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dom
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Posts posted by dom
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Just hope the "few days" turning into 6 doesn't indicate a more significant issue. More orange flood warnings again today, so it's important people can get water in places where it's actually possible to moor without needing waders!
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5 hours ago, YnysMon said:
That photo from Ranworth. Hopefully the temporary fencing around one of the water hoses means that the BA are going to fix it. Last time we were there it was leaking from several holes, so by the time the water got to the end of the hose there wasn't much to speak of. Doh!
In case you hadn't heard, BA originally said they were upgrading one at a time to avoid interruption of supply - but then made an update saying they couldn't cut supplies off individually, so had cut off both. Last update was "We hope this will only be for the next few days but will issue an update in due course" but that was 6 days ago.
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My dad bought his Broom 30 from Len Hulme at LL Cruisers in Wroxham in the early 80s. At the time, Len assured us that, at extreme low tides, it was just possible to get under Wroxham bridge. That would have required clearance of at least 8ft.
Current clearance is said to be 7ft 3in on average. I doubt extreme low tides would add 9 inches, so that would suggest at least some reduction in height. Someone else may be able to suggest how much extra Spring tides affect low tide levels?
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I had a 99 2.2 VTEC Prelude. It was the absolute top spec Motegi model with 4 wheel steer. I ran it for years until it got to the point where it was pointless to sell, as it had no real cash value, but it was still far too good to get rid of. So I just stopped servicing, but continued driving it. It'd use a litre or so of oil a month and probably went a good 4 years without a change. I dread to think what it looked like when it eventually got drained. The really mad thing is, I eventually traded it in back in 2015. The new owner stuck a private plate on it, and when I last checked it was still on the road.
I always vowed to never buy a Japanese car. I'm now on Honda number 5. I suspect the only reason I'll ever buy another brand is due to the diminishing range Honda now offer.
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7 minutes ago, Mouldy said:
Is it fair to blame the BA for this, bearing in mind that The Granary started to offer main meals this year and seems to have flourished? Perhaps their success has been at the expense of the pub.
Many, many years ago, The Granary was run by a really nice, slightly eccentric chap called Bernard. I think possibly Bernard managed front of house and his partner managed the kitchen. We frequented the place year round whenever it was open and got to know him very well. He always used to comment on the fact that very few people came into the village (hardly surprising, as it's quite remote and neighbouring villages have pubs and restaurants) and that it was always a bit of a fight with the pub for customers.
I suspect in reality, the issue is a combination of the above, charging on the moorings and the wider decline of pubs due to ban on smoking and general trend towards healthier lifestyles.
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Probably worth a phone call asking if they'll honour the discount? Technically, you could cancel then rebook anyway.
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13 minutes ago, vanessan said:
Isn’t that what the various factions are trying to do? Ie Broads Reform Action Group for one.
Don't get me wrong, I'm generally on the side of BRAG. I think if it wants to be taken seriously though (by parties on both sides), it needs to be much more explicit in what it's trying to achieve. What is "complete reform", what does it entail and when will it happen? I think it needs a clearly identifiable board or management team, and it needs to consider meetings in the real world. At the moment, there seems to be a lot of proposing of ideas, or pointing out of issues, but a lot just seem to disappear into the ether without seemingly gathering any traction. Is anyone actually recording, collating or acting on any of the suggestions?
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8 minutes ago, kpnut said:
Why don’t pubs supply newspapers any longer?
I suspect it's just a net effect of the rapidly dying newspaper industry.
Are free local papers a thing these days? I can't remember the last time I actually saw one. If they do still exist, it's probably worth suggesting to landlords that putting one out for customers might be a nice touch. I suspect most would be keen to hear any and every suggestion how they can keep customers around a bit longer.
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43 minutes ago, LondonRascal said:
I amazes me that any business in 2023 would no be 'all over' Social Media - as part of the business plan!
A lot of that is the fact that pub owners (and small business owners in general) often aren't especially technically savvy, so steer clear, often out of fear. It's also extremely hard to find good 3rd party social media managers. In my last role, I worked for a £50m multi-national and had huge budgets for things like PPC and SEO. Even with the type of budgets we had available, it was difficult to find competent social media marketers. Unfortunately, digital marketing is becoming the academic equivalent now to what travel and tourism was in the last few decades. Half the people in it think that being able to create a TikTok video makes them a marketing expert, but don't remotely grasp the nuance and detail.
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46 minutes ago, floydraser said:
Well whoever he's married to, whoever you went to school with, whoever his mother-in-law used to race with, he, and a lot of other people have been unable to shift JP from his lofty perch for donkey's years.
