Speleologist

They should, of course, be blue and yellow. Taken from "Guidelines on the provision and maintenance of local aids to navigation" published by Trinity House: "7.1.2 Any AtoN established to mark a dangerous wreck is required to comply with the IALA Maritime Buoyage System. The use of the Special Mark Category for the marking of dangerous wrecks is not appropriate for this purpose. The use of Special Marks should be confined to marking wrecks of historical interest and those considered non-dangerous, but for which a surface marker is required for future location purposes." And from the Trinity House website, the description of the correct buoy: "Characteristics The buoy has the following characteristics: A pillar or spar buoy, with size dependent on location. Coloured in equal number and dimensions of blue and yellow vertical stripes (minimum of 4 stripes and maximum of 8 stripes). Fitted with an alternating blue* and yellow flashing light with a nominal range of 4 nautical miles where the blue and yellow 1 second flashes are alternated with an interval of 0.5 seconds. If multiple buoys are deployed then the lights should be synchronised. Consideration should be given to the use of a racon Morse code “D” and/or AIS transponder. The top mark, if fitted, is to be a standing/upright yellow cross."

One of my copies, Pigeon Post, was my mothers when she was a child It must be a pretty early edition as she was born in 1929 and the book was published in 1936. Most of my other copies are hardbacks from the 60's. Over the years I've also had the good fortune to both sail on several Swallows and Amazons related boats and explore the settings of many of the adventures. In addition to the Broads and the Broads boats mentioned earlier, I have explored The Walton Backwaters, and the rivers Stour and Orwell (Secret Water). I have been on board Pudge, the Thames Barge that was the model for Welcome of Rochester (Coot Club) I have sailed Thames Barges, but not Pudge. I've sailed on Lake Windermere and have explored the Coniston Copper Mines, both underground and above (Pigeon Post). I've seen, but not been aboard the Nancy Plackett (Goblin in We Didn't Mean to go to Sea.) One day I really should sail the crossing from Harwich to Vlissingen (Flushing). Another interesting fact relating to Arthur Ransome dated from before Swallows and Amazons. When he left Russia he settled for a while in Riga, where he built a boat and went sailing. His first trip is described in his book "Racindra's First Cruise." It's a delightful read. The interesting thing from the point of view of offshore sailors is that when he returned to the UK and settled in the Lake District, he sold Racundra. She was bought by K Adalrd Coles who found fame as the author of "Heavy Weather Sailing" This has become the definitive textbook on storm tactics for offshore sailors and is now in its 7th edition. All the editions contain a section of real storm experiences and in early editions one of them is Adlard Coless describing the storm he encountered bringing the newly purchased Racundra (Now renamed Annette II) back to the UK from the Baltic.

Oh, I have hired the Hunters Rebel. (The first one, they now have two.) I've also hired their White Boat, their Waveney OD, all of their lugsail half deckers and several of their yachts. As I do not own a boat on the Broads, Hunters is the essential go to. Fortunately over the years I have been able to sail on several private yachts as well. I'm not sure that there has been a massive recuction in sailing yachts as many of the ex hire ones have passed into private hands and also new ones are being built. Swallowtail Boatyard are booked up for years if you want a new build! I think Marshman may have a valid point about people's expectations, but ther will always remain those of a different view. For me, being afloat has always been about the actual sailing, and doing it to the best of my ability. This is probably why I both race and teach. If it involves being a bit basic then that's not a problem. The same is true when I go into the mountans or down a cave. Fortunately I seem to have successfully passed this ethos on to the younger generation and, circumstances permitting, my elder son will be joining me later in the year to sail from Spain to The Canaries and then back via Madiera.

Griff, Have you visited Restaurante Oasis in Ceuta? An incredibly high quality and good value Moroccan restaurant with views over the Strait and peacocks in the garden.

That is a more nuanced question. Could I do without social media for a week? Yes, absolutely. I may want to share my exoeriances with others but I certainly don't need to. Would I want to live witht the internet at all? Maybe not. Back in the day (15 years ago) I used to get waather forecasts via text message on a mobile phone. Befire that I used a pocket transistor radio. Both are now effectively obsolete solutions and I would not want to be without access to Windy or a similar weather app.

