CeePee1952

Ha Ha! Completely off topic here but that definition reminded me of an occasion while I was a serving soldier in Germany in the early 90's. I was a cavalry man and attended one of our many "stag" Mess functions to say farewell to a retiring SNCO. Being in the cavalry, our Mess dress included swan neck spurs and George boots. Cutting a long story short, I was making my way back to our married quarter on foot after a good night/early morning session and as I turned the corner into our street I suddenly couldn't move!! It took me ages to figure out what had happened - I somehow in my rather inebriated state had managed to hook my spurs under the bottom rail of a wooden picket fence on the street corner and was firmly held in place. If you've ever seen an entertainer on the tv where they appear to be leaning over at very steep angle while firmly rooted to the spot - that was me! Oh how I wish I had taken off my spurs prior to leaving the Mess let alone before going to bed!! Chris

Fascinating! We were moored up at Ranworth (Sovereign Light), next to the day boat jetty when you arrived at the Broad (we're the other side of the Faircraft Loynes boat that you can see on the left of your photo of the staithe. I watched as you came across the front of us (not literally!) and then mud weighted. It was so interesting watching how the sail was lowered and watching the young lady using the winch? (sorry don't know the technical terms!) at the front. I took some photos of White Moth but for the life of me can't find them at the moment! We must have said hi a few times when the dinghy came across to the jetty on Saturday evening and I also remember you when you came over in the morning! We too heard the fireworks and wondered if someone was celebrating a birthday! I envy you all, although not a saily type person myself, it was an experience to watch as you all went about your tasks. One of the highlights of our week on the Broads - thank you! Chris

Wed 8th Sep 21 Woke up at 6 to the sound of ducks and geese flapping around in the quay! This morning will see us heading off towards Acle at a leisurely pace. Remember I mentioned that persistent dripping noise that we could hear every night? Well, while we were at Tesco’s shopping, Chris decided to do a bit of detective work (his knowledge of boaty things is far greater than mine!). It turns out that it was coming from the stern gland which was accessible through a hatch in the floor next to our double bed!! It wasn’t excessive and the bilge pump was set to automatic, so we learnt to live with it for the remainder of the holiday. I’ve since read Vaughan’s post from Sunday regarding stern gland dripping and tying a bit of cotton waste loosely around the gland and letting it dangle in the bilge water! That’s a tip I will remember for future reference!! There was a low mist hanging over the water so we delayed our departure by half an hour and drank coffee/tea and took in the surrounding scenery and topped up the water tank (we hadn’t used much since topping up the day before but it was free!). The water pressure this time was noticeably low compared to yesterday but after about 5 minutes we were again full. We slipped away from the mooring and slowly and majestically made our way out of the quay and onto the river. We passed a few anglers who were out in their boats dangling their maggots or whatever bait they were using and headed towards Barton Broad. Once there, the ladies took it in turn to take us across to the other side while Chris and I disappeared (not at the same time!) to have a shower and shave. By now we had a couple of boats following us at a safe distance so keeping an eye on them and what was ahead we slowly made our way down towards Irstead and Hows Hill. I decided to try out the video function on my camera so set it up on a little tripod and started filming. As we neared Hows Hill, we came up on another hire cruiser in front of us, so I eased off on the throttle so as to maintain a safe distance behind. Unfortunately, the people on the hire boat in front were not aware of us and decided to moor up in a space that they saw at Hows Hill. For some reason they decided not to use that space and carried on until they spotted another space further down which was a bit on the tight side for them! Suffice to say that they encountered a few problems so I ended up holding station while they sorted themselves out. The boat behind us had also stopped and waited patiently while they attempted to moor up. I’ve made a short video that I edited from the footage that was shot as we cruised down the river, it’s lighthearted and by no means intended to be detrimental to anyone. Link here – I hope!! https://youtu.be/Aav8HTUUAMg We passed through Ludham Bridge without any problems and then carried on down to the junction, hung a left onto the Bure and then onwards towards Acle Bridge. There were a few vacant moorings on both sides of the river before the bridge but I could see a possible space just outside the pub on the other side. My luck was in!! We moored up opposite the entrance to the pub and settled ourselves in for the day. Our intention was to see if Pedro’s was open and have a Tapas type evening meal but after trying to ring them a few times and getting no answer we went back to our original idea of eating in the Bridge Inn – a decision that was to prove the right choice! By now it was getting on towards midday, sun shining and hardly a breeze so we decided to see if we could book a table for the evening in the pub. It was nice to see that the inside of the pub hadn’t changed much since the last time we were there a few years ago. Even the landlord hadn’t changed!! We managed to get a table booked for 1915 hrs so grabbing a beer or two and wine for the ladies, we sat outside basking in the glorious sun. Then back on board to watch the daily boat traffic passing by. We had a Brooms Captain hire boat come and moor up behind us (he just had enough room to miss the safety ladder and we got chatting with the couple on board. They were due back at Brooms down south the following day and were hoping to leave first thing in the morning to catch the low/slack water at Yarmouth. I did wonder if they would make it in time because I knew the tide times were early for that morning! Evening came and we went to have our meal. It was fairly busy but not over whelming. We were soon attended to and drinks and food ordered. What followed was a culinary delight! Our food was exceptional, Brenda and I shared crispy coated mushrooms for the starter, Chris and Julie shared the garlic ciabatta bread. For the main course, Chris had the fisherman’s pie, Julie and Brenda had the garlic chicken and I had the special – steak with all the trimmings. The food was absolutely cooked to perfection! Not a morsel of food was left on any plate! Well impressed! Well-fed and watered, we retired back to the boat for a nightcap and sleep. Tomorrow is another day and will be our last full day on the Broads. We had already decided that we would try and get back in to Thurne Dyke for our last night and last meal at The Lion as it was so good the first night.

