GeoffandWendy

Captains Log: Sunday 19th April 2015. We woke up early at 6am to a beautiful sky, thinking we were in for another nice day. How wrong we were! Later in the day, the clouds rolled in and it turned out to be the coldest day of our holiday. A nice cup of coffee was in order at this hour, so on with the kettle and the heating, just to warm through the boat. Having both taken a shower, we had a light breakfast of crunchy nut cornflakes, toast and marmalade, then went for another stroll along the river bank. As we got back to the boat, it was becoming cloudy and the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and it went rather chilly. Time to phone the pilot, for our passage back through the bridge. Destination for today was Potter Heigham, Acle, Stokesby and Stracy Arms (our limit for this holiday). The pilot came aboard at 8.30 and we were the first boat of the day to go under the bridge. Once through, the pilot hopped off again onto a row of moored day boats and bade us farewell and bon voyage, or something to that effect. Well we were on a cruise I suppose. The chef had got the kettle on again for a nice cup of tea, as we slowly headed along the river towards Wroxham Broad, were we did a detour from the main channel for a run round the broad, before rejoining the river again. We passed through Horning about 9.45am and made our way towards Benets Abbey. There were a few boats on the move, but we were surprised how many hired boats, still had their curtains drawn. I know the weather was a bit offish today, but we like to be up early when on holiday, not spend half the morning in bed, what a waste of precious time. Still if people want to spend their holiday, getting up late, then that's their choice. We decided to spend some time at Horning on another day, when and if the weather improved, which it did, but today, we only had the weather man's prediction for the days ahead. It was pretty bleak as we passed the Abbey and the moorings were empty, is it any wonder on a day like this. We had planned on stopping at Potter, to have a look through Lathams, but it had started raining, so decided to just fill up with water, turn turtle and head back to the Bure for a run south to Stokesby. I am so glad we had decent weather for the rest of the week, because if it had been wet, it would have been a pain to see out of the windscreen when the rain is blowing against you. Why windscreen wipers are not fitted is beyond me. No points for Richardson's on that score. Are you reading this Clive, get some windscreen wipers fitted on these boats. After leaving Potter, the rain stopped as it was just a passing shower, so at least I could see through the windscreen again. It was still a bit bleak outside, but nice and warm in the boat, with the heat from the engine acting as a radiator, definately not a time to have the sliding sun roof back, but there were a few draughts coming in around the top edges of the roof, where the seals are situated, but I expect these are pretty worn out and could do with replacing. A few towels to plug the gaps, seemed to do the trick, but hardly up market, especially if you wanted to invite visitors on board for a coffee. "Oh sorry about the towels, but we have a few draughts coming in!" We reached Acle Bridge, just after 12.30 and moored at the shop, to pick up some bread and milk and a few naughty but nice cream cakes. I asked if we could stay moored for half an hour, whilst we had some lunch and the lady in the shop said, not unless you spend £30 (only joking) she really said, of course you can. Only the mooring sign says, only boats using the shop can moor here. Mind you we did use the shop, but wanted to have lunch before we left. So it was off again, to explore the southern reaches of the North Broads, as far as Stracey Arms. We passed Stokesby and did a turn round at Stracey Arms, where only a few boats were moored. What we might be able to afford if we don't win the lottery. We were not so keen on this end of the Broads, it seemed rather uninteresting, just reeds and not much vegetation, so we will be giving this section a miss in September, and travel no further than Potter, concentrating more between St Benets and Wroxham and of course the Ant and its dykes. So having said good bye to Stracey Arms, we headed back again, past Stokesby, under Acle bridge and past the Abbey to the mouth of the Ant, were we did a right to take us towards Ludham bridge. Since our holiday began, we have come to realise that you don't usually meet any boats, until you come to a narrow section of river, or unless you are approaching a sharp bend. Since joining the Ant, this was the case, and yes, sod's law again, we met three large sailie things with masts down, coming through the bridge, as we rounded the S bend, Oh dear, time to reverse and pull over, to let them pass. We actually got in close to the jetty alongside the boatyard and waited our turn to go under the bridge. When the last sail boat come through, I then engage forward gear to line myself up with the bridge, when lo and behold, a great big posh cruiser was just starting to come through, very slowly. I thought he wasn't going to make it, as it was quite high with a bridge cockpit. I think he was about half an inch lower than the bridge, but very slowly, he edged forward and just cleared. Glad I wasn't the skipper of that boat. At last, we had a clear view through the bridge and managed to pass under at a slight angle, without catching the side of our boat. We never saw anything else until we were approaching How Hill and there were only a couple of boats moored there. We decided to visit How Hill later in the week when the weather was better, although by now, the clouds were unfolding and eventually the sun came out, as we were passing Irstead Staithe. No room there, as it was full. So our plan was to make for Netishead for our next night. Back over Barton Broad, keeping to the left, past the unavigable Turkey Broad, we entered Lime Kiln Dyke. A boat was just coming out and we were told that the moorings were full, so we did a lft and entered Gayes Stain, were ther was room for just one more boat. This is a pretty little spot and we moored up behind a Summercraft Boat for the night. Time for a well earned cup of coffee and a chill out, before going to the White Horse for a meal. It is quite a walk to the village from Gayes, but a stretch of the legs was welcome, after sitting at the helm all day, except when Wendy took the wheel for a few miles. The sun was well out by now and was a little warmer than it had been earlier. After a wash and brush up we walked down the path from the staithe, to join the narrow road into Neatishead village and entered the White Horse. This is a lovely pub and has recently been refurbished with a new restaurant but we manage to find a nice little table in the bar area. For starters, it was another pint of Wherry and Wendy had her usual half pint of Aspels cider, before ordering our meal. I opted for rump steak, mushrooms, onion rings, grilled tommatoe and fresh garden peas. Wendy had roast chicken in a garlic sauce, mushrooms, onion rings and side salad. It was a lovely meal and came to just over £26 including drinks. After a few more drinks, and chatting to another couple on the next table, we decided to haead back to the boat before dark, although we did have our torches with us, but had left the cameras on the boat, so no photos of the White Horse. We picked up a box of new laid eggs from a barrow at the house near the entrance to Gayes staithe and popped £2 in the honesty box. Despite the earlier weather it was a nice ending to a perfect day and before long, we were nicely tucked up in bed again for the night, in this very peaceful place.

