JennyMorgan

Thank you for clarifying that historically important point, Vaughan.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/bodies_of_man_and_woman_believed_to_be_aged_between_40_and_50_years_old_found_in_breydon_water_in_great_yarmouth_1_4716809

Re Halvergate I always thought that Friends of the Earth were the driving force in the Battle for Halvergate Marshes. The BA has had its successes, Barton Broad springs to mind. Regarding Wherries, if the Authority really wants to help the wherry cause then they might consider a zero toll for them, even as a relatively small gesture.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-norfolk-37315997

For Maud click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_(wherry) Other than that Vaughan is almost entirely right. The Authority is proving adept at taking credit for events and improvements that have happened in their time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-norfolk-37315997

Stern-to mooring is not the easiest of manouvres, especially if there is a beam wind, so I thought I'd remind folk on how to do it. Is that the famous blue boat-shed fender being retrieved?

Re the TV crews, the public appetite for tragedy is not a nice trait. Re the SOB, she was moored up on Friday morning when I went past, she was also moored up on Sunday afternoon when I went past so perhaps she's broken down, again. In any case I doubt that she'd be much use for retrieving bodies from the mud so I wouldn't read anything sinister into her absence. Like you, John, my thoughts are with the families and friends, and the folk with the unpleasant job of retrieving the bodies.

The way a great number of boats moor stern-to renders the mudweight near useless, especially those just dropped after the stern ropes have been made fast. In a nutshell if the string to the mudweight is slack then it's not doing its job.

That reminds me of a rum old character, an eel fisherman, and his 'bit on the side', Joan. We knew him as 'Deafy' and Joan as Joan, a popular pair amongst the local community. Deafy was no youngster whilst Joan must have been thirty years his junior, both were partial to a bit of hanky-panky between casting and hauling their eel pods. As was the way back then Deafy's boat was a cut down ex trawler's lifeboat, with no cabin, we all knew what was going on! Cheering him on had no effect, Deafy was deaf, so other tactics were considered. Deafy was moored alongside in Lowestoft Harbour, the tide was in, we crept up and shortened his lines to tight. Undetected we backed off and waited a couple of hours for the tide to drop, leaving Deafy and Joan suspended several feet above the water. Perhaps Deafy & Joan had wondered why their boat didn't rock as it usually did but nevertheless we got away with it. Knives ready, at the count of three, his lines were cut, the old lifeboat dropping back into the harbour on a pretty even keel and a cloud of spray. Joan squealed, Deafy cussed and yours truly learned a few ripe expressions to add to his vocabulary. Joan, by the way, was a friend at art college, we never did let on to her friends but we had some good laughs about her nocturnal fishing trips in later years, when her husband was not about!

Those blessed 'interpretation' boards and signs can be a mixed blessing. Yes, I do read them but on the other hand do also regard them as an intrusion on the countryside. I suppose being told that 'there once was a popular mooring here' or that 'boats used to navigate to this point' could be regarded as educational. Janet Anne makes the point regarding additional access. The report, for example, makes the point that access will be improved at Oulton Broad and Everette Park. As one who knows the Broad and the park like the back of my hand, other than by providing a helipad in the park, I do honestly question how on earth the already excellent access can be improved. Despite the fact that this project has been live for several years I do wonder at the depth of their knowledge.

Vaughan, your response is one that fully deserves respect and appreciation.

The Broads has its own, often unique, culture and heritage. 'Outsiders' selectively highlighting what they see as 'acceptable' facets of it, the ones that fit comfortably into their preconceived niches, is all very well but first having destroyed so much over the last ten or so years does somehow make a mockery of the whole 'vision', to coin a popular term. By the way, some outsiders do an excellent job, Ted Ellis for example, but then he absorbed the ethos of the Broads. Others have too, but then they also have become Broadlanders. Not a term that I could apply to many at Yare House.

Re that 'fillum'. short cut here: http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/6343

Bullards Mild at Coldham Hall, that's memories! A pint or two, a couple of pickled eggs, half a dozen arrowroot biscuits, windy old night ahead!

Glass of 'foreign muck' or a 'poi-ah-tews'? We are talking ol' Broads.

I can not but help thinking that this is very much an egotistical, self promotional project. To both Robin & Tim, without any obvious inducement, you have both expressed your doubts, I thank you.

John, what does concern me is the waste of officer time in regard to this project. Am Dram and the arts in general does not come under the remit of the Authority so why on earth has it become involved? Granted that the excuse/justification may well be that the Authority is promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the Broads but in this instance I question whether the Authority doesn't have matters of far greater importance to deal with. Let the project go ahead by all means, in principle it has my full support, but let it stand alone from the Authority. They have more pressing matters to deal with. Don't forget that about half our toll goes towards Authority overheads. In my opinion it beholds the Authority to reduce those overheads rather than spread its wings as it has.

Sailability & Nancy Oldfield should be in line for gongs, they both help so many enjoy the Broads.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/major_4m_broads_project_takes_step_forward_after_theatre_project_appointed_to_lead_drama_section_1_4714166

Unfortunately you can. Perhaps a boon to motor-boat owners that can predict their ETA but an absolute pain in the bum for sailing boat owners that can't. If I still owned a pub I would not offer reserved moorings, I wouldn't wish to annoy other users.

Thank you, Jean. I normally, if sailing, take two days for the journey, stopping off for the night at Berney. In this instance the wind was either non existent or blowing a hoolie plus it was right on the nose, hard work for a long trip so I decided to motor. One of the joys of the Drascombe is that it sails as well as it motors, a true motor sailer. If I get the tide right at Yarmouth then it's about five and a half hours comfortable journey time. I have a 4.5 hp four stroke outboard, less than a litre of fuel for an hour's cruising.

Seen on the bank at Hickling, a delightful tribute. Considering that most Broads visitors, and more than a few regulars park rather than moor, this caused me a 'Broad' smile!

Sailing quietly through Heigham Sound before hitting the open water, and wind, on Hickling Broad.

Children are welcome, this time at Horsey: