dom

When I get a reply to an email later, I'll try and find out for you. I want to try and find out more anyway, as I get the impression NSBA aren't blessed in terms of technology, so it's an area where those of us more savvy might be able to help out with a crowdfunding effort.

The inquest opening has just been reported by EDP. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/24227800.inquest-opened-bodys-found-norfolk-broads/ I presume with food left on the table, it'll probably go down as either an open verdict or accidental death. A good reminder, if ever there was one, to wear a lifejacket when doing anything on deck single handed.

Dave Whitworth's videos manage to provide plenty of enjoyable footage without the less desirable mishaps though, as do several others. There are actually quite a lot of aspects of Broadland life and boating which would make good subject matter which are being overlooked at the moment. I'm not going to say more, as I have a strong suspicion at least one of the channel creators reads the group and I might be tempted to upload some stuff myself if I ever manage to move back to the area. They'll all realise they're facing the law of diminishing returns soon anyway. The more videos go up, the more views get spread out and the less the ad revenue. Google is far smarter than they are and promotes unique content above all else.

Personally, I think the best proposal for resolving this to date is NSBA's attempt to raise funds to hire a King's Counsel to review how BA is operating. Annual membership of NSBA only costs a tenner. I'd urge people to consider joining (even if also supporting BRAG) to try and help support this. I suspect a King's Counsel would find that the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act and the Broads Authority Act actually provide a perfectly reasonable structure for managment. My view is that the original intent of these was that the authority would manage by committee, with the chief executive simply filling a legally required position, to enact the desired actions decided by the various committees. The problem seems to be almost exclusively that Dr.Packman has decided he holds ultimate control, but doesn't appear to have the commercial acumen to manage finances and the organisation efficiently. I think it probably needs someone at the highest possible legal level to state this in order for things to start changing.

It should, by rights, start to go down significantly in coming weeks though as spring progresses. If it doesn't, we all collectively need to do everything possible to make a massive noise about it, so BA and EA come under closer scrutiny for the issues of dredging and possible Herring bridge restriction.

Wroxham bridge has always been tricky, but largely because of the shape of the arch and the fact it's angled slightly towards the Wroxham side heading downstream. I can remember sitting in the Bridge Restaurant in the very early 1980s watching a couple who'd managed to get the approach wrong and jammed themselves in slightly sideways. When they finally managed to free themselves, they somehow managed to spin the bow around in such a way that it went straight through the big, plate glass window between the restaurant and its kitchen - which as a kid I found highly amusing, but which was probably pretty dangerous for those sitting nearby who got showered in broken glass. The bridge becoming inaccessible to traditional height boats due to low air draft is a different issue though and one which appears to be getting much worse fairly quickly. Wroxham has been around 6' for part of this week, which causes a problem for the majority of Broads boats. Offhand, I think spring tides were last week, so possibly worse then. It should be nearer 7'3" (probably 7' on the "new" gauge). Something is making a big difference and rain levels have eased, so water recession is clearly being hindered somehow. Issues with dredging, moorings, quay headings, etc have always been a feature in documents and tales relating to the Broads - but BA was in part introduced to address these. The fact that, if anything, the issues seem to be getting worse is a major concern and just goes to show the manner in which all too often public sector organisations just become bloated cash vacuums. I think if the Broads as we know them are to survive, there needs to be a concerted effort to put pressure on BA to fund works, and to highlight and put them under scrutiny when they fail to carry them out. A private sector business would fail if it lacked the funds to meet its demands. We need to try and put the BA into a similar light and to highlight every time they fail. I'm not sure anyone's doing this particularly effectively at the moment.

The Wroxham bridge pilots number is 07775 297638. I'm sure if you give them a call when you collect the boat, they'll be able to give a firm idea whether you'll be able to pass though, so you can decide whether to head upstream or elsewhere.

At least two paddleboard hire companies have closed and another local specialist paddleboard retailer has closed their high street store. Basing management of the local economy and infrastructure on short terms trends, which might well prove to be fads (especially during/after a pandemic) seems particularly short sighted. Boat hire is the predominant input into the local economy and has been for more than a century. Anyone who bases their actions on anything significantly different will probably go down in history as a fool. Dr.P seems well on his way to such infamy.

It's not just that, it's "drama as boat hits barge" putting emphasis on the clickbaity element. The boat in question did foul a fender, pulling a fender eye out of the deck - but back when I worked in yards, this was fairly a mundane event, the type of which happened most weeks. I suspect it's just the same, if not more common these days. No doubt the Brinks hirer was embarassed enough as it was without having their error shamed on Youtube.

Aquafibre Diamonds are usually quoted around 6'5" air draft, but Ferry seem to be stating 6'7". No doubt the pilots will have a better idea than anyone whether she'll fit nearer the time.

That's so frustrating - two moorings, up to 84 spaces in Hoveton, plus another 3 within walking distance at "Castle staithe" (still just Caen Meadow in my mind) and you can't get to any of them. The bridge filtering out excessively large dual helm cruisers is one thing, but it's another when you can't get a sensible sub 7' boat through. I keep meaning to have a look at the planning application Barnes have just had approved to see what impact that's going to have on moorings. I know it's to remove a bit of land and to replace with a pontoon, but not sure how large the area.

