Lulu

31st August 2021 After a very restful night we left Fleet Dyke at 8.00am. We wanted to get under Ludham Bridge before everyone else. Selsie wanted me to take Luna through again but I bottled it as we approached the first marker post. There were a few boats around and the breeze had got up again. Once through we had a very slow pootle up the Ant. We wanted to try and get onto the side on moorings at Gayes Staithe as we haven't been on those before. Unfortunately it was totally full up, side on and stern on so we made our way to our usual last night stop, Paddy's Lane. We got there around 10.15. Selsie took a hike to Neatishead for some provisions. Desmond and I can't walk that fast so went for a more relaxed wander around the Barton Turf. I should have taken some money as there was a little stall selling some lovely looking veg. The moorings were empty and remained so nearly all day. We saw Albion go by again but apart from that it was eerily quiet and wondered if something had happened. The odd boat started to come in and then go again. Eventually we counted 7 boats along the whole stretch. Most strange in August but it was rather nice. It did seem to be Broom Skipper meet day and we chatted with two other sets of owners who arrived and discussed how we all loved our Broom Skippers. We couldn't believe our luck, maybe because it was so quiet but we finally got some kingfisher photos :) It was an early start the next day to get back to the marina and visit Norfolk Marine to get a new battery to fit on our maintenance weekend. I won't be documenting any of our weekend trips as it will just be the same old Paddy's Lane, How Hill probably! Hoping to get one more week in or two long weekends by the end of the year.

30th August 2021 We left Acle at 9.15 after a surprisingly warm night. Destination was to be Fleet Dyke. We wanted to get off the main river and have some shelter and calmer waters today! As we passed Upton Dyke we spotted a white bird flying over the reeds. I decided it wasn't a stork delivering my next grandchild. It was a skinny white small heron shaped bird so assumed it was an egret as per a discussion on another thread. Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera sorted in time. We arrived at Fleet Dyke at around 10.15 and moored up behind Cerise Lady. I went to have a look at the newly done moorings nearer the broad. Will have to go there next time. They look very smart. Had a good old catch up and gossip with Cerise Lady's crew and later on Selsie enjoyed a rather nice drink or two. He sends many thanks and will return the hospitality to celebrate your new boat soon.

29th August 2021 - We left Irstead reluctantly at 7.15 and made our way to Acle. The bit of blue sky from the day before had gone. I think we arrived around 9.15 am and got the first spot near Dunes Cafe and hooked up to the electric. 99p this time on the electric post. Selsie had a bacon roll from Dunes and I had a Bakewell tart. I went for a couple of walks along Pedro's side to walk this off. It was very windy, so much so Luna was rocking and rolling about and I made the mistake of having an afternoon nap and woke up feeling very sick (no it wasn't the Bakewell) so went for another walk. I can't believe I was feeling so seasick at Acle! We spent the day as usual boat watching. Selsie had to call Bridgecraft at one point as we spotted one of their boats that had been moored stern on doing a rather beautiful side on mooring with no one onboard. Later in the evening we saw Broad Ambition arrive but wasn't sure who was onboard at the time. Couldn't see Purdey Dog anyway! Not many photos as it was such a rubbish day.

A brief account of the August bank holiday weekend. The weather was very mediocre, most disappointing but mustn't complain, we were back on board and that was the main thing - It was a bit of a quick turnaround with washing then repacking after the week before. Couldn't believe we were back so soon for a mini break. After much dithering, we decided against leaving on Friday evening on the 27th Aug. We didn't fancy being stuck in holiday traffic so instead got up early on Saturday and were on our way by 6.30am. We loaded Luna up and made our way out of the marina by 8.00am. The reason for getting a shift on was that we didn't want to get caught up in the Barton Regatta. Whoop, Irstead was free and that was us moored up for the day. 89p left on the electric. Probably our shortest cruise so far. I took Desmond for a few walks throughout the day around the lovely narrow lanes and later looked around the church. What a beautiful building and came across Sir Peter Scott's grave. I didn't know he was buried there. The river was very busy with many sailies making their way to the regatta I assume and lots of Richardsons boats later in the afternoon. We waved at Cerise Lady as she passed. We watched a gentleman disappear in a boat up a narrow dyke which I had never noticed before (looked on Aweigh to see where it went and didn't realise how much more there is off the main river). He later returned with boat loaded up with reeds. It was a lovely sight to see along with watching Albion go slowly by. After getting up so early we were asleep by around 9.30.

