TheQ

Ha, just had a look at traffic England and one carriage way of the M62 is closed junctions 22 to 24 they really know how to stuff my journey.....

Other than hitting rush hour traffic at 17:30 on the M80 Cumbernauld the A74 route was generally clear until the A66 / A1 junction. From there on every major junction had huge tailbacks, the A17 A1 junction had several miles of tailbacks, which I avoided by coming up through the old junction at Coddington. As I will be traveling during the day again today I'm seriously considering going all the way down to Manchester and going across the M62 to the M18 M180 then Lincoln A15 to Sleaford ( having had to work at RAF Scampton and RAF Coningsby in know my way round the outside of the traffic jam that is Lincoln.) If I was travelling overnight I'd use the M74 / A66 / A1 route, there are major road works on the Newcastle bypass, the A1 improvements have mostly moved up from the Leeming area to the RAF Catterick area and northwards up to and beyond the A66. Oh in yesterday's post I said the Triumph Stag broke down in the Leeming A1 road works it wasn't it was in the Catterick A1 road works.

I'm glad you arrived safely, had a pint of heavy yet? It's Pretty soggy across here in Bo'ness, the journey from Norfolk wasn't good, very heavy traffic, a broken down Triumph Stag in the roadworks at Leeming. Lots of other road works and traffic everywhere.

I've still go the mark on my right hand, from when the rear axle of a cart moved across and trapped my hand against the body of the cart while going down hill.... ouch/...

Hope you got home safely and enjoy your holiday, It was always a huge relief to touch down in the UK. I'll be just across the water at Bo'ness on Friday night, but after a huge 14 hours in Scotland it'll be time to be on the way back here to Norfolk.

I certainly Remember Jack Hargreaves, I loved " Out of Town" and my Dad went out fishing with him once or twice when we lived in Wiltshire, ( and Jack in Hampshire or Dorset) My memory of TV is from 1966 onwards because before then we didn't have one until then. First memories of TV, a certain football match that year, still the only one I've watched on TV. Not having a TV until I was 8 or 9 is probably why I'm still an avid reader of two or three books a week though that's down from the 12 a week I used to read. So my earliest memories of broadcast technology are from Listening to the Radiogram, and being from a military family it would be listening to Forces Favourites, and of course the Navy Lark, ( left hand Down a bit!!!) in Northern Ireland in the Years before 1963 and Wiltshire after. ( Dad loved Dick Barton, but I must have heard repeats as it was broadcast 1947 -51 originally). The nanny filter in Bing Just stopped me doing a search on Dick Barton! Roast dinner on Sunday after church, cold sliced meat on Monday ( from the same joint we had on Sunday), Rissoles made from the left of bits of the joint on Tuesday. Primary School in Shorts whatever the weather, Having to wear a tie, from then until 1999 School and work. Going to School Whatever the weather, they didn't close if a white flake fell from the sky back then.. Milk Monitor, Ink Monitor, wooden blackboard dusters being thrown at you... the white line down the middle of the playground girls one side, boys the other, outside toilets at school with a roof that only just covered the sitting area, so if it was raining from the wrong way you got soaked anyway. SWMBO didn't live anywhere with inside toilets till she joined the RAF in 1979!

Grendel are you offering to climb the bridge to fit the reflectors?

Congratulations, Remember this time round, you give them back!!!

Yuasa batteries are found in some high end electronic equipment when battery backup is required, they are good. I have found however that almost all batteries have improved over the last few years and they can quite easily last 10 years in a car if you don't leave the lights on. Letting them discharge below 80% for a normal battery and 50% for a leisure battery is a killer. Having them on trickle charge is the way to go, hence my boat is having solar panels fitted, as there is no electricity where I'm moored.

Due to having my boat stationary for two years while saving for a new engine, I had up to 4 inches of growths on the bottom of the boat, it's mooring was shallow, aground on super low tides so that might have had something to do with it. The mooring is now dredged, just waiting to the boat to come back... I'd say yes you need it.