I think it would be relatively easy to highlight certain information which would place him in a very unfavourable light. At that point in time, BRAG could potentially be very useful, using sheer numbers and the ability of social media to get people "cancelled". It's a fairly nuclear option though and would likely have wider repercussions. I'm collating some info at the moment to decide whether it's something to pursue and just waiting on an FOI from elsewhere. There's some further info I'd really like to source, which is also proving difficult.
What I'm not sure at the moment though is whether it's politically expedient to remove JP, or whether you'd just get more of the same. There's a lot going on at the same time with flooding, Herring Bridge, tolls and possible inaccurate data all coming along at the same time. It might be advantageous to try and kick up such a storm it results in a root and branch review of BA as a whole.
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35 minutes ago, Vaughan said:
It is indeed interconnected in many ways (Just look at the Broom family) and James Knight is also my brother in law. Which means I am related by marriage to Len Funnel, which has given us some amusement on occasions!
That'll keep my brain busy for a while working out how that all fits together!
20 minutes ago, Vaughan said:No, Jack wasn't, but he was a wonderful man who many remember.
he was ex Bomber Command aircrew - and had the moustache to prove it.
So it was Jack. I thought you might know. I couldn't remember his first name, so tried to Google it and found a reference to a milepost on the Trent and Mersey being dedicated to him by David Court back in 82 sponsored by "His Friends in the Hire Boat Industry". I remember the day he died vividly, but wasn't old enough to have got to know him properly - which is a shame, as my grandfather was a Lancaster pilot, so it'd have been interesting to have heard his experiences.
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It will be really sad if it does get turned into housing. I can remember sitting outside with a drink on warm summer evenings going back something like 40 years - and also cold winter evenings, inside by the old bar before it all changed, when it always seemed to be rammed with people.
There's always been a bit of a battle for customers between the pub and the Granary. Supposedly, introduction of mooring charges has increased footfall, but I find it incredibly hard to believe. When there was no charge, you could pop in for a short while, grab a drink or two, then leave. If you've paid a significant charge, you're surely more likely to stick around for a substantial percentage of the time you've paid for. The net effect is inevitably less footfall, rather than the more BA claim.
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3 hours ago, floydraser said:
I beg to differ. I know relatively little about James Knight (before anyone chirps up to remind me so!) but from what I have learned about him during my VERY SHORT experience of the Broads I have come to recognise him as being a very brave man indeed. However, I doubt whether he alone could have inspired the amount of actions that BRAG must have in their short exsistence.
I wouldn't underestimate his influence. His wife (who I went to primary school with) has substantial industry experience and his father in-law has long been one of the best known faces in the industry. Even his mother-in-law used to race with the late Jill Thwaite, so no doubt has countless friends and connections in the industry. There was also a guy by the name of Knight used to work for Blakes way back, who sadly died very young. I've wondered on a few occasions whether he might be a relative.
3 hours ago, floydraser said:I think it is BRAG and their influence which has filtered through other media like this forum, who have in some small way inspired so many people to write or take other action.
I think the point I'm trying to make though is that even vast amounts of noise online rarely have much impact in the real world. BRAG has undoubtedly collected the aggrieved together online but, as far as I'm aware, it doesn't go beyond that. To make big steps forward, there need to be actual real world events taking place. It may well be that this is the case, but I've certainly not heard about it if so.
Also worth pointing out, the group which should be helping to facilitate change for private boaters should by rights really be NSBA, who have a formal, real word organisation with an established relationship with BA. If anything though, there seems to be a bit of rift forming between NSBA and BRAG.
One of NSBA's key members is also daughter of Peter Bower, skipper of Hathor and member of Wherry Yacht Charter, which has also suffered damage due to the actions of the BA in regard to moorings.
When you start digging into the industry, it's a massive web of interconnected families and organisations. None of them has substantial influence within BA. That really ought to change.
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8 hours ago, Vaughan said:
As one of the grey haired old men that has been mentioned above
but who was nonetheless quite heavily involved in the running of Broadland "in his day", I can look back and say that in fact the BA was supposed to be more than a mundane harbor authority (the Commissioners), so that more decisions could be made in one place, rather than seeking them from several different committees and agencies.
From what I can work out, you probably wouldn't have been a grey haired old man when you were involved though. You'd have been a younger man with a very active involvement and commercial interests in the hire boat industry.
That's what's needed now - a better balanced BA with more representation from commercial, and particularly hire boating interests. It's glaringly obvious that the few who are involved get the opportunity to express views, but those views are completely ignored. Listening to the decision on tolls (2nd meeting, not just the navcom), it seemed to me that option C was clearly supported, proposed and seconded. It was a mystery to me how it then disappeared and was replaced by a more costly alternative. It may well be something was lost in translation only being conveyed in audio, but it sounded like the voting procedure was twisted to suit a predetermined outcome.
