[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Wednesday 6th Sep 23 

Another day dawns and there’s a bit of river mist around at 5.30 in the morning! We need to be able to get under Vauxhall Bridge around about 9.15 ish so with a probable 3 hr cruise to get there, I’m hoping to leave about 6.15 or thereabouts.  Having kicked the others out of their cosy beds, we went about sorting the boat out ready for the off. The first thing was to get the Karcher squeegee at work on the seating around the upper helm (don’t really like helming with a wet botty!  Next was to unhook the shore power, check the domestic voltage reading (12.2 v), (so far so good!) and make ready to cast off. Exiting the staithe/quay area was straight forward and I pointed the pointy end of the boat in the right direction and commenced our sedately journey back up the Chet towards the Yare. (One good thing about leaving at that time in the morning is there’s not much chance of meeting another boat coming towards us and there wasn’t!).

By the time we got on to the Yare there were a couple of boats heading towards Reedham in front of us, so I suspect that they were also eager to get under Vauxhall Bridge in good time.  Surprisingly (not!) Reedham Ferry wasn’t crossing the river as we approached and we carried on down to Reedham swing bridge. This time, Reedham Bridge was closed (good job otherwise the train that was passing over it would have ended up in the drink! ). As we passed through the bridge area, a sudden shout from one of the ladies nearly gave me a heart attack (I was helming at the time!).  They had spotted a seal calmly resting on one of the cross-member beams on our starboard side!! God knows how it got there as it was a good 2 or 3 feet above the waterline! As always no one had a camera or phone to hand to snap the picture and as I had a couple of boats behind me, I couldn’t really reverse back to allow them to get a picture. Oh well, maybe another time?  Approaching the Waveney/Yare junction I spotted Moonlight Shadow moored up on our port side just before Berney Arms – that's three times this week that we have crossed each other at some point! 

Breydon was like a mill pond again and I handed the helm over to the other Chris so he could experience the crossing and going under Vauxhall bridge and I could finally have a wash and shave down below! I was satisfied that he knew about staying in the channel AND to go round the infamous yellow post on the correct side before passing under Vauxhall Bridge.  

Breydon and the bridge successfully passed and now it was what I consider to be a boring cruise up the Bure until reaching Stracey Mill and Stokesby.  I was surprised at the number of boats that were moored up at GY yacht station – for some of them it looked like a mammoth ascent to get up onto land!! We finally decided that we would moor up at Acle Bridge on the BA 24 hr moorings and grab a drink in the Acle Bridge Inn (would be criminal not to!). 

To be continued/...... 

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Tuesday 5th Sep 23 continued/.... 

The walk to the church didn’t take long and on the way we passed where Rosie Lee’s tearoom was and were disappointed that we didn’t have the opportunity to let our friends experience the atmosphere of her delightful service! At the church we were greeted by Reverend David Owen who was in the process of putting a poster up on the main door.  He provided a fascinating insight into the church's history as well as telling us about the bell ringers and their activities (bell ringing practice was that evening too!).  As it was getting near lunchtime (and also ridiculously hot!), we decided it was time for liquid refreshment and duly stopped at the Kings Head on the way back down to the boat. We sat outside at the back and lubricated our throats before leaving and calling in at the local Premier convenience store to buy some more bottled water. 

Back on board and lunch was crackers, cheese, tomatoes and cucumber (own home grown).  During the afternoon, boats left and others appeared and by teatime, the quay was full. We had decided that our evening meal was going to be fish and chips from the chip shop up the road as Brenda and I had ordered from there during our visit last October and they were excellent!  So about 7 ish, Chris and I trotted off up to the chip shop and collected our order.  We were not let down and once again the food was excellent and compared to our local chippy’s here in Rugby – it wasn’t expensive! The remainder of the evening was spent playing cards and deciding on where to go next once we had returned across Breydon the following morning.  Initial thoughts were stopping at Acle Bridge at the free BA moorings and maybe a pump out at Bridgecraft so with that idea in mind, we retired for the evening after another extremely hot day. 

