kpnut

There’s a very nice azalea at the secret garden - a yellow one, azalea luteum. It has a gorgeous scent.

What an adventuresome day. One you won’t forget in a hurry. Somerleyton is a very pretty village but maybe a bit far for you distance wise. I love your littl’un’s cheerful coat. And his icecream. The thought of all you boats on the New Cut crabbing sideways down the channel made me chuckle.

I was surprised to see a couple of rhododendrons flowering in that colourful garden of the house next to the How Hill property. I had taken a purposeful look out as it’s my signal to go and visit the Secret Garden. Toward the end of my next trip it’ll be at its best I reckon. Superb growing weather at the moment. With having more time at home while I couldn’t use the boat, I managed to get ahead on the allotment. Reckoning it was going to be a fairly frost free spring I’ve started stuff I would normally have waited for till April. Now I’ve gone and done it. My potatoes will come up and you watch, we’ll have a bad frost!!

Great idea, thanks. I’m going to practice this in the morning when I leave Irstead.

Well, of course, the walk in the rain won. I wandered off along various lanes and across field paths, ending up by the fudge lady, who didn’t get my custom this trip. I love her grainy coffee fudge, proper homemade texture, but I eat far too much of it considering it’s virtually sugar and butter. We stopped at the Neatishead moorings as it’s nye on impossible to resist. It was more or less full, early afternoon. And then the pull of the pub was too much for my lack of willpower. I had the Humpty Dumpty Swallowtail which was a bit ‘over bitter’ for my taste. We left in steady rain and after walking as far as the New Victory Hall I decided that the splits in my wellies would let too much water in now that the road was more puddled, and the field grass would be soggier, so I retraced my steps, still managing to resist the fudge, and went towards Gay’s staithe, which was very quiet. That thatched roof they’ve been working on for ages has its ridge finished now. And for interest, I took pictures of various wildflowers on the way back. primroses English bluebells Just before the right angled bend after walking past the Barton Broad boardwalk entrance, there’s a wood that’ll be a riot of bluebell colour very soon. Finlay spotted two muntjacs in there too, but they saw us and ran off before I could snap them. Cow parsley, which is just beginning to flower, quite early I think. That means the carrot fly will be about early this year then as after the cow parsley finishes flowering, the flies move from them onto carrot ground to lay their eggs. Honesty Forget-me-nots and some flowerpots. I’ve had one of these on the boat for a couple of years now and it’s still as good as new. I keep a spider plant in it. As I reached the staithe, I waved to Robin on Trixie as he went past. But I don’t think he either saw me or recognised me. I did get a photo for him though.

Am I presuming in that case you never have to try to come out forwards? So my query earlier would not be necessary. I never have done so yet, but do occasionally have to be quite cross with the stern before it’ll go out when I’m pulling the bow round from the bank, pushing it away a number of times before I succeed. And that can mean I’m further down the bank than I’d ideally be. Maybe I’m not patient enough. I’d be hesitant to have the boat in gear while not on it. Visions of me losing it and it ploughing on wherever it goes, like a tractor I was driving once did, straight through a hedge!!!! I’m not sure where the front outboard cleat is, would that be one quite near the edge, halfway up the bow? I only have one cleat, in the middle of the bow and one at either stern corner, none centrally. So would looping round a post and back on to the centre of the bow work as effectively as me pulling the bow round from the quay? What I do often forget to do is turn the wheel towards the quay, so probably I’m working against myself some of the time. Thanks for that reminder. Next time I’m on my own on a mooring somewhere I’m going to try doing what you say. Be on board with rope looped round post, in forward tickover, with wheel turned backwards, having pushed the back out before I get onboard. I’ll just have to be quick gathering the rope in and back to the helm as I move off! But then I currently have to hop on and get to the helm pretty sharpish anyway.

Oh that’s such a shame. I hope they’re all ok and the kids aren’t upset with it all, and worrying about their belongings as kids do. It will have been one of the boats I passed between Ludham Bridge and from where they set off from at Irstead. They looked pretty secure and making good ground.

I might have some news on that (very tongue in cheek) Not sure if I’ve quoted this before - ‘If the ash is out before the oak, we’ll be in for a soak, but if the oak is out before the ash, we’ll only get a splash’. So looking at the photos below, it’ll be a dry summer. (Believe me if you will😂). Doesn’t seem to take into account anything to do with winds, tides, Herring bridge or other such factors though. In that photo of the oak coming into leaf, it shows the oak flowers too. Not sure I’ve ever seen them before.

That’s fine Malcolm, all useful information!

