Mouldy

We know a dog with similar habits: Just a twig to our son’s fruit-loop!

There are electric posts at both Oulton Broad and Beccles Yacht Stations, that differ from most others in that you pay for your electric as part of the enhanced mooring fee. We found this very useful in February as we had taken a small fan heater which we left on low overnight and kept the chill off. The Ferry House at Surlingham have their own electric posts - cards are available from the bar, with a refundable deposit against the card once used. They also have a water hose, which is free to their customers, even during the winter.

Maybe we need to organise a meal out as Polly suggested and have a proper chat. Thanks Helen. Photography has been a lifelong passion since my dad bought me a camera when I was about seven. When the weather and the scenery are so stunning, I am thankful we now use digital and not film!

Certainly can. Gina at Sewing Ark made it. Well pleased. She has a Facebook page (just search for Sewing Ark) or can be emailed at sewingark@btinternet.com

When we bought Norfolk Lady, the plan was to go to The Broads every other weekend at the moment, so the wife worked out on which weekends we should visit to ensure we were able to make use of the extra day over August Bank Holiday weekend. Up until now, every other weekend has brought strong winds, rain, grey skies or a combination of any of them. . . . . . . . . . . . . until this one. I’d been looking at the weather forecasts and was hopeful that we may be lucky and boy were we lucky. How fantastic was that? Blue skies and soaring temperatures - just glorious. It even made suffering the Bank Holiday traffic getting there worthwhile. We even managed to get to the Blofield chippy in time to sample their wares on Friday evening and it has to be said that as fish and chip shops go, it is very good indeed. Large cod and regular chips twice was the order and we rushed to the boat to eat them, even before unpacking the car. We’d had some curtain rails installed in the wheelhouse and the wife had made some curtains to go across the doors at the stern, so we hung those before having our customary hot drink and going to bed. We had planned to go to either Beccles or Oulton Broad, but other events and a lack of available moorings put paid to that, so we took our time to get ready, wandered round to the Co-Op for a few essential supplies. Once again, the lure of Brian Wards drew me in to buy a couple more essentials before returning to Norfolk Lady. We started up, cast off and headed out of the yard and onto The Yare. We intended to overnight at Pyes Mill, but as we had some time to kill, we headed through Bargate (where thick weed was clearly visible through the clear water) turning right onto the main river and through Brundall before heading for Hartley Cross and The Chet. The river was busier than I can ever remember seeing, hardly surprising given that it was a Bank Holiday. We made good progress, enjoying the weather and arrived at Pyes Mill around 14:00. It was busy, but we managed to squeeze in between two other private craft. We chatted to the owners for a while before wandering into town, where I suffered the onset of a dreadful thirst and was forced to call into The Kings Head for a cheeky pint before carrying on! Thirst quenched, we carried on to the church and headed through the lanes and back to the boat. We sat in the well at the stern and chilled, before having a salad for dinner washed down with fermented grape juice. We sat outside until after the sun set, before turning in for the night. Sunday morning dawned and I pulled some clothes on and went out with my camera to record the sunrise. The early morning mist soon burned off to reveal another gorgeous day. We had breakfast before showering and wandered back into Loddon to walk the dog and collect a couple of bits from the Co-Op. Once back to the boat, we cast off and topped up with water at Pacific Cruisers. Heading back up The Chet, we saw Moonlight Shadow moored at Pyes Mill, so slowed down to exchange a few words with Helen (Ynys Mon) and her husband. We carried on to Hardley Cross and turned left. I had thought about mooring at Short Dyke, but did check Langley Dyke on the way, which was full. Rockland it was then! All of the BA moorings were full, but we managed to find a spot close to the broad itself, with quay heading, but using our rhond anchors. After a while, we walked round the Broad to the staithe, where once again an overwhelming thirst got the better of me and we called into the New Inn for a cooling beer. We were tempted by the food there, but we had supplies on the boat, so headed back. We sat at the stern again and had our meal ‘al fresco ‘ as the sun went down. I had been busy with my camera and taken a few shots of the sunset. A proliferation of flying insects eventually forced us sadly into the boat. It must have been the heat, but we were both tired, so had another early night. I was up early on Monday. Dressed and with camera in hand, I went out to commit another magical sunrise to memory card. We had breakfast and cast off, heading for our home yard. We moored, showered and got ready, before tidying the boat, packing up and heading for home. It had been a wonderful weekend. Beautiful sunsets, misty mornings and stunning sunrises - Broadland at its picturesque best.

