marshman

If its steel piling then that is probably your answer in a nutshell - that's VERY expensive to renew and is probably part of the flood defences. Is their another flood bank further back there - I cannot remember but am inclined to think not??

Its not the Broads per se but post pandemic - its not just the Broads that have changed ,but the whole holidaying issue - the early eating isn't just a Broads thing but even in Norwich that is now commonplace. I thought London Rascals post hit the nail on the head. The Broads were already becoming a second holiday spot and short break orientated, and that market will be struggling. I note the comment about Ferry too, but they do have over 40 boats these days and they may of course, have a booking later in the week. Markets change all the time and firms have to adapt to survive - and they probably will cope as they have in the past.

ALL public bodies ,sadly, are hard to deal with, not just the BA. Its the way the world is these days, I am afraid. Or is it because we are getting older.....!

I would suggest you blame the landowners as well if its true, not just the BA. The BA cannot make landowners lease these moorings - who probably want the moorings to turn them over to private moorings to boat owners who rarely use their boats.! As a public (!) body the BA can only pay, I suspect, for leases what some other public body advises. Landowners now see these moorings as a valuable source of revenue - Langley Dyke is a classic example where the whole dyke is turned over often to almost all smaller boats. It wasn't that long ago that you could moor anywhere on the east side of the dyke for the full length - paying higher rent would only increase the pressure on the next renewals as landowners can ask for more, and more! Its an unhealthy attitude but its been going on for a longtime, and especially by those who don't really need the revenue but who are motivated by profit, profit and yet more profit for what is just marshland otherwise.

Yes to Woods End Staithe but room for one boat only! Anywhere outside the posts on Barton is ok - they make it obvious generally where you cannot go. Generally the main part of the Broad is ok even up to the reeds apart from the shallow area on the east side half way up marked with green buoys. The only area I would be wary of is right down the S/W bit towards the Neatishead arm but before you get to Gays Staithe - outside of the posts it is getting weedier. Blackhorse - at the moment it is generally ok but last year later on the weed growth was pretty heavy in spots so just keep your eye on it. Its not the green strandy stuff but stringier and builds up, and more like matt weed - similar to Wroxham towards the bottom end and also right up the top. Enjoy mudweighting - its still the best!!!!!!

Mr Cator IS Ranworth, like it or not! He owns quite a lot of it, he owns the land surrounding it and the Broad and he is one of those people, like the BA , who will be listened to.

Strange reading this thread tonight - as another one joins the boat owning clan, I have made the sad decision to leave it! Had a boat of one sort or another myself, for the best part of 60 years and remembering my Dads boats before me, and you can add another 15 years onto the previous figure, that there has always been one around. Today decided to sell up as its all become too much. One part is very very sad, the other relieved that I will, I hope ,no longer have the worry of what needs doing, and having to do it. I reckon I have learnt a bit about the rivers, and the sea, in those years and until now, thought I would downsize when the time came, but no! I have been so lucky and have a million treasured memories but think now its time to sling me hook, as they say and now just sit on my a**e for a bit!!!

Shouldn't worry about it - just enjoy the spectacle! The busiest spot by far is Horning Reach - until about Sat midday so just avoid it!! By its very nature the boats tend to get strung out quite quickly, especially in a breeze which there should be, and some go one way and others a totally different course - you can go round the various buoys, 4 of them quite long distances between, which ever way you want. If you want to see what's going on in a quieter stretch, then moor up down S Walsham Dyke and watch some go past! Don't worry the people sailing don't want to damage their pride and joy either! Certainly not a reason to even considering cancelling! Loads of places to go where you may see very little!

I don't think that there was ever a specific pit per se but the channels were just cut into the "hill" and the wherries "driven" in so they could dig out the marl and load it straight into the wherry alongside. There really is not a lot to see now other than some half filled dykes and i really cannot see much wrong with filling some of them up with mud from the river! Like it of not you do have to put dredgings somewhere and if you can put it on private land with the consent of the owner, then it seems a good idea. In a few years time i doubt you will know any difference to what it is now - dont forget dredgings are mostly water which will just drain away. The channels cut into the hill have little real historical interest - plenty has been written and documented about the whole area and the operation and I doubt the whole impact will be other than minimal!

