MotorBoater

Given my health situation, and others like me, I can certainly add my plea to yours. I don't think £30 fines will cut it for the idiots holding barbeques and the like. I would have thought £100 nearer the mark. I guess it feels so surreal because it's so unusual but we do need to take it seriously. Thankfully that is not a problem on here.

I keep an eye on such cameras as I can find several times a week. It maintains a certain degree of sanity. The empty car park at Herbert Woods is scary. Most of the ducks have seemingly disappeared at PH and the swans look lost - and probably a bit hungry !! I wish there was a camera at Richardsons, it would be nice to keep an eye on the Ant. I think they used to have one but not now apparently.

Two texts on Monday, Three yesterday and one today (So far). Checking back, the letters are supposed to arrive by the 29th. If not I'm supposed to contact them. I hope that works better than Tesco's "Contact Us".

You're probably right, I'll bear it in mind

I've had a string of messages about being identified as at risk because of my COPD but no letter, yet. Since we left on our Broads trip on 14th. March we have had only one post delivery and that was advertising rubbish. We usually get deliveries nearly every day. I'm not allowed out and I've got the one about opening a window but I will have to do something about the garden. I've nearly reclaimed it after nearly four years of neglect due to a series of eye operations where gardening was banned and I don't want to let it slip again.

Vanessan, the moorings and the boardwalk are indeed brand new, this map shows the situation when we were there. I didn't go to the end of the boardwalk but my wife did. She tells me it was a Private Property, No Entry, We Are Watching You kind of sign. She was looking for the rubbish bins that our map said were there. When she returned with the rubbish I noted that the Free Mooring sign actually said the nearest bins were at Neatishead and I think Sutton, so we took it back to Richardsons with us.

Some apparently famous Scot wrote about the best laid plans of mice and men. I think I know what he had in mind. I left this having arrived at Potter Heigham. Tuesday did indeed start with a return visit to Lathams and I have to say I got off quite lightly, in that expenditure was in double figures. My original idea was get my wife and son to have a go at steering, and deciding direction, to give me a chance with the cameras and general relaxation. The wind and steering put paid to that so I was at the helm the entire time, a cross I just had to bear. Tuesday was spent cruising down to Stokesby then up to Womack for the night. Stokesby was quiet apart from a young couple on a bathtub and us. Went for a walk, the map shows a tearoom and store but it's not there now. The only other sign of life was a Tesco delivery driver who looked like the entire contents of his truck were intended for one house. We moored at the first mooring in Womack Water having explored to the end and back. I only bounced once off the small craft alongside that swung slightly on it's ropes as we drifted in to the bank. Given the difference in boat sizes I'm surprised no damage was done to the little one, thankfully. Wednesday we set off cruising the Bure to Wroxham Island calling at Ranworth for water and a chat with a couple off the boat next door, quite friendly considering I narrowly avoided demolishing their fenders. On then to Wroxham Island for the night - a more structured version of wild mooring with no-one around to bother if we ran the engine keeping warm. Thursday we had a message asking the wife to return to work a day early, I'm retired but someone has to keep the pennies rolling so we were going to have to call it a day and travel home on Friday. We decided to cruise around waiting for the tide at Ludham Bridge in the afternoon, to be able to get back up the Ant. We went down Fleet Dyke to South Walsham and wife and son went walkabout into the village, the weather was much better but still a bit too cool for my emphysema so I forced myself to chill out with a bottle of red and watched the dredging barge up and down. We left there and again made Ludham Bridge with a few inches to spare. We toddled off up the Ant to Barton Turf for the night and I can see why that river is a favourite. How Hill moorings were virtually empty which somehow added to the magic of the place. Irstead went by before I noticed there was no-one there. The new moorings at Paddys Lane are very tidy and not quite finished. They were out working on the next section of posts early on Friday morning. I don't know what the finished article is supposed to be but there is a brand new boardwalk that leads to a No Entry sign so you can't actually walk off the moorings to anywhere. We found it quite sheltered and serene, summertime might be a bit different. Friday morning we took leisurely cruise back to Richardsons, very reluctantly, £94 for diesel and a £6 refund reflected how much we had kept the engine running I suppose but so what. Did we enjoy ourselves ? You betcha. My wife and son are converted to the idea of life afloat and that was what it was all about. Now we have to wait and see what happens in July. We are supposed to be on Melody 4 but I am currently on the 12 week curfew as a high risk of "severe illness" and we are more concerned with eggs and toilet rolls at the moment. I have included a few pictures, not sure I've got the settings right.

