PaulN

Having a Bad Day reminds me of what happened to me in 1987, the year of the great storm. In those days, I was racing my Sigma 33 which was moored at Essex Marina, Wallasea Island, Essex. My berth was port side to along the pontoon. In those days the whole marina was secured with anchors in the main flow of the river. After the horrendous winds overnight, I received a phone call telling me that the entire marina had broken away, colliding with all the boats on swinging moorings on its way across the river prior to grounding on the mud banks at Burnham on Crouch. I drove straight to Burnham to see what the damage to my boat was and found her on her side, still attached to the pontoon with her keel under it and trapped between the marina and the shore. Fortunately I had 8 fenders secured to the pontoon and not the boat and so they were still doing their job. The scene was carnage with many boats sunk and piled up on one another, with people in tears. I climbed aboard and stripped out the lockers under the starboard bunk, to see if the hull was intact and it seemed to be, with no water ingress. I then had the problem of re-floating her as everything had been pushed hard up the shore at high tide and releasing her from the ‘prison’ between the pontoons and the shore. I walked both anchors and chains out through the mud to low water mark and dug them in, taking long warps back to the bow and stern and leading them back to the cockpit winches and then spent much of the day, cutting away my section of pontoon. In the dark that evening with high water approaching, I managed to hail a friend I saw on his powerful work boat (no mobiles in those days) and got him to secure her to the pontoon ready to pull the pontoon out sideways. At high water, with the work boat pulling hard and myself and another friend winching the anchors , we got her afloat and the engine started. Cutting the warps attaching us to the pontoon and anchors we motored in the dark upstream to North Fambridge Marina and spent the night there. The next day and much to my surprise there was not a scratch on her, but I was the only one that had been so lucky. I then got a lift back to Burnham to retrieve the car and realising it was now low water, before I left, I waded out in the mud again and retrieved the anchors and warps, embarrassed at my luck and the sight of my friends still trying to salvage what they could from their boats. A Bad Day, and a long cold day and night, but with a lucky escape.

Guard boats? Radios? whtever next. We were made of sterner stuff. Seriosly though, well done TQ for keeping it all going. Hope that we on Bon Bon will be there this year to cheer everyone on and reminisce.

Lets hope its still on, I shall enjoy watching it,if it is. One of my lasting memories is back in the early 70's as a competitor in this iconic event, sailing my Fireball across Hickling Broad in the pitch dark at about 2am, on a broad reach, with my crew out on the wire. We were focussing on the flashing orange beacon, where we had to post our card as proof of being there in a plastic dustbin on a float in the middle of the Broad, down near the Pleasure Boat cut. A much more docile life now, with our broads cruiser tucked up safely in a Horning marina, with Ricko looking after her. "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end". Picture of my Fireball attached.

Robin - Thank you for sharing this project with us and dazzling us with your skills, I've really enjoyed following it even though my boat is all tupperware. Please keep up the progress photos. You wont need mirrors in the 'heads' that fabulous varnish work will be plenty good enough for combing your hair

Well sorry OBB, but that is not what the BA re saying: "In light of an increase in accidents last year and with safety a priority as we anticipate a very busy tourism season, members of the Authority agreed to fund a package of safety measures including on-line training videos for hirers and increased Ranger patrols of the waterways. To maintain the existing level of service together with the new safety measures, an increase of 7% in tolls was required. The Authority requested from Defra to use the ‘National Park Grant’ reserves for safety initiatives and the Department authorised this exceptional one-off transfer. With that assistance the decision was taken to increase tolls by 4% in 2021."

The BA is raising tolls by a staggering infaltion busting 4% during these times of pandemic hardship, which I consider is outrageous, when the RPI is 0.8% https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/news/increase-in-tolls-funds-safety-and-navigation-improvements Their grounds for doing this is to employ more staff to increase safety training and measures in the wake of the accidents last year. Surely all it needs is for MAIB (the absollute experts) who investigated at least 2 of these tragedies, to make recommendations to hire companies and for them to implement them. I know for a fact that they visited one of the hirer's, as I was there when they arrived. The BA is not going to influence holiday makers prior to their holiday, who will be travelling from all over the UK. It is my view that the BA should be making economies in these dificult times, not spending more money (our money) on ineffectual schemes. Their job is primarily to maintain the wataerways and patrol the waters to assist everyones enjoyment of them. What can we do to curb their excesses in expenditure, they just seem so unaccountable and out of control to me.

