Vaughan

What an astounding story! I hope this doesn't get as far as the newspapers, or there will be a "hue and cry". You can't get out of the water up those clay banks on the Waveney unless it is high tide. There was a canoe-ist who nearly drowned near the WRC a few years ago, until one of the staff spotted him, clinging to the reeds. But maybe there should be a hue and cry? It's tempting to say they were bats, but they just didn't know any better. They have no idea of the dangers, and a river like the Waveney is just not safe for these sort of "watersports". Did they hire these boards, by the way? Anyway, this story ended happily and well done Griff! The right man, in the right place, at the right time!

It is very light, but it burns! I have many happy memories of Sir Galahad. I never crossed the Atlantic in her but several other places - northern Norway, the Med and of course, Belfast.

Ah. Hadn't thought of that . . . . .

I think that's a bit "previous" in this case. We are told there were 7 crew and 9 guests on board, which is hardly the time to start a fire, in which they would all have to be in collusion. The boat was brand new, freshly delivered to the owner, so he must have already paid for it. I am surprised at the aluminium superstructure though. I thought they knew better than that, since the Falklands. Some one has mentioned HMS Sheffield, but the RFA's Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram also had aluminium superstructures.

Yes, an experiment that most certainly didn't work! It was in the days when the Broads seemed very expensive compared to the new package tour flights to a high rise hotel (usually only half built) in Tenerife. It proved that, per person, and for "that type of customer", an 8 berth boat on the Broads was a very competitive price! Unfortunately it was totally misunderstood by customers and was soon abandoned. Those were also the days when you would not have considered building a 35 ft hire boat for less than 6 people. The more beds you could fit in them, the more revenue they would make!

The problem is reflecting the heat downwards. The difference between "convected" heat and "radiated" heat. The best grills had a catalytic plate, the same as the old catalytic heaters that boats used to have in the 70s. The problem was that they became considered dangerous as you couldn't see any actual flame. Pity, as they were very effective.

I didn't say you were. But if you are even taking the trouble to discuss a little old shed with a slipway on Griffin Lane, then you are dreaming. But why not? We all have our dreams, don't we?

Keep dreaming on . . . .

Dream on, by all means.

A dawn fog bank rolling in over the marshes. Classic North Sea. One of the reasons why the Acle Straight is so dangerous in the early hours of the morning.

I met Cliff Richard on one or two occasions, on the Broads, as he had a private cruiser built for him by Jenners of Thorpe, in about 1965, if I remember right. OBB please leap to correct me on the date if you know better. I met him at the launching ceremony and a couple of other times in the next years on the Broads, on one occasion while strolling down Lower St. in Horning doing his shopping. Everyone knew who he was but everyone just wished him good morning in the normal way. Norfolk country people have always been like that with visiting pop stars and celebs. They treat them as they find them and respect their wish to come and relax in the peace of the Norfolk Broads, as "the rest of us" all do. What I know of the "Cliff and Olivia" story comes from what I heard several years ago, recounted by Bruce Welch in a TV interview. Other sources are available. I suppose the romantic in me has always wondered whether Olivia was the love that he lost, at a young age, and never found another.

And Judith Durham of the Seekers, who died only a couple of days ago. Another one with the voice of an angel, who sang about how we all felt, as teenagers growing into adults.

I have such fond memories of her music, back in the late 60s, when I was young and in love! The papers make hardly any mention of her long and close association with the The Shadows. She was discovered by Cliff Richard as the singer for a little-known group and was his only other known girlfriend, before Sue Barker. Unfortunately she was "nicked" off him by Bruce Welch, who was closely involved in producing her early albums, most of which are backed by The Shadows. It was a long friendship too! Her famous solo song in "Grease", hopelessly devoted to you, was written by John Farrar of the Shadows and several of her songs in the film are backed by Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin.

It was called Womack Cruisers, which used to be Womack Boats. We had to close it during the great recession of the early 80's and there are now private houses on the site. Seago's frontage is on the opposite bank, starting just to the left of where the photo was taken.

On behalf of a very known forum member, that is a low blow. No pun intended!

Seago's house and garden came down onto Womack Water just where it opens out from Womack Dyke and directly opposite where my own boatyard used to be. His boat was a bit too deep to enter Womack Dyke so he kept her at Coldharbour, just outside on the Thurne, near where the Hundred Steam used to connect the Ant with the Thurne.

No, that is what makes a joke of the whole process! Hire boats in France are advertised "Sans Permis" which actually means that we give you a perfectly normal Broads type trial run when you arrive and then give you an official paper called a "Permis de Plaisance" which says that you have had our instruction and is valid for the dates of your boating holiday. Usually, we make it up into a suitably impressive thin card certificate, which you can take home as a souvenir of your holiday. If you think about it, this means that boat hirers, after our instruction and a week's holiday of experience, are far more capable of handling a boat than almost every private boat owner in France!

That is the spirit! I remember Seago's boat, moored at Coldharbour Farm, where he lived, in Ludham. I can offer a lot more information if you are serious in your endeavour, and will be very glad to do so!

