Wussername

A non entity in my view.

We have about two bird strikes a month. Under certain light conditions they see a reflection of the garden in the window as a place to fly too. Normally patio doors. My wife gets upset by it. I told her that my cleaning of the windows regularly is the cause. I no longer have to clean the windows regularly. A result all round.

There is always a weirdo on a bus. Did you know that? If you can't see one it could be you!

An aspect of the Oulton Broad incident has prompted me to give thought to the legal implications and responsibilities of the boat owner and the person who was actually helming the vessel in the event of an incident. May I make it very clear that this is not an attempt in any way to reignite the Oulton Broad discussion. I feel that this matter has been fully discussed and no real value can be obtained by any further reference. Our visiting Legal Eagle has brought to our attention what I believe is a very interesting point: Section 100 of the Merchant Shipping Act, which says “It shall be the duty of the owner of a ship to which this section applies to take all reasonable steps to secure that the ship is operated in a safe manner.” This offence could be committed even if the owner was not actually helming the vessel at the time, or even if the owner wasn’t aboard the vessel. I am aware that no two cases even under the same legislation are ever the same. However there may be a degree of similarity in other cases which has not gone well for the owner of the vessel and the helm. For example if I could quote a hypothetical case where a holiday maker, through driving in a dangerous and reckless manner causes an accident. The injured party decides to pursue the individual for damages. But would you pursue someone who has very limited means? What’s the point. Would you not be tempted to pursue the Boat Yard who quite possibly are sufficiently well heeled to bear the brunt of a financial settlement. Do they not have a duty of care with regard to whom they hire their boats and if they are competent to handle the craft? I was speaking to a first time hirer yesterday 2nd September after he had completed a particularly harrowing mooring in tidal conditions in a new hire boat, a few month old, from a very reputable boat yard. I asked “ Did they not tell you how to come into moor” “No” he replied. “Did they not explain”. Did they not show you how to moor stern on, how to turn the boat round, how to approach the mooring against the tide” The reply was “no, he just explained to me the inside of the boat and how to start it. Then we were off, on our own. For my part I have witnessed on more than one occasion people saying that their experience of the trial run had been very limited. Therefore is it not beyond the realms of possibility that a hire company, or the owner of an expensive private motor yacht could be made financially responsible in the event of a serious incident involving damage and injury even if they were not helming the boat at the time.

Please allow me a personal memory by Vaughan. Grandad, the uncles,, all boating people, boatyard owners would meet at the Three Horseshoe's at North Cove. Between Lowestoft and Beccles after a feed of fish (probably nicked from Lowestoft market) And there we sat the cousins. In the back of one of the cars. Probably about five of us. In quivering anticipation. A bottle of coke, each, and a bag of Smith's crisps was delivered by an Aunt. . And a blue bag of salt inside the bag of crisps. Magic. And, when they all returned to take us home they were so happy, laughing and pleased to see us. Strange that!

We all find speeding an issue. Only two days ago I witnessed Judith 5 an iconic woody speeding, yes speeding through Norwich. It was travelling well over 5 miles an hour. Do you know what? There was no wash whatsoever from this boat. No discomfort whatsoever for the boats moored at the Riverside retail complex. Nobody was inconvenienced. Indeed if you were there tied up at the mooring, you would not have known that she had passed through. Introducing more GPS speed indicator's would be beneficial. However perhaps the boat yards should be tasked to take into consideration the impact of hull design on new builds to mitigate this problem.

I liked your post. It demonstrates a sincerity which I appreciate and I hope that others do as well. Go south. It is a magical place. But you have to explore it to its fullest extent. Otherwise you will never know..

Another young girl fell into the river a few days ago whilst mooring a boat at Reedham. Her recovery from the water was assisted by the girls father and the quay assistant. Boats are hitting bridges, getting stuck under bridges. These current issues prompts me to ask if anybody knows if trial run drivers themselves actually receive formal training. If so what form does this training take.

In some instances (not all I hasten to add) the person taking the trial run is not aware of situations which occur on the southern rivers if he has been confined to the north. I joined a boat at Horning together with a group of other people last week. One member of the party asked how far we could get during our days hire. The trial run driver was informed that we were going to stop at Ranworth for ice creams and then carry on to Womack and return. Would we get back by 5pm. "Dunno" he said. "Where's Womack"?

Well said Gracie. I think that it should be mandatory for children to wear lifejackets on certain parts of the Broads. The matter should be discussed and recommendations implemented sooner rather than later.