Finally made it back to the Broads, on Saturday, after a long time hoping. I wish I could say the journey was uneventful but between google not updating changes to the road layouts up here, and the roadworks I only read about on here after we arrived, it was quite a trip. At least a trio of wrong turnings gave us a view of the countryside we were not expecting, and we still got to Richardsons half hour early. We booked Melody 1 but that had apparently developed a fault so we ended up with Melody 2, checked around the boat, as you do, had a trial run, as you do, asked the questions the guy has probably heard a few hundred times before, as you do and the trial pilot left the boat. Two minutes later one of the bedroom doors was jammed shut. Back to the dock office, told the staff, five minutes later the pilot is back on the boat with two toolboxes and a new door lock. All fixed in about twenty minutes The boat is OK although on the trial run I didn't realise how sloppy the steering is and it's taken two days to find the sweet spot where the rudder is straight, now marked with the wife's lipstick! Mooring is a nightmare what with the steering and the fact that my wife and son have never tried anything like it before. I don't suppose I'm blameless either! This is only supposed to be a trial run for the main holiday in July, I only hope I recover by then. Saturday night at Ludham bridge. didn't want to risk the bridge as the board indicated it was millimetres from Melody's airdraft. A very cold night and a very noisy windy one, but the only boat near us left early so we started the engine and got the heater going. That is doing a good job. Waited for the tide and got through with a few inches to spare. Sunday night at Ranworth. I know it's technically off season but I expected more boat traffic here. Only three boats when we arrived and moored with assistance of a ranger there, cleaning the electric posts. A couple more boats arrived then everybody cleared off with the exception of us and a Woods cruiser, a Richardsons bathtub arrived and it was just the three of us all night. Another cold night but not as bad as last night, just. We woke up to what the Broads does best, the sun rising over still water, barely a ripple over a virtually empty broad - as long as you didn't look left to the marina (?). Today, Monday we went to Wroxham looking for milk, not desperate just a top-up, only available mooring was down by the bridge. £10 fee, not paying that for a pint of milk so we turned around and made it to Potter Heigham as the sun was setting. I stayed on the boat whilst wife and son went shopping in Lathams for the milk, came back with God knows what, wants to go back in the morning. I'm going too with a padlock on my wallet. I've taken a few pics and a couple of short videos but I need to get them off the cameras and on to my laptop, not much time during the day and too tired in the evening. We are really enjoying ourselves, every house we pass the wife wants to buy and every boat we pass my son wants too. The TV works so the wife's happy in the evening and the boat's wifi works with only one glitch so far so my son is happy too. I'm using the Aweigh and Ulysse apps and they've been a great help so far. More to follow

Sorry Bluebell, you can't keep us out, three sussexites arriving tomorrow, but we're not bringing anything lethal with us.

My wife managed to burn frozen brussel sprouts, after 25 years I still can't figure it out but the smell returns every time I think of it.

Off to Tesco this morning, getting fridge supplies ahead of our arrival in Stalham for a week of "self-isolation". If it wasn't so pathetic it could have been amusing, a man and a woman in tug of war over last bag of potato wedges and two women discussing how ridiculous the panic buying is - before emptying a shelf of sausages between them. Around three times as many people as usual, the wife and I were out of there post haste courtesy of self-scan. Can't wait to leave this madhouse behind, it's been a very long time coming.