Tue 7th Sep 21 Today will see us cruising up to Stalham, stopping off in Barton Broad for breakfast. Slipped the mooring early to avoid the rush later and had a nice slow and peaceful journey up to Barton Broad (passed Nyx in the opposite direction – nice boat!) where we dropped the mud weight just outside the main channel. Chris and I sat up top while the ladies sorted the breakfast out, (we’d have only got in the way down in the galley!). Had breakfast gently swinging on the mud weight on Barton Broad before setting off for Richardson’s marina ahead of about 6 boats who had just appeared, heading our way. Arrived at Richardson’s marina and found a nice slot in Heron Quay for the night. Topped up with water which didn’t take long as the pressure was unbelievably high coming out the hose! Brenda and I then decided to pop over to Tesco’s and purchase something different for the evening meal. Spoke to Mouldy's better half - Deb) on the way round past the museum - lovely to meet you! We had moored in that exact same spot a few years back when we were out on one of Silverline’s boats! Cracking weather yet again, how lucky have we been this week! Purchased a ready cooked roast chicken, new potatoes and fine green beans and a few more beers/wine bottles and started to walk back to the boat. We were shocked to see how much traffic had backed up trying to leave Tesco’s car park and coming up the main road!! I thought – glad I’m not stuck in that lot!! Once back on board it was into the usual routine - consumption of beer and wine and lazing up top enjoying the glorious sunshine. Then the action started!! A hire boat (not Richardson’s) came into the quay at a quick rate of knots and bounced off another hire boat (also not Richardson’s), not once but twice!! The second impact rocked the bow of the hit boat quite dramatically! I quickly and politely shouted at them to drop their revs and slow down as they came past our bow at about 4 mph! They then proceeded to come in, side on just past us, bumping the quay. It was then that another person took over the helm and with the help from a couple of Richardson’s staff who had shot round in their van to offer assistance, they managed to moor up stern on down near the end of the quay. (I was then thinking – I hope we leave before they do in the morning!!). Then shortly afterwards, another hire boat, this time from Richardson’s and a front steer decided to make a pig’s ear of leaving the quay having only just had their training session! The person at the helm would have scored 10 out of 10 on Strictly Come Dancing for the artistic manoeuvres and amount of area covered!! I know everyone can make mistakes, me included, but surely the first rule and the easiest to remember is keep your speed down!! Oh well never a dull moment. Dinner time approached but before we could make a start preparing it, a kingfisher landed on the bow of a hire boat across the quay from us!! Typically, my camera was down in the saloon area and before I could get it, the kingfisher had spotted a fish, snaffled it and flown back up to the bow with the fish in its beak! Cursing to myself about having missed a brilliant photo shot I waited for the next opportunity having now armed myself with the camera! The kingfisher had other ideas though and so I had to settle for some shots of it sitting on the boat. The rest of the evening was quiet with only the ducks congregating over the back on a grassy bit and the odd swan floating around. Excitement over, we settled down for dinner. We had bought some Bisto Southern style gravy granules in Tesco’s to go with the evening meal as our friends had not tried it before. They loved it!! Needless to say, the three-quarter full Bisto container has accompanied them back to Bideford!! Plan A for the next day was to head down to Acle bridge and moor up outside the pub for the evening and hopefully sample their menu.