You could hev them both together in the same pot at the Red Lion just up the rud. A pint of two's and a game of shuv haypenny. On a Sunday you had a great old plate of onions, crisps and cheese biscuits. All free. Well the beer won't, but the rest on it wus. That hev all gone wrong since them times.

Like many others I have never had a diesel engine stall on me. On change over day I probably started 15 to 18 boats at the mooring. Then some twenty minutes later, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter I would retrieve the boat from the refuelling station and pump out, start it up again and return the boat to its original mooring. Week after week. Over a period of several years on different boat yards. As I said, I never had an engine stall on me. This was on the upper reaches of the Ant and also on the upper reaches of the Yare at Thorpe St Andrew to be exact. Now, what would have happened if the boat had stalled, the steering cable broke, the Morse gear jammed. Well not a lot actually. You would throw a rope and someone would pull you back into the bank. At Reedham, Great Yarmouth, St Olives and the like, in adverse weather conditions I would certainly be a bit more cautious. It all depends on conditions, time of year, and where you are, the latter being quite important. As for leaving Southwold harbour on a particularly cold and blustery day in early spring, I was extremely careful and methodically checked everything before venturing out on the bobbing up and down stuff.

Thanks Vaughan. I have not been asked to tow boats many times but for the most part I have followed your advice albeit from other people and experience I suppose. So it is good to have it confirmed. One other question. Many years ago I was on a friend's boat which broke down on Breydon in somewhat blustery conditions. He opted for a side to side tow from a passing cruiser. A big mistake, The conditions were such that both craft buffeted together in a most alarming manner. Fenders and legs were used to keep the boats apart. We should have opted for a stern to bow tow. Observing stern/bow tows I have often been amazed, especially by lifeboats and tugs, the length of the tow rope. Several meters in some instances. Is this done to avoid snatch between the two? Andrew

Sound advice Vaughan. Thank you as well. Would you please explain the importance of springs, the positioning of springs and the position of the rudder on the boat being towed. Whilst you and I were towing a boat through Horning, with your goodself at the helm, in charge, in command, we spied the river commissioner approaching.(I much prefer the title now defunct in preference to The Ranger) You said to me "Look away, don't make eye contact, and hide your glass up"

Whatever happened to Bronco eh?

Sometimes Mrs Wussername and I pop over to Reedham by car to eat our meagre lunch by the river. Watching the antics of the boaters as they battle wind and tide………………. and each other. I always walk up the quay heading looking at the boats and occasionally chatting with the holiday makers. It is always a pleasure to speak to the harbour master or the Broads Authority Ranger whatever is his correct title. I then wander back towards the car so as not to miss any orders or instructions from Mrs W who is normally ensconced in a book I then sit on the wall and survey all that beholds me. I try and keep a low profile and make a point of not interfering in the duties of the harbour master although there has been occasion where his work load is such, particularly on days of extreme tidal or weather conditions, that I have been able to temporally secure a boat to await his final approval. One such occasion occurred last year. The HB was dealing with a boat at the far end of the quay near the Sanderson boat yard I was sitting on my wall opposite a picnic boat from the Waveny River Centre. The tide was barrelling down the river. The wind was howling across the marshes towards the northern bank where the Haynes craft was moored. The occupants, some ten people started to prepare the boat for leaving. It was going to be an experience for all. The boat went forward and hit the boat in front. It then went in reverse and hit the boat behind. The pin ball wizard at the helm continued this procedure for several minutes. Then a lady immerged from the cabin and proceeded to push the boat out, and at the very last minute leapt onto the boat. Which was promptly blown back onto the bank. Now, sometimes you have to be very careful when offering advice, some get offended. This women was no exception. I ventured to ask her if I could be of assistance and tell them what they should do. “I do not need your help, thank you very much” she said in a very aggressive manner and disappeared back on the boat, which continued to ricochet backwards and forwards as before. I thought to myself, get you back on your wall, let em get on with it. So I did. I sat there pretending to be looking at anything and everything other than their boat. Everything seemed to go quiet and I was mindful of a person standing close to me. I looked up to see one of the crew from the picnic boat. He was very polite and apologetic and apologised profusely for the attitude shown by a member of his group. He had come to the realisation that without help there was no way he was going to be able to leave the mooring. So I explained to him and the helm as to the best way to continue. They followed my advice, albeit the helm by this time found himself in a trance and simply was unable to comprehend the simplest of instructions. Anyway short story long, they eventually managed to get on their way Another episode, this week in fact, was quite bizarre. Once again sitting on me wall, two ladies, two very small dogs, in a small cruiser came into Reedham, with the flood tide, on a windy Wednesday. They proceeded to try and moor opposite to where I was sitting. The HB was at lunch. Don’t get involved I thought to myself. The boat had come from a local boatyard and I knew full well that they would have be told to moor against the tide but like some they had failed to listen or understand or perhaps didn’t want too. Four attempts were made, each attempt more disastrous than the former. They then proceeded to travel up river past the Harbour Masters hut. As the ranger was at lunch I decided to walk up the bank and watch from a discreet distance. One could see from the outset that all was not well. On the bow of the boat was a bird nest of ropes. A rope connected to the mud weight, a mooring rope tied to a cleat and another rope of an indeterminable purpose. I asked if they needed a hand and was informed “no thanks we can manage thank you” said very politely, I had no problem with that. The ladies friend proceeded to tie up the stern. (the bows would have been favourite). The dogs leapt onto the bank. The other lady held onto the bow rope. One of the little dogs tried to scamper past, but was stopped. And then was promptly tied to the bow rope So we had the bow rope attached to boat and the other end tied to the dog. The women held the middle of the rope with a somewhat vacant expression puzzling as to how she was going to secure the boat to the mooring post with a fast running tide. Wondering perhaps that the dog might have possessed many attributes, one of which was boat handling skills, I was loathe to interfere. However, against my better judgement I offered my services again, which thankfully were gratefully received. I untied the dog, tied up the boat, walked down the quay and retired to my seat. Well another day at Reedham, another day on me wall, give me a wave when you go past.