I love that! It’s given me an idea for a whippet one.

Have a fantastic holiday and looking forward hearing about your adventures

https://www.topsail.co.uk/boat.php?refnum=2274#images

It was lovely to meeting up with you both yesterday. Looking forward to seeing your next “baby” We let you have Irstead today ;)

Great write up Jean and lovely video. We were only saying today, we really haven’t had a proper summer this year. Fingers crossed your October holiday will have good weather.

Thank you for your kind comments ladies x. Back on the boat after driving up early this morning as we couldnt face getting stuck in traffic last night. Left the marina as soon as we got our kit onboard and moored up by 9.00. That’s it for the day. Very happy where we are 😁

Thank you Polly. I get a bit worried that each tale gets a bit repetitive but actually this one was quite different for us, the ticking off more moorings challenge, me actually doing a bit more manoeuvring with the boat rather than just helming, walks and fishing :)

Will do, but we want the end spot!

Friday 20th August 2021 We woke at 6.30 and got a reluctant Desmond out of his bed to walk up to the cross. No one about at that time of the day. Lovely! We left at 7.30 to get under Ludham Bridge before everyone else got on the move. As I proudly helmed Luna from the mooring with Selsie in his new role on ropes, he announced that I was taking Luna under the bridge. No way!! Yes way! So from the start of the Ant mouth my heart was hammering (just as well I have a pacemaker...) As we turned the corner I was a bag of nerves assuming the whole of the Richardsons fleet would be coming through and I would end up on a YouTube video in the mishap section, but no one was about and under we went. I was shaking like a leaf once through but I did it! We headed up the Ant with the river to ourselves mainly and went to Simpsons for water and a pump out. They are so good there and always help turn Luna on the ropes. We didn't want to go back to the marina so thought we would go back and see if Irstead was free (would our luck continue?..... ) no, so we thought we would try Gayes staithe for the side on mooring, nope, our luck had run out but we had done lots of ticks this week so went to our usual last mooring of the holiday, good ole Paddy's Lane. It was virtually empty when we arrived at 11.00 and we got our favourite end spot. A ranger and Broadsbeat arrived a little later with a group of children on an experience day. We had a chat with them and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. It wasn't a school trip as such but oh I wish I could have done that as a kid! I took Desmond for a walk to the Staithe and then saw Diane on Judith M. I wanted to buy the book on Martham Boats she has written and she very kindly signed it for me. I intend to read it next week when we are back on the boat over the long weekend. Later I decided to join Selsie fishing. And after very many years since I last fished, caught two very nice roach on......... wait for it............. stale crumpet! We left early the next day, back to the marina to do a thorough clean through in readiness for the bank holiday weekend. Selsie is taking Tues and Wed off too so a nice longer mini break. Not sure what our plans our yet, but bound to include Ludham butchers.....

Ok, another one to add to our list to tick off!

Thursday 19th August 2021 Again overcast, but the theme of the week seemed to be bit miserable in the morning then lovely in the evening. We walked down to the end of the dyke and back then left at 8.00. I turned around out of Upton Dyke. I was so pleased with myself. Silly really but my confidence levels are going up :) An even shorter cruise today. I wanted to go to St Benets. For some reason it was really important to me to take Desmond there because it is where I got my favourite photo of our dearly missed Lulu and it was like a bit of a pilgrimage for me. We moored up just after 9.30 opposite the entrance to Fleet Dyke. We very nearly changed our minds after a while. It was incredibly busy and day boats were in and out just infront of us which put us in constant meerkat mode. I took Desmond off to the abbey and I got a bit emotional. There was no one else about at that point which was just as well as I'd have probably got some funny looks being all teary eyed cuddling a ginger whippet. Later on the river got quieter and surprisingly quite a few spaces were available. I'm not sure we will moor there again during the busy season.