Marshman I do see your point of view but I suggest you have missed my point, which as I have so much buzzing around in head on this, I maybe haven't put so well. If this is about clean air then road hauliers can never be in line for special consideration. My emphysema means bus and truck emissions are close to my heart, bus companies and local councils are at least making efforts with electric buses but I fear we are a long way from 42 ton leviathans running on electricity or fuel cells. The "unjustifiable anomaly" accounts for next to nothing in the grand scheme of things and is actually available to one and all if they wish to sample the delights of a marine existence. It is not a closed shop and in fact could be said to encourage migration to a better cleaner pastime. As D46 has pointed out quite succinctly, anyone feeling guilty has the option to pay the full rate. This is being sold as an environmental issue. It isn't at all, it merely curries favour with the harpies I previously mentioned who will no doubt claim another victory without seeing it will make no difference at all. Government income will not even notice the difference either. As stated elsewhere previous governments have looked at this and concluded, at best, it will cost more to enforce than will be raised. Abolition of "Red relief" will leave you at the mercy of the future movement in diesel prices. You may think the current level is reasonable but what about when they really turn the screw ? Watch this space !! I just think this is an ill thought, initial, threat to our maritime tradition that may yet develop further. Grendel you may well be right (And often are!) but since this budget has poked the eu in the eye on a couple of issues, Tampon Tax is one that springs to mind, I don't see it matters what they think - now.

Why do I feel I'm being taken for granted - again ? This is a perfect example of screaming environmental harpies winning out over common sense. How can the minority of red diesel users possibly be “some of the biggest contributors to our air quality problem”. I would have thought buses and lorries were in a class of their own there, and I doubt that there are more boats than tractors. Doesn't anybody think things through any more ? It beggars belief that any government, let alone a Conservative one, would seek to drive British citizens off the water that has been their natural home for over a thousand years, and if you think that is overstating the situation just wait and see. Even Tony Blair didn't fall for that one. The UK construction industry has hung in there over the last 10 years or more only to be hit with a major increase in a vital cost. The effect on the marine sector goes far beyond a few people messing around in boats, either hired or private, no mention was made of trawlers, coasters, ferries etc. The devil may well be in the detail but that detail needs to be out there now, not a couple of months before some arbitrary deadline. Meanwhile the attitude that "It was good while it lasted" needs to be resisted at all costs. If the aforementioned harpies want something to get their teeth into I suggest they look at proposals to allow building on flood plains such as we are looking at here in north Sussex where an application to build 2000+ homes is currently up for "discussion". If the government wants to reduce reliance on carbon fuels then up the investments on alternative propulsion options like fuel cells and battery capacities. The powers that be just won't get that you can't expect the public to swallow changes such as this if you haven't got alternatives lined up first, and not at twice the price.

If that's a selfie the haircut is...........different ?

No idea of the cost but this should be projected onto somewhere like the houses of parliament and then sit back and see how many newspapers print a picture.

I have spent all afternoon on the BA website reading various minutes of meetings and I have had a bash at the current local plan too. Talk about Information Overload ! I get the efforts towards (Selected) surveys and I get the current (Selected) dredging plans. I also get the budget restrictions and the need to live within budgets. All commendable and to be lauded. What I was trying to ask is if there had ever been, or will there be, a "Professional" investigation into the effects of dredging the lower Bure with regard to the water levels further upstream, particularly at the bridges referenced by this thread. I have found concern that high coastal water levels have apparently impacted the ability of the rivers to run out but no reference at all to the possibility of the lower reaches silting up which should, I think, have the same effect. I am not an engineer and bow to superior scientific knowledge, especially based on current info, but if there is no current info all we are left with is opinions. I'm not trying to be difficult or controversial or sensational. I'm simply wondering if the state of the lower reaches is known for a fact, or belief. Maybe the Hydrographic Surveys of Oulten Broad and Dyke scheduled for this week will give a clue. I think the Yare from Reedham to Breydon is in there too. No mention of the lower Bure though.

Leave it as it is. Raising either bridge (Assuming permission was granted) would mean raising the approaches too, where would you stop ? Raise them a couple of feet and by the time it was done there would still be boats that can't get through. We have factored the cost of a day boat at Wroxham into our longer holiday because we want to visit Coltishall and we know the hire boat is too big and we accept it is what it is. We may do the same for Potter next year - or not. Reading what has gone before seemingly implies a much bigger issue in that the BA may be failing a statutory duty of care if there are no investigations/surveys into the effects upstream of dredging the lower Bure and the resulting water levels. Is this the case ?

Not heard much about O2 around these parts, not sure if it's because they are so poor or because users are keeping quiet in case the network gets overloaded ! I'll make a note for future reference.

