SwanR

Well when we were at Horizon Craft recently they did indicate that they thought that the moorings were likely to be lost on their side of the river. I guess we have to wait and see whether Richardson's sell the land and if so what any new owner chooses to do. Or whether Richardson's have other plans. But they also said that the shop on the other side is up for sale and so the moorings over there could be at risk. Unless anything definite has been said then I think all anyone can do is speculate while we wait and see. That's always the problem until someone speaks up officially. Not much of this season left. But we mustn't forget that Bridgecraft are still there so Acle won't be entirely lost as a starting place to hire from.

Have a great time. I think we all become quite proprietorial about the boats we hire. Hubby and I always comment to each other when we see anything we have hired previously.

I think it's all about choice - if it's there and available then at least those who want to keep up with the world and be contactable can do so. And anyone for whom the Broads is about total relaxation and tranquility can turn everything off and chill out. After all we've had television on boats for years I expect - dodgy aerials having to be pointed in the right direction may have made it hit and miss, but it was there. And if you wanted to watch it you could and if you didn't then you could leave it off. Radios are the same. We might turn one on to catch a bit of news and weather ... or with wi-fi or mobile networks available we can check that out online at our own convenience. On the days that we're not bothered then the beautiful Norfolk skies tell us all we need to know.

It is Fair Prince that we are taking out. We've hired this one before in mid October and so we know what we are getting. But whoever we spoke to was doubtful that it would be suitable for the end of March. Hmmm ... well, we know that the heating is good and the cover that goes over where the canopy slides back keeps a lot of the draughts out. Plus the little dining space for two under the bow is very cosy indeed. Just something really odd about being able to book it up on Hoseasons before NBD seemed to have got themselves into gear. I'm reading all the time on Facebook about people having made bookings with them. I'm sure that it will all work out. Apologies to ScrumpyCheddar for interrupting his holiday thread with talk of other boats.

I hope that you are right on that one. But we have had a strange experience booking our break in March with Norfolk Broads Direct. The boat and the date were showing on Hoseasons but we wanted to book directly in order to use our 5% voucher. On contacting NBD they were a little hesitant about taking our booking - this was a few weeks ago. They said ok in the end but couldn't confirm the price. Seemed odd given that the boat was being offered on the Hoseasons website with the price and full details. Anyway ... we booked it but they still haven't confirmed how much they think they are going to charge us. Hubby emailed them again last week and they said that they won't be looking at this until they get past this busy period. Hmmm ... slightly disconcerting and not the service we have come to expect.

I appreciate your comments there ChrisB and wish your wife well. The future is hard to guess. Unpredictable. Hard to know how much you need as a safety net until something hits you. And how do you balance that against making the most of what you have while you can.

Thanks Alan, I may well do that. We're considering a number of options at the moment. Money in the bank certainly isn't making anything and interest rates don't look like going up any time soon. Hubby is retired and I would really like somewhere to get away to at weekends. Working and living in the same town whilst convenient means that you never get a change of scenery.

Lol, I know, I couldn't resist it.

I found this year that I could get fairly good coverage on O2 everywhere on the north except Acle. That seemed very strange given that it was the most open expanse of land. Hubby is on EE I think and his was much more hit and miss than mine ... but he did seem to have coverage anywhere that I didn't! The wi-fi wasn't working on Moon Beam which we reported to Horizon Craft so they could take a look for the next hirer. But we were able to connect up via other Richardson's boats that were near us if they had their wi-fi switched on.

By the way, you can book now for the Santa Cruise http://www.broadstours.co.uk/santa-cruise.php

I'll have to try to watch out for them coming back soon ... be about 12.30 if they left at 11 and went down to Salhouse and back.

We've thought about syndicate boats but not yet convinced ourselves that it would be a better option than hiring. Having said that I think there was a share came up in Goosander recently and we were tempted to give it serious consideration. I hadn't realised that it's the only 2 berth syndicate boat - it certainly would have been more like the kind of thing we are used to hiring.

Ah well we did the same thing in August last year and drove through Wroxham to Ludham then walked up Womack Dyke to the Thurne. It felt very strange to be by the rivers but not on a boat.

What boat are you on Howard? Lovely to see your photos.

