SwanR

Welcome to the forum Ruthie. I’m sure you will have a great time. Two favourite places of mine on the southern rivers are Langley Dyke off the Yare and North Cove down the Waveney. It’s a case of waking up and seeing what you feel like doing. And if you pass somewhere you like the look of then stop. There are many places to moor and for me the only night I plan is the last night because you need to be in reasonable distance of the boatyard.

Lovely to see your photos and hear all about your travels. Have a lovely day. :)

Strange ... I’ve hired from 5 different yards over the last few years, probably 10 different boats and never had a problem with the kitchen items on board. I don’t take anything like that with me.

Have a great time Tony. Mornings are my favourite time afloat. I like to be away from the moorings by about 8am and make the most of there being less boats underway. Plus the light is so beautiful on the water.

Lovely photos Jay. It is noticeable that it’s getting dark a little earlier now. We were on the coast at the weekend and the weather was quite changeable.

Agree completely about the stretch of the Waveney down to Beccles. Beautiful river.

Looking forward to reading more of your tale and seeing your photos. Thank you for sharing this with us, especially your cautionary tale. It's a brave thing to admit to our faults and the things that go wrong as well as all the good times that we enjoy.

Don’t forget there are a few moorings and also water points where you have to pay. A mixture of needing some notes and coins and cashless. Whilst most are free it’s good to have all options open when it’s busy.

No-one really mentions Bridge Broad. Is it one way in and out or does it come out further on? Any moorings or just mud weighting? Enjoy your evening. Been cloudy all day at Lowestoft until late afternoon when the sun came out and the temperature picked up.

My top tip is don’t take suitcases! Space is limited so take everything in holdalls or bags of some kind that fold flat. And have some cash with you for any moorings or water points that charge. Most are free and some are cashless but it’s good to have all options open to you when it’s busy.

Nobody has said who the person was or appeared to be. But on the face of it he or she was being rather impatient. And I never like it when anyone thinking they are being helpful tells me to turn off the engine until I’m good and ready.

Lovely photos and tale. The weather has certainly been changeable of late. But it’s so nice to see people out enjoying themselves. Look forward to hearing about your next trip.

Hope you’re recovering ok and your friend too. You sound as if you are finding the positives in your situation. I think there are a lot of things that we are all finding to be grateful for. Hope you get back afloat soon.

Welcome to the forum Tony! Be good to know a bit about your Broads interest.

If you find their Twitter channel then there’s some posts about the cruiser incident but not much detail. Looked like a window was smashed and the boat builders came out to sort out the damage. Go back to 10th July.

I saw this news a couple of weeks ago and haven’t had a chance to watch this week’s episode yet. But such sad news. My heart really went out to Colin and Shaun.

If you’re doing 14 nights then you may well want to do north and south which might mean a certain amount of planning around the best days to cross Breydon. On the southern side I think you would definitely want to get down the Waveney to Beccles. It’s a beautiful stretch of river and you can book a mooring at the yacht station. It’s a great place to stock up on shopping as well. You might even want to spend two days relaxing there. The Chet down to Pye’s Mill and Loddon is another highlight if you haven’t been there. On the north side a sometimes hidden gem is Cockshoot Broad. Not many moorings but well worth a stop as you can have a lovely walk down to the hide to see the Broad.

Sorry to hear Clive’s news. However I do feel that I have to keep defending Ferry Marina’s boats. I know they’re not to everyone’s taste but they’re lovely to hire and we would take them over and over. Personal taste but I do wish people here wouldn’t be quite so insulting about them.

Wonderful tale and lovely photos. Glad you enjoyed your little trip to Lowestoft. If you come back, or for anyone else visiting, there is a little tea room on the front called the Flying Fifteens that is a small local business well deserving of support. 👍

I don't remember ever reading that. We just try hard to make sure we do sufficient cruising unless there's a reason why not.

I’m seeing quite a few people asking for advice on plans for trips over the next few weeks both here and on various Facebook groups. Two things: If you check out the holiday tales section then you can see what kinds of routes and moorings other people have done. All the hireboats I’ve had recommend running the engine for at least 3 hours a day to keep the batteries charged. I’m not sure how many people do this and at this time of year you may well not be using that much power given that we have longer daylight hours and hopefully warmer weather to not need the heating. But it is something that we mostly do. So if you don’t cruise far you may find yourself feeling that you need to run the engine while moored up ... and that won’t make you popular with your neighbours!!

Are we done? I know what might get a thumbs down ... and don't blame me ... I'm inspired by Jay being back! 166 days to .... maybe I shouldn't really do that but I have seen a 2021 calendar on sale !!

Looks like a beautiful evening where I am so probably even more glorious out on the river. Looking forward to keeping up with your travels. Have a great time. :)

I’ve often thought we could do with a ‘wow’ option but wouldn’t want to see a thumbs down.

Wonderful tale and photos Helen, as always. I expect your Friday departure was quite wise. We came home mid Saturday morning and the roads were very busy. It’s not our usual time to travel and I would avoid it in future.