Mon 6th Sep 21 Today’s plan is to head towards Ludham Bridge and get a pump out at Ludham Bridge boatyard and then hopefully moor up the other side of the bridge for the rest of the day. So, we started a leisurely departure from Wroxham at about 8.30 this morning and headed towards Wroxham Broad where we chucked (well lowered!) the mud weight while we had breakfast etc. It was lovely and peaceful and the weather was brilliant even at that time of the morning! There were a couple of other boats already mud weighting (think they had over knighted on the mud weight). While we were there, a small craft appeared and tied up alongside the nearest boat to us. The name of the hire yard escapes me now but it was from one of the bigger hire fleets. I wasn’t quite sure what was going on but it became apparent when one of the guys from the small boat appeared from the saloon area of the hire boat carrying a battery! So, it was either a flat engine battery that was replaced or a jump start! Sure enough the hire boat started its engine and after a couple of minutes the two guys on the small boat made their way out of the Broad up towards Wroxham direction. About 15 minutes later, the hire craft pulled up both their mud weights (bow and stern) and also made their way out of the Broad in the direction of Wroxham. It looked like it was starting to get busy on the river with both hire craft and day boats so we decided it was time for us to also leave and make our way towards Ludham Bridge. Having watched the obvious You Tube videos prior to our holiday of the chaos at Ludham Bridge, I didn’t want to risk getting caught up in any problems (one of the reasons why I decided that we’d visit Ludham Bridge on a weekday rather than the weekend!!) . On our way down the Bure we had about 4 day boats behind us, one of which to the annoyance of an oncoming cruiser decided he liked the upstream side of the river! After much gesticulating the day boat thought better of it and came back over to the correct side! I was glad we were in front of all that! Next stop is Ludham for a pump out and then hopefully moor up the other side of the bridge as per the advice given earlier. As we approached the boatyard at Ludham Bridge, I slowed down and informed the rather large hire craft behind us (he’d followed us all the way from the junction of the Ant and the Bure), that I was pulling in for a pump out and that he was clear to come around us. He was grateful for the heads up (‘scuse the pun!) and carefully cruised past us and under the bridge while I concentrated on us getting side on to the boatyard. After a perfect execution we tied up and waited to be emptied. The guy at the boatyard was very helpful and pleasant so as well as the £20 pump out fee we gave him a tip as well! I’d guessed the timing right for getting under the bridge without having to wait for any oncoming traffic so I moored up at Ludham bridge for the day, way past the watering point! By now the sun was shining so kettle on and tea and coffee sorted while we all watched the toing and froing of various boats of all shapes and sizes! We did think about topping up with water again, although we had topped up the previous day at Wroxham but when I saw that it was £2 for about 15 minutes’ worth of water, I decided to not donate two quid for what would have most probably been about only 3 minutes worth of water!! We had decided that we would eat out at The Dog Inn that evening so I took a leisurely stroll up to the pub for a recce. (Just had a woodie go past - Merlin!). Glad I did the recce as I discovered that The Dog Inn is not serving food at the moment! Apparently the chef who is Bulgarian, had gone back to Bulgaria because his wife has had a baby and he hadn’t come back!!! Sign outside the pub advertising for chef, waitresses and kitchen help!! Ok, so eating on board again tonight but it’s not a problem as we had come well prepared for such eventualities! Early evening and it was now getting a bit busier and quite a few boats were turning up trying to find a space to moor up. The moorings meant for yachts to demast were already taken up by hire boats and so 3 yachts that turned up just managed to squeeze in elsewhere! Considering the amount of jiggling around that ensued during the early evening, I was happy that we had moored where we were as no-one bumped us or caused us to worry, unlike some of the unlucky ones nearer the bridge and further upstream! After a period of watching the various antics of others, we decided it was time for bed so that was it for another day. Plan A for the next day was Barton Broad and Stalham. Not seen one of these with a mast like that before! Very nice (and I’m referring to the object in the background!!). Ready, steady, jump!!!

