YnysMon

I think we might be on a bounce back (hopefully). Anyone who has studied history will have noticed that each generation tends to turn their backs on what has gone before. The trouble is, most people don’t look back very far, so we seem to have forgotten the lessons that the post WW2 generation had learned.

Thank you Jean, that was lovely. Perfect choice of music I would say. I can’t remember seeing ‘Watch with Mother’ but in Wales, before the advent of the Welsh language channel S4C, a few children’s programmes on the mainstream channels were replaced with Welsh language children’s programmes.

I noticed on our local news today that the police in MK stopped someone in a Lamborghini in the city centre who couldn’t produce any proof that he’d paid road tax. Said car confiscated. You’d think if you could afford that sort of car that you could afford road tax.

The Broads Authority website has a couple of pages that you might find helpful. One is a list of their free BA moorings, here https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/moorings and there’s a page on electric hook ups and where you can buy the cards to top up the electric posts, here https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/electric-boat-charging-points If you are on a private boat you should be able to access areas that are marked ‘no hire boats’. e.g. Grendel went under Bishop’s Bridge in Norwich (just past the Yacht Station) a while back on Water Rail and went to the head of navigation.

What a beautiful sunset. Thanks.

Well done! Watch it coming back though, I found that a lot more difficult, so your idea of having the pilot tutor your return passage is a good. That's a very helpful suggestion. We once had to moor up on an emergency pontoon and Seren just wouldn't 'go'. She hung on until the following morning when we were able to find a suitable bank to moor up at.

We obviously also have that problem, as we have Seren. I’ve sometimes considered mudweighting this time of the year when we can take her for a late evening comfort break before heading for a Broad. I had been thinking of going to Black Horse broad Friday, but the recent reports of weed being a problem there has put me off. I suppose there’s Ranworth.

Hmm, judging by the post about racing on Black Horse Broad having to be abandoned due to weed growth, I suspect that weed will be a problem anywhere near the head of navigation, where the water is clear. The BA were cutting weed above Belaugh in May, but with the warm weather it will probably grow back at pace! Even if we can get above Potter in September we might give West Somerton a miss. The first time we ventured up the long dyke above Martham Ferry there a weed cutting machine in evidence, operating further up near Martham Broad. Before we got anywhere near that our rudder (this was on a sailey) got so clogged with weed we lost all steerage. The next time we went up in that direction we did make it to West Somerton, but we also had a mishap on our way back. The weed cutting machine came to our rescue on that occasion.

Any excuse

We have 240v on our syndicate boat, so we can plug into electric on our home mooring and don’t have to worry about the fridge etc. draining batteries if the boat is left vacant for any time. As we have 4 weeks allocation each year, one for each season, being able to plug into electric posts around the Broads means that we can be toasty during those cold nights in the autumn/winter /early spring months. The boat does have the usual diesel heating, but we prefer not to have that running much. It’s a bit noisy for a start and eats up the diesel and we wouldn’t like to run it at night. We have a couple of little dimplex heaters that we use overnight on a low setting during the colder months. We love being on the Broads during the off season as the rivers are so quiet, and it’s a bonus that we don’t have to put up with chilly nights.

I like how the (Brownies) Aliens landed just outside your house. Great too see a village still doing a carnival. Martham sounds like a really good community.

I find that too, it’s time consuming. I very much appreciate the holiday tales you post.

We’ll done. The upside is that you had a good walk back to offset those pies!

Glad to hear you are having second thoughts about going under Ludham Bridge for your first trip. Even if it’s not windy it can be a bit of a trial this time of the year, so it helps if you are familiar with how your boat handles. Last year, late June, we were behind a boat that paused just on the bend before the bridge,. They had to remove several bicycles off the top of the boat before going through. Meanwhile we had to hold station whilst a queue of the boats built up behind us, getting closer and closer. I was very glad that we were familiar with our boat and that it wasn’t breezy!

Have a good time!

I doubt that boat reminds people of the beauty of the place! It’s an eyesore. More likely to put people off.

Hopefully! Tentative plans for September involve coming up north asap in an attempt to get under ‘that bridge’, river levels permitting. We won’t stay up there more than a few days though, and if we can’t get under we’ll just have more time to explore other places…maybe even Wood End Staithe.

Yes it is sad. A few years back we thought it would be a good idea to have a ‘project boat’. I don’t think we have enough energy or dedication (or cash!) for that any longer though.

You probably won’t get even a glimpse of us next week. We are planning to set off Friday evening and moor up hopefully at Acle or Stacey Arms, as being good places for an early start next morning to Yarmouth (I’m ruling out Stokesby as impossible). On the other hand we might stay in Horning overnight and set off from there exceptionally early Saturday morning. We are on Water Rail from 12th September to the 23rd. Planning to come north the first week, if all goes well.

Have a wonderful week. If it gets too hot, just keep cruising! We can’t wait…we’ll be on board MS from next Friday.

I’m going to horrify some people ….is the boat worth saving? Or is there a gem of a boat lurking there?

Still reasonable though. Everything is going up!

Thanks for the replies guys, it’s now definitely on our list! It now depends on how long we stay south. Having moved the boat from Brundall to a new (for us) mooring in Horning during our last jaunt on Moonlight Shadow, we can’t wait to go back down south and will be doing so at the first opportunity (Saturday morning 16th). Hoping to get to Norwich, Beccles (possibly Geldeston) and Oulton Broad, maybe even Loddon before returning north. So, a packed schedule! Good job I read this through before posting. Stupid thing had corrected Norwich to Norway. That would be quite the cruise, and in the wrong direction!

Has anyone noticed whether the Kings Arms offers a vegetarian alternative to the roast meat in their carvery. We might head toward Ludham Wednesday evening when we are next on the boat, but my husband is vegetarian. Some establishments think it’s fine to just offer vegetarians the accompanying vegetables…and some even charge the same price for that as the full meat option…the ultimate insult to a vegetarian! So it would be nice to know.

Best avoid Friday morning too. That seems to be a time when lots of the syndicate boats book in at Boulters.