TheQ

Well, In a weeks time we should be all home, and if the forecast is correct it could be a long slow race. If I can get this tablet to connect to hickling sailing clubs WiFi I'll try to put the odd update out during the race. Good luck everyone..

Meantime, of course I buy I local, I live here. Or as local as I can, 'cos there's no shop within 3 miles...

I've just looked at the long range Forecast for next week, sunshine and wind speeds not exceeding 8 mph making use of the sea breeze in the afternoon will be important..could be a slow race.

As Horning Sailing club, had a rescue boat / power boat instructors course on the broad yesterday, I can confirm that as usual the broad .was open.

Just a bump up so those who missed it may notice with just over a week to go.

It is sad news from Manchester today. my thoughts are with all those involved. The fanatics of all sides, fail to read the basic rules of their, Bible / Torah / Koran. ie the Ten Commandments, which is in all of them. The prime rule they ignore being. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

The annual regatta at Thurne Mouth is this bank holiday weekend. Sailing starts about 10:00 am Saturday and ends Monday afternoon. Sat & Sun the racing is over by about 5:30 pm Monday by about 3:00 pm. This year there are no moorings at Oby and so the majority of the yachts will be moored on the River Thurne, and due to lack of space may be double moored. Care may be needed passing the moored boats between races. Please keep to the right and bank and move slowly when going through the tacking boats. If you keep right and slow the yachts should treat you as part of the bank and avoid you. That was mostly lifted from a post by Waif on the other place, As I had forgotten about it. Horning sailing club are Up on Black Horse Broad on the Sunday, so they won't get in your way to much.

My two sister's speak with a west Lothian accent, I can understand them, their grand children, no chance. My brother speaks with a west Lothian accent, Slowly turning Yorkshire, I don't know what that sounds like in his fluent Scots Gaelic. Me, my accent is somewhere between, Inverness, Somerset and Norfolk...

It's today if you fancy a trip out...?

A friend some years ago had his recliner bicycle stolen while chained up in lincoln. His chain was so good they cut the council provided bike rack... The council initially started trying to get the money off of him to pay for repairs to the bike rack!!!!

Sorry you're having such a short break, In the unlikely Event You are Here the first week in August . We can provide more chaos during Horning regatta week up to 150 boats between the sailing club and Dydlers mill. Monday the 31st July to Friday the 4th of August09:30 to about 17:00

Welcome to the site, I hope you enjoy this years holiday. Assuming you are here for at least a week, you will around during the chaos, Please take a read of We don't want to frighten you off , A good spot to watch the race would be St Benets Straight I think the majority will pass maybe between 12:00 and 15:00 , then you'd have a quiet trundle back to ferry Marina in the morning, with the race stragglers...

This is the latest on road disruption coming up Rackheath, Green lane, will be closed between the A1151 Wroxham Road and Rackheath Industrial Estate (Wendover Road) for the weekends of June 3/4 and June 10/11. The B1150 North Walsham Road will be closed overnight (8pm to 6am) between Beeston Lane and Crostwick Lane for one week from Monday, July 10 Buxton Road, Spixworth, will be closed for two weeks from Monday, July 17 And the A1151 Wroxham Road will be closed overnight (8pm to 6am) between Beeston Lane and Green Lane West for two weeks from Monday, September 18. Two -way traffic lights will be in use from 9.30am 17/05/17 on the A1151 Wroxham Road between Sloe Lane and Green Lane West. Those lights will remain in place 24 hours a day until 9.30am on Saturday morning

For those that may have missed it, Horning Sailing Club have an open day / try sailing day on 20th May 2017 10am to 4pm. This is part of the National "Push the Boat Out" to event created by the RYA to enourage all types of sailing Come down and visit the club, there is, I believe a small charge to go out in the boats, to cover insurance etc Life jackets supplied, please wear soft soled shoes. Tea, coffee etc will be available (and very cheap compared to elsewhere). There will be several boats available from dinghies to keelboats such as Yeoman or Rebels or White boats, with experienced helms to accompany you. ( For those not involved but on the water, there will be only about half a dozen boats out at one time so there should be little inconvience to you.)