Actually the pole on Star Gem did come in handy, but not for dancing. All will be revealed later. Have a nice holiday David and look after Steve & Deb

David (deebee29) and Iain, have a safe journey and a great holiday. Just counting the days, is slower than counting the weeks. John & Mary Jane, Welcome back. you must have been away when we first joined the forum. Hope you had a great cruise.

I bet anybody, that you won't get a mooring at Horning on that day.

Yes we love it too. We were going to have a brand new one, then saw this car on the forecourt last September. It was a six month old ex demonstrator, with just 1500 miles on the clock and we got it for £2000 less than a new one. It is a top spec Premium model, with cruise control, day time led running lights and blue-tooth connectivity for hands free phone. Price new £11,995. We got £1,995 trade in for our 6 year old Renault Clio, so all in all it cost us £7,995. with five years warranty and they gave us a 5 year annual service pack normally only available, if you buy a brand new model, for £8.95 per month over four years. We have had it just over six months now and the present mileage is just coming up to 4,000. It's very comfy, easy to park and will turn almost on a sixpence, as the saying goes.

Yes that will be great Jasper, look forward to seeing you again.

Nice looking boat Steve & Deb

It's a good thing really, that there is such a variety of boats to choose from when hiring. Don't get me wrong, we saw some real beauties whilst on holiday that we would have dearly liked to have hired, but being older, we would have struggled getting on and off. It's the same with cars I suppose, I used to own a Triumph GT6 many years ago, but would have difficulty getting in and out, now I am older and I am not as slim as I used to be. We have gone for economy with our latest car, the new Hyundai i10, it is only a small car, but is the roomiest city car you can get, with the largest boot and four doors, making it easy to load shopping on the back seat. It does around 55 mpg, has a top speed of 90 and will cruise at 70 with no effort. Cheap to insure and only £20 a year road tax.

Just catching up with your blog Robin, having just got home from our first week on the broads. We didn't take our laptop with us, so had a lot of catching up to do on the forum. Another great blog Robin, looking forward to the next episode on Belmore TC.