As requested by W-Album. The Monday to Friday are an Open Event, which means anyone can come and compete and many do especially on the Thursday the original regatta day. For club members the Regatta starts Saturday 30th July 2016 in the afternoon on Black Horse Broad, so there will be a fleet of boats sailing up there around 1 till 2PM and returning around 4pm depending on wind etc. for this we need galley crew 2 people, start line people 2 or 3 people and two rescue Boats 4 people. Earlier If it hasn't already been done, I'll head up river and down to place the please keep right signs for the regatta, on the river banks with one or two other people. Then it will on to the broad and pull the pontoon out into the broad from it's mooring to a suitable place for the racing. The buoys are then put out, there are Nine, 4 are roughly near the corners of the broad and then X and Y marks are placed to make for a more interesting course. Then there are 3 on the start line, an orange inner mark, which you DO NOT sail inside , mostly because you'll catch on the pontoon mooring ropes. Then a green buoy and then a green buoy with a triangle on it. To start a race you must go between the two Greenbuoys. Then it's back to the club for a coffee and wait for anyone need a tow up to the broad leaving at 13:30. Once the tow has been done a quick adjust of the buoys if the wind has shifted. After two races on the Saturday it's time to put it all away. Back to the club house get changed in to something slightly more respectable, and get ready for the social event. The following morning its the same routine go up about 08:00 and set up, Return for a bacon butty and coffee tow up at 10:00. then two races Go back to the club about 12:30 for some thing to eat, tow back 13:30, two races Pack up. Back to the club house get changed in to something slightly more respectable, and get ready for the social event So to see what madness we get up to in the evenings See http://www.horningsc.co.uk/ and then look at regatta week / entertainments. If anyone wishes to watch the racing, please do, we Ask that you find somewhere around the edges to watch from, the up wind end is often a good choice as you can sit in your stern to watch the sailing in ever decreasing circles easily.

On a regatta day there are 3 to 5 rescue boats out, so 10 people at any one time, The galley has two people in all day maybe 6 in all to spread the load. The start finish line has the officer of the day, his/ her assistant, and a time keeper, plus replacements for lunch 6 people. There are 2 to 3 people Normally the Fields family, taking entries a huge 50p per boat per race I think. So around 20 people on duty each day. There will be some organising the evening events every day, running the bar and evening meal Then there is the entertainments committee, the race committee and the club committee all organising it Then there is the Commodore. Vice Commodore, and rear Commodore who do a heck of work all year culminating in being on duty practically all week for the regatta. Then there is the Honourary secretary, Honourary treasurer, and the membership secretary keeping tags on us all year. I've no doubt missed out some just for the week Then there is for each weekend for the rest of the year, 3 people for the start line and a minimum of 4 people for the rescue boat. Several people running a function at least once a month. The three river race has a commitee, start line crew, race entry organisation, 40+ people out on the water and the magnificent galley crew operating for around 36 hours. We need those breakfasts!!! The Sailing school which has a register of around 80 under instruction mostly children but we have some adults under instruction and have keelboats as well as dinghies, so you need a committee, instructors and rescue boat drivers for each Thursday evening. The maintenance group who do everything from painting the clubhouse, to clearing the undergrowth back on the riverbanks ( with BA / Landowner permission) I've again missed out some more. And out of the lot how many are paid? TWO the cleaners who come into the club the morning after each race.

Thanks for your response I've just noticed I've missed something rather important Normally the crew sit in the front looking back and the helm is looking forward.... we are supposed to be keeping an eye out should anyone get into trouble / capsizes etc!!!

