Davydine

Blimey, hopefully my Superb will be good for a few miles yet! As a matter of interest, what fuel / additive did you use?

Robin, I bought my car just over 2 years ago when I got the chance to opt out of my company car scheme. I had a choice of a brand new, entry level, Vauxhall Insignia or a 3 year old top of the range Skoda superb. (The L&K model) I was reluctant to buy the Skoda because of some sort of snobbery on my part (you remember the jokes in the 80s about them right?) but I took it for a test drive and fell for it completely! It is incredibly comfortable, sufficiently fast, handles very nicely, tows my caravan, and can fit all my family in easily. The stereo is a thing of joy and the DAB radio is excellent. It also has a built inTV and will park itself, but can't say I use either feature much! I only ever fill it with Tesco diesel and the fuel consumption is consistently 55mpg. I drive bout 25,000 miles per year. I get over 30 mpg when I tow the caravan. A minor service in a Skoda main dealer is about £150 a major one about £250. I recently had the cam belt changed (recommended at 5 years old) a major service and front brake disks and pads all for just over £1000 I would have another Skoda in a heartbeat and for the £40k you mentioned you could have a brand new top of the range Kodiaq, which is their large SUV, rather than a second hand BMW. Having said all of that, what others have said about it just being a car is absolutely correct. I could do everything I need to in an older, cheeper car, but I think I have got a good balance. Skoda is part of the Volkswagen Audi group, but I am not paying for the Audi badge. I see no reason why I shouldn't keepthis car for another 5 years when it will be 10years old and have don 150,000 miles. I reckon I will have had my moneys worth. Just my 2p David

I totally agree about the driving. My job involves a lot of driving and it is enormously relaxing to stay out of the way of all the stressed and angy people out there who chose to drive aggressively. I sort of agree about boating and chilling out. In the example I gave, it was the private boat that was doing the shouting, so I am assuming they weren't a newbie, but you never know. I suppose I have done quite a lot of boating over the years, several broads holidays, but most of my miles have been done sailing on the east coast, between the rivers Colne, Orwell, Deben and Crouch, with the occasional trip further afield. Nothing better than anticipating where other people are going and staying out of their way, likewise helping others and accepting help is one of the great joys of boating. Being afloat is a great leveller, regardless of being in a boat worth a few hundred quid or a super yacht worth severl hundred thousand. Having said that, I was always taught that I should know who had right of way and that the stand on vessel had a duty to do just that and keep going, particularly when a small boat (like mine was!) is crossing the the path of something much bigger, because stopping suddenly could cause bigger problems. It was all of the shouting coming from one boat that stuck in my mind. Such aggresion is rare on the Broads, which is why I asked the question. The moral of this story for me is that life is easier if we chill out and stay out of each others way, but if you do get a bit too close to another boat and you are going to shout and wave your hands about, you should be sure you actually had right of way, otherwise you look a bit daft.

Dunno, but I have a piece if strng that was a lot longer before someone put 11 knots in it...

I love this, this needs printing and framing! This is true. Vessel B in my example (the shouty one) was not a hire boat.

Absolutely! It should be a relaxing time on the water!

Thanks Griff, that sums up my thinking. FWIW, my opinion was that Vessel A should stand on because a. Vessel B is on his port side and should give way to starboard b Vessel B is in the minor channel, (Thurne) and was joining the major channel (Bure) and as such should give way at the junction. It was vessel B that did the shouting and testiculating (testiculate, to wave ones hands around whilst talking bol....) As it happens, Vessel A was behind me and Vessel B also had a pop at me, too, for going too fast, which I know I wasn't. Thanks everyone for your thoughts, I know the situation could easily be avoided and was made worse by the aggressive shouting. Cheers, David

Ah, yes, sound signals would definitely help, if people know what they mean! (Why did he sound his horn 5 times, I heard him the first time?) ;-) They are both altering couse, yes, but doesn't the rule about giving way to the boat on the starboard side still hold true?

