marshman

Take up fishing!!!!!

Sadly with marinas being closed and a certain Authority encouraging us not to go near our boats, some people may see this as an opportunity to get close to our prized possession - a few more people about may help discourage this!!!!

Dredging and cutting it just spread it further but yes, I think it is a combination of the two I believe. But realistically I am not sure - more the EA I think because once it is in the navigation and taken hold, there is bu**er all you can do I am afraid. If I find out I will let you know - of course as the NW & D is privately owned and you are not even allowed up there without paying a fee, then perhaps it is the landowners responsibility. Perhaps doing what he did may well have been exactly the wrong thing to do....!!!! Hoist by your own petard is perhaps being a bit harsh but that bit below Honing Lock and the junction at the Dilham turn has always been a thorn in everyones side for many a long year, despite the protestation of a few.

Whilst clearly many look to make a joke out of this ,perhaps the accompanying article from the Daily Mail could, if you can stop yourselves from laughing, show what it appears to have done to the Cam in places. Look nice outside Broadsedge - wouldn't have to worry about gates then would you? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5025279/River-Cam-clogged-pennywort-weed.html

You are all going to be very busy ,eating or composting it, as it regenerates from the tiniest bit left. Smoggy seems to be the only one taking it seriously, apart from his last quip, but do you want to see large islands floating around as he reports of the Gt Ouse? Lets see if they can control up in that area but perhaps I shall have the last laugh from my wooden box after a few years!!!

I have just given up on the Himalayan Balsam - I continue to "pull" a local site but people just think they are "pretty flowers"!!!!

What the latest information from the BA forgot to mention, is that whilst they agree you can go sailing in a boat with an engine which you can use at any time, they still want powered cruisers to stay at home! Yet the Lakes have not changed their website allowing it - double standards and JP applying HIS interpretation! He clearly likes to continue to impose his Authority on his patch!

I remember 15 years working with a volunteer group trying to clean up the river Waveney near Diss - it was so thick you could not walk through it at that time. They still have it. That and parrots feather seem to be the worst we have - I know its not the end of the world and it doesn't kill people but there are plenty of places where this stuff just clogs the streams. Equally you would not find it especially funny if you found Japanese Knotweed in your garden - find that and your house is virtually unsaleable!

Bu**ered that up! Can someone clever delete that - not sure what went wrong !!! Sorry tech error!!!

https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/floating-pennywort-river-ant-norfolk-broads-warning-1-6928070 I was aware of this news but now its out in the EDP we should all very worried!

You didn't ask me directly but I will give you a direct answer - DON'T be sucked in. There is no way I would move my AF Diamond 35 upstream of the Bridge permanently despite it being only around 6'9" - you can bet your life just when you need to go through, water levels will be too high. No such issues at Horning - nice and quiet over there too! And no marina gates to lock just in case we have another lockdown!!!!

The trouble is MM, as we have all discussed time and time again, its not just the airdraft - thats the easy one, but you do need to be aware of the beam. I am well aware that the arch at Wroxham is a wider and easier profile but it still impacts on the passage. There is a very good reason why Connoisseur struggled so often with the water drums!!!! My guess is you will struggle more often than some would suggest - in my AF35 there was hardly a time I couldn't squeeze under 20 years ago - now it is less often and what would your back up be if, as it as been, several weeks at a time and you are stuck the wrong side? And its not going to get better!!! For what its worth I wouldn't not go anywhere near those moorings these days with a boat that size - didn't you learn your lesson up at Hickling??? To guarantee passage most of the time, you needed a smaller boat - what on earth are you going to do with all that room????

You could spend that on the Broads, let alone share it amongst every NP, pseudo NP and AONB!! That must be almost a tenner each!!!!! Big deal!!!

A good 'ol boy!

The garage by Wayford Bridge always seems to have stocks of Calor - most yards now use Flogas for the reasons explained by Andy.