All that I would say about this matter is stay away from that big boat with the black sail, a funny flag on the mast and a white blob of paint on the front of it!

We won't be needing the goat then? Andrew

A great and informative post Vaughan. I suspect that there are many trial run drivers, myself included, past and present, who would benefit from a greater understanding of this matter and might, just might, encourage them to pay more attention to this important and basic skill of boat handling. In doing so they would help to dispel the anxiety which so many holiday makers experience. Andrew

And that's why they call him The Mooring Master!

It is going to be very busy. Coming by car. Where is the best place to park? Andrew

I applaud the EDP for publishing this story. This particular issue goes far beyond the normal high jinks associated with stag groups on the broads and to my mind it is of no surprise that the national press have gravitated to the story. These guys were not redistributing garden gnomes in a village on their way back to their boat at night, removing gates, singing bawdy songs in the pub. They were involved in acts of an obscene nature. Discounting the naked swimming bit, bad enough in front of families and young children. But urinating on each other in public, in front of children. Doesn’t get much worse. It is not the responsibility of the hire company to deal with this type of behaviour but the responsibility of the police and the landlord. The hire company has a duty to inform the hirer that they must behave correctly and to inform them that a failure to conform to this requirement will lead to serious consequences, and to sign a form at the end of the trial run that they have acknowledged that they have understood not only that which they have been informed about the boat, how to handle the boat, but their duty of care and respect to other holiday makers. Also, that there will be repercussions not least of which that their holiday will be terminated forthwith. Incidents of this particular nature are few and far between, possibly why it has reached the national press. However I do feel that it is irresponsible to shoot the messenger. On this particular day it would have only taken a couple of the young fathers present to take exception to the behaviour in front of their young children and confront the perpetrators demanding that they stop their behaviour. From this it could have escalated rapidly into physical violence. I have seen it happen. It is not very pleasant and can lead to a very serious incident. Can we not have constructive criticism. A recommendation of a proactive response by the boat yards, publicans and others in authority so that this isolated matter can be dealt with for the benefit of all.

Ah! The Minervois rose. You would think that an angel had piddled on your tonsils. Cest magnifique! The Doujon's 2015. Well balanced and appealing. Vibrant with an exciting finish. A bit like me really. I will bring me trusty bottle opener again, never been beaten. Like me old conker of years gone by.

Should be banned. There is nothing worse than the smell of high cholesterol offal tubes, bacon, egg and tomatoes being fried on a broad or river. The smell wafting along the bank or across the water on a still morning. Especially if you are working on a boatyard on turn round day. How you wish to be invited, just once. But of course it never happened. Andrew

That would have been Tonto, his mate.