Chris and Brenda

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Tuesday 5th Sep 23 

Today’s destination is Loddon and we plan to leave about 9 ish. After a quick visit to the loo’s and paying our overnight fee etc at the office, we made ready to depart on what is yet another glorious day.  We were leaving on the outgoing tide so I was confident that we would pass under Somerleyton swing bridge with ample room to spare. To my surprise, the bridge was open when we got there and we made our way to Haddiscoe Cut enjoying the morning sunshine. We had a slightly nerve-racking moment three quarters of the way up the Cut when an approaching hire boat appeared to be steering from one side of the Cut to the other!  As a precaution we slowed right down and prepared to put the boat in full reverse should the need arise! Getting closer, it became obvious that the gentleman at the upper helm (it was a dual steer hire boat), was overcompensating when trying to steer a straight course and the other guy next to him was trying to advise him (without much success) on keeping the boat straight.  With a quick burst on the throttle and making sure we stayed as close to our starboard side as possible without endangering ourselves, we timed our move past him as he once again steered towards his starboard side. When I looked back over my shoulder, the other guy had taken over the helm and the boat was finally going in a straight line! 

At the end of the Cut we turned to port and again to my surprise – Reedham swing bridge was open!  We passed by Reedham quay noticing that it was almost full and made our way towards the mouth of the Chet. The chain ferry had just crossed over so no problem in negotiating that bit of river and I got myself mentally prepared for chugging up the Chet. The last time that we were up the Chet we had a smaller boat so I was  a bit cautious with our current 44 footer! Is it me or has the Chet been cut back in places because it certainly looked wider than I can remember? Anyways, all was good and we slowly made our way up towards Loddon. To our surprise we passed Moonlight Shadow who was coming towards us! I quick wave and greeting and we carried on. On arriving at the end, there was just one space left which was in the first corner where the emergency ladder is.  I determined that there would be enough room without blocking the ladder so without further ado, plonked the boat stern on and moored up and hooked up to the electric (someone had kindly left 70p – bonus!!). The first thing to do was to top up with fresh water and that’s when I met the owner of Broadland Grebe! We had a good ol’ natter (as you do) and Brenda then reminded me that I still had the water hose in my hand and not in the proverbial filler hole on the boat! Doh!!  We also needed to replen our bottled water so once we had sorted out the fresh water etc, we made our way up towards Loddon church to once again have a look around it. 

(to be continued....) 

Chris and Brenda 

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Monday 4th Sep 23

After another peaceful night (apart from the constant "drip drip" from within the bowels of the boat), reveille was slightly later this morning - 7 a.m.  We didn't need to be at Oulton Broad until about 11 ish so decided to have breakfast on the boat at Beccles. Bacon butties washed down with tea/coffee. Eventually we set off and cruised gently towards Oulton Broad.  It looked like it was going to be another hot day and sure enough - it was!  When we arrived at the moorings, I couldn't see the sign that they said would be on display to show us where to moor but as if by magic, the guy appeared and pointed us to the last empty slot inside the pontoons. Chris expertly reversed us in (it was a tad tight!) and we moored up and connected the shore power and got ready for our trip to Lowestoft.

Brenda and I had only used the train to get to Lowestoft once and that was many many years ago so I wasn't surprised to find that there were no staff at the station and a ticket machine was situated over on the other side from our platform! So off I went and purchased 4 return tickets for approx £13 ish.  The next scheduled train wasn't due for another 30 mins so we just sat down and waited for the early warning of the level crossing gates to descend. The 3 carriage train arrived on time and within a couple of mins we were on our way and 8 mins later we arrived at Lowestoft. We decided to have a look around and made our way over the drawbridge towards the yacht club area.  Once there we spotted the last surviving sidewinder fishing trawler "Mincarlo" so decided to go and give it a visit. It was well worth visiting and the volunteer staff were very friendly and full of intriguing stories about it's past and other trawler tales from bygone years. I couldn't believe how 11 men could function on such a vessel and the crews quarters down below were tiny!!  We must have spent a good one and a half hours on the trawler before we set off back towards the town to find somewhere for a spot of lunch. As it was so hot we didn't want to spend too much time walking around so we ended up at The Joseph Conrad - JD Wetherspoon on Station square.  It was ok, drinks were the cheapest we had experienced so far and it was nice to get out of the sun for a bit! We had decided that we would catch the 1548 train back to Oulton Broad and so the time came for us to stroll back to the station (within spitting distance ). Back on board the boat and it was time for another beer etc topside. During the afternoon we witnessed what must have been a medical emergency that happened on one of the yachts moored over by the yacht station. Eventually the ambulance left with the casualty and a little while later the yacht set off for destination unknown. 