This is just a bump to keep the original post in the public eye until the event. But since I've the time I thought I'd let you know what my routine is during regatta week. At between 07:00 to 07:30 I'll get to the rescue boat and load up with the bouys, radio, first aid kit, paddles, boat hook, and then fill and fit a fuel tank. 08:00 I'll help pull up the club flags as the cannon fires, then with someone with me, it's off up the river putting the bouys. Bouy 5 is near Southern Comfort outside the club house. Bouy X is near the dyke to Southgates / SouthQuays yard. Bouy 1 is is just short of the first corner up river from the club and is as far as the little dinghy beginners class sails. Bouy 2 is at the entrance to Hoveton Little Broad / Black Horse Broad. Bouy 3 is by a bay in the river just short of the trees. Bouy 4 is around Dydlers mill. Bouy Y is somewhere round the corner, on a light wind day it may be a hundred yards up, on a strong wind day, it May be all the way up at Woodcutters, the far end of the straight. Normally this bouy is used only by the broads cruisers for their long mid day race. After that it's back for a bacon butty, a coffee and chat to to Officer Of the Day (OOD) with a wind report for the course. 09:30 head up ahead of the bigger dinghies, normally to bouy 2, starting to wave incoming non competitors towards the bank, and giving my speech..often shouted due to engine noise. "Hello, Please keep close to the right hand bank, there are many dinghies up ahead, if you keep to the bank and don't weave around, they will turn away from you, they will get very close, you may have to slow or stop some of them are beginners, get your cameras out!!" Later the "many dinghies" gets replaced by "up to 100 yachts" I don't bother trying to say dinghies keelboats and yachts. The only year a more forceful message was given out, was the year I had a Broads ranger on board for the entire week, he gave the message as an order. His critisisums of my approach were, for not being more forceful, not blocking directly hire boats with the safety boat, and our safety boats are too slow. 10: 30 follow the last dinghies back to the club, grab a coffee, straight back on the rescue boat with the coffee for the next series, which is a full fleet of boats, up to 8 starts at five minute intervals starting at 10:30. This race will go to bouy 3 or 4 depending on wind, note that races will include going back as far as the club house bouy 5 or to any of the other bouys and back to 3 or 4 up to three times. Boats in all directions !!! During this series, we get the morning rush of boats from Wroxham, up to 4 abreast coming round Dydlers Mill corner, the odd hire cruiser surrounded by speeding day boats. The speech gets abreviated, trying to get it in between boats, with difficulty trying to keep up with speeding day boats as some are faster than the rescue boat!!! 12:00 back to the club house for lunch, during this the big cruisers race without rescue boats they can help each other if there is a major problem 14:00 out for the next full series, same routine as 11:00 as we get the afternoon rush from Wroxham. 15:00 grab another coffee as we start another full series 16:00 - 16:30 start of normally two special races, for trophies that you may qualify for, be, servicemen and ex-servicemens, or minors in fixed keelboats. 17:00 - 18:00 end of racing, collect the bouys return to the club and put all the gear away. 19:30 - 22:00 join in evening social event which often includes the evening meal. Bed. Next day go to the beginning of this post and start again total 5 days.... Next bump should include the odd story of the few rescues I've had to do over the year.s

My boat was in suspended animation for 2 years , while I Saved for it to be re-engined and then taken away for the work. About every three months, I spent hours cleaning the northern side just to have it go green again very rapidly. The boat yard then power washed the entire hull and deck prior to antifouling... it's green again.. I hope to get the boat back soon, then it's me back to the cleaning

30-40 years ago many of the older boats would have been wooden, sadly many are no longer with us. What will happen to all the old Fibreglass boats as the market gets saturated with retired plastic Hire craft? There cannot be an ever increasing level of owners and most plastic boats, so far, have no sign of wearing out the hulls and decks.

Next time I go planing past you at 15mph and you are restricted to 4 mph I'll give you a wave!

Tesco wouldn't agree since the wheels fell off, although they are recovering from Aldi / Asda / Lidl / Morrisons / B+M Stores and even Sainsburys getting in on "their " patch ( especially now Sainburys have bought Argos).

Which one had the scantily clad ladies on the can?

1976, 1 gallon Scrummpy Cider £1 of which 25p was on the container, two pints of which put you exccedingly over the limit (the higher English one that is, not the current lower Scottish lower one). If you managed 4 in a short time, it was time to fall over... First legal pint in the SGTs mess on Benbecula accompanied by parents Aged 16, First illegal a year or two before that, on the train from school in Inverness to Benbecula via lots of places ( Left over cans were hidden in the lifeboats on the ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy for the trip back). Tennants Lager if I recall...

Ah, Even better Use a Stinky as a support boat for a Flappy. Drive your Stinky to tow your Flappy to where you wish to sail, have a nice sail, stop on board with all the facilities. My reason for getting a Stinky But don't tell SWMBO that...

I do wonder when we had all those hundreds of extra hire boats 20-40 years ago, where they all moored. I saw few, on the now lost places along the Bure where the hard quay headings has been removed

As I'm now going to be a permanent resident here I'd better look out to find an Avatar to install when it's recommended to do so something like this maybe....

Not Knowing that end of the broads or where that is , so I hope this makes sense... I do hope it's not intending to go across Breydon in a cross wind.... and the bridges?

Riyadhcrew, I'd agree, Also watching a programme this morning, it was pointed out the open skies agreement in Europe and to the USA dies when Brexit occurs. So defaulting to the previous British - Europe - USA deals. Which for instance mean flights to the USA from the UK, would be controlled by two USA and two British airlines. With the lack of competition flight costs would seriously go up.