My exploration of this section of the forum led me to theis ancient thread, 14 years old! I am well familiar with the role of Lullaby in the film, and also with the Titmouse ( a one-time lifejacket store at Hunters Yard.) Those who remember the detail at the end of Coot Club may recall the twins, Port and Starboard, joining their father for a race against the winner of the regatta. The winner that they took on (and beat,) was a boat called Grizzled Skipper. This is a White Boat (Yare & Bure One Design) that was, a few years ago, and maybe still, owned by a former commodore of HSC. The boat the twins raced was Flash. I have saled a boat called Flash. At the time it belonged to a a then member of another forum. It had been built at Coldham Hall, where Arthure Ransome of then stayed and it is likely that it was the inspiration for the Flash of the book. It's even possible that Ransome once owned it. Having also sailed Lullaby, I can claim a fairly close association with the boats of the books. As an aside, I am very distantly related to Arthur Ransome. In certain sections of the family he was known as "The Undesirable Cousin" because of his association with the Russian Revolution and Communism.

Griff, of course you can! It would be great to meet you in Gib for a beer or three. You never know, if circumstances permitted I might be able to arrange a sail across the Strait to Ceuta.

I was about to say that I have never been on a boat with TV, then i thought "cross channel ferries." I have certainly never been on a non-commercial boat with a TV. (or at least definitely on one that had it switched on, I suspect one or two of the hire boats we used as support vessels for the 3RR may have had TV's.) I am on a boat, why would I want one? I go sailing to get away from the mundane and everyday, and that includes TV. Wherever I am, and I am sailing a lot, so long as I have a good boat to enjoy what I'm doing, sociable neighbours when I moor up and a decent place to go ashore for a beer and a bite to eat I have all I need. TV certainly doesn's feature at all.

As the NDAA website clearly states that boats have priority from 16th June to 16th October, there doesn't seem to be any suggestion that the moorings are being lost to angling. (Click on the relevant blue bit on the interactive map and the details come up.)The only change would appear to be that angling is now restricted to NDAA members. With the addition of the closed season, when there is no fishing, boats effectively have priority for the entire summer season. Also, as there are only 12 pegs, I suspect there will be plenty of space for the odd diehard winter boater. The interesting question is the status of people fishing from a boat moored there? I don't know, but I suspect that being on a boat they are free to fish. Any experts with an answer to that one?

These days I have solved the car servicing and choice problem by not owning one. After years of needing a car to transport family, get to work etc, I now find myself with only a short cycle ride to work, even though it's in a different country. All the local amenities are within easy walking/cycling, so if I do need a car I just hire one. It costs less and if anything goes wrong it's somebody else's problem. I do miss the old days of tinkering with cars, particularly the vintag Landrovers I have owned, but all in all I have found not owning a car to be one of the best transport decisions I have made. I still might be tempted by another motorbike though.

Peter, it will probably only be an occasional thing. I'm now living in Spain and working as a Yachtmaster INstructor in Gibraltar, so I'm a bit out of touch with things Broads. I do like to read the forum though and keep as up to date as I can. Hopefully I'll get there some time next year, possibly for the 3RR.

That was my experience, back in 1968. Only in my case it was in a yacht with no engine. Three years later I was skippering a similar yacht across with a crew of young beginners. It is not difficult if planned correctly. I'm sure that a lot of the mystique is as a result of the tales of woe from those who have not done the careful planning. To my mind a passage through Great Yarmout and across Breydon needs approaching similarly to a pilot plan for a harbour entry. Read the guide, make notes and sketches, identify indicators for not going and stick to them. It can then be very low stress. Unfortunately there is no guide as good as the old Hamilton's Navigations A few years ago I wrote a guide to going through Yarmouth without an engine and put it on my website. It is in need of a revision but now I live overseas and also sail offshore professionally I haven't been back to view the changes (such as the pontoon) and get it properly updated. Hopefully next year. For anyone who is interested it can be found here.

My ideal would be to bring sailing hire back to the southern Broads. Unfortunately it will probably remain a fantasy for anyone as it probably would not be economically viable. But let's just assume it could be. I am thinking that being based on Oulton Broad would be ideal. The fleet would be made up of a combination of half deckers and yachts, with the half deckers being available for half day and full day hire. All the boats would be existing ones, and would retain their original names. As well as providing hire ervices there would be an associated sailing school teaching the RYA keelboat syllabus and other relevant courses. Meanwhile on the salt side there would be 2 or 3 yachts of around 40ft properly equipped to teach RYA sail cruising courses. These would also be available for charter. The premise would be that you could come and learn to sail then come back and sail independently, both on the Broads and at Sea.