Absolutely! Chris

Sunday 5th Sep 21 Arrived at Wroxham after a slow cruise up the Bure and diverting into Walsham Broad beforehand for an hour’s break on the mud weight and to have a hearty egg and bacon breakfast! On arriving at the Faircraft Loynes marina it was plain to see that there were no free moorings in the basin where the Broads Tours vessels are so we gently moved to the rear basin (1) on the map, so we could replenish our freshwater tank. It was impossible to keep an eye out for any future free mooring in the main basin from our current position, so we shuffled over to the moorings, (2 on the map), to keep an eye out for a free mooring over in the main basin. Sods law, as soon as we moored up at (2) a mooring became free across at 3 on the map so we slowly manouvered over and using the thrusters (Girlie buttons in some people’s eyes ) perfectly squeezed in and moored up for the night. Also managed to dodge the three Broads Tours pleasure boats before they left so that was good timing So, plans for the rest of the day were – have a look round the area, eat, drink and relax! First, I needed to buy a cap to cover my rather hairless head as I had forgot to pack one and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to be as hot as it was! There was nothing suitable in Roy’s but found one in the gift shop just up from Kens fish and chip restaurant! Then we had a bimble around to decide where to have a spot of lunch. Thought we’d have a look in Wroxham Hotel but just as we were about to turn a corner, an air ambulance flew overhead and appeared to be landing close by! As we turned the corner to get to the hotel entrance, we were surprised to see a couple of ambulances and police cars parked at the back. No idea what had happened but there was a police presence outside and inside the hotel! We found out that there was at least an hours wait for food so left there and found an empty outside table at the Wherryman’s across the river from the hotel. Food and drink ordered and was of good quality as was the service. It was time to go back and relax on the boat for the rest of the afternoon and evening, watching the Broads Tours boats come and go and the antics of day boat trippers returning to the moorings. We're in there somewhere

