ChrisB

What a change! We now have a North Sea Haar rolling in or a cold sea fret. Not what you want if you have been "round the corner" to Wells, Brancaster and the like for the weekend and now wish to return to Yarmouth or Lowestoft.

We look forward to re-welcoming you to Norfolk. Remember Norfolk is not just The Broads, allow enough time, you will be retired, to introduce your wife to the beautiful North Norfolk Salt Marsh Coast, it's beaches, harbours and small resorts.

It does not surprise me Griff with the number of boaters taking advantage of the long weekend, half term and summer weather. Yesterday morning I called in at Broadsedge to put a couple of bits of kit on the boat. I have never seen it so busy, so many vacated berths and so many cars, they were even parked on the hallowed turf!!!!. I suppose being calm the easiest option is the mud weight. Even 72 hours on a boat won't kill you. However if you have a dog with you it is a different story. Youngsters also need to use a bit of energy if family harmony is to prevail. Personally I think some seasonal pontoon berths could ease the situation. I know hirers can use other hirers facitities but waking up in a boatyard is not really what a Broads holiday is all about. Sounds like you have had a great break anyway. Regards, Chris.

I think a call to Broadsbeat or the local Police is more the order of the day. In many towns and cities now it is an automatic £100 fine.

They would sort out your teak deck, need more than a hand sand after they had fandango'd across it.

All passed over now, back to sun.

We have some very strong gusts around a leaden sky up here on the North Coast. I would keep a weather eye cocked because it appers to be moving towards Broadland.

The yellow warning of rain has changed they now say it will hit Lincolnshire, Notts and S. Yorkshire, mid morning to mid morn on Monday. However the wall to wall sunshine for today! We have a weather system building here on the North Coast, very dark, a few rumbles and the gusts are really picking up. Furthmore it looks like it is heading towards The Broads.

I am sure it will be open as I heard a BA person saying is the key still in the tupperware box in one of their billets.

I recon you have blown the cobwebs out your stack! Sometimes it is nice to get a real move on.

Boat size is something I have pondered for ever. In our mid twenties Judith and I built a 19ft SeaWych which we used every weekend travelling to Poole Harbour with two small children to sail out to Studland and the near Solent harbours. A career move in my early thirties provided a very useful increase and along came a Westerly Centaur. At 26ft we would get lost in it after the cramped SeaWych. The Centaur, looking back was the ideal boat for us at that time, well built, safe, easily handled and with an engine that you could motor into a channel gale. Easily capable of rounding St Alban's Head and Portland so opening up the West Country and both sides of the Channel. A seat on the Board then provided a Westerly Berwick, at 31ft it was a step too far. The small increas in draft did not suit our beautiful mooring on the River Frome Nr Warham. Parts of the harbour were now too shallow. She was just too big for pottering. One afternoon having finished early I called in at Windsor Marina. The Berth next to ours at Ridge Wharf had become vacant and I asked Commander Clarke the then owner to hold it for me. As fate would have it I found exactly what I was looking for at Windsor. A Shetland Blackhawk with a 90hp Mercury on the back, just 6 months old. Saturday saw us heading to Warham towing the Shetland at the start of our holiday. Like the title of this thread, a new chapter, we had a great time sleeping on the Berwick but jumping on the Shetland for a fast blast to the beach. As our sons got older we gave up boating for a few years as education, rugby, cricket etc took priority. By my early fifties I had decided to give up work at 55, move to the West and buy another sailing cruiser but things had changed and Judith no longer felt safe offshore. We started coming to Norfolk and decided to make the move from The Chilterns and Thames Valley. By now stiffness caused by athritis and sports injury were making themself known so reluctantly I decided on a motor boat. Nothing too large or over complicated, as our home is only 20 minutes or so away. My choice would have been to look for another Blackhawk and had it stripped and completely refurbished to new condition. Potter at any state of tide appealed as The Upper Thurne is my favourite. But the dreaded arthritis means I need to be able to stand, at 5'7" ( used to be 5'8" but have lost an inch somewhere) I can stand throughout in the Viking 20. Another deciding factor was the price, which actually matched the tax free some on one of my small pensions. Another beautiful morning! I shall grab a few things at Tesco and go and lock myself in my garden for the duration. My house is on the Paston Way, infact our track down forms part of it so I can walk without touching the car over the Bank Holiday. I hope everyone has a good holiday weekend and half term.

Very pleased for you indeed.

Was tucked right in the reeds in the cut through between Stalham and Sutton Dykes this morning when I passed.

Deet is very good but you have to be so careful with it. It melts certain plastics, wrecks PVC. I rarely use it because of my glasses (eye type)

I will order one when I get home, thanks for that.

Yes, but still finding things missing and needed after so long a lay up. My electric fly killer shaped like a tennis racket for one. This hot weather has brought out the horse flies and those triangular ones that really pack a bite.

Out for the night. Bit of a cheat, wanted to keep my newlycleaned decks! So picked up a mooring buoy. Picture of what it is like living on a 20 footer. Just making tea then will change the curtains for my best ones.

What would have been known in my day as the "Victor Ludorum" (If my latin still serves me)

Thanks Richard and Roz, If my deliveries come at a reasonable time I might try to get out tonight. I do wear my jacket now that I am single handed. The new one that I bought from SeaSafe following one of mine being too old to certify is very comfortable. The covers zip off so that you can have more than one colour. I have a navy one for boating and a tweed one to wear when I am shooting along the river at night. They also have an embroidery service. I was very impressed with my dealings with them. Enjoy your time afloat, no doubt about it your move to the Thames was a stroke of genius on your part.

Looks set fair for it though, should be warm enough to kick in the sea breezes and move the wind direction about a bit. In the ten years that I have lived in Norfolk this regatta weekend has seen a few rough ones. The trouble with early racing is, if it does blow up, who wants to risk spar damage or worse so early in the season.

Salhouse 1903, look how you can see Hoveton Great Broad.

I would really love that, thank you very much.

This rig is now on the port bank just passed the confluence of Stalham and Sutton Dykes Pelican (the tug) must have had it's engine removed or else it is U/S. Unbelievable to me but the chap or chapess has brought that lot down from Wroxham on an ancient Honda 15hp on the back of Pelican. The guy on the stern in the original photograph is the helm, steering with an outboard tiller extension!!

Having had one of the best nights sleep that I have had for a long time, not wakening until 0700 I opened my curtains to a lovely still and sunny morning. As I made tea I thought to myself " it is not going to get better than this so you better do it" After breakfast I put my summer canopy in the car along with a roll, banana and milk to make tea and set off for Stalham. I put on the lighter canopy ran up the engine and cast off. At the end of Stalham Dyke I noticed the outboard telltale was getting weak so moored without trouble at Paddy's and pricked it out with a pipe cleaner. Having had a cup of tea I made my way to Gay's and went astern into the side on moorings to eat my lunch I then went round the perimeter of Barton twice to put a bit back in the batteries before returning to Broadsedge. Not an outstanding voyage but my first trip, now, single handed since being widowed. It was a bit mixed emotionally, I loved being out on Barton again but the sight of an empty Pilot Seat brought on a lump. Sitting at home I am much happier now that I have been out on the boat and think that I will have a night out on it later in the week. I would often single hand when I had sailing boats, but they do as you tell them, small motor cruisers set off like scalded greyhounds at the smallest breath. The one good thing about such boats is their ability to claw off a lee mooring astern with the outboard hard over so it is leeward for me from now on with the boat pinned to the shore it gives my ancient body a chance to get off and secure the warps.

Well done indeed, but I wonder if all that beautiful weather late on last year produced exceptional fruit.