My first priority will be to organise a memorial service for my Dad,who died at the beginning of the first lockdown. (Not from COVID). And to get back to the UK for the service and to see family and friends, none of whom I have seen in nearly a year. (I was last in the UK last february).

You're right of course. I've just done a careful count of the windows. Definitely Silver Jubilee.

It is definitely there. The boat looks like on of Martham's Judith class. The water must be high, they usually go through easily.

I think you would be right if my contract was with the charterers, but it is always with the charter company which owns and operates the boat.

This discussion has come a long way from the original issue, but that is both inevitable and one of the characteristics of good and open discussion. We have moved from an incident where, as far as I can see, somebody chose to go for a swim near a turning propeller to discussing the merits of on-board professional skippers. As I said earlier in this thread, I am familiar with the role of professional skipper, I also instruct in a variety of different contexts. (I am a Yachtmaster Instructor, Inland Waterways Instructor, Dinghy and Keelboat Instructor, Powerboat Instructor and a few more besides). This is mostly relevant in terms of this discussion in that I know the differences in what is taught. The Inland Waterways syllabus makes no significant reference to tides, yet tides are critical on parts of the Broads. The Yachtmaster scheme looks at tides extensively, but in a far more demanding way than on the Broads. There is no need, as a Broads navigator, to produce a course to steer or plot an estimated position. So the level of skill/knowledge required falls outside the available training schemes. An Inland Waterways helmsman course does not address the issues involved in a passage through Yarmouth, but all the higher level courses major on material that is irrelevant to the Broads. Whereas I cannot see the professional skipper role working on the Broads, it is the best solution for those who do not wish to progress their skills but wish to remain safe. For those who wish to develop their skills and take responsibility there is the Inland Waterways Helmsman course. It is directly relevant but does not cover everything. However right now it would seen to be the best available option for those who want to learn as part of their holiday.

Peter, that sounds like petty mindedness on the part of the organisation. It's certainly not RYA policy. I am an RYA dighy and keelboat instructor, but have none of the dinghy proficiency certificates. None are required. The requirement is for three certificates: First Aid (very sensible). Powerboat level 2 (a lot of instructing is done from a powerboat). Safe and fun (Safeguarding is rightly seen as important). A dinghy or keelboat certificate is not required. All that is required is a pre instructor course skills assessment.

I can respond to this from the other side of the fence. I have worked many times as a skipper for skippered charter. The response really breaks down in to two areas: 1: Responsibility - The pilot analogy doesn't hold up. A pilot is working with a highly qualified master. As a charter skipper I would never defer to the charterer over matters of safety/strategy. I am responsible for the boat and they must accept my decisions. Without this there is no prospect that I would do it. 2. Who pays for what? - As a professional skipper I would expect to be paid for all my costs. A daily rate plus travel plus all food etc. (Including when the charterers are eating out). in the offshore sailing world, where boat costs are higher, this is not such a huge additional margin and people will pay it, but I cannot see i working on The Broads.

And rapidly and appropriately responded! Thank you.

That seems a rather sexist observation. I know plenty of women who can handle a boat just as well as any man. There is no reason whatsoever to regard being male as of any significance in boat handling.

I think you're missing my point there Vaughan. What I was trying to say is that we need to see the Broads as somewhere that is not an enclosed system but which has access to and from the sea. A seagoing vessel visiting the Broads is as much a part of the Broads as a Richardsons hire boat. Approaches to, for example, governing engines, need to take account of this.

So are you advocating for restrictions for that lowest common denominator? As I have stated, iot is perfectly reasonable to take an unpowered craft through Great Yarmouth, provided that you have the skill. Should I be banned from doing so just because not everyone has the skill? I sincerely hope not. Advice not restriction is the way to go.

It seems to me that adopting that approach risks bringing us all down to the level of the inexperienced. It is surely up to the individual to choose to operate within their capabilities, not for restrictions to be placed on activities that, with appropriate levels of skill, are perfectly safe. There is also a tendency to see things in forums such as these in purely Broads terms. Passing through Great Yarmouth is relatively straightforward when compared with, for example, entering Tavares river. The whole of the Broads is straightforward when compared with navigating the Guadalquivir up to Sevilla. My key message is that the assumption that one needs enough engine power for Great Yarmouth or that it is unsafe in a kayak or similar is a false assumption. It is only unsafe without the appropriate skills and experience. The same is equally true when in a powered craft, as evidenced by the number of motor boats that get into trouble.