We were there in November last year and saw an ex hire cruiser being towed off the mud at the moorings in the corner of the basin, nearest to the road. I couldn’t honestly say whether the tides were unusually low on that occasion, but we moored at the other end of the moorings and were okay.

Nice one! Thanks for taking the time and trouble to write up your adventures.

Could be coincidence. We had a few issues the last time we were on Moonlight Shadow and burnt out several chargers and had a close call with the TV. I reported the issue through the defecting process and eventually, when a couple of other owners reported similar issues, the fault was traced to the inverter, which was of the modified sine wave variety. Due to the nature of modern electronics, they should only be used with a pure sine wave inverter, which gives a cleaner output. The inverter on Moonlight Shadow has since been replaced and we made sure that the new one we had fitted to Norfolk Lady was also of the correct specification.

Oh, no!!! The secret of Langley Dyke is out. Who will believe what an awful mooring that it now?

Me . . . . . . Jealous Too right!🤢

No mill at the end of Short Dyke. I too have seen the post on Faceache and as I've only managed to visit the location twice in all of the years I've visited The Broads due to a certain obstacle that makes access difficult to most of us these days, I'd never have guessed!

I would love to try the chippy on Blofield, but they close at 20:00. By the time I leave work and make the journey, there is only the Chinese still open! As much as I like black pudding and sausages, I like to keep the breakfast (relatively) healthy. Bacon grilled and scrambled eggs, tomatoes sauteed in a squirt of one cal. See - healthy!

Helen, I dont want to blow my own trumpet, but I cooked it and it was 😁😁!

Having worked in the logistics industry for the majority of my working life, long hours are nothing new. As an HGV driver, one can still work 15 hours a day, three days a week, with a potential maximum working week of 84 hours. Despite the Working Time Directive and EU driving regs, this is still legally permissible. I have been office based for the best part of 25 years, but am still contracted to a 50 hour week, with an hour for lunch daily. I just need to be spared for another 2 years, 9 months and 3 days, so I can retire!!!

We went to Brundall on Friday 26th July for the weekend and eventually arrived after a lengthy journey (due to two diversions caused by roadworks) at about 22:30. We stopped at the Chinese takeaway (just as it started to rain), for some food before heading to the boat. Food eaten, we unpacked the car and watched the TV for a while to digest our meal, before going to bed. It rained all night and was still raining when we got up the following morning, so we got ready and wandered round to the Co-Op for a few supplies. Fortunately, the rain had eased and there were just a few spits and spots by then. We returned to Norfolk Lady and I set to work on the faded gel coat on the wheelhouse roof with some compound, wax and a polishing machine to see what sort of shine could be achieved. It was quite a lengthy process and although I have machine polished cars before, I was not used to compounding gel coat, so was taking my time to make sure I didn’t make things worse. We had some lunch and decided to go for a short cruise, so put the polisher away and set off along The Yare, heading for Langley Dyke. There were a couple of other craft there, but plenty of room for us to moor. The weather was grey and miserable, so we sat and relaxed for a while, grateful to be away from the noise and interruptions that make daily life so hectic. It wasn’t long before the rain started again. We had dinner, watched TV and had an early night. It must be the Norfolk air that makes me so tired! The rain was still falling on Sunday morning, so we took our time getting ready and had breakfast before it eased off. I wanted to do some more polishing, so we set off for our moorings and headed back to Brundall, where I managed to finish working on the wheelhouse roof before the rain started again. We needed to get home at a reasonable time, so packed up a few bits and pieces, loaded the car and went to The Yare for an early dinner, hoping for better weather for our next visit. The journey home was not the easiest, either, with a road closure and forced diversion extending our journey home. Friday 9th August So we arrived at Brundall at about 21:30 on Friday evening, stopped at the Chinese (again) for some food and drove round to the yard where we are moored. We ate before unloading the car as usual, watched TV for a while and went to bed. Saturday dawned to a windy start, just as forecast. We showered and got ready, before wandering down to the Co-Op for some food supplies (again) and returning to the boat. I had planned to spend some time compounding and waxing at least some more of the top of Norfolk Lady to restore some shine to the faded gel coat. The continuing windy weather put paid to any hope of escaping for a cruise, so I managed to complete most of the top before giving up for the day, satisfied with my efforts. We walked back to the Co-Op to buy some garlic bread and I felt compelled to stop at The Yare for a cheeky Ghost Ship on the way back. The wife prepared our meal, which we enjoyed with a couple of glasses of wine. I was somewhat tired, due to the exertions of the day (and probably the wine) so went to bed early where I fell quickly and soundly asleep. It was bright and sunny when we woke on Sunday, although still quite breezy, so we decided to have a short cruise up the river before having breakfast. We managed to get away from the moorings and chugged up the dyke, turning left onto The Yare. Short Dyke was my intended destination and it didn't take too long to get there. We moored up and my attention turned to cooking breakfast. Once eaten and with the washing up done, we took the opportunity to relax for a while before heading back to the yard. The weather had changed and the clouds had rolled in, but it wasnt raining. I still had a little more polishing to do, together with a couple of other bits and pieces, which were completed before we had a brief, but heavy shower of rain. Sadly, we packed the car, the weekend having passed far too quickly, but stopped at The Yare for a meal before leaving for home. The next visit is planned for August Bank Holiday weekend. Bring it on, but hopefully with some more clement weather for a change!!