Thanks everyone, I should say I totally agree that it's best just to slow down and let everyone else sort themselves out, which neither boat did in this case. I also agree with Grendel that it is Both skippers responsibility to avoid a collision. Thurne mouth is tricky in my mind because coming down the Thurne it looks as though the channel goes straight on with the Bure joining from the right, but isn't the Thurne actually the minor river joining the Bure which is the main channel? If so, surely boats coming down the Thurne should stop, giving way to the boats on the Bure. I know it is better to avoid the problem by slowing down. The only reason it stuck in my mind was that one skipper was so vocal, made me wonder if he was actually right!

I want to ask your opinions on a situaton I observed last year at the junction between the river Thurne and the river Bure. Two boats met at the junction and one skipper got very vocal and hand wavey to the other about who should give way, but I am not sure if he was right. It's bothering me, because I want to be sure what to do if I am in a similar situation. I will explain the situation and I have two questions: 1. Who is the stand on vessel and who is the give way vessel? 2. Why? Vessel A was traveling down the Bure from St. Bennets Abbey and turning left in to the Thurne towards Potter Heigham. Vessel B was traveling down the Thurne, joining the Bure and heading straight on towards Acle. Vessel A turned left in to the Bure, crossing the bows of Vessel B, they came close to colliding, but didn't. I am not saying who did the shouting! (Well, not until you have shared your opinions!) Thanks in advance, David

The video in the first post is an interesting one. I have hired from Richardsons on 4 occasions, firstly as a naive 18 yr old as a post A level lads week nearly 30years ago and most recently with my family and a friend and his family for a bank holiday weekend. The video is a pretty accurate depiction of the tuition we were given every time.

Yes, I believe so. It looked as though the helicopter landed by the Bridge Inn

Yes, it is on All 4 and it is Emergency Helicopter Medics episode 4

Did anyone else see emergency helicopter medics that was repeated on More 4 recently? It was fist shown last April and featured a lady who fell off a hire boat and caught her foot on the propeller. She was taken to the Royal Norfolk and Norwich by air ambulance but sadly she lost her foot. Very scary stuff.

Thanks All, yes, it's a shame that Contessa is not available, I do like that style of boat, it reminds me of the old Brooms Sea Pilots, that I used to go on in the 80s with my parents. Next time maybe!

Unfortunately it's not available for the week before Easter, which is the one that fits with our school holidays, but otherwise I would gave been very tempted.

Thanks, thats good to know. Hopefully I won't get kicked out of the front double!

Ah yes, I had seen these thank you and they were on the list as well, the two single cabins are perfect, but they are still about £200 more expensive than corsair light for the week we are looking at. At first I thought I was missing the fuel deposit and damage waiver but they are definitely included, so £200 makes a big difference!

Thanks, everyone, for the replies. We would be a family of 4 so 3 cabins is perfect for us as the kids dan have one each, they could share, of course, but life is more peaceful if they have their own space and happy kids equals happy parents! I am a fan of a raised centre cockpit or a twin helm boat, I just think the views are better if you are higher up.The other option was Contessa from Richardsons but it isn't available and also it is quit high for stern to mooring. The age difference between Corsair and Jamaica is interesting, but the price difference is £300 whis us a lot, so I think Corsair Light is looking like a winner at the moment! We have been with HW before and have neen pleased with the service so no worries there. Thanks agian, David

Evening All, Does anyone have any experience of Corsair Light from HW? Looking at it for an Easter break and it looks very good value compared to similar boats from other yards. Thanks, david

Looks like they may have had a problem, they just landed in Brussels...

Nah, he is aiming for the waterline, never sink 'em if the hole is too high...

Wow, I have just got back from an amazing weekend and find that this thread is now on it's second page! Anyway, The boat in question had been at Womack Staithe earlier in the day. We had gone up to see what was available, the Staithe was busy but we could have got in, but we decided we would prefer to be somewhere more peaceful so went back down the dyke. The boat went past well after sunset and having had a few drinks I was full of righteous indignation that anyone could be so stupid, which prompted me to type the original post. Anyway, the following morning, it became clear that the boat had seen the error of its ways, because they were tied to the bank a few hundred yards downstream. Did I get the name of the boat, yes. Did I take it any further, no. They clearly hadn't gone very far, so I felt it was best left alone. On another note, hasn't it been an amazing weekend to be afloat?

Lol, ok!

I know, but does there not come a point at which someone should have a quiet word?