It's not just the hire boat industry which should have a say though. Clearly, from a lot of discussion on here lately, pubs and restaurants equally bare the brunt of an unhealthy economy. The BA should encompass input from the hospitality industry too - and give them a voice to express concerns about things like the current flooding preventing Horning Ferry being able to operate their business without disruption, or why numbers of visitors in season was so low this year.
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12 minutes ago, RS2021 said:
Whoever takes over will no doubt have to implement quite severe cost cutting.
There's quite a lot of spending which could be curbed relatively easily. I'm surprised in amongst all the current row, no-one is mentioning that more land has also been purchased in the last year. There are some real vanity projects too. The heritage restoration partnership with City College is all very nice, but hardly essential spending in the midst of a financial crisis. Ancillary to that, they're also employing a heritage construction specialist. Cutting this expenditure for a year or two would reduce the financial pressure and give the projected reduction in inflation time to take effect. They're currently basing forecast expenditure on inflation rates far higher than OBR are predicting.
23 minutes ago, RS2021 said:I also love the canals and would really like to hire a boat to do the Huddersfield Narrow canal.
Looks really nice. I've had some enjoyable times on the canals, but I'm not sure I fancy 3 hours stuck in Standedge Tunnel. I'd think you'd want a couple of skippers for that, as I'd imagine it gets pretty tiring navigating in the dark for that long!
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30 minutes ago, RS2021 said:
This is the beginning of the end of JP. However, I have no doubt he will linger on well past his sell by date.
Listen to what he uses as a defense when he has to justify expenditure. His prejudices may well be his downfall.
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The Broads is not a national park and unlikely to be treated as such unless the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988 is repealed. The latter is probably fairly unlikely given all the other issues government has to deal with, unless some great benefit becomes apparent.
If JP goes, I suspect Bill Dickson might be a candidate for the role, but that'd almost certainly be to the detriment of the boating community. I get the impression he'd take an passive role and just employ a subordinate JP clone.
I'm fast becoming a grey haired old man, so think it's fair for me to say there are far too many grey haired old men running the organisation. There needs to be a better gender balance and some younger blood. I suspect JP's departure would almost certainly attract wider scrutiny and result in some positive discrimination to bring in some minority representation. Ultimately, it really needs one or more people with a boating industry background in a position of authority. Potentially, it could be improved by an arrangement like the RYA and some other cooperative type bodies. One of my distant family members had a long history in the boating industry and was a director of the RYA - they were appointed, gave what they could to benefit the organisation, then left a couple of years later before stagnation set in.
What really needs to happen is a unified group to be formed - maybe even BRAG becoming a sub-organisation under an existing body such as NSBA. Create a "fighting fund", hold regular open meetings and actually do something to actively instigate change. At the moment, there just seems to be 99% moaning and a tiny number of people actively doing anything. I suspect the 5 MPs stepping up is primarily the result of James Knight's actions. One thing BRAG could be said to have achieved is concentrating disgruntled people in one place where they're easy to communicate with, but not much else seems to be forthcoming from them to date and there are some elements within the group which definitely need removing.
If you listen to the two recordings floating around from BA committee meetings, it's very evident they don't have the first idea whether they're likely to get any additional funding, or what for. In one of the meetings, it was claimed there was no margin to reduce staffing anywhere. Personally, if I took a senior role there tomorrow, I'd cull one role immediately and ensure there was an employee solely tasked with going after funding (assuming there isn't one already. If there is, it sounds like they need sacking). If a body couldn't be cut from the planning department (which could probably lose a few), then I'd question whether Spirit of Breydon really needs two full time crew, or whether it could be single handed, meeting up with another river or yacht station ranger in case of emergency which needed multiple crew.
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28 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:
While on the subject of Ranworth, another false fact he keeps repeating is that free 24hr moorings are increasing.
If you listen to the earlier nav committee recording, 30 minutes in, there's a bit from Emma Krelle, their CFO. In it, she states that they hope to have the lease in place to allow charging at Reedham from the start of the season, so that'll be another free section lost. That could probably do with being highlighted to the various MPs resisting the toll increases.
It's almost as if the BA think holidaymakers having to pay to moor every night will become the norm, and leisure boaters will all be back on their own moorings. Obviously that wildly misrepresents the situation, as a lot of boat owners will spend lots of nights out on other moorings, and the holiday market might not sustain another £70-100 per week added to total costs.
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3 hours ago, fendoff said:
It just beggers belief that people we trust to spend £120 million on a new Bridge would not have taken the whole Broads system into account. BA and EA should hang their heads in shame for not stopping it.
If you read the in-depth risk assessment, the modelling system had significant limitations and couldn't model some feasible real world scenarios within the harbour itself.