To be fair to both the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and the RSPB, bittern numbers in Norfolk have improved steadily over the last couple of decades. Its still not that common to see one waltzing around but you do see more reports of seeing them flying and in spring there are definitely more booming males than there used to be - perhaps that is due to climate change rather than the actions of those two bodies. Climate change may also be having an impact, but whoever's fault it is, I do appreciate it!!!

Correct Vaughan - not only does the wind have a devastating effect on open reed, the continued "explosion" of greylags has had an equal effect! The birds eat the new green shoots in the spring, the reed dies and as a result the wind has an even greater impact. In a decent breeze on Hickling, its not unusual to see wave heights of 12" or more - this crashing against the reed beds quickly washes away any silt around the base of the old plant and as well as putting more silt in suspension, erodes the shoreline. I can show you several places on Hickling where this has occurred , particularly in the middle and towards the northern end which face the prevailing wind - the BA have done a good job in at least 3 or 4 places where significant erosion had taken place and the reedbed has now been re established - but they still need barriers to keep out those damned geese! For years the Wildlife Trust has put barriers up around the vulnerable parts but even these get wrecked by the wind and they seem recently to have given up the unequal struggle. So whilst I would love to see more "islands" re established as suggested by Pete, its not easy. I wish the BA would explain more about whats been happening filling in the bay they are working on, now in its 3rd year I think - its been a big task and they must have dumped a lot of mud in it!!!! Major eggpricking exercises need to take place annually but you would hardly make a difference as access would be hard - as would the public outcry! Blame climate change in part I suspect - many of the birds now stay here all year round instead of flying away and in the spring more seem come here to breed as well!!!!!

In the circumstances why not? What we need to see is the original question asked - clearly the Lakes asked a different question! Even you Grendel must admit that if guidance in the Lakes is to permit motor boating as exercise, it as certainly exercise to get down into my bilge! But with the greatest of respect to them, Broads Beat should now just get on with their normal job - they will struggle methinks to find that part of the guidance which would stand up the scrutiny in a magistrates court, given that it is merely "guidance".

The mud from Waxham Cut is being side cast I think but I guess that which is being dredged from the Broad has to be approved by multiple agencies employing lots of shiny suits! Incidentally re-establishing reed beds on Hickling which were being washed away has been quite successful but it does require a lot of hard wok putting in place structures that do not wash away in high winds, to hold the mud until reed growth has been re established. I have a feeling this might be the last year of the CANAPES project which is where the money has come from I think. Whether future funding such as this from the EU will still be forthcoming is debatable. Reinstating islands is not easy at all - they failed miserably trying extend the one in Barton - no matter what was tried it just washed away.

Nope - it might as well say "Mind large unmanoeuverable mud wherries coming downstream which cannot stop!! "

There appears to be no change as to what you can do on the Lakes - same rules, different interpretation I guess.

Not quite true - the red closed sign on Meadow Dyke has nothing to do with any wildlife refuge, but in case you meet a mud wherry carrying dredgings from Horsey to Hickling where it is being pumped into the bay being reclaimed. My guess its a bit of a squeeze where it to happen! Normally you would only see a yellow buoy indicating a wildlife refuge which is very different to the navigation being closed temporarily!

I think that that is the trap the BA may have fallen into - they immediately assumed the second lockdown was the same as the first, but this one ALLOWS you to travel if you have a reason - if you were not, the whole economy would shut down again. Thanks Pally for doing what you do - perhaps the BA will now revisit their earlier advice? Or perhaps not!!!!!!!!!

I don't really understand your bit about my being "selfish" MM? Even if I had it (which I didn't a few days ago) how can I possibly spread something I don't appear to have by being on my boat on my own, even if I wanted to go out, which incidentally, I don't!!! You talk about "whats coming" and if I get "caught" as though its illegal - where does it say retribution is just about to descend on me? Under what legislation do you think these disastrous penalties are going to be imposed? Not sure the Police will be too interested if I am winterising my boat, neither am I sure under what bit of legislation I would be charged? I am getting more confused by the minute!

May be owned by them, but still have their own set up I believe for marine bogs, up near Fenny Stratford? Their website seems up to date and that link seems to work for marine stuff?