RealWindmill

Guilty as charged. Although I only go a small way in. The problem is not depth but of weeds. I have twice had to don my diving kit to free the prop of snagging weeds. Be warned! To go all the way up to the staithe at Surlingham is really only possible by canoe or kayak due to depth, channel width, weeds and overhanging trees. and then only advisable on a rising tide - unless you want to sit on the mud for a tide cycle! Smellyloo has it about right when he says it should be the domain of paddlers only. But don't be deterred, in a suitable craft its a magical other world. Bob

Thanks for your reply and info MM. What you describe is what I seem to observe from most moboats on the Broads all the time. That is either stationary or at "full throttle" in a tearing hurry to get to the next mooring !!! Bob

How so, sir.

Senator Yes That was at Goodchilds. Bob

On the river yesterday 60/40 split price £1.13 pl In my local Tesco road diesel price £1.09 pl WTH ! Where's those jerrycans Bob

So, a question for all you seasoned Broads men and women out there. When on the broads and one of these tornados, or severe thunderstorm, lightning, strong gusts etc occurs what is the perceived wisdom ? Do you consider it safe to be in the middle of a broad or best to nestle into open reedbeds or alongside open moorings or even under the trees for wind shelter. (or even in the nearest pub !) I'm sure there are several options due to the specific wx condition - Interested in your views. Thanks Bob

Meanwhile, back to the spiders ... Not for the squeamish this one but years ago when working in an oil camp in the tropics I had some wooden stores and workshop and, at certain times of the year, the Black Widows would take up residence overnight on the overhanging porches over the doors. So first thing each morning it was necessary to get rid of them. We found by far the simplest and most effective way (and safest for us) was to give them a good spray with WD40. This has the result of what I can only describe as turning themselves inside out ! Now before I incur the wrath of a Spider Humane Society I stress this was very necessary as no way would the local national workers even consider crossing the doorway until they saw all the spiders were exterminated. Haven't tried this on any hardy Norfolk type spiders but imagine the results might be similarly effective. Bob

i'm with Tangara on this one. We also follow the long haul winter sun policy using the convenience of Norwich to Amsterdam with priority, business airmiles etc and save the Broads for the warmer summer months. Last holiday was NWI - AMS - Atlanta with Delta (KLM) airmiles then hirecar through Georgia and Tennessee to Chattanooga to see the famous model railway layout. Then on to Memphis to board a riverboat for a Mississippi cruise down to New Orleans (Mark Twain, plantation houses and all that good stuff - It was an indulgence of a boyhood dream of mine). Final slow drive back through Miss, Alabama and N Florida back to Atlanta. If we always had to go through the London airports, then like other posters have said we probably wouldn't bother going so much. There's no pleasure in airport delays or security queues. Broads in the summer months now always take priority Now retirement is kicking in the airmiles will dissappear and we will scale back to Broads boating for a longer season maybe some continuous cruising - and I am looking forward to the times during quieter seasons. Interesting thread. Bob

Hi Just to bump this very interesting thread up again, Was in this area last week and mudweighted on Barton Broad and took a kayak trip down river from there. I actually entered the dyke system from opposite Irstead Staithe via the water marked Shoals Dyke on the OS. There was a bit of fighting through reed encroachment in places but it was certainly worth the effort. I can only agree with all posters above about how away from it all the area is, a step back into deepest Norfolk. Unfortunately I hadn't read this topic till after I got back so I didn't see as much as I could have - in fact I kept going up dead end dykes - so next time I'll be armed with the info and maps you guys have provided here and will see more. (Also will remember to take camera) As Paladin rightly says we must keep using and accessing these paths so as not to lose them and this is also true on the water as well by paddling through to keep the channels navigable for small craft. Excellent thread and well done to all (esp Paladin) for the time and research taken. Regards Bob

Thanks guys for your feedback and support. I'm getting a bit old for all this confrontation and grief so guess I'll just nestle up into the reed beds next time and avoid pub frontages! Dnks35 - i don't believe that tub will actually sell and hopefully it will be sitting on the bottom somewhere before too long ! Mark - yes, good meeting you also. I've two fridges now as I've fitted a small drinks fridge into the aft cabin running off the generator as you suggested. So next time on Bargate we'll have to raft up and have our own Topliner Club meet with plenty of coldies ! (Will see Paul for contact info and email you soonest) Best regards all. Bob

Monday evening - sat on Stokesby Ferry Inn moorings and nicely tied up with a smallish gap, say 12ft, to the hire boat ahead along the quay. Had a very good meal (as always there - thoroughly recommend it) in the pub and came out to the boat for a sundowner and discovered a tatty old private dayboat launch had squeezed himself into the gap between my bows and the hireboat ahead. No problem there except that on closer examination found that this boat had a very sharp edged piece of bent around metal on his prow and this had dug into my gel leaving some ugly scours. When the three owners of this dayboat came out of the pub I showed them the damage caused but there were totally disinterested and denied it could be them that caused the scours, although it was patently obviously so. Now all I wanted was for them to be aware of the problem their boat was causing - I recall even asking for a recompense of twenty quid for a bottle of rubbing compound and perhaps an admission of guilt - but all I got was the usual verbals that they're only boats and are in a fluid environment and will rub together and it's unavoidable. Is this not the very reason boats have rubber gunwhale strips and lots of fenders? To have a chunk of unprotected sharp metal digging into others is very avoidable. The conversation degenerated and all they suggested was to take it to insurance claims and to that end I took their boat details, but this will obviously be a non-starter. they will simply continue to deny blame and I've no witnesses. There were the group of hirers on the boat ahead who heard and saw all this but they declined to come forward , and why should they ? They were on the last night of their holiday enjoying a meal and some drinks so really none of their business. I did apologise to them later for the times when I slipped into some "dockyard" language during my frustration in the conversation with the dayboaters. Now my boat is not in pristine condition, although I'm working towards that. As an ex hire boat she bears the scars of previous encounters and has visible older repairs but that doesn't mean it deserves less respect from others. The point of this post is to forewarn others in the Stokesby area to be aware and carefully around this dayboat as it's owners/crew despite seeming to be regular middle aged men have absolutely no concern or respect for any other boats they may damage with their metalwork The boat is a wooden open boat with a wooden cuddy and a For Sale signboard with a mobile number on it. Quite distinctive. I would like to think the ********** on it would read this and take more care and even put a simple bow fender across the prow. Private owners in the area beware of it. Thanks Bob

Thank you Alan and Tan. I have also been a lurker on your forum for a while now and tempted join in on several occasions. I felt it worth posting about the Beccles event as even though I have no connection whatsoever with the organisers I did feel they were very much victims of the wx on the main day. Will post up later on the new members page but am upriver just now and phone signal is in and out. Bob

Have to agree with Paul above that the wx was disappointing on Sunday and a shame that the cavalcade of boats was cut short. All credit to the Charter signing party though as they carried on their ceremony onboard the launch BetsieJane all through the rain. The pipers were soaked through but kept going and the two young Carnival Queens never stopped waving the whole time while on parade, even when there were no spectators left on the quayside in the rain. Great effort. Also the cadets rowing made the best of it and the waterbikes was a bit of fun. Typical for Britain's wx the rain stopped two hours later but probably too late to save the day for the stallholders on the green. On the Saturday the wx was much better and apparently the open gardens trips were a success -according to Paul, skipper of the BetsieJane who was ferrying them around. The Lowestoft Model Boat club was well worth a look as they had a good range of models on display on their pond. Was speaking briefly to the crew of Broad Ambition and it did seem they had made a big effort but unfortunately weren't called into action in the end. Bob