It's interesting to hear that RYA raised concerns about the comments on the risk assessment.
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7 minutes ago, Smoggy said:
I did see on the local news yesterday that farmers were moaning about the flooding on the grazing marsh, it was noticable how many times the word marsh was used and no one pointed out that that is what marshes do.
There's been one interesting comment made by a farmer, who stated that water was running the wrong way, from an established flood plain back onto farming land. That would suggest the volumes of water are exceeding what the plains can traditionally cope with.
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I just took a look at Burgh Castle's level monitoring and I think you're probably right about the API refresh frequency - but the raw data is being sampled every 15 minutes, so would probably be available by less programmatic means.
I'm currently listening to the very long recording of the BA's nav committee meeting, but will try and take a look later to see if I can get long term trending data. I have managed to get some long term data with min and max levels by day. Just need to get my head around whether that is enough to use to look for a trend.
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I actually run a website which regularly fetches live river level data from the Environment Agency's API every 30 minutes. Presumably, there are monitoring stations upstream of Great Yarmouth from which data can be sourced?
I don't know offhand how much historic data is available from the API and at what point you might have to make an FOI request for older data - but surely this could be used to establish whether there was a quantifiable change after the bridge restriction was introduced. To my mind, you'd either see levels falling less at low tide, as the water is held back, or a shorter slack water period?
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"But the authority has dismissed the claims, insisting all rules have been followed and the rise was needed to protect services and maintain the waterways"
The hire federation ought to pick up on this and notify the press that they disagree, advised the BA otherwise including as part of the nav committee, and that it's JP making a unilateral decision.
When things get to this stage, it's a PR war and you need to throw every bit of brown stuff at the opposition in the hope that some sticks.
There is another, very serious accusation which could be levelled at him, but I can't discuss it on here, as I've had two comments relating to it deleted previously.
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6 minutes ago, Troyboy said:
Thanks Smoggy. It makes sense now. I've always thought of single bilge pumps as having all of your eggs in one basket. Do owners get them changed regularly or are they very reliable for a long time.
In my experience, surveyors tend to recommend fitting a high capacity manual pump in addition to an automatic electric. I always found that a bit odd - if a pump's going to fail, inevitably, it's more likely it'll do so when the boat's unattended and there's no-one to man the 2nd pump.
The most sensible recommendation I've seen is to fit a second auto pump, with a float switch which triggers a fair bit higher than the main pump. Cable it directly to the starter battery, using slightly over-rated cable. Add a fuse rated just below the cable capacity, ensuring it's significantly higher than the current rating for the pump.
That seems to provide a couple of benefits - a fail safe pump, which will keep running irrespective of any main bus or switch panel failure - but also a secondary pump which will join in parallel with the main pump if you suffer a more substantial leak. The overcapacity cable and high rating fuse is intentional, so the unit tends to keep running even if overheating. If your boat's sinking, the slight risk of fire is probably not worth worrying about!
Given the relatively small cost involved, anything I own is getting something along those lines. Years ago, I saw an all female crew on a hire boat hole their hull on wooden stakes near Horning church and it's amazing how quickly a boat can go down. Dom Buckley also recommended "a pair of stout buckets should be carried at all times" on one survey, which I think is fairly sound advice too.
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but who was nonetheless quite heavily involved in the running of Broadland "in his day", I can look back and say that in fact the BA was supposed to be more than a mundane harbor authority (the Commissioners), so that more decisions could be made in one place, rather than seeking them from several different committees and agencies.
Dredging - Lowe Bure - Lack Of Maintenance
in Broads Chat
Posted
I can remember occasions when spring tides left it looking like someone had pulled a plug out somewhere but, unfortunately, I can't put them into context to work out how big the drop would have been. I remember Caen meadow getting very low, to the point you could walk way out into the channel, but obviously very hard to tell by how much levels had dropped due to the sloping sandy beach.
If it had just been some random person saying it was possible to get under at 8ft, I'd have ignored it, but Len was a yard owner in Wroxham for some years and knew what he was about. We never quite got around to trying it and then my dad got a big nightsun type spotlight off a helicopter from somewhere (I suspect out the back door of Bond helicopters at Yarmouth!) which got fitted to the roof along with a VHF aerial, sticking an extra 6 inches or so on the air draft making it completely unrealistic.
I'm sure Connoisseurs and Sancerres used to get through the bridge with far greater ease than they do now though.
One thing I'd love to know if how both depths on the BA surveys and bridge heights are measured, ie. how a MLW or similar datum is tracked when measuring from a vessel on a body of water which is invariably raising or lowering constantly with the tide. Presumably for depth, they must be dragging sonar, but the tide must change signifcantly over the survey length if so.