I used to be a truck driver, before I retired and had a sleeper cab, which I used if parking at a truck stop for the night. All sleeper cab trucks are fitted with night heaters, that burn diesel fuel. But at least they were controllable and you could set the temperature and leave them on all night. Day 3 of the Captains Log coming tomorrow.

Hi Jasper, nice to see you on the forums and it was nice meeting you at Horning last Monday and again at Stalham on Thursday. Still doing our blog on the Holiday Tales, but not got round to mentioning you yet, but I'll post your photos up when I do our report for Monday. Hope to see you again at the end of September.

I noticed that most of the watering places have a donation box, which we donated after filling our tank, but there were quite a few boaters, who filled up and left without putting something in the box. For the whole week, it cost us about £5 for water and £15 for a pump out at Ludham Bridge boatyard.

I agree with what has been said about Bathtub type boats, they are not as graceful as most other types, but for us old codger's they are ideal, being all on one level. Star Gem 6, like Robin has said, has the large rear window, which allows more light into the rear cabin. All the Star Gem Boats were out during our holiday, except Star Gem 2 and we saw all of them during our travels. If they had a slightly longer bed and some controllable heating that had a thermostat, they would be much better. The only other disadvantage is the internal engine, that can get on your nerves on a long run. But other than that, it suited our purpose, had plenty of room and for the price of the hire £485, not including the fuel deposit, was pretty good value for money. For our Sept/Oct holiday, we have booked one of three Barnes Brinkcraft Topliner's, which seem a bit more posher than the Star Gem boats, having a walk round external deck on the same level as the cabin and a decent patio area at the stern, for sitting out accessible through full height sliding doors. The bed can also be accessed from both sides, instead of one side being up against a bulkhead. They are a bit shorter than other bathtubs and the cabin area is not as wide, because of the outside walkway deck. They do have bow thrusters, but won't go under Potter or Wroxham bridges. We saw one of them whilst on holiday and they look quite nice. So once we return from that holiday, you can read what we think about it.

We have just had a week on the Broads, but stayed in the north. After returning the boat last Friday morning, 24th April, we drove to Norwich, where we had booked a guest house for the night, so we could spend some time in Norwich before going home. I will be covering our visit to the city as part of our holiday blog in Holiday Tales.

