Speleologist

I can't speak for paddleboards, as I have no experience, but, as I have just said in another thread with reference to Yarmouth, there is nowhere within the area above that could not be navigated by a suitably experienced person with a god understanding of the tides. At the other end of the scale, with large boats, we should remember that the Broads is no a discrete system. There is access from the sea at both Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. There is no reason that a seagoing craft that meets the vessel size byelaws and pays an appropriate visitor toll shouldn't visit the parts of the Broads that it can access. Indeed I have done so before when breaking a passage from the Thames to Hartlepool in a seagoing yacht. It is precisely for this reason that ideas such as speed governers are unworkable. A seagoing vessel must remain suitable for use at sea if it is going to return there.

I must say that I cannot agree with this, although I understand the sentiment. Firstly, boats do not have to have enough engine power to stem the tide. All that is required is the skill to plan around the tide times. I have hardly ever passed through Great Yarmouth in a boat with an engine, but have done so countless times and without incident in yachts with no engine. In a similar manner , although I have never passed through by kayak, I would not hesitate to do so. It is no problem with careful working of the tides. I have kayaked in far more difficult tidal water quite safely. (The Menai Strait for example). Provided the passage is approached with a clear understanding of the issues, choosing suitable weather and having a plan for getting it right, a passage through Great Yarmouth in an unpowered vessel of any sort should pose no difficulty to a suitably experienced person.

The Railways and Transport Safety Act (2003) contains a provision for alcohol limits. These have not, to date, been enacted, but the Secretary of State could do so at any time. Section 80 is the relevant bit.

The definitive source is the MAIB site. No investigation listed there. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-accident-investigation-branch-current-investigations/marine-accident-investigation-branch-current-investigations

I always used to get my hair cut by Neil, who ran "The Barber's Kite Shop" in Ripon. There he sold stunt kites and accessories and cut hair. When he retired I knew nothing else could compete with such a quirky barber, so it's been number 2 once a week ever since, apart from a couple of breif labses when an arm injury meant I couldn't reach to do it.

One of the great delights of now living in Spain is there is not the same supermarket culture. The range of foods from small independent shops and from the indoor market is superb. The value is also very good. When I do go to the supermarket (my local Mercadona, 5 minutes walk away) the range of fresh meat and fish far exceeds what I would find in a much larger UK supermarket. On the down side the only tea is PG Tips, but this can be remedied by calling in to Eroski in Gibraltar, where I can get Taylor's Yorkshire tea.

Another from Neptune Marina, Ashokan, formerly Calib. The old name is visible as a shadow on the dodger. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=15648&BoatHistory=25664

Acouple of boats that have made their way to Ipswich, both living now in Neptune Marina in Ipswich Wet Dock. First up is Escape. http://www.broads.org.uk/wiki2018/index.php?title=Boat_Details&BoatId=130&BoatHistory=21623

Yesterday I visited the Waveney Sailability Scheme at Oulton Broad. My brother is a volunteer Assistant Instructor there.I must say that I was very impressed. A large group of people with various levels of disability were enjoying the freedom that sailing can bring. With a sizeable fleet of specially adapted boats there were opportunities for everyone. Wheelchairs were no bar as hoists were available to get people in and out of boats and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves. It also provided a welcome respite and social occasion for carers, who could relax over a cuppa and cake whilst their charges were sailing. It was really good and encouraging to see this lively group in action. If I was more local I'd be volunteering.

I sailed on Black Diamond back in 2009 with a group from White Rose Sailing Association. A very pleasant cruise from Hartlepool to Whitby and back.

I am a great lover of maps, charts and traditional navigation. However I also like to embrace new technology when it is of benefit. As such I now use my phone for all road journey navigation. It has several advantages: The maps are regularly updated It knows and shows where I am It can re-route me around delays and hold-ups It gives voice instructions It shows the best lane for approaching a junction It can be configured with voice instructions It shows speed limits (and warns me if I exceed them) For these reasons I no longer bother with carrying a road atlas. At sea I have a different approach. The first assumption at sea is that anything electronic is inherently unreliable, as it requires power. Therefore I regularly make manual plots onto paper charts and use manual course to steer calculations. However I also make heavy use of electronic charts and other electronic tools (depth gauge, fluxgate compass, AIS, Radar etc.). I maintain that the ability to manage easily without electronics is key, but I ue them when they are there. I take a similar approach in the mountains and hills, where I often use electronic versions of Ordnance Survey maps, but always carry a paper map and a compass (and have the ability to use it). Cycling I normally go all electronic, with a combined cycle computer and satnav, enabling be to navigate without stoppiing to consult the map. On the Broads these days I rarely need to refer to a map, but when I do I sue the Ordnance Survey 1:25000, for its excellent detail, either on my phone or on paper. I find that these days there is no worthwhile navigators map of the Broads and I sorely miss Hamiltons Navigatons, although I still take my copy of the last edition with me.