I'm no expert, but tht looks like a mahogany veneer to me, possibly Sapele

My wife is in the highly vulnerable group but no appointment yet, but has had a letter from the government saying she will be vaccinated by 14th Feb, I'm just missing out in this first tranche, as my 70th birthday is early April. I don't want to see other groups jumping the queue, otherwise wher does it finish - teachers, emergency services, supermarket staff, electric, gas, water workers etc. Statistics show that age is the predominant factor in deaths. As for the EU, as at yesterday, they hadn't approved a single vaccine and didn't order any until October whereas the UK ordered in May. Thank goodness for Brexit, otherwise we would be in the group order and distribution by the EU bureaucracy. We just ca't waait to get back on our boat!

I have always purchased mine on the Gov website, it's very simple £30 for 12 months, £20 if over 65 such as me.

I must admit using the tide tables on 'the other website', as they give low water times, handy for Yarmouth and bridges. I print off the whole year, setting 60 days per page. It avoids any miscalculation and I find them very good. http://www.norfolk-broads.org/tides/tide_report.asp?StartDate=25/01/2021&lines=7

Should read 'teases'

So pleased I posted this youtube video I came across, because it teses out this wealth of historical broads information you guys have. I love reading your posts, imparting your knowlege.

Whereabouts is the hand cranked lifting bridge with the fishing net to collect the tolls? Is it Somerleyton?

At the start of this video there is a child on tricycle, a 'Gresham Flyer' I believe. I had a blue one just like it and would cycle to Infants school on it on my own each day, along the pavement of what was then the A12 in Colchester (Ipswich Road). Shortly into the video, there is a lugsail dinghy in tow, just like the one I learnt to sail in about 1959/60 on Barton Broad. My parents use to hire from R. Moore I seem to remember and before that in the early 50's from Herbert Woods. They told me I was conceived at Potter Heigham when they hired a waterside property to day sail from one year. Happy Days. Whoever sid naustalgia was a thing of the past!!

This just popped up on my Youtube, no doubt lot's of you have seen it, but for those who haven't:

Yes. We swear by The Pink Stuff, very low abraision and works wonders on the Fibreglass. Perhapd remove any hevy corrosion first, then give it a try. KM We have artificial teak decks, hope that fits in somewhere in your pecking order (tongue in cheek)

Yes, saw that on the ITV national news at lunch time today, even had a video of the individual walking down the pavement outside. Lets hope he is caught and locked up

JennyMorgan If your Genie granted you 3 wishes, could you get rid of this virus please, so we can get back on our boats

Could it be the Otters? I have copied and pasted this from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust website "Otters will mainly feed on fish (40-90% of their diet)and will take a variety of species depending on the time of year, species such as carp, stickleback and eels."

Yes, I'm always very wary where those steel piles are and being on a bend, you can't see what's coming either. A row of rubber tyres on them like they have on tug boats might be good.

Recalling parliament referred to above is no big issue like it use to be when MP's had to leave their villas in Tuscany and return home, it's now a 'virtual' parliament with MP's sitting at home in any case, only having to switch on their computers. Unfortunately the government can no longer bring in tier changes and lock downs straight away, as a couple of months ago MP's on both sides of the house forced a debate to make it law that these measures could only be enacted once approved by the house thus causing a delay to any Covid response. Tiers 2,3,4 or lock down haven't mattered at all to my wife and myself, s we have been shielding for 10 months now and it just makes our blood boil to see the media cover of crowds congregating and broadcasting inane sound bites from idiots among the public.

Really enjoyed watching that. Thank you for sharing

Agreed. Well done all the Admin team The moderation keeps this forum very friendly and welcoming to comparative newcomers like me. Looking forward to a better new year. Keep up the good work please.

Website working for me. I like the 'History' section with Clive staging a photo between his hire boats just like his farther in the photo above

The trouble is that if you look at Rightmove, a new 4 bed flat in the area where Earls Court Exhibition Center was, is £7m to £8m, that's why it was demolished