Captains Log : Saturday 18th April 2015 Having had a good nights sleep, despite the 5' 6" length of our four poster bed, it was a matter of sleeping diagonal to stretch out, but we managed okay. The only other gripe was being up against the rear bulkhead (notice the navy terminology, they don't have walls on boats) which made it a hassle to get in and out in the middle of the night to visit the heads. It meant disturbing Wendy, who was on the outside of the bed and it was freezing at 3 am in the morning. I will come to the heating later. Anyway we awoke at 7 am to a nice blue sky, which looked promising for another lovely day. We had our breakfast of cornflakes, orange fruit juice, followed by hot crispy bacon baps and filter coffee. Wendy had a quick shower, whilst I washed up the breakfast dishes, part of my duties for the rest of the week! Wendy was Chief Bosun's Mate and Chef. I had my shower, whilst Wendy did the make up ritual, a thing that needs at least half an hour. Having done with my shower and shave, I topped up with water from the jetty hosepipe and by 8.30 we were ready to set sail again. With the engine ticking over, the Bosun's Mate was ready to let go aft, whilst I lifted the mud weight. We were advised to drop it after we moored up by one of the other boater's as there was a strong side wind blowing across the bows. The gentle cruise out of Ranworth to the Bure was beautiful, and we watched the village and the tower of Ranworth Church disappear into the distance. There was quite a bit of traffic about, as we reached the Bure, so it was a matter of tucking in behind another boat coming from the direction of the Ant mouth, as we headed towards Horning. We carried on past Horning and had a quick look at Salhouse Broad, then rejoined the river and into Wroxham Broad. As we approached Wroxham, the pilot's mooring was empty, except for a flock of swan's which were being fed by some onlookers at the jetty. They soon dispersed as we came along side to embark the pilot. With the pilot aboard, we were soon through the bridge. We were now on our way to Coltshall for a few hours at least, before returning to Wroxham, for our second nights mooring. The run up to Coltishall was very relaxing as we ran at just above tick over at 1200 revs, just enough speed to take in all the scenery and observe the wildlife, as we slowly meandered round bends into the unknown. It took us about an hour to reach Coltishall Moorings, where we turned the boat, opposite the Rising Sun and moored up alongside the Common. It was a lovely day, with a gentle breeze, so we decided to have a stroll up to the pub for a few drinks. Again, I sampled the Wherry and Wendy tried a half, which she really enjoyed. We had a nice ham & salad baguette and an ice cream to finish off, before ordering another pint and a half of Wherry. Took a few photos and a bit of video before strolling back to the boat and getting the folding arm chairs out, that we had brought with us. We just sat by the side of the boat, watching other boats coming and going, before deciding to move on again back to Wroxham just after 3 pm. Wendy had her first try at the helm, as she was a bit nervous about having a go before now, but once she got used to steering in a straight line, she was fine and only once did I have to come to the rescue, when she almost gave a group of overhanging trees a haircut, when some stupid day boat driver came at us from around a blind bend, doing well over the speed limit. Again a quick reverse action avoided any disaster and we were soon on our way again without any further mishap. Wendy stayed at the helm until we reached Bridge Broad near the railway bridge. The Viaduct moorings were full up but there were a few stern on moorings vacant at Hoveton St John moorings and in no time, were were safely moored up for the night, with another first time docking manouvre. We had a quick wash and brush up and had a look round Roys. Blimey do the Roy's own all of Wroxham? Wendy bought a straw hat to keep the sun off. We then sat by the bridge and had a triple cone ice cream each, I choosing rum & raison with toffee fudge and Wendy had a rasberry ripple with pecan nut, just like two big kids, we licked and licked these massive chocolate cones for at least twenty minutes, and yes I did spill some ice cream down the front of my t shirt, but that's what kids do isn't it. We had our meal on the boat, rather than dine out and had Prawn Tika Masala & Naan Bread, followed by cheese and biscuits and a nice glass of Rose wine, finishing with a cup of coffee. We then had a stroll along the river bank, under the railway bridge, as far as the Viaduct Moorings, then came back at sat in the gardens near to our mooring, before going back on board for a few games of scrabble and listen to some music on CD. We never had the TV on all week, just made do with CD's and the radio. It was starting to get a little chilly, so we fired up the hot air heating system, which would have been fine if it had had a thermostat to control it. After about half an hour, the boat felt like a tropical plant house, so we had to turn it off. Then half an hour later, icicles were starting to form on the windows, no seriously it went rather chilly again, so on with the heater again to get warm. Off again to cool down, not very good in my opinion, if it had been thermostatically controlled it would have made life easier, but it wasn't and it got very cold during the night when you left the comfort of your duvet, to use the toilet. We were tucked up in bed by 10 pm and again had another good nights sleep. Wendy said I was snoring most of the night, but I didn't hear it. Here endeth the second day of the Captains Log aboard Star Gem 6 Say Cheese! Nearly bed time, even for the Starlings

Great read so far Steve & Deb, pity we were in the north, otherwise we may have seen you both. Apart from Sunday the weather was brill all week, but it did brighten up late Sun afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your holiday. Congratulations on owning your own boat. Hope you have many happy times aboard her.

Thank you guys for all your comments so far. There is lots more to come yet. Alan & Tan Yes the church tower is open, but we said we will leave it until our next visit in September, when all the scaffolding will have been removed. There is nothing worse than scaffolding on the side of a building, when you want to take photo's. Same with Norwich Cathedral, as you will see later in our blog. Parts of it has scaffolding up. Griff I know, I know, I know a ruddy bathtub! But it had plenty of room and was all on one level, which suited us, we are not as nimble as we were twenty years ago. Only one criticism, with having front steering, is is difficult to see the stern of the boat, through the rear door. Could have done with some Truckers wing mirrors. :