We did meet a very nice elderly gent last week who we helped to moor up. He told us that after six hours of finding himself unable to moor he had returned to Richardson's to ask for another trial run so they could show him how to stern-on moor again. I would imagine that someone helped him and that it was the next day that he went back to the yard. They said he was doing everything fine, he just needed to do it a bit more slowly. As for hirers being out and about too late in the day, I suspect that partly this is what happens when the moorings are so full - it's not like when you are out in your car and it's probably only a few minutes to somewhere else that you can stop. Not everyone would be confident to wild moor - we've never done it ourselves. Mud weighting in a broad would be our next option ... but you've still got to get there first.

We've used Premier Inns a number of times and always been fine. Particularly enjoyed the one opposite the railway station in Norwich by the river. We had a room with a view and could watch the boats coming in and out. The food in the restaurant on site was good as well.

Ha ha lol! No I managed to avoid looking for any pressies to bring back ... even though we visited Roys in Wroxham! Mind you they're still selling some bags of Cadburys Mini-Eggs in the Co-op round the corner from where I live.

I do believe this is the one - it's for Euromillions and it is very funny.

Thank you all for your very kind comments and for taking the time to read my holiday tale. I use iMovie to edit together my photos and little video clips. This has become a new hobby as I do enjoy putting it together.

Thanks Wonderwall. It is a lovely boat and I certainly enjoyed taking it out. You could set your speed and leave it to steer itself along the straighter parts of the rivers.

Glad you enjoyed it Griff. It's all part of the fun of belonging to the forum, being able to share what we all enjoy talking about.

My Review of Moon Beam and My Holiday Conclusions Living in Essex the journey to Norfolk is not too far and I have spent many happy holidays in East Anglia from the days of staying at Haven holiday camps when our children were younger, through to visiting the beautiful North Norfolk coast and now having fallen in love with the Broads. We have been fortunate to be able to hire a number of different boats of various designs so how does Moon Beam compare? The plus points are easy to list: Lovely view from the outside helm as long as you get good weather, which we certainly did. Really good view for mooring up and getting away without nudging your neighbours! Very cosy sleeping in the bow of the boat and I found the bed very comfortable. Good headroom throughout which makes a difference as hubby is tall. Very easy and responsive to steer especially as it has bow thrusters. The minuses: Possibly a bit awkward for anyone less mobile - the ladder and hatch out of the living area to the upper helm are a little tricky and quite a small space. The steps between the different areas inside the boat are steeper than I recall on any other boat we have hired. The galley area is small - not much room for preparing meals. If you are vertically challenged then you may have trouble climbing on and off if side-on moored - I would recommend sticking to stern-on moorings where possible. In conclusion: A very comfortable boat but possibly more suited to a couple than four people as the living space is quite small and there is only a seat for two outside on top. Would I hire it again? Probably not as overall we have concluded that we prefer a centre cockpit or a forward steer boat. But it does represent good value for money, is very comfortable and we were glad that we had given it a go. Is it economical? Very. We were able to stick to a steady speed, mostly around 1400 to 1600 rpm giving us 4 to 5 mph. We cruised for an average of three hours per day for four days and only used 20 litres of fuel costing us £22. That meant that we had a very nice £98 back on our fuel deposit. Bargain! Which just leaves me to say that I wish the staff at Horizon Craft all the very best for the rest of this season and their subsequent move to Stalham. And if you have enjoyed my little tale then perhaps you might also like to watch my video. Fair Prince is booked for a short break at the end of March which should be a little less busy than the rivers were last week.