Luke Kelly's superb rendition of Ewan Maccoll's song "Shoals of Herring"

The original radio ballad

I'm fortunate in that I rarely have any seasickness problem. I sometimes feel a bit queasy if I'm out in rough weather after a long time ashore, but that usually wears off within 24 hours and only rarely am I actually sick (4 or 5 times in 50 years of sailing). I'm also fortunate in that when I am sick I am back to full functionality pretty rapidly. I have known people who suffer much as Griff's experience above and continue to do so. Most memorably on on one Fastnet race, where one of our crew was continuously sick for the first two days, and therefore getting very dehydrated and hypothermic. He also refused to go below because it made him feel worse.Once he minally collapsed and we got him asleep below he slept for about 12 hours and was fine for the rest of the race.

A superb find Peter. I wasn't aware of this, although I know the original Radio Ballad.

An interesting debate to which I will offer a slightly different slant. To my mind it is north for the Three Rivers Rave and the Down River Race (and possibly the Turkey Race). South for the Yare Navigation Race and the Cecil Howard Trophy Race. When cruising, unless I am only around for a weekend, a crossing of Breydon is a must, preferably without an engine. This is the ultimate Broads navigation challenge and something that I enjoy immensely. As to the characters of the north and south, the north can often be a greater testing of sailing skills (fluky winds, narrow rivers, heavy traffic) whilst the south requires seriou8s attention to working with the tides. (as does the lower Bure). Both offer different challenges to the engineless sailor and life without both would be incomplete.

As a sailor (albeit one who has a commercially endorsed Advanced Powerboat certification) I've never had an issue with sensible co-existence. The Broads rivers suffer from being narrow enough that dedicated water skiing and wakeboarding areas are impractical, nor, because the rivers are effectively a thoroughfare, are separate times possible. What we seem to have now is a sensible basis for sharing the water, which is let down only when a few individuals ignore the rules. These days such people seem to be a very small minority.

Fortunately it's the holders, not the challengers , who set the rules.

You still can. http://www.sceptre1958.co.uk/

That misses the enterprise of the haggis farmers after the passing of the Enclosure Act. Once there were fences running up and down the hillside the haggis could no longer continue indefinitely the same way round the hill. They would meet a fence, turn the other way and roll inexorably to the bottom. As a good way of catching haggis for the pot it had a lot going for it. However the atrition rate was too high and the haggis were not growing to maturity. So the haggis farmers developed the Wether go Nimble, a pair of stilts for the shorter legs that made them longer than the long legs. The haggis could now graze back the other way rather than be stopped by the fence. However one unexpected side effect was that left and right handed haggis could now interbreed, with unexpected results. Nowadays, as well as left and right handed haggis, there are ambidextrous haggis, which can't stand upright whichever way the slope goes. They therefore struggle to survive in the wild and the haggis is rapidly becoming an endangered species. The only hope lies with carefully selected breeding programmes run in the flatlands. But these see doomed to failure as haggis seem unable to survive in a flat landscape.

And looking back I think my initial post on the subject was a bit too black and white.

No, I'm definitely not saying that, but unless you're prepared to explain why you hold your opinion then there is no way other readers can evaluate it. So far in this thread there have been several opinions with no explanation of why. It does nothing to help others decide whether the opinion is valid. By all menas express an opinion, but it will mean much more to people reading it if it's supported by a justification. Otherwise, as Psychic Surveyor pointed out, it becomes an argument, not a debate.

Agreed, but an opinion needs to be supported by substantive information if sonmeone who is not an expert in the subject is to be able to evaluate it. Most opinions in this thread have had no supporting evidence. That does not lead to good, well informed debate.

First admission - I'm not an angler. I haven't been for many years, in fact ever since my grandfather was no longer around to go out fishing with. However, an observation on the way this thread has developed seems relevant. Bigbream has, as stated above, voiced his opinion. SO have others. However most of these are not supported by any substantive information. The only real exception is Timbo, who has described sound practical reasons, based on real experience as to why the closed season is beneficial. The only valid way to debate an alternative view is with properly presented evidence, not opinions. As a non angler I have much more respect for facts about this than opinions.

But hire boaters are not allowed to navigate at night.