For our evening meal we had decided that we would sample the carvery at the Wherry Hotel as it wasn't far to go and the price looked reasonable.  The experience didn't really impress us although the staff were polite and friendly. The quality of the carvery wasn't brilliant though and we've had better quality in a Greene King pub back home! However that is a personal opinion and others might be satisfied with whats on offer. At least it filled a hole!  Back to the boat, another round of cards and then bed! Tomorrow is another day and we were looking forward to cruising to Loddon.

Chris and Brenda

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

continued/.......

(Brenda had dragged me out shopping earlier ). So, we arrived at Beccles yacht station at lunchtime and quickly spotted where we had reserved our mooring for the night.  Once moored up and engine switched off, I checked the domestic reading and it was showing 12.5 volts - Hmmm!  Paid for the mooring and electric, hooked up to the shore power and settled down for some lunch (and a beer etc ). We hadn't yet decided where we were going to have our evening meal so I asked the harbour master for his "unbiased" advice. He suggested a couple of places including the Wine Vaults Bar and restaurant so after lunch we all took a walk up into the town to locate and recce the wine vaults bar.  Unanimous decision - wine vaults it would be so we booked a table for 7.15 pm upstairs.

During the afternoon I noticed that Moonlight Shadow had moored up next to us so being the person that I am, I went over and introduced myself and had a good ol' natter with the occupants . I decided to give Oulton Broad a ring and see if I could reserve a stern on mooring with electric for the next day which proved to be the right decision as it was quite full when we got there and it filled up quite quickly afterwards.

Evening approached after a fairly peaceful afternoon watching the antics of various paddleboarders who had turned up to indulge in their pasttime. This included watching a couple on their paddleboards paddling out towards the entrance with no PLP on and more importantly - the chap had his very young son sitting on the front of his paddleboard also without any PLP!!!  OMG! The couple even ignored the harbour master and Rangers' (who was present) advice and they continued out onto the Waveney, returning a good hour or so later.  

That evening we arrived at the Wine Vaults, got shown to our table and checked the menu for the evening. Memory now fading but Julie and I had the lamb on the specials menu and it was absolutely finger licking gob smacking excellent!!  Brenda had the duck and Chris had the fish on the specials menu.  All meals were of the highest standard and washed down with Icebreaker beer and Prosecco. It wasn't an inexpensive meal but well worth what we paid for! Suitably stuffed we returned to the boat, had another couple of drinks, a game of cards and then retired for the night after what had been another glorious day in the sunshine!

Chris and Brenda

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Sunday 3rd Sep 23.

Having set my alarm for 0530 I was awake at 0500. I quietly ventured up on to the upper helm and saw that apart from still being fairly dark, there was a substantial amount of mist hanging over the water! Groan! Oh well, hopefully the mist would start to burn off before we were due to depart. By now I could hear the others moving around so without further ado, I grabbed our trusty battery operated Karcher window squeegee and started to dry off the upper helm sunpads and seats and table. Remember I said in my last post that the boat behaved itself? Er no!!  The domestic batteries dial was reading 8 volts!!  Now apart from having the radio on, having the saloon led lights on for a couple of hours in the evening, we had not by my reasoning, used an awful lot of electric! Also we had the constant drip drip sound during the night coming again from somewhere in the bilges!  The automatic bilge pump kicked in about 3 times during the night as well and would run for about 20 secs.  I presumed that like we had experienced a couple of years ago on Soveriegn Light, the stern gland was weeping so wasn't worried that we were sinking! As far as the state of the domestic batteries were concerned, I knew that we would be on shore power at Beccles, Oulton Broad and Loddon during the coming days so wasn't too bothered at this point. We were also going to be cruising for about 4-5 hours down to Beccles which would be ample to charge up the batteries again.

Our departure time was 0615 hrs and by then the mist had lifted sufficiently for us to move off. We passed under Vauxhall bridge with about 10 inches clearance and made our way over Breydon, accompanied by a few other boats.  At the end of Breydon we turned left to head up the Waveney and had a nice steady cruise, passing under Somerleyton swingbridge with pleanty of clearance. (To be continued..........)