I had said I’d help the couple (not spring chickens) on the other boat to leave this morning as they were very nervous, especially about the wind. When I spoke to them at breakfast they were waiting for HPC staff to collect them as the helmsman had hurt his back stooping down to drive. I must say the seat is very high up and the vertical wheel is very low down. He thinks that’s why his back was painful. In due course, the lads turned up, one casting off and taking the car back to the yard with the other taking the boat back. I then started pondering the best way to leave the mooring myself. Being the only one left, it wouldn’t much matter what I did as it’d only be my boat I knocked, but I was mindful that usually I’d be sandwiched inbetween other boats, so ought to practice getting off with the tide rising towards me and a LOT of wind (forecast was showing 40mph) pinning me to the bank, so I presumed that combination would mean the stern wouldn’t want to go out very readily. After a bit of thinking and finding an old thread on here, I decided to see firstly if the back would go out as per normal. Normally as the back goes out, I just walk the bow down the mooring a bit and once it’s out at a good angle, I hop on and continue reversing out. And surprisingly, that’s exactly what did happen. I’ve had times before when the stern just won’t leave the bank without fuss. Once I was well across the river, I did have to turn the bow into the flow of the tide as that’s what it wanted to do. Then I just needed to turn to go down downstream. But if it hadn’t have worked out, I’m still a bit puzzled as to what I would do. Would I just let the stern off with it going nowhere, then let the bow off, needing to hop on the boat of course, and wait for it to catch the flow of water and turn to a good acute angle angle and then just go forward, keeping at that angle so as not to hit other boats with my stern? What would stop the boat being pulled along by the tide into a boat moored behind me before I had a good enough angle to miss the boat in front? Ummm. Bearing in mind, I’m on my own so have no one to be on the bow keeping a rope slung round a mooring post for a while. I bet I’m missing something obvious, so any explanation would be gratefully received. I think this might be one reason I prefer wild moorings - no one else to think about, so I can cover up my lack of competence!! And off I went, up the Ant where so many boats were coming down towards me I bet I was going to have to somehow hold steady at Ludham Bridge while I drifted with the strong wind nearer and nearer to George’s boats in the yard. Theoretically, I’d have right of way with the tide, but if other people coming the other way don’t know that, I can’t just barge my way through😂 Another ‘worry’ over, there were no boats! Further up, between How Hill and Irstead were 5 sailing boats, coaching youngsters but I knew what I was doing and so did they. And then, lucky day, Irstead on the electric was vacant. The parish moorings have now filled as well, one with a day boat that moored up for a cup of tea before turning round for their return journey, only to find they had no matches onboard. I was able to help them out, only too pleased to help. Now wondering whether to just sit and snooze or get togged up for the blustery showers that keep passing over and take Finlay out. I expect the latter will win eventually.

Welcome to this friendly forum. You sound like you have an absorbing project, look forward to hearing about progress in due course.

I wouldn’t say the current Brooms bikes are full-size. The family did look to be working hard, peddling 10 to the dozen to make much forward progress. But enjoying themselves and that’s the main thing.

It’s just such an awkward shape though if you go on the ‘back’ mooring. I need to have the stern up against the quay to let the dog off as I don’t like him going off the bow - well I don’t like him bringing muddy shakes in through the bow door more to the point - and to get the stern into the quay there, the nose has to stick out into the river at an odd angle, especially as a Horizon 35 bows out in the middle herself. Boats that are either shorter or that can have their stern hanging over the end of the quay look much more snug on that second spot.

I woke early and stayed in bed watching the river flow past. Not one boat passed me. Eventually I stirred and took the dog out before his breakfast. I was the last boat to leave which isn’t unusual! I firstly went down to the other moorings to take a look at a potential wild mooring on the opposite bank. I’d seen a boat moored there last night. It looks pleasant but will soon be full of tall stinging nettles. But the key to using a wild mooring like that when overgrown is to know it has solid ground under the trash. Now I know that, I wouldn’t mind mooring there in future and trampling down the nettles. I set off towards Horning with three possibilities in mind. Horning staithe, Horning church mooring or Cockshoot? Horning staithe - electric, sociable but busy with boats and busy with people. Anyway, it was full. Horning church - beautiful, quiet, good walks, but can be noisy with bow slap when windy. Cockshoot - sheltered, pretty but no good walks and can be busy with boats. Horning church was empty so that won. After my late breakfast, we walked up to the church, along the path to the right of the carpark, onto the road and back along to the crossroads. Along the lane onto the main road and along the verge to walk down the track to the side of the radio mast. Following the well defined paths across the fields we came out on the lane to the Radar Museum. And then took the diagonal path to Neatishead Rd just up from Ropes Hill crossroads. I can’t quite believe how quickly the surface soil has dried out in this wind. Certainly the ploughed fields I walked across are just right now for rolling and harrowing to break the clods down to a seedbed. In fact, one path was decidedly dusty in places! We stopped at Horning staithe for a while before walking along to the New Inn I haven’t been there for quite a while so thought I’d have a glass of Fullers London Pride while sitting next to the river (see photo in previous post). The tide was still rising and as I sat there, the puddle in the garden grew noticeably bigger. Another 5 minutes and I reckon people would be paddling through to get out of the garden I helped a couple of dayboats having difficulty with the fast river and the gusty wind. The second boat was missing a mooring line on the port stern cleat and the starboard one was extremely frayed. I can’t see any sensible reason why a boat would be hired out in that state. On arrival back at the boat, Finlay settled onto the sofa for a snooze while I sat on the bench in the sun eating the gooseberry icecream I’d bought yesterday. A couple on an HPC boat called across to ask if they could moor there, so I helped them in too. And a bit later a family walked down to do a spot of magnet fishing, so my observation of Horning church mooring being quiet wasn’t totally true. There were also plenty of boats this afternoon going past more speedily than is polite, fast enough for the quay heading to get wetted by waves a number of times and the boat to be bounced around somewhat. All seems quiet now.

