kfurbank

I could be wrong, but I thought the voluntary pause in Winter boating related to Horsey, not Hickling?

On parts of the continent in certain areas you are not allowed to use cruise control as it can make some people's driving complacent. I believe in Belgium it is banned when congestion builds up in rush hour. The speed limits were around well before cruise control so no excuse MM.

And during rush hour HGVs are banned from the overtaking lane. There is nothing worse than following two lorries up the M11 with one doing 1mph faster than the other until he hits a hill and slows down again.

I don't think you'll find it has changed. The National speed limit has always changed depending upon the type of road and the type of vehicle. The National speed limit sign which is a white circle with black diagonal stripe means you can do the maximum speed for that type of road, depending upon the vehicle you are in. For cars 70mph on motorways and dual carriageways, 60mph for single carriageways. If it is felt a more appropriate lower speed is called for then it will be signed lower. In the absence of the white circle / black stripe, or a specific sign, then it is 30mph. I was taught 34 years ago to assume the speed limit was 30mph unless you see a sign telling you otherwise.

Charlie, with regards to navigable waters with a public right to navigate the railways came along later and HAVE to allow access to the navigation. It is not a courtesy, but a RIGHT that goes back to the Magna Carta. Norwich is also technically a port. That is why Network Rail still have to open Trowse Bridge if demanded. Alan, Since there are signals along the line between the two bridges there is no reason why they cannot hold trains at signals, which I have seen happen along the New Cut in the past. It may be convenient to operate the bridges as a pair to ensure smooth running of the railway and to meet the time tables, but not essential, especially during engineering works.

I'm not so sure they are interlocked together. There have been plenty of times when one or other of the bridges have been stuck closed. The other bridge still operates!!! and they still carry on running passenger trains. At the weekend there were no passenger trains, so even if Reedham bridge was being worked on, no reason why Somerleyton couldn't still swing, unless it was also being worked on, in which case that is bad planning as they should separate the maintenance periods. If you moor at St Olaves, Reedham marina, Goodchilds or Burgh Castle there is a good chance you have a tall boat. If both bridges are out of action then your cruising area is severely limited. If one bridge is out of action at least you can still cruise most of the other river.

Having passed under Reedham bridge twice over the weekend I can confirm that there were plenty of Network Rail engineers around and it looked like a fair bit of track laying was taking place and there must have been a rail replacement bus service as there were no passenger trains getting past the line of ballast containers and track laying train. Whilst I appreciate the two bridges normally operate together, since there were no passenger trains running, surely they could have left Somerleyton in operation? Why is consideration only ever given to the rail passengers, not the river traffic? On Monday the line was open again to passenger trains, but still plenty of evidence of Network Rail engineers around Reedham.

Not sure I follow? The exhaust would either be a MOT failure, or not, but a small hole in the exhaust wouldn't result in points on your license unless you decided to ignore a MOT failure and carry on driving it on the road. Regarding the matter of paperwork, the address is on the license for a reason, whether you agree or not, or can see the benefit of it or not. Unless a means of punishment exists for people who don't update their address, then many more people wouldn't bother. At a roadside check, your license if you have it on you, is one of the first things the police may want to record and if it has the wrong address on it, this may delay further enquiries. Off course you could always point out that you haven't got around to changing your address yet, but that assumes you remember and haven't a reason for wanting to delay further enquiries. As a matter of interest, if points on your license is excessive for not updating your address, what do you consider appropriate? A £10 fine? a £100 fine? because it could be argued that a monetary fine is unfair based upon the ability to pay such a fine. At least points on a license is a leveller?

Maurice, So if the car was hired and the police contacted the hire company who supplied the details from the driving license?

If the back box of your exhaust falls off due to it's corroded mounts and goes bouncing along the road into the path of the car following you at 65mph, then I would argue that is dangerous, or if it's blowing somewhere near the exhaust manifold and poisonous fumes are entering the passenger compartment then again it is dangerous. With regards to change of address, consider the following, a driver leaves a pub three times over the limit and on his way home clips a cyclist and knocks a child off a bike. There are witnesses and they take the drivers registration number. The police go round to the house to be told "sorry mate he doesn't live here, he moved out 6 months ago". By the time the police track the driver down two days later he has sobered up and claims not to have seen or realised he clipped a cyclist. The police charge him with negligent or careless driving when he should have had the book thrown at him.

To be fair, The Waveney River Centre gave me a 6 month refund when I moved on, and even better if you arrive at AYB part way through the year then you get progressively larger discounts on the remainder of the year. I think I paid 40% of the annual mooring fee for 6 months. Good offer from Clive though.

It has been mentioned on another thread that there are no discussions about shoes, chocolate and wine. So especially for Gracie I have managed to find a website. http://www.azrachocolates.co.uk/ If you were to pour wine into one of those shoes then we have all three bases covered.

I've posted this here somewhere before, but worth repeating again. Helping someone out of the water. Take your longest mooring rope, join two if needed, and with one end attached to a cleat, take the other end along the side of the boat and tie it off so that it forms a curve dipping down into the water. Then get the person in the water to the middle of the curve and get them to stand on the rope. Get them to support as much off their weight as they can whilst you tighten the rope under their feet. Then get them to walk sideways up the rope until they are able with help, get onto the deck. Have needed to use this once and it worked a treat. The person in the water probably weighed as much as me and the other person helping with the recovery. We stood no chance of pulling the person out, but that method worked a treat. With an outside temp of 4 degrees time was of the essence. A dip in January is not to be recommended. Especially days after visiting the London Boat Show and buying a new life jacket, which was still sitting in it's bag on the boat.