Wednesday 18th August 2021 Awoke to another overcast day but it was mild and dry. I took Desmond for a walk again up the path (nowhere else to go!) and was amused at the sign on the gate. We left St Benedicts moorings at 8.00. The aim was either Boundary Farm moorings or Upton Dyke. The theme of this week was to tick off some places we haven't been to before and so far it was going well with Ludham and St Benedicts. Boundary Farm was full and as we passed we saw a ranger boat with lights flashing approaching us. Two dredgers were behind it. If Upton Dyke wasn't free, then the next choice would be Acle, but our luck was with us again. We moored up and as normal immediately took Desmond for a walk to get his bearings. He definitely expects to go for a walk as soon as we are moored up and its lovely to see his enthusiasm as we both get bored with the same old walks at home. We walked to the end of the dyke and back. The temptation to let him off for a run..... but I can't risk it. His recall isn't brilliant and he goes manic with zoomies so played safe. After a few hours of boat watching, we walked into the village for a drink at the White Horse and purchased a few items from the community shop, including another cake.... this time a Bakewell slice. My diet truly out of the window for the week, I justified it by all the walking I was doing. That's my excuse anyway. Later in the evening we watched the staff from the yard sailing. I believe they were having a staff bbq later. I learned a lot about sailing listening to them but its all a bit too much like hard work for me! I went for a long walk along the river with Desmond. Really lovely walk. It's been such a delight to see the Broads from a different aspect. It's something we never did on Broads holidays when I was a child.

Yes, pricey. I got some kitchen roll too for a £1 and Selsie was a bit gobsmacked when I told him what the total was and assumed I'd bought a whole bag of shopping! But those cakes are sooooo good.

Tuesday 17th August 2021 Woke up to the sound of rain. Desmond needed his morning walk. He absolutely hates the rain but we also needed to get rid of some rubbish so walked to the staithe much to his annoyance. We left Womack around 8.30. I'm now doing most of the departures and Selsie is doing the ropes. I'm also more confident dodging sailies and other traffic issues. Mooring is the next stage - baby steps! The next destination was to see if we could get onto the St Benedicts Church mooring at Horning. We arrived at 10.00 and couldn't believe our luck, it was free! The wind and rain was a bit challenging and it was on the starboard side so Selsie didn't have good sight of the mooring. I could see the quay heading looked really slippery and wasn't happy with the approach. We have a good communication set up now. I said 'abort, go around again' which we did and the next attempt was pretty smooth. By the time we had moored up, we were drenched and got to admit, we put the diesel heating on for a while.... in August! We needed to dry out and I was cold. So far we had been wondering where all the boats were. Everywhere seemed really quiet but after a while a steady stream of boats went past so spent all day boat watching. Later the other space was taken but we were surprised it wasn't occupied earlier. I took Desmond for a walk up the narrow path to the church. Overgrown with reeds in places and lots of mosquitos but it was great to explore as I had no idea what the church looked like. We walked through the church yard and up the left hand lane which I assume leads to Horning. Selsie caught a couple of roach much to his glee using some bread. Weather was a bit miserable but a really good day all in all on a new mooring and different scenery.

Monday 16th August 2021 The wind had got up during the night but it didn't keep us awake too much. Desmond got a bit agitated at one point and he crept nearer to me for reassurance. We set off at 8.00am with Womack Dyke as our destination. Had to go to Ludham butchers. We stopped off at Acle to top up with water. Just as we were filling up it started to rain so of course then once on the move the helm steamed up but our little 12v fans did the trick to demist the screen. We were really hoping we would have timed it right and could get a Luna sized spot at the Womack dyke. We were a bit surprised to find it almost totally empty and nabbed our favourite spot at the end. Think this was around 10.30 ish. The weather was pretty miserable for a while and Selsie went on the hunt for meat in between the rain showers. Desmond and I went for a walk along the river towards Potter. As the day went by the weather got better and better. Selsie fished for the first time in years. We recently purchased a couple of really cheap rods off Amazon and got our rod licences. The line is terrible and we need to change it. We didn't have any maggots, just bread and some tinned sweetcorn. No luck but it was good to be fishing again after all these years (probably about 20!) Desmond spent most of the afternoon watching the cows. We had steak and sausages from Ludham butchers for dinner. Wonderful. It surprised us how many spaces were still available at the dyke overnight. Another early night. It's a miracle if we stay awake beyond 10.00 when we are onboard.