There are some good moorings on Short Dyke, leading to Rockland Broad, too and it’s only a short walk to the pub from there following the path round the Broad. If you like good ‘pub grub,’ The New Inn is well worth the effort, but you’ll need a torch for the walk back!

You won’t need to take too much on MS, Helen, pretty much everything you need is already there, including the kitchen sink😁!

Waterside Marine Sales have an Alpha 31 for sale at the moment called Jay. Whilst an aft cockpit cruiser, it does have a 12'3" beam, so my guess that it probably won't fit under that bridge, but I obviously stand to be corrected by those in the know.

Noooooooooooo! Can the mods apply a C word filter until 1st December, please?

The heater works off the batteries and shore power when connected, but given the short days and long nights, coupled with potentially chilly weather, the heating is likely to be on longer. If you connect to shore power, it will save the batteries and the heating shouldn't shut down if the batteries run down. If you pay for shore power at the yacht station, why burn diesel when you've paid for electricity? The alternative to a fan heater would be an oil filled radiator, of course, but we had a fan heater, so took it with us.

Hi Helen. Our first proper trip on MS was in February this year. Broom usually turn off the tap at the mooring from November to March, but there is one available, either by the fuel pump, or the boat lift. There is a hose at The Ferry House, free to patrons and there are electric posts there too. We went to Beccles Yacht Station, Oulton Broad Yacht Station and Loddon. Electric hook up is included in the mooring fees at the yacht stations, so we took a small fan heater, didn’t use the heating on the boat and made full use of the hook up. The rivers were quiet and seeing The Broads in a different season and different light was really enjoyable

Planning to be. 😁

Hi Steve. Try this: boats@broads.org.uk

Congratulations both. I’m sure you’ll have many happy holidays on Moonlight Shadow. I hope we get to meet you at the AGM in October, if we don’t bump into you (metaphorically speaking) before. We intend to be on Norfolk Lady over the Bank Holiday weekend so will watch out for you then. Happy cruising!!!

Not too far, was forced to visit whilst I was there the other week, but the bill on that occasion was not to painful. Thanks Jay. We’ll look forward to meeting up with you at some point. Being guided to a bar for a chat would be most agreeable. It is our intention to be there every other weekend, so an opportunity should present itself quite soon. I’m sure that you’ll achieve your dream one day, you’ll join the severely damaged wallet full owners club and enjoy it as much as we are. As for convincing you to buy a boat, I’m sure that would be easy and no high pressure sales techniques would be necessary😉.