[Overnight Mooring At Private Boat Yards]

Although at least it is an option. Private boats not welcome at Norfolk Broads Direct at any cost!!!

[Water Levels]

31 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Here's footage of Daniel from Bridgecraft taking Westminster Bridge back through Wroxham Bridge this week. It makes you wonder how (and why?) the bridge pilot took it upstream previously.

If there's reasonable headroom the pilot will take you through. They are not able to predict sudden changes in clearance and whilst dramatic changes in clearance are rare at Wroxham, they can and do occur.

I remember taking my own boat through one September a number of years ago. Plenty of clearance and off we went to Coltishall. Went to The Recruiting Sargent that night and overnight it rained really heavily which we thought nothing of. In the morning we took a walk to Farm to Fork to buy some bits and were surprised at how much water was gushing through the weir at the mill. Again we thought nothing of it.

Got back to Wroxham later that day to find we were 3 inches short of being able to get back through and that side we stayed for the next four days. One day in North Walsham by train, one day in Aylsham by train, one day in Sheringham by train and one day back in Coltishall. 

I eventually got back through the bridge setting a new low record for me passing that bridge and one I wouldn't want to repeat again. One and a half inches lower than my normal minimum comfortable level.

Passing Wroxham bridge at night is not at all unusual for us. I often find it easier as the wind tends to die down at night and there is virtually no river traffic. If I'm planning on going through the next morning anyway I will often check the clearance in the evening and after dinner take it through and cruise with nav lights to Wroxham Broad and then drop the mud weight. These days I've probably passed Wroxham Bridge more in the dark, than daytime.

[Overnight Mooring At Private Boat Yards]

Some yards do have visitor moorings, but I would always call ahead to reserve or enquire about a visitor mooring.

You need to remember that although a berth may be empty, the berth holder may return at any time and expect to be able to moor back in their berth. It's not just a vase of them mooring elsewhere in the basin because they will want to see their boat back in its normal mooring before heading home, which in some cases could be a number of hours drive away.

You also need to bear in mind that some marinas have locked gates to get out of the marina, and or access gates onto the pontoons or access ways to the berths. You may well find yourself in a marina where once you have exited the mooring area you are unable to return to your boat.

Most marinas will have signs at the entrance saying private, berth holders only, so it would be wrong to ignore those signs unless you have rang ahead and made arrangements.

Tingdene at Brundall have I think 2 visitor mooring berths, but again I would book ahead.

St Olaves Marina has a visitor mooring on the riverfront of The Waveney at St Olaves, but I know it is fenced off from the main marina and you would need to exit the gate from the mooring and also an access card to exit the marina itself. There is a phone number on the visitor mooring sign, so again ring ahead.

[My Life In The Kitchen(s).]

Would it not be fair to say that whilst both chefs and cooks can cook food, it tends to be the chef who creates the recipes and menus?

[Lethal Salt Surge]

24 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

No where to go but Latham's for the day? That would be a complete nightmare!

Think I'd be inclined to take the X6 bus to North Walsham and either take the train to the coast, or Norwich, or even explore North Walsham. I do hope the staff at HW issue anyone stuck in the basin with some sensible tourist information and travel guidance. Actually thinking more about that, a little pack with local bus and train time tables as well as some local walks would be a good idea. 

If only the BA had a tourist information office in Potter! 

[Lethal Salt Surge]

1 hour ago, andyg said:

so there's a limit to how far upstream the salt water travels ?? I assumed it affected the whole network.

Fresh water continually drains into the sources of the rivers and runs downstream until it meets the incoming tide where it becomes brackish and eventually salt water. The amount of freshwater entering the rivers depends upon the recent rainfall, but will continue for many months after no rain, just at a severely depleted rate.

Recent lack of any significant rain and the direction of the wind combined with higher tides will have pushed the point at which it becomes brackish further and further upstream.

When you go to Coltishall, one of the reasons why you can often see the bottom is because of the amount of freshwater running off the land and downstream. Also it is rare that you see the current change direction there and head upstream.

[Lethal Salt Surge]

19 minutes ago, andyg said:

Can someone please explain the barrier at herbert woods?? Why isn't there one at NBN in Wroxham or richardsons at Stalham??