People normally agree leases to give both parties some security. Who would invest with a 20 year lease if that lease could be ended at short notice? Kind of defeats the object of having a lease in the first place. In that respect leases normally pass onto the next of kin as an asset. As an example who would invest in a flat with a 150 year lease if that lease could be terminated at short notice upon the death of the landlord? With moorings they are normally leased on a full repairing lease and need to be returned at the end of the lease in a like for like condition. Planning for routine maintenance and upkeep of a mooring on a lease and ensuring funds are available to meet that obligation requires long term planning and the security the mooring will be available for the term of the agreed lease.

I believe the White light was one of the original requirements and they were meant to be supplied and fixed by the pub, hence the second requirement, that stern on mooring could only be allowed when mooring attendants were on duty, to ensure that lights were supplied and positioned in place.

I think it was Antares one of the founding members here who said that if you spend more hours in the pub, then you do cruising, you have your boating priorities wrong. The river journey is first and foremost the reason for coming to The Broads for me. The fact that I like good beer and food is purely incidental. The link to the report, Appendix 2 is the relevant section. http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/889044/Chief-Executive-Report-nc230217.pdf

The recent trial of stern on mooring in Horning has now been concluded and will not be repeated according to the following report from The BA navigation committee. http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/889044/Chief-Executive-Report-nc230217.pdf Section 3 is the main point of interest.

Couldn't agree more, Was never a fan of the previous landlord, as a few may know but that chapter is closed now, Sincerely hope that there is good news soon, and even better if it involves Rick. Here's to a better and much improved pub opening as soon as possible

Just as an aside, whilst there may be space at the yacht station, it is not free, whereas the BA 24hr moorings are free, even if you have already paid towards their upkeep via the inflated toll. Asking someone to pay twice might be seen as a bit rich. Off course if you can fit under the old bridge as well, then the swimming pool moorings are closer to the town and normally deserted. Also not free, but unlikely to see someone collecting this time of year.

Not quite, see if they will sell you a toll without making an insurance declaration. They don't have a legal leg to stand on.

A couple of points about paying online, 1. You can only pay the amount they request, there is not a box to enter a different amount. It has been suggested elsewhere about paying the same as last year, plus a more suitable amount for inflation, say 3% 2. You are forced to tick the insurance declaration. The Broads Act 2009 requires you to have insurance, but doesn't make it a condition of them issuing a toll. I suspect very few people insure their boat from the 1st April, but more likely on the anniversary of purchase of the boat, meaning the onus should be on the BA to perform regular random checks throughout the year, and for them to know what constitutes a valid insurance. The two are separate matters under the 2009 act. This is an abuse of power. If buying a toll in advance, as in to run from the 1st April your boat could be currently out on the hard standing and therefore there is no requirement for it to be insured. You could, or should be able to buy your toll now, even if you were not launching till mid May, and there is not a thing they can do about insisting you have insurance. It is an abuse of a power hungry authority. Be aware that Steve Slippery Shoulders Birtles is putting the onus on YOU to make sure your insurance meets the requirements of the 2009 act, not The BA. Quote "Boat owners are required to make a declaration that they have insurance in place at the time of paying their tolls which all have done either in written form or by oral means over the phone. We do not verify that boat owners have insurance that is compliant with the Act as it is the responsibility of the boat owner to ensure that insurance they hold is in accordance with the Act provisions." There is no byelaw that supports the actions of The BA in requiring you to make a declaration about your insurance. On that basis I would encourage everyone not to use the online facility since you cannot renew without being forced to make the declaration. I would encourage everyone to renew the toll over the phone and demand that they issue a toll and that you are making no comment about your insurance. The Broads Act 2009 does allow them to stop you and ask to see a copy of your insurance, but then to do that, they would need to know if it meets the requirements of the act!!!!! See Stevie's comment above

I remember Barnes having an exhaust system on some of there boats where the water was separated from the gas near the exit and the water was disposed off under the boat and the gas just above the waterline. This meant very little noise and none of that annoying gurgling and splashing of water. But I've never heard of a system depositing both directly into the water? Is that even allowed from a pollution point of view? I guess even with traditional exhausts there must be some mixing of water with the gas which ultimately ends up in the water, but sending the whole lot straight into the water?

Just a thought, why don't you arrange to meet JM at Stalham, leaving one vehicle there and driving back to Horning ready to sail. When you reach Stalham you will have a vehicle local ready to go back and collect the other one at Horning. Looking outside at the snow coming down, I do feel for you. It's the eternal question? take the boat out in the Summer and miss using it for a few weeks, or take it out in the Winter and face whatever the weather decides to throw at you. It's never an easy choice.

Looks like a serious amount of drugs have literally washed up on the beaches in Norfolk. http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/more_than_50m_worth_of_cocaine_has_been_discovered_washed_up_on_beaches_in_hopton_and_caister_1_4885496 Better washed up on the beach than causing serious grief for countless families and loved ones.

Again, only an observation, but these moorings have always been signed since I first visited in 2001 as free 24hr moorings. (although not BA 24hr signs) I have never witnessed long term annual mooring at this location by parishioners. I always presumed the moorings, and indeed the common was owned by the parish and made available as a facility to visitors. There is a short section of mooring on the Port bank above Wroxham bridge space for about two boats that has at times had BA mooring signs, but currently is just signed as a free 24hr mooring and is again provided by the parish I believe?