Sunny, but still breezier than forecast in Horning and it’s not a warm wind now either. Busy with dayboats and the river has a steady flow of traffic.

I met someone in Horning this afternoon in a very smart Broom boat. He lives in Southampton and is here with wife and teenage son. He said he’d come four times before, the last time 15 years ago and he feels it has changed for the worse. Fewer moorings altogether, more charging for moorings beyond what he felt was reasonable to store up a fund for maintenance, and far less friendly. They’d just had lunch out at £16.50 a head for something that was nothing to write home about with poor service. He said he won’t bother to come back again as the shine had been taken off it. He did like the bikes that Broom had provided so they could go and explore the lanes though.

Good idea if I get another wet day before I go home next week. Might be a bit steamy after a long walk mind you.

I think that’s its nickname. I’m so pleased to see it has a new made to measure tarp cap to try to stop any further deterioration. Have fun tomorrow.

Don’t be daft, I’m happy you got over Breydon. Last time I did it, I was the last boat across before it was shut for storm whatever. We literally bounced down that stretch between Berney Arms and Reedham, the fenders seating themselves up on deck at one point and one trying its best to come in the helm window. And you are certainly not alone with that scenario of the stern wanting to stick itself to the bank in windy conditions. I think Ludham Bridge is one of the worst places for it, no matter that we think about it and do all the logical stuff. That photo of all the food looks like you were at a party! And a beautiful reflection indeed.

Sun going down on a windy day

I’ve just completed a round of the marsh footpaths. It was beautiful, but hard going in places when the wind caught me. Pretty mud free though and unless my memory is playing tricks, the riverbank path is in more usable condition for this time of year than it was last year. I had spotted in the winter that it had been cut right down so the bank was visible from the river. St Benets moorings were pretty full with sailing boats. They’d all come past me up Fleet dyke earlier. The views across the marsh are lovely and clear today, not that my little phone camera can really do them justice. Just by the electric pumping station with the generator parked up next to it, were some willow trees just coming into flower. I hadn’t realised before that the flowers have a very delicate hint of lemon, very pretty and a wonderful fragrance (I just wish the damn trees didn’t shed leaves all over my boat). The photo below shows the outcome of drilling winter barley on an area liable to flood. Compare the first photo, on the marsh, with the second of a field nearer the village. I suppose getting some sort of yield for winter feed for the cattle is better than leaving it, but I’d be inclined to grow a cover crop to reduce nutrient loss over winter and then drill with spring barley. I stopped off at the staithe on the way back. There are a pair of ducks with a nest in the bushes at the far end, so we quickly left them to it once I realised why they were shouting at us! And then to round off a lovely walk, the icecream boat (the ice float) turned up just as I was coming back to the boat. She moored up for me to buy a ‘blackcurrant swirl’ and a ‘Norfolk gooseberry’ (for the freezer). What a treat.

I have been keeping a very keen eye out for any updates about Breydon being closed. We're just about to depart Stacey Arms and all seems okay at the moment so fingers crossed! Oh good. I haven’t seen any either. Bumpy crossing ahead 😄 I realised after I wrote it that it might have come across as being very condescending. My apologies, certainly not intentional.

Hm, I’m sure these branches weren’t here on the path yesterday evening!

I’m looking forward to your tale of your week afloat. I don’t often venture down south, but will be during the second half of April so any up to date date info would be most welcome. The tide times won’t be brilliant for us so it might be late finishes or early starts and not as long down there as I’d have ideally liked, but it’s do-able. Have fun. Be careful with this wind today and check with GY yacht station that Breydon is open to hire craft before venturing too far down there if that’s planned for today.

Happy people on board