Petrol stations are legally obliged to show a price which can be seen before filling up. I'd assume the same legislation probably applies to boatyards?

"Never go faster than you're prepared to hit the quay heading". Stick to that when mooring and you won't go far wrong.

I had issues for ages not being able to eat eggs. Whenever I did, I got hideous cramping pain which had me literally doubled over. I love eggs, so had real trouble staying away from them. After many episodes of self-inflicted illness when I chose to ignore previous problems, I eventually found that if I ate free range organic ones, I didn't get ill. Clearly, from that, there's obviously some sort of medication or foodstuff given to non-organic hens which passes through into their eggs which doesn't agree with my body. I think this is just another example (or egg-sample ) of how unhealthy our food chain is these days. Americans wash their eggs before sale to supposedly make them safer. As a result, they have to be refrigerated constantly including in the shop. Because ours are sold au naturale, they have a coating whch protects against bacteria, allowing them to be kept on the shelf in the shop. That's just reminded me of clearing out my grandparents house after my nan died. She had an old school cooker with a couple of exposed bolt down power connections on the back. When we pulled it out to disconnect it, we found a rat with each front paw on a terminal. It had obviously died of electric shock, but probably quite a few years earlier judging by its fossilised state.

Wroxham seems to be struggling to get above 6'3" at the moment. Currently not much over 6'. For me, the stretch above Wroxham is the best bit of the Broads (I may be biased having grown up playing down at Caen Meadow). It's a bit disconcerting to think of Wroxham bridge becoming as restrictive as Potter, so I hope things start changing dramatically in the near future and it's not something more serious causing problems.

That's probably the first and last time anyone'll say that about me It does seem odd allowing the quay situation to progress for so long, as it'll be a nightmare to try and work round boats in season. There have been some fairly explicit statements made about their not being able to afford running repairs elsewhere, so I do wonder just how bad their financial situation is.

Playing devil's advocate, they could be new staff undergoing training. BA recruited new staff at Ranworth recently and you have to undergo "Working near water" training before you can start this type of work these days. I'd hope they undergo some sort of first aid and critical incident response training too. I've queried the repair on the quay heading recently and it was suggested water height might have been an obstacle preventing progress. Whether that's genuinely been the case since last autumn is debatable. It's apparent they have some real funding issues, so I wonder if it's to push the expense into next financial year, which presumably starts now.

Did you happen to see whether the fence/wall around the pergola had been removed?

I'm subscribed to no end of boating channels and it's nice to see the Broads featuring, but the whole Ludham Bridge situation is starting to grate a bit with me. It's getting to the point where you inevitably have one of the three main protagonists recording every weekend. I think it's starting to get a bit intrusive and it's obviously largely waiting for something untoward to happen. I can't help but wonder what the net effect of it all is. If a new hirer comes down from Stalham the first time, bumps the bridge and their error ends up attracting derision on YouTube, are they more or less likely to come back next year? Between that, and the added emphasis it puts on bridge clearance issues, it all seems a bit undesirable for the hire industry in my eyes. It's not really surprising to me that at least one of them has attracted some hostility from certain areas. In the past, when I worked on turnaround and did refuelling, we did the same with calibrated dipsticks, taking a measure and just adding what the dipstick said was needed. We'd also keep a tally of the amounts used and totalled that up to work out when we needed another fuel delivery. It had run that way for decades, so it obviously all worked fairly well.

Alexanders maybe?

EDP and BBC seem to be reporting the same, but I'm not sure I trust the journalism standards of either these days. Lowestoft South Fire Station have posted a video on X/Twitter which seems to show another small cruiser in close proximity behind, so hopefully the 3rd might have just been minor damage.

I suspect that might be a bit of a sore point. The EA re-opened all the locks at the end of last week, but then put out a strong stream alert Saturday morning, effectively closing down the Great Ouse upstream from Earith. A lot of RGO boaters are complaining about paying a full season's toll, only to be stuck in the marina for months. There are a lot of parallels with the Broads situation, ie. moaning about EA funding for dredging, etc.

Sad weekend for a couple of owners. Just hope they were well insured. Also a shame to see the likely demise of another Foster/Silverline Classic 27. I've always thought they're lovely little boats and great for getting around all of the Broads network.

I can remember saving up for a snake as a kid in much the same way. We went up to the old pet shop which used to be on the approach to Norwich Castle before the mall was built. My mum insisted that I waited in the car to save finding a parking space, whilst she went in and checked. Funnily enough, they'd "sold out" of snakes. I've still not entirely forgiven her for that.

I'm sure working at Summercraft was what gave me the inability to do a job any way other than 100% the right way. Their standards really stemmed from Dick Sabberton, who could be a bit hard to read, but always had half an eye on everything. Every boat got checked 100% and we cleaned every inch of the exterior every turnaround. I think one of the key differences between them and your average yard now is that everyone employed was familiar with boating and the hire industry, so they tended to really care about what they were doing.