JennyMorgan

http://www.wherryalbion.com/events/ 4th September looks interesting. Might be interesting to meet the fleet on Breydon and follow them up to Cantley.

Mill Pond stuff!

Mine's got two masts, does that mean I make lots of wash?

Alan, apart from retrieving lost fenders etc. from those tedious reedbeds there is always a wealth of wildlife to be spotted, for the observant & quiet amongst us!

Agreed, apart from good fishing, eating in good restaurants, drinking in good pubs, visiting a 'fine city' and being away from the 'kiss-me-quick' hullabaloos up North there is absolutely nothing to come South for!!

Strangely enough I've been involved with cutting up a sailing boat recently. The keel had 'exploded', the steel punchings having rusted and expanded. Regarding disposal, nightmare! We ended up cutting it into manageable chunks in the end and disposing of it chunk by chunk but that is another story. Clive, quite right, good dories about £600.00, new engine about £2,000.00. No logic really but still very handy on the Broads. Re moorings though, many folk can neither afford nor want marina style moorings, Something rather more basic is all that is required, but basic moorings are at a massive premium, or so it seems. Up on the canals there does appear to be more boat moorings between posts rather than alongside floating jetties for example. I do think that the BA is going to have to get off its idealistic horse and allow a few low lying marshes to be flooded and more moorings created, with a proportion of both affordable and residential ones available.

Yesterday was an interesting day. The actual quest was for a replacement outboard for our dory. Many phone calls later it was clear that second-hand engines are about as rare as rocking-horse droppings due to the numerous thefts last winter. Anyway, with a few recommendations from 'Polly' who had recently been on the same trail, my wife and I set off with the intention of visiting every possible location for a suitable engine. We did locate one potential outboard but at a price. We actually ended up at 'Nearest & Dearest' in Hoveton where we were well treated and we are now the proud owners of a brand new motor at about one third more than the nine year old one on offer, no contest. Anyway, apart from a lack of s/h outboards, what we did notice was the huge number of small boats up for sale and out of the water, in August! This wasn't just at one yard, it was pretty much a general situation. A recent Broads Authority survey of tolls reported a 40 boat drop in 'small' cruisers, 40 as a percentage of tolled boats is nothing exceptional but it would be interesting to know what the % drop is in relation to small cruisers. Is it that people have moved up from small cruisers, or that those who can 'only' afford a small boat have been priced out of the market? On the Drascombe owners website the subject has also been discussed and clearly the increase in small boats for sale is pretty general. Was a time when Shetlands, for example, and 20/24 foot long boats were common, not now. I suspect that marinas would rather have one 36 footer than they would two 18 footers. My feelings is that the year on year toll increases for small boats are out of proportion to their value for one thing. Thankfully I have my own mooring but I suspect that the costs of moorings is similarly prohibitive to those who can only afford small boats. Am i right in suggesting that the Broads is increasingly less inclusive? It certainly appears that way. Probably two thirds of the mooring buoys on Oulton Broad are vacant this year, was a time when there was a waiting list.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/what-s-on/50_memorable_ways_to_make_the_most_of_the_norfolk_broads_1_3717903 Tut, tut, no mention of The Superior Suffolk Broads!

I rather like this one! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_Suffolk.svg/1200px-Flag_of_Suffolk.svg.png

I understand, from an authoritative source, that fixed notice penalties are NOT just around the corner. Apparently it's accepted that it would destroy the generally good relationship between the Rangers and the Rhond Dwellers. In this instance I tend to believe the horse's mouth on this one.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/495557/UK-weather-forecast-tropical-storm-bertha-from-bahamas-to-hit-Britain Arghhhhhhhhh!

The New Cut & Oulton Dyke are both canals, however I don't think that Ben Fogle was sailing there!

I agree entirely with Dave on this one. I grew up at a time when lifejackets were leftovers, surplus from the D-day Landings, Dreadful things! Arthur Ransom's Swallows & Amazons, like Ratty & Mole in Wind in the Willows, were taught that safety was about learning the right skills rather than buying the approved safety equipment, As children we were given the freedom to roam but with that came a solid grounding in personal responsibility. Hard to shake that off at my age!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/sailing/11013858/Ben-Fogles-country-travels-sailing-the-Norfolk-Broads.html Good reading!

Polly!!!!!!

Confusion is quite understandable! Both Pauline & I are friendly folk, we both sail Press boats, both have a full head of 'silver' hair and both do great 'full English'. Just that Pauline is a great deal prettier!

My father, a volunteer in the Royal Observer Corps in WWII, on three occasions was involved in telling the yanks when NOT to do it, as they were want to do, and still do. Once on a convoy, once in a Flying Fortress & once on a US landing ship at Normandy. Apparently, in the Flying Fortress, when flying through a cloud the Captain became jumpy and for no other reason ordered everything he had to fire on a particular bearing! Coincidently dad never came under direct fire when with the Yanks but he did twice when on leave. Once at Horning Ferry when that was bombed and also at Stracey Arms when the Mill was strafed. If you look carefully at the mill you can still see bullet scars on the brickwork..

Was a time when Oulton Broad was called 'Little England', heaven only knows why!

In that case I would have retorted in a suitable manner! But I would have asked first.

Back in that unmentionable time my Uncle, then a local man, painted his squadron's Spitfires pink! Perhaps the idea was that enemy gunners would laugh so much that they'd forget to press their triggers. On the other hand, being local, he was actually quite sharp! At altitude, apparently, pink Spitfires were hard to see.

Apart from a prominent sign-post, it does look like it could be a dead-end! That aside perhaps rather than hurling insults perhaps it would have been better to hurl advice? Greetings, my good man, are you are aware that you are blocking the way to a very fine pub from which I, and others, wish to imbibe? Perhaps you would care to buy us all a pint by way of apology?

Re the Wherry, a well placed mud-weight can help.

Perhaps his name was Richard Head so the greeting came as no surprise.

How it was in about 1950. The houseboat in the foreground is 'Jester', a converted coal barge that was used to deliver fuel to the Lowestoft trawler fleet in the nearby Lake Lothing. The building to the left of centre was where the yacht Maidie was built over a hundred years ago. How it is today: