JennyMorgan

There are reports that a boat has hit Somerleyton Bridge today and that the bridge is closed to rail traffic. No details yet unless anyone knows what happened.

Would think that there could be a demand for HW picnic boats from locals, when they are sold off.

Will Herbert Wood's new picnic boats not go under at Potter? They appear to be an update on the little Hampton principle of small is useful.

Wouldn't be Argos, got to have the right label and it's got to be in cammo!

I believe so. I have long thought that an on-line Hamiltons would have a lot to commend it. Great shame that Mr Campbell let it go but then Bill did have great plans for it. If I were a younger man, and less of a computer Luddite, then I might have gone and smiled very nicely at Mr M, clutching a suitable bottle of sherbet.

Now I am confused

That all sounds horribly complicated but thanks all the same! I shall have a play, you never know, I might get my head round it.

Dog walking, that's information that our guide could include. I always feel some sympathy for newbies that are thrown in at the deep end. I know that it is all a big adventure but knowing where to moor, and alternatives if a back-up is needed, would take some of the worry away.

True, Google Earth & so on but all parties need to sing from the same hymn sheet, and have that hymn sheet available.

I'd be quite happy to do my bit. Back in Hamilton's Guide there was a good locations system and that is something that we would need to work on. There are several good, informal moorings between Oulton Broad and Somerleyton for example and sure enough I can produce photos and advice but showing the location is not so easy.

Hi John, sorry if you thought that I was picking on you, I wasn't, that was far from being my intention. However I'm sure you see the same lack of thought for others that I do. We share the 24hr moorings, it beholds us all to make best use of the spaces available but regretfully not all of us do.

The NBN mooring guide already exists in Handy Information, well worth reading it is too. However I have something more in mind. There are hundreds of informal moorings across The Broads, ones that are known to us locals and boating regulars but never mentioned in guides. A job for members?

In reality no one should have a need to move someone else's boat, that is provided people moored with more thought to others in the first place! Why not moor up against the last post, why be the first boat to moor there but then why leave a ten foot gap from that post? Why oh why do folk moor twenty foot apart on what they know will be a crowded mooring later in the day? What is so wrong in moving up?

My thoughts on this one are that having watched the sheer desperation of latecomers searching for moorings as the sun sets are not that there is a shortage of moorings as such, more that there is a mindset as to where folk can moor. I happen to think that the BA's mooring policy is about right, moorings every half hour or so, generally very good moorings too, despite the crushed concrete with its deck spoiling properties. So apart from Thurne Mouth I don't expect much more in the way of 24hr moorings. With the reduction of hire yards the once very effective reciprocal mooring agreement between hire yards is effectively dead in the water. Back to the mindset as to where folk can moor, 24hr moorings are not the only option! With a mudweight, rhond anchors and a boat that is independent of the shore the world is your oyster so to speak! At one time we could rely on Hamilton's very excellent guide for advice on moorings, perhaps it is time for a an update. Maybe the NBN on-line mooring guide?

Or the pike!

Firstly I have read back, both our contributions. Secondly, without wishing to extend what is fast becoming an argument, I'm quite happy for others to decide for themselves on this one, as is their right of course!

Like Bill I suspect that little if any money was made by the organisers, especially as just under half the hoped for competitors entered the race. I rather suspect that all the predictions were based on the hoped for 200. My gut feeling is that this event was rather forced upon both the Broads and the Authority. Certainly I see no need to criticise the Authority on this one, they did what they had to.

Bill, calm down PLEASE! I suggested, and stand by it, that the BA's involvement was paid for by the toll payer, at no time did I suggest that the toll payer, or even the Authority, paid for the event, that being rescue boats and marshals etc, that's where the entrance fee came in. Interestingly had the event been a sailing boat regatta that attracted entrants from outside the area then those entrants would have paid an 'event toll' of £12.000 which I think is entirely fair. Perhaps such a toll would be appropriate for future swims? Food for thought?

Bill, past experience shows that as much as possible, even considering the blurred accountancy of the Authority, will be charged to navigation. If we take dredging, for example, that benefits conservation hugely, wildlife as well as culture, yet I doubt that many pennies of that come from DEFRA's contribution. To suggest that the BA's involvement in the swim wasn't funded by navigation is wildly off the mark, in my opinion. Don't forget that about 50% of our toll pays for BA overheads and that about half of the BA's total income is from the tolls. I certainly don't want to fall out over this but please be clear, somewhere along the line toll money will have been used. Not wasted, I hasten to add, the Authority was duty bound to be involved, but nevertheless I doubt that the swim organisers will have financed the BA's involvement in any way despite it being a commercial venture, that is in them being a limited company.

Regretfully, Fred, we now live in a world where some companies, even small ones, benefit more from the charity that they purport to support than do the intended beneficiaries that us donors would hope. Yes, it does create bitterness, you are absolutely right, hence the growing need for transparency by the charities involved.

Bill, you have been on this planet long enough to know that in general asking organisers or organisations a question will elicit the answer that best suits their agenda or aspirations. Whilst I see no harm in asking I also see no harm in asking outside of the box so to speak. If people want to ask questions on the forum then so be it, their prerogative. What I do think is a consideration is that the BA's involvement was probably funded by the toll payer and as such toll payers should be able to ask questions if they have concerns, safety or otherwise. The whole event passed off safely, perhaps 90 entrants was manageable thus a good starting point. I still have my reservations in regard to the hoped for 200 or more. Perhaps future events should be capped at 100? Lessons will have been learned, 'tis now over to the powers that be.

Even with Number Two's?

I have no doubt that the Waveney Swim has the potential to be a real earner, just as is a hire fleet so I don't see that as an issue. However, there is the small issue of urinating, boat crews are not allowed to discharge their effluent into the river so their boats are fitted with holding tanks, are swimmers similarly equipped? Of course I write in jest, I think!

Warning Screaming Children, moaning mother in-laws and barking dogs, that should ensure a vacant mooring!

Yes, plain and simple. Why else?