Thank you Carole. Yes a fab time. Different moorings and a bit of fishing this time. Looking forward to seeing your new boat :)

Sunday 15th August 2021 Woke up around 7.00 after a very peaceful night's sleep. Desmond wasn't keen to get up but we wanted to get under Ludham Bridge before everyone else set off. I get really nervous about that bridge and we always choose to go through early. I took Desmond for a walk over the bridge. Looked like it was going to be another lovely warm day. The aim was to go to Stokesby so I could get a cake from the shop and we would have a meal in the evening. We left Ludham at 8.00 and arrived at Stokesby around 9.30. We had been discussing the tide all the way down. It looked like nothing was moving. How wrong we were. We saw the free moorings were empty. This would be a first. Ok, we admit we completely messed up the mooring on the first attempt thinking it was slack water, at the last minute realised our error and tried to turn around and sidled gently down the river struggling to turn. Selsie kept calm and managed to stop Luna going sideways to Stracey and we moored up successfully but a bit rattled. Lesson learned. Once moored up we could see the whirlpools and how fast the tide on the corner actually was and saw others getting caught out too. 89p left on the electric post Too much cake choice in the shop but eventually selected a carrot cake with the intention of the huge slab lasting a couple of days..... wrong, too yummy! We pre ordered a takeaway from the pub for the evening to pick up at 5.00. I took Desmond off for a couple of walks throughout the day. Found a lovely footpath that runs alongside the private moorings on the corner. I assume the footpath eventually goes back to Acle. We saw Malanka and Chameleon returning from Beccles and wondered if we would see any others. At 5.00pm I went to collect our pre ordered fish and chips. I only had to wait around 10 mins. They were very busy and pre order was the right decision. It was delicious and still piping hot when I got back to the boat. Desmond may have had a little bit of the fish and a few chips for being a good boy. I was hoping for a lovely sunset but the day had gradually become overcast, although still mild.

Saturday 14th August 2021 Woke to a lovely warm and sunny day. We set off by car to Beccles at 8.30. It was such an interesting journey and so different to see the Broads by car, along the Acle straight, over Breydon. I'd never driven over the St Olaves bridge or Haddiscoe. When we move to Norfolk eventually, we will definitely explore by car a lot more. We met up with everyone at the Wooden Boat Show. There was a food festival going on at the same time but we didn't get a chance to look at that. The weather was perfect for the day. The boats looked glorious in the sunshine. The owners looked pretty good too! Desmond met everyone and loved Aunty Pat and her treat bag. Thank you Dave and Ali for the boat show mug. Not deserved for letting you down, but hope we are forgiven. A lot of work goes into putting this show on and long may it continue to run. Also, huge thanks to the owners of these wonderful boats for the love, care and money! put into them and continuing to keep the history going. We arrived back at the marina at lunchtime with the aim to get to How Hill or Ludham Bridge before the Richardson's convoy set off. We arrived at Ludham Bridge around 2.30. We haven't previously moored here before as its usually so busy but we got an end spot at the beginning of the moorings and felt quite safe there. The photos are from around 3.30, 4.00pm - pretty empty. As evening approached the moorings filled up and we did wonder as more and more boats continued to go past, where they would all end up that evening. I think we were asleep by 9.30pm. A lovely day :)

Friday 13th August 2021 We arrived at the marina around 2.30. We were supposed to be in Beccles on Luna for the show but Selsie had recently changed jobs and was unable to get the time off. We had previously booked two whole weeks but work had to come first, especially as I am temporarily retired at the moment. We stayed in the marina as we were going to drive to Beccles for show day the following morning. We had a constructive afternoon thoroughly cleaning the boat inside and out and various maintenance jobs as always.

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/poison-warning-burgh-castle-8272562

Last week we managed to tick off 3 moorings we hadnt moored at before. Johnny Crowes staithe is on our list and its rather sad if it isn’t going to be possible