Thanks for that. The Huawei came with a sim that wasn't mentioned in the marketing that will apparently give me 30gb for £10 if I activate it so that may be a useful spare, especially as the three network topups are so ridiculously expensive. If anyone is interested I tested this particular model of Huawei using my smart phone first on virgin media cable then on the Huawei, using an app called (Funny enough) Speedtest. Download - Virgin 48.1 mbs, Huawei 36.3 mbs, Huawei + Aerial 52.8 mbs Upload - Virgin 4.97 mbs, Huawei 7.88 mbs, Huawei + Aerial 3.86 mbs I have no explanation for the drop in upload using the aerial. I used my phone instead of a computer because my desktop is in pieces and I have bought a laptop for use in Norfolk next month and haven't got used to it yet. I hope to be posting to "Holiday Tales & Blogs" next month and I'll update these figures there from the wilds of Norfolk.

Not 'till the 10th. I'm glad about the possibility of plenty of room in March as my "crew" have no experience at all apart from the wife as passenger in a motor boat outside St Ives harbour as I practised 90 degree turns. 12" of freeboard become 2" on the side she was sitting. It was about 3 or 4 hours before she spoke to me properly.

Many thanks for the comments and suggestions, I have already invested in a Huawei E5785- 4G/ 300Mbps Travel Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot with Long-lasting 3000mAh Battery, from Amazon, plus a small aerial that I may or may not need. I added a 24gb Three Sim card and have been amazed at the trial results down here in Sussex so we'll see what happens. My bit of breaking news is that we've decided we can't wait for July so we booked an additional week in March ! I persuaded the wife we needed a practice run before our 10 nighter in July so preparations have begun. I've also got an eye on September or October but I'm keeping quiet about that one.

Any one else seen the BBC website this morning ? Talking about funding for electric buses, and aiming to turn ONE town's buses 100% electric the transport secretary Grant Shapps said: "With 200 electric buses able to offset 3,700 diesel cars, it is clear they have a crucial role to play in bringing down emissions" At last we have an official government announcement on the effect of buses on our environment. 2 buses = 37 diesel cars. Should be even more petrol cars. Now tell us about the lorries. My local shopping parade acts as a bus terminus for a couple of local routes and a couple of longer routes. Sometimes the drivers switch off while waiting and sometimes they don't. When there are three there together I have to stand 50 yds away to avoid the exhausts. Maybe Greta missed her maths lessons on her ocean cruises. Instead of dreams Boris should look at what is possible.

I find it very difficult to take any of this seriously, not because I don't want to but because I really can't imagine any government won't wake up to the economic consequences. If they really want to be seen to do something then start with the worst polluters in the form of trucks and buses, not joe public. I think you are then more likely to see people do their bit. A by-product of electricity however produced is heat. Let's see all "A" roads turned into canals and all motorways into rivers. We'll need a nationwide horse breeding program to provide for all the stagecoaches (Needed for those who can't afford a sailing dinghy) and a national manure policy to avoid a whole new meaning to the term fly-tipping. Any boat hire companies still in business will need to turn car parks into carriage parks and erect stables. Boats will be renamed with snappy politically correct names like "Greta One". Meanwhile tractors banned from farms means we will produce even less food than we do now so we will import from all over the globe. These imports will arrive in gas-guzzling container ships from every country that has ignored their zealots and continued to grow their economies. Chlorinated chicken for Sunday Dinner anyone ?

Hi All, Just another old fogey trying to relive elements of his youth. A single fortnight on the Broads has stayed with me all my life and I've finally persuaded the wife we need to give it a go, after showing a few YouTube videos. I've been in the area a few times just not on the water unfortunately. My wife is now looking forward to it but to give you a clue of what I have to put up with I can tell you that she has no qualms about being IN the water but gets quite stressed being ON the water. I might need to pack some form of tranquilizer, a bottle of Bacardi and some coke springs to mind. We've got Melody 4 from Richardsons for 10 nights in July and I can't wait. It's our first proper holiday in years and we're dragging our son out of the house too. Any tips on the best solution for internet access would be gratefully received and would go a long way towards keeping a 33 yr old Aspergers sufferer happy. I can't wait but I'll have to hang in there somehow.