YnysMon

Sorry I've been trying not to use mobile the last day or so as to conserve battery We had too much wind Sunday and also Monday morning, we waited until midday before setting off. To be fair Malcolm, you were moored in a particularly wooded stretch (lovely mooring by the way). I don't think you spotted us motoring past this morning before 9. Winds were very light today, though we did manage to sail most of the way down the Bure and up the Thurne back to the Yard. Reasons for going back to the Yard: rain forecast for the rest of the day, need to get plugged into the 'lekky' to recharge mobiles etc., but also, we are thinking of getting under 'the bridge' tomorrow, and the Yard isn't that far from Potter. [emoji16] Mind you, the rivers seem quite high. We might not get under. [emoji53] Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

So far, it doesn't look that busy. Granted, we haven't left the Yard yet, but on a walk along Womack Dyke we only saw 5 boats moored on the BA moorings plus one hire, and that was a Hunter's boat. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

We love that stretch up to Geldeston. Special!

We do, but we have an American couple who own a share and can only get ‘over the pond’ once a year for a fortnight. So, as our summer allocation in June was the week adjoining theirs we swopped our summer week for an autumn one and, through another swop, ended up with a fortnight’s allocation toward the end of September. Everyone happy, or would have been had this Covid crisis not intervened. Unless we have another lockdown in September, it will work out rather well for us. We prefer out of season anyway.

That takes me back. The papoose, or whatever you call it, got a lot of use when our kids were little. This one's from May 1991. Yes, my eldest is almost 30! Eeek!

My inclination is to back up Regulo’s advice. Although perfectly doable once you’ve gained some experience and confidence, I wouldn’t advise that a novice moor at Burgh Castle. Barney Arms has similar strong tide, but there’s normally a bit more room there.

Nooo! Well, not in strong winds anyway. We had been thinking that sometime Sunday morning would be an ideal time, low water being around 7.30. We’ll have to see what the wind is like. I’m thinking strong wind, low narrow bridge, not good combination. Going through on the Torqeedo is pretty boring anyway, from an ‘audience’ perspective. From an ‘on board’ perspective it’s a lot easier than quanting through the bridge. That can be quite hard work, especially as you have to get under two bridges before mooring and raising the sails. Just taking down the mast and raising it again is quite a palaver. We love it though.

Yeh! Cheers! Have a great time! p.s. watch out for strong winds on Sunday!

I love walking along the bank from the Hardley Drainage Mill moorings, either toward Hardley Dyke and the river Chet, or along the bank opposite the Cantley sugar plant. You are asked to pay £5 for overnight mooring there, but it’s on a pontoon and only has room for three or four boats, so nice and quiet.The money goes toward maintaining the mill, so a good cause.

Crossing my fingers! The last few days forecasts have been a relatively low % chance of rain, and we’ve had so many showers! I’m packing my waterproof trousers as insurance. I’ve taken them with me on visits to the Broads for several years and not used them yet. Mind you, I did get pretty wet on a couple of occasions from sudden downpours. We haven’t yet had to sail in persistent rain though.

Can’t recommend The Wherry enough, really friendly and great food. I’ve considered doing that circular walk a few times, so will be interested to hear how you get on. The short walk that Graham and I did across the fields from The Locks was very soggy, but then I guess you have to expect that in March. Helen

It’s quite a nice and interesting spot, with lovely views toward Breydon water, but we’ve never moored up there. The tides are quite strong the closer you get to Yarmouth. We visited it by car last February when storm Ciara kept us from cruising.

Hope to see you Malcolm. We are planning a short jaunt above ‘that bridge‘, but we won’t stay there all week.

We missed out on our May syndicate allocation on Moonlight Shadow, and our next allocation isn't until September (hoping we don't have another lockdown then!), but (as I keep mentioning on other threads...sorry, can't help it...too excited) we are booked on Hunter's Yard's Lucent from tomorrow. Originally, we were booked from last Saturday on another of their boats, Lustre. Can you imagine how frustrated we would be just now if we hadn't changed the booking! Like Lustre, Lucent has been fitted with an electric 'Torqeedo' engine, which we found really helpful last year. (For those unfamiliar with Hunter's Yard, it's a heritage fleet of cabin yachts and day sail boats and until recently all the boats were sail power only, though they do provide you with a quant to push yourself along with if the wind fails. Some of the boats are still sail only, for the purists. This year there are timed pick-up slots, so we'll be picking up the boat a bit later this year, at 3pm. Graham and I were tempted by the 9am slot, but were put off by the thought of trying to wake up our sons before 7. I'm really delighted that they are both coming with us this year. Alec, the youngest, has only been to the Broads once, so it's great that he's chosen to come with us this year. I'm amazed that they still want to come on holiday with their aged parents, given they are both in their late 20s. Anyway, I'll be doing my usual long-winded holiday tale, when I get back. Helen

Yes, sure, but it will probably have to wait until we are back home. Not as easy to post from a sailey with no power as it is from Moonlight Shadow. I’ll be attempting to conserve the battery on my mobile, though we are taking a solar charger with us.