Captains Log Friday 17th April 2015 We have been waiting a long time for this day to arrive, or what seemed a long time, since we booked our holiday back in January. Well the day for our departure from home finally arrived and we were up at 4.30 am. We had decided to set off early morning, when only the truck drivers are out and about and the roads are reasonably quite. After finishing off loading the car, we were on our way at just after 5.30. There was no real rush, so we just tootled along, hardly going above 60 mph. It is a straightforward run to Norwich from where we live, just a matter of hopping on the M42, to join the M6 south and finally the A14 towards Huntingdon, before joining the A11 to Norwich. What a difference the A11 is now from Thetford, it was just single carriageway when I last travelled down it, through Elvden. We stopped several times en route, for toilets and refreshments before finally reaching the Norwich inner ring road, where we turned left towards the airport. The traffic was quite heavy by this time, as commuters were travelling to work, which was just after 8 am. So nice to not be one of them as we finally reached the A1151 for Wroxham. We took this route rather than the A47, to avoid the road works, where the new bridge is being erected. We arrived in Wroxham at 9.30 and parked in Roys car park, so we could pick up some fresh provisions for the boat. We had a bacon bap and a coffee and spent about an hour there, before leaving for the last few miles to Stalham and Richardson's Boatyard, arriving just after 11 am. Our boat was not quite ready and we were told to come back to reception at 12 pm, so we had a stroll down to Swan Quay, where Star Gem 6 was moored. I was surprised to see how big these boats are, much bigger than they appear in the brochure, but was not put off by that. After a quick cup of coffee from the on site catering van, we went back to reception, to get the paperwork, then collect our life jackets and drove the car to the jetty where the boat was moored, so we could unload the car. You would think we were having a month on the boat, with the amount of stuff we had packed, but within ten minutes everything was stored aboard. We were given a run through of the boat, and shown all the necessary controls and given a brief run down about the handling, without having to do a trial run, as our instructor was quite happy that I been on the canals before and said that it is no different and was quite happy to let us get under way. So without further ado, we slipped the mooring ropes and were soon on our way up the River Ant by 12.30. Within 10 minutes, I was handling the boat like a regular visitor. instead of a first timer, I think it must come natural to an ex matelot, it must be the salt in my veins. We had a nice slow amble along the Ant and across Barton Broad and had the river to ourselves, until we reached How Hill, where we met several boats heading towards us. We decided to head for Wroxham for our first nights mooring, then changed our minds and decided to head for Ranworth instead. Had a bit of a tricky moment at Luddon Bridge, which was clear for us to enter, but as soon as we came through, another boat came round the sharp turn, by the boatyard, on the right hand side instead of the left. I had to slam Star Gem into reverse, to avoid hitting it. The chap on the boat apologised for being on the wrong side and praised me for my quick thinking, otherwise, I'm sure there would have been a few scrapes along the side of both his and our boat. Quite a nasty S bend at that point and all the moored boats on both sides don't make things easy. Anyway we survived out first incident and I felt quite proud of my self having avoided a collision. We arrived on Malthouse Broad just before 3.30 pm and there was just room for two boats at Ranwoth Staithe. The wind had got up a bit since we left Stalham, so I thought I might have a problem with a stern on mooring, our first one as well. But like a trusty old sea dog, I managed to swing the boat around and gently slipped it into reverse and I am happy to say, did a splendid first time mooring, in between to other boats. A few guys were there to assist with the tying up and when they found out that it was our first time on the Broads, congratulated me for a decent bit of boat handling. I felt quite chuffed with myself and thought by the end of the week, I would earn the rank of Commander at least, before becoming a fully fledged Captain. What a beautiful spot, Ranworth is. It was a lovely day, despite the strong wind, so we strolled over to the Maltsters for a beverage, where I sampled my first ever pint of Wherry, now that' s what I call a good pint, and it wasn't the last I was going to taste before the week was out.. We had a gentle stroll up to the the church, but unfortunately, it is having its roof repaired and most of the outside was covered by scaffolding, so not much good for getting any decent photographs. I manage to take one from inside, but even some of the furnishings were covered with dust sheets, so maybe next time when we come back in September, the work will be finished. Back on board for a nice cup of tea, then half an hour on the bed, just to chill out, before having a shower and going back to the Maltsters for a meal and some more of that lovely ale. We opted for Beer Battered Cod & Chips with good old mushy peas, a pint of Wherry for me and a glass of Aspels cider for Wendy. Just for a nightcap, we had another drink, then decided to have an early night, as we were both rather shattered, having been up since 4.30, it had been a very long day. It didn't take much rocking, before we were both snoring our heads off, well I expect we both were, cos I know Wendy snores, but I didn't hear her that night. Coltishall is on the itinerary for tomorrow, so until tomorrows Captains Log, enjoy reading about our first day of our holiday and a few photos we took. for now.