Listen to Turnoar and revisit the Broads as they used to be - the wildlife trips from Horsey are a world away from the hustle and bustle of the busy rivers and the ubiquitous day boat. Link here I hope .https://www.norfolkbroads.com/link/ross-wildlife-boat-trips-1179/ Here you see are hear everything except the fish and chips and the busy sections of the river. No need to take a trip boat with a 100 others - see the Broads and its wildlife ,not Yarmouth on water!!!!!

And I suspect higher water temperatures too on average - and I am convinced the phosphates in shower gel etc make it worse, not better. Well thats my view at least and perhaps others too given that many of the new boats now have built in grey water tanks.

Not sure that that weed cutter is going to be the type to cut that weed. In the 60's they had to clear the weed from the channels on an almost constant basis, then as if by magic, the weed suddenly disappeared. It was almost like a blanket type weed but the existing weed cutter is designed to cut that strand like stuff you see on the way to Coltishall and West Somerton - not sure if it will cope well with that "banket " type weed. Don't aske me to name either sort please!! Worryingly weed is becoming more of a problem in different areas too - and it seems to be different weed that, which just clogs up your prop and builds up in a mat in front of your keel. Wroxham used to be relatively clear but this stuff, or similar, now seems to be established in certain areas around the fringes. Horning had to stop using Black Horse for sailing at the back end of last year because of the situation and also Barton was seeing issues in certain areas. I think its a real concern if it continues to spread. Causes - nutrient rich run off from farm land certainly doesn't help and "grey" water from people showering will also be a contributory factor. Unless it suddenly dies back, it is going to be a problem but I wonder why some Broads are affected and others are not? Any answers on a postcard to Yare House please!!

The "brown" colouration is due in ,to the dykes draining into the Cut being over dug and it is some iron compound - but don't ask me any more!! Interestingly it only comes out of the dyke joining the Cut at Brograve and beyond Brograve the right hand arm to Waxham is clear and was always a good place for kingfishers - don't know if they are still around though. Pumps falling over or adopting a list are nothing new - did they ever put foundations in? If you go up to Dungeon Corner the Heighams Holmes Mill has now got a bit of a list - the last time the dykes were cleared out the digger driver must have got closer than we would have wished and as a result it has adopted a new attitude - the Pisa one!!!!

Missed out anything at all about Calthorpe Broad and its interesting stories and the red deer that now live there. Also the Cut is now navigable to those who can get under THAT bridge, but beware the turning basin under the bridge is not large at all, simply because the BA dredged it fairly recently, along with Catfield Dyke which too is more accessible these days. Not sure I agree with his comments on wind pumps - money has been spent aplenty on trainee millwrights, but difficult to see where to be honest. Turf Fen needs lots of work done badly, after what was done earlier looks to have been a total FUBAR and as for Clayrack at How Hill, where they actually took the sails off to work on them at least a decade ago. I think I have asked JP many times about that, but I bet no one can even remember where they even are now. What a wonderful attraction the three pumps at How Hill would have been - all three are now just a load of junk festering away these days!

Gracie - if you think my use of the word "squit" was offensive then I will withdraw it but I still think that a number of people made comments without being "qualified" to do so. I am not a trained H & S advisor to Outdoor Water Sporting and I doubt many readers and contributors to this Forum are either - the HSE has a whole dept specially trained in water event and safety management and I cannot believe that they would get insurance if the organisers did not comply! Of course any one can comment but mixing it with views on the whole National Park issue is just a step too far - personally I cannot see the connection at all! But then I was always a bit slow on the uptake I am afraid!

Get used to sharing!! This isn't the first time one of these events has happened on the rivers and I just cannot believe the amount of squit written by some, especially those who should know better - there's more planned so you will be able to vent your spleen again in the not too distant future. The event is over now and nothing untoward happened, and neither did I expect it. Well done to all those who completed the course and I hope you had a great day!