No but they tried and may try again...

If you've used your haggis as a Chock you've overcooked it. I prefer mine soft boiled, that way I don't choke on it.

An " expert" on TV this morning pointed out the NHS has less than 1 in twenty machines still on XP and most of those are not on the network. The problem in general was not XP but the non installation of the windows 7 and later software patches released by MS two months ago. The company I work for has machines that go back as far as DOS, but xp and older are not allowed on the network, all current machines are up dated with any patches at least once a month. All done by central IT, automatically, as soon as they have checked the patches themselves are safe for our machines.

There was an attempt to stop sailing on at least one of the lakes, which I believe ended up in court. The basis of the case was that being able to see sails and boats on the water. Stopped a person's enjoyment of the natural beauty of the lakes. The case came down in favour of continuing sailing but you cannot guarantee that in the future. A quote from the National Parks web site. The Sandford Principle Managing a national park is challenging. It needs the right balance between conservation and recreation. National park authorities need to conserve wildlife and habitats, but also encourage people to enjoy and learn from the countryside. This can cause conflicts. To help national park authorities make decisions between conservation and recreation, the National Parks Policy Review Committee made a recommendation in 1974, which is now known as the 'Sandford Principle', named after Lord Sandford who was chair of the committee. Sandford Principle "Where irreconcilable conflicts exist between conservation and public enjoyment, then conservation interest should take priority" This principle was updated in the 1995 Environment Act, to say; "If it appears that there is a conflict between those purposes, [the National Park Authority] shall attach greater weight to the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area" In other words: If there is a conflict between protecting the environment and people enjoying the environment, that can't be resolved by management, then protecting the environment is more important. End quote" Noticeably the" in other words" paragraph contradicts the text of the law, by ignoring the last 5 words " Cultural heritage of the area" So it appears the National Parks as a group have their own Packman principle.

Thanks I'm cracking up, don't worry I'll try to be sane by the time of the race... or is that insane, competing or volunteering

Oops I've Just realise I've put this in the lounge and it probably should be in Broads Chat, can a MOD move it for me? Please.

For those who are not competing, but are on the Northern Rivers the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June 2017. You are perfectly entitled to motor or sail or row anywhere the BA permits in the ways they permit, we do NOT wish to infringe on that. However.... Here I hope is some information to save you much inconvience, and heart failure by getting caught up in the middle of the chaos that can ensue in certain places. THE START LINE The Race is due to Start, at 11:00 on the Saturday the 3rd, the starting line being from the Sailing club across the river at Swan Inn Corner. There will be up to 150 boats competing, starting in groups of about 10 boats at 5 Minute intervals heading down river. If you wish to go through the start line, between 10:55 and about 13:30, you will find a group of boats sailing in ever decreasing circles on the start line, getting most agitated exactly on the 5 minute intervals (we use a radio clock for timing). If going Down river the best thing to do is to hold off until a start has just happened and then follow them, when you see a gap appear on the right hand bank go a little faster and pass. (within the speed limits) If coming up river Keep tight to the right hand bank, when the start occurs once the group has passed, go forward keeping to the right . The tide is going out this year at the start so the sailing boat should keep moving down river. THE River ANT The Next congested Point is likely to be the river ANT, given the choice I would avoid the ANT between Ludham Bridge and the Bure from 11:30 till 14:00. With any decent wind there will be hoards of boats sailing up to the turning point just below the bridge and back to the Bure. The river is Narrow the boats will have to tack one way or the other there is not a lot of room. If you Have to go up there, all you will be able to do is go with the flow and try to keep to the right.. South Walsham The South Walsham leg is slightly wider and by keeping to your bank you should get through, If a mass of boats appears all you do is slow down and keep to your bank let them go round you. Potter Heigham Bridge, Most boats will tie up just down river of the old bridge to remove their masts, then they will paddle like mad to go through and up past the new bridge before putting everything back up. If you want to go through, all you can do is follow someone. If you are going the other way, please wait for a gap. ( same in reverse when they are coming back). Please just be be cautious the masts stick long way back over the boats ACLE Bridge The boats will tie up both side of the bridge paddle through and put their rig back up normally there is little trouble for those not competing going through, just be cautious the masts stick long way back over the boats. The bottom turning point. The bottom Turning point can be anywhere between the Acle Bridge and Six Mile house, we do NOT know until the day where it will be due to the variability of the wind, boats always go round anti clockwise so if you arrive with a competing boat just follow through on your bank. The Turning Points are marked with a yellow Sausage bouy often with a basket and white flashing lights mounted on it, please try to stay clear of them as the boats turn. Once boats start reaching the Thurne, they will be thining out because you can go round the course in any order you like. Life becomes easier for everyone ALL of our boats will be trailing a red and white streamer from the back, so if you have an Incident with a boat with a streamer. Make a note of the Number on the sail and it's registration number on the hull and it's name. Asking us to Identify someone, saying it had a white sail and white hull denotes most of the sailing boats on the broads!!!! There are guardships (10 off) are scattered around the broads at the key points they can be identfied by a sign saying.... Guardship and a yellow flashing light at night. If you need to contact them about an incident whether or not you were involved. Please remember the Guardships are manned by volunteers trying to help, their prime responsibily is to the race and race safety. Individual boats are responsible for their actions and have their own Insurance (it's a requirement of the race) . PS sorry for the long post But I tried to cover everything , if you have a question or think I've left anything out please let nme know...