Hello again everyone. We have just got back home (5.30 pm) and NO we did not chain ourselves to the boat. We have had a fantastic time and like I said, for some reason, we always seem to get good weather when we go on holiday and last week was just perfect. I have yet to download all our photos (loads of them) to my laptop, which will probably take me all night. Then there are the video shots as well, but don't know how these will turn out, as we have never took video shots before and I will have to edit them and make up some decent footage ready for uploading to youtube, before I can post them on here. We did quite a lot of cruising all week and used £94 of our £100 fuel allowance, but with £12 for Wroxham Bridge Pilot, we only had to pay Richardsons £6, when we checked back in. I kept a Captains log of each day of our holiday, so we have plenty to write about, which I will post on the Holiday Tales, once I have got everything sorted out. It was one of the best holidays we have ever had and we can't wait to get back there at the end of September.

Thank you all for your good wishes for our holiday. We wont be home until Sunday 26th as we are spending a few days in Norwich, after we hand the boat back.Thank's for the reminder on the non stick frying pan, it's now part of our luggage. Early to bed, early to rise, so we will bid you all good night and will be counting boats instead of sheep, until 4.30 am. We will be on our way at 05.30 after a light breakfast. Goodnight all until a week Sunday.

It's The Final Countdown! Just counting away the hours now and this time tomorrow, we should be on our way down the River Ant, Heading towards Ludham Bridge, depending on what time Richardson's feel confident enough with our boat handling, before handing us the keys. Now I know you are all going to miss us on here for a week, But I am sure you can manage without us, some of you will be glad of the break, from us daft old pair. But you only have yourselves to blame, for getting us hooked on this boating lark! We are about to go on an adventure of a lifetime, into the great unknown, along mighty rivers teaming with wildlife, (thank God there are no crocodiles or rapids) and meet the local people of this far away land. We will encounter much wildlife as we meander through tree clad waterways and come across strange looking craft, dug out canoes (used by many of the natives), rubber things with two paddles sticking out of the side. Salie type things in all sizes, with big triangular rags blowing in the wind. Huckleberry Fin, Mississippi Paddle Steamers full of waving tribesmen. Lots of motor powered craft of all shapes and sizes, some in colours of the rainbow. Many will be seen jostling for mooring spaces before the sun sets, on a first come first served basis, or you end up mud weighting I believe. But we intend to capture this magical land on camera, so we can share what we have seen and where we have been during our travels. So on that happy note we will bid you all farewell as we brace ourselves for this wonderful journey into the unknown. See you all soon.

Here you are Jaws. Ebay UK http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shark-Teeth-Eyes-Decal-Retro-Sticker-DIY-Car-P40-Warhawk-/331511191686

Not good news at all. I hope Mark recovers soon. Again, hats off to Richardson's, for excellent service. Thank's for a reminder to take our the first aid kit out of the car and onto the boat, one never knows if you might need it. Enjoy the rest of your holiday Dave.

John, I hope you realise what you have let yourselves into by joining this forum. If you are not mad already, you will be soon. There are a lot of nutters on here, including me, but we are all very friendly and helpful. Broadscot and Ranworth Breeze, will monitor any misbehaviour and Grace acts as the neighbourhood watch, all under the administration of Jaws Orca. But don't let that put you off. It's ok, I am suffering with Broads Fever, a symptom that comes on when you are in holiday mode by getting over excited. It goes away after your holiday is over, until the next time.

Just 1 more day to go. Everything is packed ready to go in the car on Friday morning. Yes Wendy has finally packed all her clothes and all the other stuff women need to take on holiday in the make up department. We just need to make sure we haven't forgotten anything, but I can't seem to get the kitchen sink in the car, I have tried honest, but I expect the one on the boat will do! Really excited now and tomorrow will no doubt pass very slowly.