2 hours ago, Meantime said:

I believe that the barrier at Herbert Woods has two purposes. When a salt surge event occurs normally the fish swim upriver to get away from the incoming salt. As the HW basin is a large dead end pool of water off the main river the fish can tend to swim into there in large numbers and become trapped and eventually lack of oxygen becomes an issue. So I believe the first purpose is to encourage fish to swim past and further up river to escape the salt surge, and secondly to protect any fish already in the basin before the salt surge occurred. 

I'm guessing there is no barrier at NBD or Richardsons because they are much further away from Yarmouth than Herbert Woods. 

[Lethal Salt Surge]

3 minutes ago, grendel said:

when i was coming downstream earlier this year i did encounter a shallow section, i was a good 12 foot from the bank, and suddenly slowed, I got off again and carried on round the  corner where there were yellow posts about 10 feet off the bank, so there are some shallow spots along that lower section.

The problem is that section also has green posts a good way into the river marking out shallows on the other side. So if you know where the unmarked shallows are and stay wide to avoid them it almost puts you on a collision course with anything coming up river that is giving the Green posts a wide berth.

[Barge At Oulton Broad Sinking]

I believe that barge was there doing some of the construction work on the old Pegasus site. Work has come to a lengthy halt due to various planning renegotiations between Badger Homes and BA planning which appear to be coming to a resolution slowly. I'm guessing once work starts again the contractor employed by Badger Homes will need that work to finish the landscaping and piling for moorings along the front of the site. As such it will be the contractor who will be responsible for raising the barge if it sinks fully.

Might be worth a word with the staff at the yacht station if your local. They seem to be responsible for the swinging moorings and keep an eye on the boats moored up near Caldecott Road, they might know who to contact regarding the barge, or even have a contact number for Badger Homes.

[Lethal Salt Surge]

10 hours ago, ChrisB said:

From the BA's Hydrographic Survey, I am struggling to find this " Hump " can anyone identify it?

I'm not sure how out of date the BA survey is, but in any case if you travel along that section you will find a couple of places marked with temporary yellow sticks marking shallow areas on bends. These presumably don't suddenly drop to very deep water but must be a gradual incline towards the centre of the channel.

In addition it is noticeable the lack of current flow on the Lower Bure. 20 years ago if going towards Yarmouth with the ebb and taking it easy with the revs it was normal to feel the stern of the boat being taken on the bends due to the current to the point that you needed to increase the revs to maintain steerage. That never happens these days.

[Lethal Salt Surge]

7 hours ago, Mouldy said:

 Why is there only a barrier at Woods?  Do the fish taste salty water and think ‘I know, I’m off to Potter because it’s safe there?’

 

4 hours ago, grendel said:

I wonder if anyone knows how and when the barriers at Herbert Woods came about, and who did the work?

I believe that the barrier at Herbert Woods has two purposes. When a salt surge event occurs normally the fish swim upriver to get away from the incoming salt. As the HW basin is a large dead end pool of water off the main river the fish can tend to swim into there in large numbers and become trapped and eventually lack of oxygen becomes an issue. So I believe the first purpose is to encourage fish to swim past and further up river to escape the salt surge, and secondly to protect any fish already in the basin before the salt surge occurred. 

[My Day]

[My Day]

7 minutes ago, Gracie said:

As for Meantime, I will be keeping a very close eye on him, I think he drinks far too much wine   x

I don't know what you mean 

[My Life In The Kitchen(s).]

I'm sure Ian can tell you where you're going wrong with this one Gracie!

[My Life In The Kitchen(s).]

And we have the evidence that Gracie does cook!!

[My Life In The Kitchen(s).]

Gracie, I think I might have found the perfect recipe for cooking turkey for you.

[My Day]

Neil, The good news is Gracie's back. 

The bad news is Gracie's back , need to watch your P's and Q's again. 

[Lethal Salt Surge]

58 minutes ago, Lulu said:

Cruised down the Ant this morning and sad to see so many large dead fish from Irstead to Ludham. Lots of foam around Irstead area,  which having read on Vaughan’s memories of Thorpe and the Broads thread, assume the foam is to do with the brackish water? 