Day Four - Thursday 8th September We awoke to a beautiful clear sunny morning and as is usual for us when out on the rivers, we were up, breakfasted, engine on and ready to depart by 8am. I was very proud of the fact that we were first away from the Island, no-one had yet left the staithe and no boats had arrived - we were the first people on the move on Malthouse Broad. We circled down to Ranworth Staithe just to take a look before getting back onto the Bure heading towards the Thurne. Next stop was to be Potter Heigham. It was such a lovely day bathed in sunshine and amazing to be out in the fresh air cruising gently along. The Thurne was still fairly quiet when we arrived and it was nice to carry on past the turning for Womack Dyke, past the quiet moorings and all the way up to the bridge. Every time we have tried to moor there before we have been out of luck. But this time was different - a nice big gap and a good side-on mooring. Had I thought about it we might have gone into Herbert Woods yard as there looked to be quite a lot of space there and if we had stern-on moored I could have got off the boat. But having moored side-on out on the river I was not going anywhere! We had a nice cup of coffee and a chat with some other boaters who my hubby had helped to moor as well as some people on another boat that had also now arrived behind us. It was very breezy and I knew that getting away might be tricky. No pressure then, just four people all watching on the path although to be fair they had offered to help with the ropes. I reversed back out in several moves gradually bringing the bow further round towards the bank so we could go straight back out into the river and then turn round with the help of the bow thrusters. Yes we had read the Skipper's Manual and been watching the Rascal's very informative videos about how to accomplish this. Where to next? Well we were a little undecided. We intended to end up at Acle as we had to hand the boat back the next day. In the end we came back down the Thurne and then turned left onto the Bure. A nice cruise saw us soon back at Acle and as there were plenty of moorings we carried on to Stokesby just to be out a bit longer. But we found ourselves passing quite a procession of boats who had possibly come up from Breydon Water and by the time we turned round and got back to Acle there were probably only two available spaces out of all the moorings on both sides of the river. With more boats behind us and more coming towards us I made a quick decision and went for one of the spaces. Two very kind gentlemen came out of their boats onto the bank and helped us to get in and moored. These few days had shown what a community there is and how much so many of us enjoy being able to help each other out. Once we had eaten lunch, hubby said that he was just going for a little walk - yes we were side-on to the bank of course and that meant that I couldn't get off the boat. Not a chance! Bless him, he went down to Horizon Craft to see whether we could get in their yard. This was earlier than we had planned but it turned out to be a very good move. The staff down there were fabulous and offered to come up to the boat and move it for us. Within a few minutes we were in the basin with the tank having been filled on the way in ready to sort out the cost of the fuel the next morning ... and you really must read on for that bit when I get to the boat review. Anyway ... I digress. Now that I was rescued and could get off the boat as were moored stern-on, we went to get ice creams and then went for a long walk by the river. The rest of the afternoon was spent sat on top of the boat watching the comings and goings. Quite a few other boats also arrived back at the yard. The staff made themselves easily available, grabbed the boats as they appeared, fuelled them up, moved them around and moored everyone up. This was clearly a well rehearsed scene and very impressive - best service from that perspective that I have seen bearing in mind that we have hired from six different yards over the last few years. That evening we went to the Bridge Inn again and enjoyed a good meal. Hubby had the curry and I just fancied a burger for a change. So I had the bacon and cheeseburger without the bacon and cheese! All I wanted was a plain burger and they were happy to oblige at a lower price than this item appeared on the menu. Bargain. Just shows that it is worth asking for exactly what you want sometimes. Once back on the boat we spent the rest of the evening packing our things ready for the next morning's departure. Today's firsts were mooring at Potter Heigham and mooring at Horizon Craft. The boat review will follow shortly ... along with that all important report on how much of our fuel deposit was returned!

Day Three - Wednesday 7th September Having checked the Barnes Brinkcraft webcam the night before it looked as if there were plenty of mooring spaces in their yard at Wroxham. So we left Salhouse Broad around 8am and headed back down the Bure but unlike the previous day I made it all the way in and executed a very good stern-on mooring in the basin - knowing that the webcam is there always adds a little bit of pressure! It was very humid and overcast so we walked through to Roys as I wanted to pick up some more soft drinks to chill in the fridge having got very thirsty the evening before. We also picked up some nice fresh cold meats and salad from the deli in Roys food hall to have for lunch later. There was a brief shower when we arrived back at the boat so we stayed where we were with a nice cup of coffee for a while before departing. We thought that perhaps as we would be arriving late morning we would get a spot down Fleet Dyke today. Hmmm ... well ... good idea but all the moorings were still full so instead we headed down into South Walsham Broad and dropped the mud weight to have the aforementioned lunch. It was lovely, so peaceful and not many boats coming in or out. I had thought that maybe after lunch some boats would have moved on from Fleet Dyke but on leaving the Broad somewhere around 2pm we were still out of luck and in fact St Benet's was also fairly full. Onwards then to Ranworth Broad. We didn't want to get onto the staithe as we didn't need to get ashore so we happily moored stern-on on the Island - a favourite spot of mine. Another afternoon and evening followed sat out on top of the boat until it was almost dark. Not sure what we did really other than relax completely, watch the boats and the birds (of the feathered variety!) and just talk to each other. That's what's so special about boating ... getting right away from everything. Today's firsts were mooring in Wroxham as a destination rather than when returning a boat to one of the yards and mud-weighting for lunch in South Walsham Broad. Day Four to follow ...

We loved Swan Reflection and have hired it four times. But we did feel that we had outgrown it a bit when we hired it again in June from Stalham. It wasn't quite the same as having it on the southern rivers but it is an excellent starter boat for two.