Sat 4 Sep 21 After a good night’s sleep it was time to get up (0700 hrs) and carry out some general housekeeping (boatkeeping) chores! By now I’d got used to ducking as I emerged up through the entrance/exit from the saloon area to the upper helm position! Armed with a trusty J cloth I began to swab down the seat and sun pads, relieving them from the overnight dew. Approx a couple of litres of water later, the seat pads were suitable for plonking one’s posterior on without resorting to the embarrassing action of prising damp/wet shorts from one’s derriere afterwards! Next job was to check the weed filter, oil level and coolant level. All ok and I was pleased to see that very little weed had accumulated in the weed filter, not surprising though as we had only cruised down from HW yard. Now I could hear movement from within the boat, so time to put the kettle on. The two “lads hire boats” suddenly appeared from down the bottom of the dyke and to be fair to them, they passed without incident. Breakfast was a sausage baguette with the obligatory dollop of brown sauce and washed down with a mug of coffee. We left Thorne Dyke about 9 ish, reversing successfully out of the dyke (bow and stern thrusters ensuring we kept a straight line!) and poodled up towards Ranworth, our next planned overnight stop. We made a gentle detour round South Waltham Broad (very nice!) before arriving at Ranworth about 11 ish. On entering the Broad, I used my binos to try and spot any free moorings or any sign of anyone about to vacate. We got lucky as I spotted a boat leaving and we moored up on the last spot before the day boat/dinghy staithe (where the electric boat is moored!). Hooked up to shore power (£1.52p left on the meter!!! Bonus!!). Why so much was left on the meter is beyond me!! As the weather was brilliant we decided to take a walk up to the church and see if anything had changed from our last visit a few years ago. It was an amazing walk up the hedge-lined path where hundreds (well – lots!) of butterflies and bees were going about their daily tasks. Then it was back to the boat and another lazy afternoon soaking up the sun. The BA chap was busy going about ensuring boats were mooring up safely and at one point Andy (the Ranger) turned up. It wasn’t long before he and two other BA guys had to go out in his boat over to three large hire boats full of lads who were drifting in front of the staithe and explain to them that there was no room at the staithe for them and mud-weighting three abreast just off the staithe was perhaps not a good idea!! They eventually left and were last seen heading over to the island!! We decided to have our evening meal in the Maltsters (less prep and washing upon the boat!). The meals weren’t exceptional but filled a hole. As stated in an earlier post, the meal at The Lion at Thurne Dyke had spoilt us so perhaps we were expecting the same standard there!? So, back to the boat and indulged ourselves in wine, beer and nibbles until retiring for the night. Plan A for Sunday was Wroxham!

Friday 3rd Sep 21 Set off from home at 0900 hrs with our friends following us in their car, (they had driven up from Bideford in Devon the day before). Road journey wasn’t too bad and we arrived at Herbert Woods at 1315 hrs (ish!), Having parked the cars up, we then went to reception to book in. We knew the boat (Sovereign Light) wouldn’t be ready until 1430 hrs so having booked in and told to return at 1415 hrs, we went over to the Flour and Bean for a lunchtime snack. Suitably fed and watered we returned to the reception only to be told that the boat still wasn’t ready (it was being filled up with water) and to come back at 1445 hrs. Ok, so a wander around the area for a while! We were also told that we couldn’t put any of our belongings on the boat until the handover/training had been completed. This was a bit annoying as other hirers were loading up their boats prior to their handover!! There were no trolleys left either to put our belongings on as all had been snaffled up by waiting hirers!! Eventually we were informed that the boat was ready (1530 hrs) so we were accompanied by one of the staff to be shown the finer points of the boats controls and other aspects of living on it for a week. After this I expected to be told to take the boat out for a trial run but the HW guy was happy with my previous experience with dual steer boats (only had my word for it though!) so left us to it to begin our holiday. We then started to handball our luggage etc on to the boat. Halfway through this we managed to grab a trolley to load the heavier bags on to the boat! So, at 1630 hrs we set off! That’s a narrow entrance to HW marina and with another boat exiting in front of us, it was definitely a case of slow and easy!! Once out on the river, we headed for our planned first stop for the night – Thurne Dyke. On arriving it looked pretty full but with a careful and slow approach, we managed to moor up about 50 metres down from the entrance to the dyke on the left hand side. Now we could start unpacking and stowing everything! The weather so far was excellent – far better than we’d hoped for! Now was the time to sample The Lion! What an excellent pub! The service from the girls was first class and the food was exemplary. I had the veg pizza and the other three all had the sea bass with samphire. The ladies drank wine and Chris (the other Chris 😊) had a couple of Tom Cat’s and I sampled the Pravha Pilsner. It had been a long day so back to the boat, a couple more drinks then retired for the night. Brenda and I had the aft cabin while Chris and Julie had the front cabin. During the night we could hear a constant drip drip, nothing to concerning but could we find out where it was coming from – nah!! Oh well something to look for during the week perhaps! By now it was also getting dark but didn’t stop hire boats coming in trying to find a spot to moor!! Why do they leave it so late?? Lack of planning and forethought comes to mind, we always had a Plan B and C if Plan A was unachievable! We witnessed a couple of “lads hireboats” coming in when it was dark and fortunately for us (but not the others further down the dyke), they decided to moor up right at the bottom thereby preventing anyone turning down there in the morning!! So endeth the first day aboard Sovereign Light. Is it really this big???? (The other Chris!)