I'm sure that's true to some extent, but this year I've chosen to pay for some holidays by credit card when normally I wouldn't have bothered. Mainly due to thinking I'm more covered than if I payed by my debit card. Also, the new rules banning companies from levying additional charges for credit cards has changed my behaviour and made me more inclined to use my John Lewis card for big purchases so that I can get John Lewis vouchers as a reward. Of course, that only works to your advantage if you pay off at the end of the month!

We've received the new pick up arrangements from Hunter's Yard. Only one person to check in, staggered check in times etc. They also asked us to fill in the usual paperwork in advance and, if possible, email it to them. They also included a helpful info sheet from Eastwood Whelpton on what facilities are available, which I've attached. Only two sleeps to go! Out About on the Broads - Facilities open July 2020 update (1).pdf

There's a list of places that do pump-outs (and where you can get water etc.) on this site: https://www.mynorfolkbroadsboating.co.uk/norfolk broads water and electric points.html You can also download a pdf version to print off.

We have a dog and have hired a dinghy when we want to have the option of mudweighting.

I’ve started to wonder about availability too. Normally the first week of July isn’t crazy busy, not school holiday busy anyway, and we’ve never had a problem mooring. Looking at booking availability for most of the yards for this weekend...well, there isn’t much. So, will the northern rivers be madly busy? Will we be able to moor? Alternatively, I’ve started to wonder whether yards haven’t managed to get all their ‘normal’ fleet available due to the lockdown. Hunter’s Yard have their cabin yachts available but not their day boats. We asked about hiring a sailing dinghy, but they aren’t ready yet either. One possibility is that maybe the yards are focussed on getting their most popular and profitable boats ready and are not offering as many boats for hire as normal. That’s assuming their normal prep for the coming season was interrupted in March. Just a thought...

If you want a really good introduction to family friendly cruising you might be interested in this series of YouTube vlogs. Intro here: A bit (understatement) mad (as I’m sure ‘The Admiral’ would agree) but I thought it was really interesting to see how the kids of the family that accompanied him on this ‘adventure’ enjoyed their holiday. I suspect they thought that the visit to Pettitt’s Adventure Park in Reedham was the highlight. Not sure when Pettitts are opening up again though.

Thanks for the link. We aren’t planning to visit a pub or restaurant, but a takeaway is tempting for pre-pick up this coming Saturday (maybe from the Station Smokehouse in Wroxham) and after handover on the final day. Excellent news that the butchers in Ludham are doing a roaring trade. If weather allows, a BBQ on Saturday evening would be lovely. Last year they were selling some delicious Chinese marinaded chicken skewers. I want more of those!

My husband Graham, has sewed a number of face masks for us. The first one he sewed by hand, following guidance on this website: He's now onto Mk2, following the pattern on this website, and has started using my sewing machine instead of hand sewing.

We didn't go south on our first trip, but with hindsight I think we were too cautious as it wasn't as scary going through Yarmouth as I thought it would be. The main thing is to make sure that you plan your to pass through Yarmouth at approximately an hour after low water (slack low water). The tides are stronger down south, so it's more important that you understand a few principles on handling the boat (like always moor into the tide). As well as watching Robin's 'Captains Blog' videos, I found the advice pages on this website very helpful, so much so that I printed them off and took them with me for our first trip: https://www.mynorfolkbroadsboating.co.uk/ There's also a link from the homepage to a tide table. Enjoy! I wouldn't worry about it being too busy. When we used to hire we always avoided school holidays. However, when we bought into a syndicate boat last year we were allocated the August bank holiday week. We found that, even when we went north we managed to moor without difficulty. It's only a problem if you are desperate to moor near a pub. Helen

We already had a boat booked for 4th July. Whilst we are thrilled that our holiday has been confirmed, we are intending to be cautious. We thought mud-weighing would be a good option, except that we have a dog with us (those just-before-bedtime comfort breaks are a problem, unless you have a dinghy). Wild moorings seem an attractive alternative, except we are on a sailey, so need to take extra care as a lot of wild moorings are overhung by trees. On the other hand, if you want pubs, it sounds like they have the go ahead to open, with suitable precautions. By the time August comes around there will probably be a clearer picture of how the latest government guidelines are working out. So I’m sure have an advantage on us in planning your holiday. Enjoy!