Polly

Yep coastguard is right.

Er... Nope can't make it!

Glad to hear she is better. We had a minor problem with a guest who, due to a chronic condition, was unable to overnight on Salhouse. We got the Nav lights out and went back to the mooring where the problem could be managed. I think the emergency services have a good grip on reaching casualties on the Broads, during the TMOR I saw a paramedic car and an ambulance at the river, goodness knows how they got there. Of course the Air Ambulance and Coastguards fly in when needed too, so the main issue is alerting them in the first place. Mobiles when we can, but that is really uncertain as you say, VHF to coastguard?

Jenny Morgan is also a rare bird.

We traded in two a 3.5 and a 4hp. The 4 tended to over rev on gear changes, I would say the 3.5 was the better of the two. Of course they will both be looked over etc by Marine Tech.

We just traded in a very nice little Mariner 3.5 to Marine Tech. Worth asking them for a price?

Two readable accounts of the battle are in Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' and Heyer's ''An Infamous Army' I'm just now reading Johnny Kincaid''s rifleman memoirs.. An interesting primary source on the Peninsular War, he was at Waterloo too but I haven't got that far. His laconic accounts could have been Griff's great great granddad talking.

I just priced a new mainsheet. Tried all of the above except Brian Ward, because I forgot them, and found that Nearest and Dearest were the best price for what I wanted. It's often a good deal there. Note to JM: this one will not be too short.

I doubt Robin has to buy a wedding dress but the same situation applies, Chinese made copies of couture dresses sell for a fraction of the price, but buyer beware, the sizing is bad and materials cheap, trims glued on rather than sewn..... In time the market will go for quality as did Japan, right now it's about getting a foothold in markets.

We wanted reliability, no.1 priority, so the Chinese option would not have been a starter. When we owned the Swift 18, lots of owners were changing over to Tohatsu and liking what they got, so although not too widely known, perhaps, I had been hearing good things for the last 5 or 6 years. Recent recommendations backed up the impression.

Cool!

Never seen a spotted mink...... Ok I will get my coat.

I think they are magnetic, myself. At 1 am they exert a force field that drags you towards them. I didn't touch any but they sure tried to get me!

We decided to get a new outboard, and after a fair bit of thought and research, ordered a Tohatsu 5 hp from Marine Tech at South Walsham. Never having seen the place other than from the broad, I was amazed at the size and scale of the operation going on behind the old boatshed. We collected the Tohatsu on Monday and traded in our old outboards. The deal went through in friendly and professional style, we were happy with all aspects of it, and would definitely recommend Marine Tech. The Tohatsu is quiet, a big point in my book and starts really easily. Another big plus point is that the gear change is on the front and much easier to access than previous outboards.

I saw one in 2008 on the tiller of our hired saily. We were getting set for the 3RR but were late over the line as we didn't want to disturb the Swallowtail, get the priorities right, I say.

That's an untapped market right there; stag night cruises to breakers yards.

Brilliant had a very defunct water system so we redesigned it. I ran new water grade hoses and bought two new tanks(aka containers). Brilliant doesn't boast showers so life aboard is more basic than on a stinky. I use a tank cleaner in spring, always fill them up from our own hose on the mooring and use a tap refilled 5l for drinking water, otherwise, tanks for cooking and teeth etc. .

Try Hay Max as a preventative? I also use Lloyds Pharmacy's Allergy machine thing, It lights up your nose like Rudolph for three minutes and desensitises for hours.

A swan?

Oh I like The Midland Hotel

Because we wear LJ most of the time, I got an extra floaty line with the aim of putting a carabiner on the end to clip on to the recovery loop on the harness. The other end is having its own block and jammer that can be snap shackled on and then used to aid recovery; in fact the MOB should be able to pull on it to help counteract ladder curve under the hull.

Undo your new floaty line and hank it yourself. Ours wouldn't unravel fast enough to be useful because so well commercially coiled, it will do so now.

We are up Monday and Tuesday so I hope it will have calmed down by then.

Have a good time and watch out for the tide!

Awesome Tim. Well done!