Ditto to the photos and wishing we were still onboard instead of back home! 😩 Chris

On the road at 0915 after breakfast at the flour and bean. Should be a two and a half hour journey home but we just know that we will hit traffic somewhere along the way!! Chris

Bye bye Thurne Dyke! On our way up to HW yard to hand the boat back. It’s been an absolutely fantastic 8 days and can’t wait to come back. I’ll sort out photos etc and do some better write ups over the weekend.

Damn!! Two Faircraft cruisers have just left as well!!

'Scuse me - any room on board??

Well, last full day on the Broads 😞 successfully moored up back in Thurne Dyke for our last night aboard Sovereign Light and a meal in The Lion this evening. Sun shining but think we might have some rain later! Can’t complain, cracking weather all week! Chris

Sunrise at Acle bridge. Chris

Interestingly on Sovereign Light which we are on at the moment, HW website states 7' 11" airdraft, on the boat and in the skippers manual it states 8' an inch can make all the difference! Chris

Here you are! Last night in Heron Quay at Richardsons!! Chris

Didn’t see any! But at least I t’s wet, cold and the right colour 😂 Chris

Ha ha! Nothing like an ice cold lager on a day like this 😂

Currently moored up right outside the bridge inn at Acle! Table booked for 7.15 tonight and now sitting outside under one of the gazebos with a pint of Fosters happy days! Chris

Someone is having a good time 😂😂 Chris

Blimey!! I'm beginning to wonder if it's safe to stay overnight here in Heron Quay!! Just witnessed a hire boat (not Richardsons) come into the quay at a quick rate of knots and bounce off another hire boat (also not Richardsons), not once but twice!! I quickly informed them to drop their revs and slow down as they came past our bow at about 4 mph! they then proceeded to come in side on just past us, bumping the quay. It was then that another person took over the helm and with the help from a couple of Richardsons staff who had shot round in their van to offer assistance, they managed to moor up stern on down near the end. (I hope we leave before they do in the morning!!). Then shortly afterwards, another hire boat, this time from Richardsons and a front steer decided to make a pigs ear of leaving the quay having only just had their training session! I know everyone can make mistakes, me included, but surely the first rule and the easiest to remember is keep your speed down!! Oh well never a dull moment Chris

Well, Tesco shop done! Spoke to Mouldy's better half on the way round past the museum - lovely to meet you! Realised we're actually moored up in Heron Quay not Swan Quay - Doh!! Cracking weather yet again, how lucky have we been this week! Decided to eat in tonight - roast chicken, new potatoes and fine green beans. Topped up the beer and wine stock as well thinking of heading down to Acle Bridge tomorrow morning, stop there the night and then head back up to Thurne Dyke for our last night before handing boat back on Friday morning. Chris

Oooops! Didn’t see your post until moored up in Swan quay at Richardsons! Passed Nyx on the way - nice boat! Had breakfast gently swinging on the mud weight on Barton Broad before setting off for here ahead of about 6 boats 😁 Chris