'm up! The skipper is up and taking the dog and camera for a walk. Oops the dog doesn't want to go past the end of the dyke so the skipper is back to drop the dog off, and off with the camera on his own... The rest of the kids are obviously awake and creating mayhem in the boys' cabin! Now to try for a panorama shot. Ok you photo buffs, why does the bit with the boat come out curved?