And remember too, at this level, its not kids mucking around! They are highly trained athletes and you will have to be to paddle 70k - you don't take part in these type of events because you are just out for a pleasant paddle!

Watch out for two more events scheduled as well - might as well just repeat the whole thread or keep it for later!!

MM - it will take them 5/10 seconds for them to get through the bridge! Cannot see an issue - I would have thought it far more dangerous to cross the road especially as visibility is a bit limited! Would you get out and cross the road in bare feet carrying a board and all your kit? Far worse than just following, or preceding, a cruiser!!!

I must admit to being astonished by all the negativity being shown and the dangers being imagined, and the belief that the rivers belong to specific individuals! Its not the first time long distance boarding events have been held on the Broads, and despite Vaughan believing it is peak season, it seems to be far from it! Ferry the other day had most of their boats in and given the rubbish weather going on and on, lots of private boats have not even been visited by their owners! This is not an event for the average boarder who wants to paddle up and down the reeds in a gentle breeze for a quick practise but a serious event for keen boarders - most would be through Ludham Bridge in about 5 seconds tops!! I doubt , even by the end of the race, any will have fallen off!!! There may well be over a 100 in the race, but like any race they will be pretty spread out even by the bottom end of Barton! They are not stupid and be well aware that there will be motor boats, and sailing ones too sharing the waterways, and will cope admirably I am sure. I hope they all have a great day, and especially those not local and new to the rivers, get to enjoy the beauty of the Broads and its unique scenery - if they have the time to look around and are not totally knackered. I couldn't even walk it these days, let alone paddle it!

Cannot see the issue - not exactly high season is it and the Broads do not belong to motor cruisers, hire or private. They are there for ALL to enjoy - not one person has complained about the 3 Rivers Race and that will cause , in relative terms, far more havoc. Why do we feel we have even the right to complain as we do - perhaps we should have a specific weekend for paddle boarders? As the Chair rightly points out, other events raise similar issues but in reality pass by without issue - competent paddle boarders are well able to keep themselves safe and in fact seem well able to control their boards with skill and ease - just like sailors. Anyone planning to take part are going to be skilled, and a far cry from the average blown up paddle board " navigator" If I encounter them I shall give them a cheery wave of encouragement and wish them a good day - in the past paddle boarders I have seen working hard are just too out of breath to even acknowledge you!!!!! Talk about "nimbyism"!

Ian - whilst I understand your connection with Hemsby, I think we have already established, or at least in my eyes, that blue lights are not really necessary as the sort of instances they attend are not really time critical to the nearest few minutes. I am sure they keep a note of these things but I wonder what the average time is between the pagers going off and them getting to the actual scene on the Broads - probably longer than many might imagine. Thats NOT a criticism at all but probably one reason why the RNLI withdrew their support for a Broads Boat? None of this is meant to to be a criticism of the sterling work they do in conjunction with the other emergency services, including the Coastguard ( who have blue lights if I remember )

Surprise, surprise! It is rumoured our good friend Pally may be able to drag more info from the back of his mind - or perhaps with everything else, he might have forgotten by now again!!!!

I have read more about the pub somewhere, but cannot remember where - its just old age!! It might have been somewhere like Wherries and Waterways! However I recall it was probably towards the top end of the workings, the Belaugh end and if you go over to "the Other Side" and type Little Switzerland into the "Search Box" there is a picture purporting to be of the pub on one of the links. I am sure Richard won't mind someone from here looking there!!!! However I am not convinced that that is the pub - it could be but evidence is v sparse. I cannot really see that the pub could have still existed so many years after the marl workings actually finished, especially as it really is in the middle of nowhere. However I could be wrong - like proof with any further evidence!

So in reality, perhaps there is no real need for them to have them - do they really make a significant difference in the speed of attending and indeed the sort of situations they attend are only occasionally a matter of life or death. Don't get me wrong, they do have a very worthwhile purpose in search and rescue but speed in itself, probably, rarely makes a difference. Or are we saying that their blue light response would make a significant difference between life and death?