grendel

Goose Family

Trixie on Breydon

Heron on the way up to Paddys Lane

Wild Mooring on the Ant

i will start adding pictures and video clips soon, as i was shattered when i got home yesterday, 4 hours cruise to home moorings and a 3 1/2 hour deive home, really did for me.everything has been loaded to my computer, I just have to look through what i have and upload it.

having experienced pearl horizon, yes, the last foot of the bed was under the deck, unfortunately for me, it was only about 8" high and i could not get my size 14's under there, so a short bed was made even shorter, we ended up moving the mattress into the living area so my feet could overhang the end of the bed

well the repps water level gauge is showing it back down to pre rain levels, there was 6'6 there earlier in the week, how much do you need? a lot will depend how the weather goes.

I dont believe there are any footpaths from those moorings, there are signs saying as much there, but i good spot in an emergency for a doggie stop.

well 8 am start and a short trip today, just as far as the Chet, I had a hankering to try Chedgrave Common mooring if there was a space, as it happened they were totally free, so a quick U turn and moor into the tide, and I am here, I may wander down the footpath later to Loddon

Scrambled egg for breakfast, just got some washing up to do, then its time for off.

yes, the current was still running quickly here up to 7am, (low slack at GY was 05.55) we are now at slack here, yet the tide has risen considerably.

Well last night you could get on and off from the side deck level with the quay, here it is this morning, a step up from the foredeck, use springs and leave plenty of slack, you will need a couple of big fenders too, moved round to the sides as the vertical rails are deeper than standard fenders. Anyway the sunset last night was gorgeous, and here is a morning nearly low tide picture

wow, am i drained now, I waited until 3.15 and then set the throttle at 4mph, headed down to GY at just over 5mph and was in no hurry, the 2 1/4 hours they say it takes is about right, but only if you are dawdling, even puttering along at 5mph i got there at 5.15, technically 15 minutes early, however with the revs for 4mph I was still only doing 5 mph as i went through the yacht station, 10 foot at the bridge , tons of room, when I turned the corner, nothing changed, I upped the revs to 5mph and got 6mph across Breydon, so the tide was with me there too, about 6.30 it started spitting just as I was leaving Breydon, and heading up the Yare, I wasnt sure where i would moor up tonight, but the rain made the decision easier, when I got to Polkeys mill moorings, I about turned into the tide and moored up, 6.45pm, as i had left dilham at 8am, its been a long day. food is in the oven and cooking, the last steak and some more of the bag of chips i had bought at tescos. I am too tired to get over complicated tonight. I did have to steal the big fender off the stern to drop down the side of the boat as the standard fenders werent deep enough to fit the gap and the wooden pilings were threatening to bump on the woodwork, still the big stern fender did the job, giving about 1/2" clearance off the timbers.

unfortunately I dont eat seafood, so I had to make do with an ice cream.

I quite often use my 1946 Jarrolds map

Ok after departing Dilham at 8.00 am I started heading South, lunch time so its time for a break at Acle, moored up on the free moorings, as I see it I have a couple of hours to wait here at Acle (or somewhere) before its time to start for Gt Yarmouth, low slack is at 5pm this evening, so easily doable and time to get somewhere the other side too. time for lunch though. cheese wraps it will have to be then.

Todays plan is to start the trek back South, I am thinking of catching the early morning slack water Friday morning so need to get down to somewhere like Stracy Arms, or even down to Great Yarmouth today, but plans being flexible, who knows.

spent a lovely afternoon at Dilham, chatting to other boaters, reading a book, and my thanks to Brundallnavy who turned up with an ice cream and spent a good while chatting, Nice to catch up and have a natter Doug, and thanks very much for the ice cream, that was perfectly timed. cooked my tea, Steak and chips, I had bought a small bag of frozen chips at Tesco and thrown it into the ice compartment of the fridge, and now settling down to a glorious evening

yes thank you, corrected now

well at 8am I left my wild mooring and headed up to Stalham, unfortunately the staithe was full 2 cruisers and 3 sail boats, this was a good sign that the moorings are in normal usage though, reversed back down to the corner and there was a spot on the free moorings at Richardsons, so I grabbed it, then it was off up to Tescos to get some shopping. After tescos it was off back downstream then a sharp right and up to Dilham, where a lot of boats were coming the other way, at the 24 hour moorings at Wayford bridge there were some free gaps, and when I arrived at Dilham, other than a couple of canoes, I was the only boat there. taking advantage of this I moored up at noon, and plugged into the electric post to give the house batteries a good charge, the sun is so hot, so I have put up the canopy for shade, I will overnight here and head back down the ant in the morning Just helped a hire boat turn and moor up, its a shame the long straight section is full of canoes, so they had to moor across the corner. As I was crossing Barton broad I spotted the rascal moored in Rascal corner, gave him a call on the radio but no answer.

Good morning all, well I have done early morning yoga, and had a dip in the river so far this morning, the kettle is now on. well the river is just a bit on the cold side, but not too bad, I do take stringent precautions, one I usually swim at times of day when no boats are going to be out, and stay close to the boat, two, i prepare a safe means of entry and exit from the water, this time i had bought a swim ladder, 4 rung, useless from the deck of the boat, but when supported off a rhond anchor with the top rung about a foot down, perfect for the side of the Ant where the sides go straight down to the bottom at about shoulder level depth, that ans a second rope from the rhond anchor to assist egress does the trick. sometimes i will lay out the mooring ropes along the outside of the boat as emergency hand holds, and i will quite often take a lifeline with me to pull myself back to shore if needed. with proper safety precautions set in place I will then have a test to see that i can get in and out safely, one step at a time, and only then will i go have a swim, yes the water is cold, but I learned to swim in an outdoor unheated pool fed by river water, and we went weekly from May through the year, you would swim hard to stay warm, and when you turned blue it was time to come out. and have a cup of scaldingly hot chocolate from the vending machine. so I am used to swimming in cold water. Last night i was charging the laptop with the inverter when the alarm went off, so it was time to check the alternator belt again, sure enough it had done more bedding in and had too much slack, allowing it to slip, so it was backed off again and retightened. I think I just need to charge the laptop while under way. Todays plan is to potter around the upper Ant, and look for a suitable mooring spot for tonight. i might even end up at a staithe somewhere rather than a wild mooring, who knows.

you are quite correct, tos state that an individual has to have contacted the yard and allowed them the chance to rectify the problem before they can post a bad review of the yard, this was changed from a blanket no naming and shaming to allow good reviews, however the naming and shaming of boat crews that have done something wrong is still against tos- including posting a picture that shows boat name or registration number, or a close view of the people involved, we encourage good reviews. it was considered that companies could take a bad review, if they had been given the opportunity prior to the review to fix the problem, and had still failed to resolve it..

I am headed that way tomorrow so I might take a look-see.

and only a few yards from stalham staithe too.

if you are really lucky you might get a space on stalham staithe. Wroxham bridge was 6'6 the other day, if you do get up there look out for the death and glory opposite the boatyard at belaugh. if you pack thermals for dad he will stay warm, as for wild moorings, well I know plenty of water rail sized ones, but bigger ones are available too.