Mouldy

Wrong! To pay for them to look for new replacement moorings, that will all turn out to be too expensive to lease and won’t happen!

We almost lost the moorings at St Benets as negotiations overran. The BA need to get a wriggle on and source additional moorings on the southern rivers, where there are all too few already. Cantley floods regularly, as do the ones at Reedham. Given the interest in electric boats and the BA’s apparent desire to promote the use of electric, losing moorings like Langley Dyke, where running cabling to should surely be relatively easy, it does seem strange that more effort wasn’t put into effecting a compromise with the land owner. Much easier to provide electric posts there than some more remote locations, like Hardley Cross.

Thanks Tom! My spelling is from Google Maps - must be an American/English thing. 😁

Tom hasn’t responded, so no news sadly. I wonder if his hands are being tied by the powers that be? I do fear the worst though.

@BroadsAuthority Tom, many thanks for the update on Langley Dyke, however the question regarding the possible loss of moorings at Gayes Staithe remains unanswered. Are you able to comment on this, please?

I have a feeling that the number of moorings may be skewed by the BA to look better than they actually are, even if they have the decency to respond. Use Reedham as an example, where double mooring is permitted, would the numbers they provide include double mooring places where allowed?

Agreed, but National Parks are a magnet for tourism by virtue of the fact that they are areas of natural beauty, that in our quest to concrete over the countryside to provide housing, warehouse space and to shave 10 minutes off the time it takes to travel from London to Birmingham by train, are places for us to enjoy the tranquility they afford. As for Sanford, if the principle is adopted, it will spell the end of navigation on The Broads. Is this what we really want?

Only last week, the ‘good Doctor’ appeared on TV, extolling the virtues of The Broads, but warning us to think about the environmental impact of how we visit, warning of excessive car journeys. I’m trying to work out how you promote a National Park, or even a Notional Park and travel to one, without encouraging people to travel by car. Surely, that’s a contradiction? Does he think we can all afford to travel by train, that’s if they’re running, or live close enough to walk or cycle? Is a National Park not a tourist destination by definition? I, for one, am not sure what his aim is for The Broads, but discouraging tourism must be damaging for the economy of an area, that is dependent on it for the survival of many of its businesses.

Is there now leeway for a reduction in prices, given the enormous rise in energy prices and other associated costs over the past twelve months? Remember also that the cost of parts required for build or maintenance will also have increased, for all the same reasons, fuel, wages, transport, raw materials etc.. I think that another factor may be the sharp increase in diesel prices last year, which must have impacted the yard’s operating ‘all inclusive’ deals massively. If the cost of diesel for an average holiday had been factored in at say £1 per litre and it had actually cost £1.75 per litre, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that some losses must have been incurred on those craft, especially if the hirers weren’t careful with throttle usage and covered much of the network. ‘All inclusive’ pricing for this year will surely have been calculated using fuel prices, which were at their peak last year, when in fact fuel costs have dropped dramatically over the past few weeks, making those prices artificially high for this year. Maybe we’ve forgotten The Broads pre-pandemic and can now only remember the artificially increased numbers caused by imposed post pandemic foreign travel restrictions. To be fair, who can blame someone taking a cruise around the Norwegian Fjords, for example, when the cost for two is less than hiring a boat on The Broads. I don’t ever recall a Broads boating holiday ever being cheap and with deals available on jet away holidays in the sun being offered for less than the cost of hiring a boat, is it any wonder that folk are returning to fighting over a sun bed, supping cheap booze around a sun kissed swimming pool?

If they do take over Hardley Mill moorings, expect a rise in the mooring charges that already exist. As things stand, it’s £10 overnight, but if you become a Friend of Hardley Mill for £10 per year, the overnight charge reduces to £5. Clearly, for us based ‘down south,’ becoming a Friend soon pays for itself. If the BA take over, mooring fees will surely need to provide some funding for the mill, as well as to the coffers of the BA and to fund the collection of the fees. Will this be a £15 per night mooring soon? For the BA, it’s ideal. Pontoon moorings require little maintenance compared to places with piling and timber quay heading and electric is already there, provided by two posts. Are their plans to ban diesel powered cruisers from overnight mooring, given there’s only space for four craft and use them solely for electric or hybrid craft? I cannot help thinking that should the BA take over Hardley Mill moorings, the reason will be in favour of the BA’s Notional Park status and not navigation in general.

We use these with ordinary curtain hooks. Cheap, but good quality: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353481402688?var=622757091911 The curtain track used in most boats is called Silent Gliss. If you need specific hooks, look for the suppliers of the track. We bought some from Amazon when we first bought Norfolk Lady.

Just been reading on a couple of FB Broads groups that two BA moorings will soon be lost, at Langley Dyke and Gayes Staithe. These may be idle rumours, but a respected member on here has actually posted some details, so there may be some truth in it. Perhaps Tom @BroadsAuthority would like to comment and either confirm or deny the rumours.

Nooooooooooooooooo! Please, no! 🤢

Knowing what I know, but able to not disclose that, your starting point is not so modest imho. It’s a great starting point and one that many people could only aspire to. That said, I’m in total agreement with you in that none of us know what the future holds. Live for today, you only live once and don’t have the opportunity to regret what you haven’t done - all cliches maybe, but so true. Really happy for you. My bank balance doesn’t look as healthy as it might have been after four years of ownership, but the money we’ve spent couldn’t compensate for the memories we’ve made and continue to make.

Wouldn’t worry, Helen. I finished work in August 2020, when I took voluntary redundancy from my last job. Due to the pandemic and restructuring of our department, it was the most palatable option and one decision which I don’t regret at all. So almost three years on and my brain still seems unable to process the fact that I’m now 67 and not 25, to the extent that I’ve just bought a new motorbike. That said, my real age becomes all too apparent when faced with anything too strenuous. Good job we bought a bungalow with a huge ruddy garden then!

Been there, done that! When we bought ours, we went to Dunelm to buy stuff, crockery, glasses, pots, pans, towels, bed linen and a toilet brush! You know the sort of stuff. When we arrived at the till, the cashier said ‘new house?’ We replied ‘no, new boat!’ It sounded as if we were bragging, I suppose, but it felt good. As for fenders etc., I bought ours from Boulters and collected them when we picked the boat up from NYA, Horning, together with a long length of 14mm rope, to make new moorings ropes. The ones on the boat were too short and in poor condition, so I had to learn how to splice, but YouTube can be your friend sometimes!

Nice one! Hope all goes well with the river trial and survey! Look forward to reading more, as and when it happens! 👍

I can understand two people, even with just one mower, incase of an accident or incident when a second person would be present to alert emergency services etc. Even working in an office over Bank Holidays, we weren’t able to leave a sole worker with no one else present for the same reason. Four, however, does seem like overkill.

Who needs an excuse?

Their ciabatta based lunches come highly recommended and not just by me. Have a pint of Nightingale for me. It’s bloody lovely!

My ruddy wallet trembles when I get called that!

Easy!

And me!

My pleasure Neil! As for food, the guy to our stern has his barbecue fired up and the smell is making me both hungry and slightly envious!