Strange you should mention that. We noticed a lot of White foam around Irstead and where The Ant joins Barton Broad, on Saturday the 17th. We wondered about it and just assumed it was the wind blowing across Barton Broad and into the mouth of The Ant. We went to The Cross Keys at Dilham the next morning and only just made it under Wayford Bridge which had clearance of 6ft 5in. We have never failed to pass that bridge, but that was the least clearance I have seen.

[Photo of a heron]

1 hour ago, Hylander said:

 If you or I pitched up as this person (s) has or have and put up a fixed platform and a brolly and a garden , you and I would be turfed off forthwith. 

And rightly so, however I went past Johnny Crowes staithe during the week and it was completely clear., not even any Jaspers. If you look carefully you will see the "fixed" platform is actually floating. I make no comments on whether it needs a toll, BSS or insurance, but the whole kit gets towed from place to place and does seem to move on from time to time.

[Photo of a heron]

35 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

But IS there a time limit? Does the boat have less of a right to be there over anyone else? (I don't know the answers to these)

Johnny Crowe's staithe is owned and maintained by Catfield Parish Council. It is a 'permissive' mooring, in that parishioners have a right to use it and non-parisioners are given permission to use it, by the PC.

I would therefore tactfully suggest that anyone mooring there has as much permission as anyone else, unless they are a parishioner. If anyone feels upset about someone mooring there, then they should take it up with the parish.

Strikes me that there is no legal time limit in terms of how long you can stay there, it depends on what permission you get from the parish council. Certainly, the boat there has as much right to use the mooring as anybody else. There was some investigation done by parish councilors some time back to look at the feasibility of dredging the dyke and charging for annual parish moorings. Enquiries at that time suggested that the parish council had neither the funds, nor manpower to complete the work. The BA were approached and again dredging of the dyke didn't figure in their dredging program of works.

[Sabby]

On 23/09/2022 at 11:28, sabby said:

hi, DOES ANY ONE NOW IF THE OLD BYLAW THAT STATS THAT YOU CAN ANYWERE RIVER SIDE FOR THE DURATION OF ONE TIDE. SABBY. 

I don't believe it is an old byelaw, and there is certainly nothing in the current byelaws that allows it. However there is a Common Law right to navigate tidal waters and also a right to moor during the course of navigation. I believe such right to moor refers to the laying of anchor, rather than mooring against someone's land. To enter private land would be covered by trespass. If the land owner had no mooring posts, you would need to use rhond anchors and this would be construed as damage to their land as well as tresspas.

In short if you really wanted to prove a point I'm sure you could drop a mud weight back and front and moor very close and parallel to someone's land, providing you didn't step onto their land, or tie off to their land.

If you were a genuine vessel in distress then I'm sure no one would stop you from mooring alongside their land whilst your breakdown or medical emergency was sorted.

[Haddiscoe Boat Raised]

11 minutes ago, marshman said:

That sounds about right - never actually looked like the actual New Cut to me other than the very bottom end and thats some way from the gabions I think.

Yes, the gabions are Reedham side of Haddiscoe Bridge. The boat went down right at the end of the New Cut where it joins The Waveney. Word is a yacht came around the corner from downstream of the junction on The Waveney and entered The New Cut, and the boat moved to its Starboard in avoidance and hit the unseen obstruction obscured by the very high water.

[Haddiscoe Boat Raised]

Word from the Rhond, well some of the first that got there anyway, is that the boat didn't hit a gabion basket down the Cut. It didn't hit the concrete buttress under the bridge. It hit the edge of the bank where it sank whilst taking avoiding action from another boat. Where it sank there is a large lump that sticks out that was submerged due to the high water. I believe it is now marked with sticks.

[What's Your Flavour?]

28 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

Thanks for the recommendation.

It's now on our to do list 

Well worth a visit, the only pain is finding a mooring as it's located in what was the old Pedro's building just behind The Ferry Inn. We moored at the Horning church mooring and walked up through the church and down Church Road to School Road, then down Ferry Road. About a mile in total.

2 x starters, 2 x mains, 1 x dessert, (you can guess who that was ) 2 x beers and a bottle of Red for less than £90.

[Photo of a heron]

1 minute ago, TFrench89 said:

I only hire so wasn't aware of that website, so apologies for that. However in this specific case it's does seem like speculation. 

No need for apologies. I don't think the website is that widely published, so many won't know of it, or where to find it, or feel the inclination to use it.