Chris and Brenda

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Well! That was a terrific week afloat on the Broads! We couldn't have asked for better weather and it sort of mirrored the weather that we enjoyed two years ago at around about the same time on Sovereign Light!  I didn't make any daily notes this time so every post I make will be based on memory alone and hopefully I won't get the days muddled up! We had a good evening at Stracey Mill and had a nice chat with the staff which included them telling us why they are leaving Stracey Mill once they have a buyer for the place. We wish them well in their future endeavour.  Having paid our mooring fee for the night (£6) we made our way back to the boat.  (It's worth mentioning that if you wish to pay by card then there is a minimum spend of £15 required otherwise cash is their favourite method of payment.  Luckily we take some cash with us for such moments!).   We also met Luna (their white GSD - our GSD is also called Luna but she goes to our local boarding kennels for her weeks holiday when we are on the Broads!).  Evening meal was spag bol (the bolognese was prepared on the Friday so all we had to do was cook the fresh pasta).  True to form we had made far too much but the remainder would be consumed at a later date. Another couple of beers and a bottle of Prosecco later and we decided to have an early night due to the early start the next morning.  I went to bed praying that there wouldn't be too much river mist in the morning that would delay our departure.  All in all, an excellent first day to start the holiday, boat behaved itself and we looked forward to the next day of crossing Breydon and cruising down to Beccles.  Next instalment will hopefully be tomorrow!

Chris and Brenda accompanied by Chris and Julie

[Broad Ambition - Underway on the H2O]

I was keeping an eye out for you Griff thinking we’d be passing each other over Breydon! Now I know why we didn’t see you as we departed Stracey Mill at 0610 this morning and arrived at the “yellow post” at GY about 7.40 ish. Breydon was like a mill pond and we turned up the Waveney and arrived at Beccles yacht station about 1145 ish. 
 

Chris and Brenda

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Checked with Yarmouth yacht station earlier, need to leave here about 0610 hrs tomorrow morning to get under that darn bridge and cross over Breydon! Alarm set for 0530 hrs (sunrise is at 0606 hrs!).

Chris and Brenda 

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Got to HW at 1245 today.Had a bite to eat in the flour and bean and boat was ready for us at 1.15! Leisurely cruise down to Stracey Mill where we are now moored up for the night. Currently sitting up on top and the obligatory Prosecco and beer flowing well! Weather is excellent- a good start to the holiday!

Chris and Brenda

[Stracy Arms]

15 minutes ago, Lulu said:

We haven’t moored there for a year or so. We like being at the start of the mooring  (approaching from Stokesby) and there were missing and wobbly posts . In fact we saw one boat tie up and a post snapped off, so rather put us off and haven’t been back since . We may go and have a look when we have our week away soon and see if the posts have been replaced.  

We''ll be there Saturday evening all things being equal so if no one else provides any current info regarding the mooring situation, I will post a "review" on here. 

Chris

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

11 hours ago, ruthandjohn said:

Hey there! We're out on the Broads around the same time, two weeks from the 1st in our case, on Sovereign Light.  Thanks for writing up your posts in 2021 on the boat, as I was just reading over them - hope to see you out on the water maybe!

Hi! We enjoyed our time on Sovereign Light- it was a very easy boat to handle. Like most boats there is a tendency for a lot of moisture to accumulate overnight on the saloon windows if you don't have an adequate through flow of air. We used our Karcher window squeegee to suck up any excess when that occurred. We'll give you a wave if we see you 

Chris and Brenda

[Stracy Arms]

Found this -  https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138550016#/?channel=RES_BUY

We moored there in October last year prior to our crossing over Breydon the next morning. Very friendly and we are mooring there again this Saturday before we cross over Breydon on the Sunday morning.

Chris

[My Day]

1 hour ago, Happy said:

  NO COMMENT! 

Er - I'll go where no man fears to tread! Gracie in school uniform and new shoes? Hmmm flashbacks of St Trinians 

Chris (way too much time on my hands!)

[Womack Bakery]

10 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I'm  certain BA would have to submit  a planning application. 

Seek and yee shall find 

https://planning.broads-authority.gov.uk/PublicAccessDocs/planningDocs.aspx?doc=/sites/planning/2022/Documents/Development Control/BA20220033FUL/ba_2022_0033_ful_-__the_quay__the_street__thurne_-_change_of_use_of_telephone_box__to_mini_tourist_information_centre.pdf

There's a host of other documents associated with this subject but I thought this might be the best one to show?

Chris

[Womack Bakery]

Is this the bakery being commented on?

