SwanR

Great to read your tale. I haven’t really tried many places to eat around Wroxham yet. Grey’s fish and chips had been nothing like the quality it used to be. Ken’s is ok and seems popular, always a queue. The King’s Head, well, we’ve tried it a couple of times but the food was very ordinary. Best food yet has been the Chinese takeaway delivered from Horning. Have got Liberty on my list to try at some point.

I felt the same on our first hire. I truly wondered why I had agreed to a holiday where we’d got to move every day rather than staying in a hotel. I do the mooring and hubby handles the ropes. It just comes with practice but your analogy is a good one. I used to be at my most relaxed once we had stopped! 😂 Now I love the cruising as well. But it has taken time and many return trips to practice! 👍

Have met Ian a number of times. Usually very helpful and friendly. My list would be similar to your wife’s! 😂 And with my hubby being tall the walk round bed is the one thing we never compromise on. Closely followed by having bow thrusters. They really do help when there’s just the two of us out on a boat.

Well we’ve taken the plunge and booked the Viking 31 for a short break in October. Our March trip was cancelled and we hadn’t expected to book anything else this year as the boats we wanted were already taken. But the addition of this one has given us the opportunity to book something that looks right for us and is in our budget.

2 nights? So difficult as I love places that are really far away from each other. But if forced to choose then I would go down the Waveney. You can pre-book Beccles yacht station and the town had the various shops, pubs and facilities you might want. But I love North Cove for a quiet away from it all night. And then perhaps Reedham depending on the time you need to leave to get back across Breydon. Really you need a week of its own to appreciate the southern rivers.

So interesting to read your honest review of your experience. It reminds me of how tricky I found things the first time that we hired. I think that you gain confidence every time you go and it’s easy to forget how daunting that first time can feel. We hired Zircon Emblem which I think is a similar design but not the same electrical setup. Did the yard recommend hooking up to shore power for that kind of boat? You certainly would have been restricted for moorings if you were looking for hookup every night. In my opinion many of the best quiet moorings definitely don’t have that facility. I found the inside helm view really good, the best I’ve had on a dual helm cruiser. But the domestic flush style toilet definitely used a lot of water. I think you would find this much less of a problem on other boats. We’ve enjoyed hiring from Ferry Marina but haven’t been there since it changed hands so it’s interesting to hear how the service is now. I also found it hard initially to remember that a boat doesn’t steer like a car especially when reversing. It does take practice but generally if people can see you struggling they will help. Putting everything aside, if you enjoyed it enough to come back then I would recommend taking a good look at Richardson’s. With their size fleet there are all styles of boats to suit all kinds of budgets. And although they are a large operation we have found it well run if a little less personal than you get from a smaller business. I do think that prices have gone up this year so it is worth checking out the various boatyards and comparing them.

This is why I like the forward steer cruisers. I know what so many people say about not getting a view over the reeds and across the land but it’s a trade off.

Looks like a nice spot. 😎

Have a great time both of you, Ian and Marina.

Thanks for the update Jemaki. Best wishes to Eileen. Is that you staying put where you are for a while or have you made plans?

The same here Cal. But I think even October is going to be busier than usual. Just hoping that the colder March weather won’t prove to be attractive to more hirers than other years.

We’re seriously considering whether to book for next March now. This is the first year since 2012 that we won’t have hired but we had no desire to be out on such crowded rivers. Although if we did change our minds about looking at October then my plan would be to moor in the boatyards every night! 😂

Safe journey home and hope you’re feeling ok in yourself.

Please give Eileen my best wishes. I hope things turn out well this morning.

Great to see your update. Best wishes for your recovery.

Hope it all goes well CC and that Katie is ok. Must have been a shock for her to get that call.

Wishing you well. One of those “if only” moments.

Shame about the bed on the last boat. One has to be careful of boats advertised as having a walk round bed but in fact the headboard is in the middle of the room and the bed is therefore still no good for tall people!

Just been for a walk around there. Lots of people of course with the beautiful weather here today. All the benches were taken. Some families sitting on the grass while other folk had come prepared with their picnic chairs. The Hoveton St John moorings were almost full while there was still only a handful of boats at the Viaduct moorings. I know which I would prefer.

It’s in the park area at Hoveton. Some of the park is fenced off as it’s still flooded. And what should be nice footpaths from the viaduct moorings into the village are still a muddy mess that hasn’t dried out since last autumn. Some of the grass is growing back in an area with benches where it’s nice to sit. But the whole place is nothing like the pleasant green land it was last September.

Love Bridgestone’s. It’s long been one of our favourites.

Have a lovely evening. I didn’t realise that there were paid moorings down there. Interesting to know.

A nice reminder that I must visit the bakery again soon. I can vouch for the milk chocolate cookies! 😋

Enjoy your holiday. Must feel amazing after all the cancelled trips.

Great photos. Thanks for sharing them. 👍