VV is asking what to do to get ready for next year, entry forms are normally on the Horning SC web site around February with a closure date at the end of April. SEE the Horning sailing club Web site and the Three rivers race web site(not connected to the club as you'll find more information there.

I'm not sure where you live but, if you are around the 20th May, then a trip out at Horning SC open day, would give you some experience, and as an experienced Sailor you MAY even get to helm. you don't say if you've helmed at all... We've had sailors from all over the world, come and compete over the years. Some successfully some not. River sailing is nothing like Sea sailing especially the 3RR, tacking in less than every 30 seconds from bank to bank from Acle to Potter for 5 hours in the dark is not relaxing... The continuous swerve from Ant Mouth to Ludham Bridge with 100 boats in a river at times only 30ft wide and the odd very confused tourist in the middle is also an experience... I've done the 3RR about 25 times in the last 40 Years, the best finish was about the high teens, completing the course is the main thing, especially for the first few times of entry. To win over all you need the right type of boat FOR THAT YEAR, because the race depends a lot on Wind, tide and race start. But there are lots of trophies for many different classes. A true Broads Cruiser tuned for racing, a Thames "A" rater would get you up the tables. but a Normal broads Keel boat could also win if the conditions are right. As for you to compete successfully, you'd need really to get some broads experience so you have a choice: Get your own boat, best around 20-25ft LOA, Draft 3ft, Tall easily lowerable mast. Unless you like the Pleasure ( or is it pain) of a dinghy!! Hire a keelboat / yacht from Hunter craft Historic fleet at Ludham / Womack, http://www.huntersyard.co.uk/sailing-holidays/find-sailing-holiday/ Hire a Keelboat / yacht from Martham Boats http://www.marthamboats.com/ Get out there and go sailing. Practice is what you need. Other than that GO FOR IT!!!

Oh Boy wait till you get the next power cut...... Years of updates all in one go...

This is deepest Norfolk, North Norfolk is the second lowest crime aea in the country, I regularly for the last 40 years have my landrover or car parked overnight in the sailing club car park which adjoins the Swan / public one. I have never had a problem. I've even left it unlocked accidentally, no problem.. In 40 years, I only once have heard of a problem, and that many years ago, was a bonnet mascot stolen overnight from an historic car.