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/413072/BA_2021_0211_FUL___Ludham___Horsefen_Road___Bakery.pdf

Chris

[Lionesses 2023]

40 minutes ago, Gracie said:

I know some of you hate footie and would rather watch paint dry but I will be at my parents to watch it, I have had football drummed into me since I was little. I enjoy a good game and feel very proud the girls have reached the final

Good luck and all the best to them and their brilliant manager Sarina. Even if they lose, they reached a World Cup Final, they should be proud of that 

 x

I'm one of the rare breed of men that hates football with a passion! I suppose being born and raised in Rugby Warwickshire didn't help as I was brought up to play with that funny shaped inflated piece of leather which I contnued to do so during my army career. However I have nothing but admiration for the Lionesses and hope they can achieve what the men rarely seem to do. My personal opinion is that the men's professional football overall is now nothing more than a great big money earner for companies and players alike. I also agree 100% with Smoggy's post above 

Chris

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

16 minutes ago, MargeandParge said:

Just enjoy whatever happens. New land lord and lady in The Angel at Loddon very nice people and resource locally. Worth  the walk up the town and another bonus it takes you so close to a good Butchers. 

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

Thank you, we normally go to the White Horse in Chedgrave but might give the Angel a visit this time. Has Rosy Lee's cafe now shut down permanently? If so that will be a crying shame.

Chris

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

34 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Have a great time Chris and Brenda  Great itinerary  x

Ha Ha, learnt my lesson from the first time about making detailed plans Gracie 

Chris

[The 4 W's Afloat 2 Sep 23]

Two weeks to go before another week on the Broads starting 2nd Sep! This time we are hoping to take our friends from Devon (Chris and Julie) down to the Southern Broads. Just realised it will be 2 years almost to the day when we took them around the northern broads on Sovereign Light (HW) back in Sep 21! This year we will be on Royale Light 2 (HW) and weather permitting we will cross Breydon early Sunday morning (3rd Sep). I've already spoken to the Yacht station at Yarmouth to get the best advice as when to leave Stracey Arms on the Sunday morning and this week I'll ring Beccles yacht station and book a berth with electric for later that day. Basic plans are PH to Stracey Arms on the Saturday, Stracey Arms to Beccles on the Sunday, Beccles to Oulton Broad on the Monday, Oulton Broad to Loddon on the Tuesday, leave Loddon on the Wednesday morning to go back up North and then it's roll a dice and see where we go from there  Shopping list already written for the obligatory foodstuff etc and Brenda and Julie are already amassing the bottles of Prosecco and rose (wine not the flower!). Fingers crossed for decent weather but if not we will still enjoy every minute!

Chris and Brenda (accompanied by Chris and Julie Wright)

[Santa Baby]

Grrrrrrr! Can't get that flipping song out of my head now! 

Chris

[Over Breydon]

19 hours ago, BroadsAuthority said:

If you need to know the best time to cross or any other tips give the guys at Yarmouth Yacht Station a call (01493 842794 or 07766 398238) and they'll be happy to chat to you about it.

 

Hope that helps,

Tom

I have done this a couple of times when planning to transit Breydon and I can unreservedly confirm that they are brilliant in the info that they give you. We're due back on the Broads from 2nd Sep 23 and taking our friends from Devon down to the kraken infested waters  from the North. Planning to leave HW as soon as possible on 2nd Sep and cruise down to Stracey Arms mill so as to catch the low tide/slack water early Sunday morning. I've noted that there is a Spring tide that morning so I rang Yarmouth Yacht station earlier this week for some guidance.  The guy at the station couldn't have been more helpful and notwithstanding any adverse weather that morning, I am reassured of departure time from Stracey to get under Vauxhall bridge without joining the road traffic that may be going over it! 

Chris

[How Busy Can It Get?]

11 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Crikey, remind me never to pee on a post again 

Dogs are lovely. I wish some owners would realise not everyone wants a dog jumping up at them and then look at you as if you have two heads when you ask them to keep the dog away x

 

 

Oh Gracie! It's not good for your health squatting over someone's post in this forum, especially if the apparatus is connected to the mains! 

Chris

[The New Caister Lifeboat]

Found this on You Tube and thought it might be worth putting on here - I personally found it very interesting. (Just in case some are wondering if it's a Jim Davidson "mucky" comedy show - it's not!).

Chris

 

 

[Hire Fleet Changes 2023]

36 minutes ago, floydraser said:

Had a quick look. Is it me but the dimensions are given as 6.09ft wide but the pics make it look wider??

I think that could be the height as it states that the only bridge it will not pass under is Potter Heigham?

Chris