Something important I forgot : if you are going to drive a boat on French inland waterways you have to have one of these. Mine is a bit tatty as it has been in the river a couple of times. This is the inland waterways ticket, called the Permis Fluvial, which is different from the offshore pleasure boat ticket, the Permis Mer. The RYA Yacht Masters is accepted as a Permis Mer, but not as a Permis Fluvial. Nor is the Permis Mer accepted on inland waterways! Nowadays it is just a paper exam which can be taken at several centres in France and can be booked in advance. All you have to do is answer questions from the Code VAGNON, which is the French river Highway Code. The very best cruising maps of France are the Guides Vagnon. It is all about buoyage, lights and shapes, channel markers and procedure in locks. You just have to remember that buoyage in France is laid out for coming downstream, not "coming in from the sea" as in International COLREGS. So a red buoy is a right hand marker! Luckily it doesn't matter, as coming downstream the red buoy will be on the right and coming upstream it will still be on the left. Phew! This is why the famous south bank of the Seine in Paris is called the Rive Gauche. The exam is very easy as they are all 3 choice answers, where you tick a box. So they will show you a picture of a right hand marker buoy with the question "What is this?" (a). A cow. (b). A telephone box. (c). A right hand marker buoy. Boat handling has nothing whatever to do with it! It is just a paper exam, where you have no need at all to set foot on a boat. But in France, you always have to have a little piece of paper with a stamp on it.

Just a little tip about preparation, that I forgot to mention earlier. Before you come in to moor, make sure that all access doors are open and clipped back, which includes any corridor doors inside the boat. This also gives you a good view out through the back door from the helm. It is a bit embarrassing if you are faffing about trying to open a door at the last minute, especially in that little Bounty aft door well, where the door often gets jammed half open by a mooring line. Then you are in a muddle!

Somehow, I had a feeling someone was going to say that. It depends if you want the pleasure and hands-on skill of boat handling, or would rather stand on the bank and operate the whole thing with a little joy-stick.

Exactly what I was going to say! The main thing is the ability to get out from the helm to the deck, before the boat blows away from the bank in the wind! In this respect a bow thruster is no use to you, once you have left the helm position. I do not agree that a small boat is easier, in fact it is most often more difficult. A long, heavy boat will not blow around so much in the wind and will also have a nice long keel to keep it straight in the water. Centre cockpit boats are not easy, especially if the canopy is closed, so you have to go out through the back door. They are also difficult as you get older, and cannot clamber out over the seats, onto the deck! My choice would be the good old Bounty 37. All round level side decks, access fore and aft, a long hull with a deep keel and a balanced rudder for steering when in neutral. I can honestly say that they are the easiest hire boats I have ever handled. If you don't like mooring stern on, then moor bow on and step off the front, where there are mooring cleats on either side. In this case, they are very adaptable for people in wheelchairs. Above all, prepare your mooring lines in advance and take your time. Do everything gently. There is an old saying on boatyards : Let the boat do the work!

If you want to enter the French canals, do not cross from Calais to Dover, as the pleasure harbour in Calais is closed in by a lock, which only opens at high tide. This means the whole crossing must be planned around that and unless your boat is capable of at least 15 knots it is not practical, owing to the strong currents in the Channel. It is better to come down to Ramsgate via Harwich and then enter France by Dunkirk or Ostend. If you fancy a longer sea passage you can come down the French coast past Boulogne and then go in up the river Somme. This is the route that most sea-going power boats prefer. From there, as you can see, there are a large number of different routes to get to Paris! Transport of a boat like yours by road is not a big problem and if you book well in advance they may be able to take you as a "return load" at a reduced price. We always used Abbey Transport, who never dropped a boat and are very professional! I suggest that by the time you have adapted and kitted out your boat for a sea passage, you may find road transport cheaper. Craning into the water can be done at several places, known to the transport firm, especially at one of the big boatyards in Cergy Pontoise, just to the north west of Paris, on the junction of the Seine and the Oise. This is where Mike Barnes recovered the wherry Ardea, after he had discovered her not far from there. From Cergy there is a canal that takes you round the north of Paris (a bit like the Grand Union Canal) where you join the Seine at the Bassin de l'Arsenal. This is similar, but rather smaller, to St Katherine's Dock in London, and where short term moorings can be booked in advance. I don't recommend cruising on the Seine through Paris, as this is a seriously commercial waterway with huge freight carrying barges and passenger steamers which make an enormous amount of wash. I have done the trip myself, when on delivery and it is very hairy! You are better to leave the Arsenal and cruise up the Marne through Chateau Thierry to Epernay, then up the canal to Reims and further on into Belgium. There are several different canals to choose from and the scenery is lovely. I find that the Marne is very much like the Thames, plus the fact that you are cruising through all the Champagne vineyards! It is best if your boat is British Registered but you must plan ahead before entering France with a foreign vessel. Have a word with HMRC and they will advise you. Short visit tolls of 6 months are available from VNF (Voies Navigables de France) but you must be French registered if you stay longer than that. French pleasure boats use white diesel, so make sure you keep the invoice for the last time you filled up with red diesel in UK, or you can be heavily fined if they do an inspection when you are cruising. It's a great adventure, but it needs plenty of planning!

Ist photo is from Blakes catalogue of 1968 and the second from 1976. These were quite iconic boats with a forward cockpit which also had dual controls. One of them has recently been beautifully restored by my nephew, Ben Knight. The only Lucky Stream I can find is a more modern, aft cockpit Fibreglass boat from Southgates, but I can't find one from Olulton Broad.