ranworthbreeze

Like others I had not met Keith but we had spoken on a few occasions regarding boat shares and the Broads forums. Keith was a member of this forum and for a while he was a moderator, sadly his heath was not good and I had not heard from him for a long time. My sympathies go to Lisa and her family.

Friday 20th July. Awoke at 7.00am and wrote yesterday’s blog, Tan stayed in bed until I had finished. Computer stowed away I prepared breakfast and checked out the upper helm, I had left the side panels out of the canopy last night, so checked all was well. A number of boats had left early in the morning and there was nothing now on our starboard side. Albion was still moored; I could see the mast further up the moorings near to the Yacht Station office. Breakfast and crosswords later we were almost ready to leave Beccles. The canopy top and masthead down, mud weight up I set off whilst Tan tidied up. We set off at 9.30am so we would arrive at Somerleyton Bridge at a lower tide, just in case there were issues with the bridge. Tan managed to get stung by something, she could only see the very small bite, but had not seen what had stung her, it was on her ring finger and it was swelling fast. She went down below to tend her painful finger. At Somerleyton the same boat that could not get through the bridge yesterday was doing a circuit waiting for the bridge to open in 10 minutes, we managed to get our 9 foot 8 inches airdraft though with about 10 inches to spare, the ironic part of it was that the other boats airdraft other than his hinged radar arch was around 8 foot 6 inches. Tan came up top and took over the helm for the new cut whilst I prepared lunch, I was having cooked off bacon with my salad and Tan was having two miniature pork pies with hers. I came up to take us through Reedham Bridge and left Tan at the helm so I could finish lunch off. We moored at the 24 hour mooring just outside the entrance to the River Chet and had lunch. We had never moored there before; usually we are just going past to Reedham or up the Chet. On our way again we headed back to the marina, there was hardly any wind in the marina today so it was a very easy to stern moor on our pontoon. Southern Crusader that moors next to us was all shut up; the owners on-board said they may be leaving early. We locked up and went into Brundall for a few items; the car wondered what was wrong we passed Brian Wards without stopping in both directions. We decided to go to the smaller Co-op so we could call into the chemist’s, Tan wanted a word with them regarding the best cream for bites, the cream we had in our blue bag was well out of date. Back on the boat I did a few jobs while Tan had a rest, mud weight painted, and some marks on the hull polished out and what looked like paint overspray spots. I tackled the wooden separator from the galley to the lounge, I tend to put all my bits and bobs out of my pockets on here, wallet, penknife, change, sadly no sealing wax! One of my bugbears is that occasionally someone puts glasses or mugs on here not using a mat; needless to say we also keep the mats on this shelf. Ring remover used with a lot of elbow grease and eventually a rub down with wire wool and white spirit, finished off with some beeswax. We put the canopy fully back up and left for showers before calling into the Yare for a meal; Tan had the steak and ale pie (one of the Yare’s most popular dishes) I had the large cod but opted for baked beans rather than garden peas, I wished they had mushy peas (the real ones not the mushed up garden peas). Meal over we headed back to the boat. It took me a while to catch up with email and the forum after being away from the marina for a couple of days. All done we settled down for the night, watching families arrive for the weekend or the start of the holidays, no doubt it will get a lot busier after today even on the Southern Rivers. We have potential new owners visiting us tomorrow to have a look around the boat. We watched half a DVD after having coffee, Tan was suffering from indigestion and also jumpy legs, so it was an early night in bed for a little after 10.00pm. Regards Alan & Tan

Urgent Boating News – A shallow area has built up in the channel at the entrance of the southern span of Breydon Bridge (which would normally be used when leaving Breydon). This effects deep drafted vessels around the time of low water only. These vessels are advised to use the centre span of Breydon Bridge around low water until further notice. Please note the centre span is 0.5m lower than the side spans which the gauge boards are set to. Please plan your journey accordingly. The centre and northern spans are not affected. Bridge lifts can be requested as normal. For further information please contact Broads Control on 01603 756056. Kind Regards Laura Milner Administrative Officer Operations Broads Authority Tel: 01603 756035 Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY 01603 610734 www.broads-authority.gov.uk

This was a message that came through at 1.05 pm re Somerleyton Bridge. Dear all, We have been informed by Network Rail that Somerleyton Swing Bridge is currently not operational until further notice. Kind regards, Tom Tom Waterfall Digital Communications Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1603 756034 Twitter: @BroadsAuth Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY 01603 610734 www.broads-authority.gov.uk

Thursday 19th July. A late riser this morning 6.45am wrote yesterday’s blog and proceeded to remove all the canopy panels. Someone had left the staithe around midnight, but they were straight off not causing too much disruption. After breakfast and a crossword Tan helped take down the canopy top, while I chattered away with a few of the other crews at the staithe, It was Roy aboard Lightning (one of our forum members). Robin had gone so it may have been him last night doing a spot of night cruising. We set off at 8.30am me at the helm whilst Tan cleaned the pots, it did not last long and Tan took over the helm. Once I had reception I left a message at the Beccles Yacht Station could they reserve me a mooring. By the time we were at Reedham the tide had dropped quite a lot, we passed Trixie moored outside the Nelson, at the bridge we had over a foot of clearance. Tan took us along the new cut after I had taken us under the bridge. Tan was very concerned that the baggin cages used on the starboard side of the cut were further into the river well beyond the green posts. A boat overtook us part way down the new cut but we caught up with him at Somerleyton Bridge, it was stuck by all accounts, I had timed our passage so we had again had about a foot of clearance at the bridge, we need 9 foot 8 inches and there was around 11 foot or there about, the bridge height boards are very difficult to read on the lower levels. We had only gone a mile or so down the river when the same boat caught up with us and passed us again, so the staff we saw on the bridge must have sorted it out quickly. We followed a few boat towards the Waveney River Centre, I noticed there were about 7 or 8 of the yurts now on the site. The river boat waver a number of the boats to pass her just after the centre. We always forget how long a journey it is into Beccles but enjoyed the journey, I topped up the sun while Tan kept us on the straight and narrow (not too narrow it is the Southern Broads). I had to warn her that Albion was dead in front of her around a bend, she said she was looking forward nt up and had not seen the mast. We arrived at Beccles about 1.00pm and managed to moor; there were plenty of moorings available. Moored up I went to the office and paid for the mooring for the night. We decided not to purchase shower tokens again this visit, it must be around five years ago that there was talk by the yacht station staff that there would be new facilities, over the last five years these facilities have got worse by every season, they are dirty, and hardly maintained. Tan will not use them anymore. We walked up to Beccles and were glad that we eventually arrived at Wetherspoons, menu perused I ordered at the bar, I went for gammon eggs and chips, Tan ham eggs chips, a pint and a half of Fosters all in at £15.90 (my drink was free with the meal. We left the pub and went on to do some shopping before heading back to the boat. At least it was slightly downhill on the walk back. Back on the boat we took in the sun for a while watching and talking to the number of people who were looking at the boats at the yacht station moorings. We went below it was getting too hot for Tan, We played a couple of games of Rumminkub. I went back onto the upper helm and looked a few of the fender socks, one had come loose so I repaired that one and darned a couple of small slits on two more. Tan came back up top and while I was finishing off and we sat watching the world go by. Albion come into moor at the Yacht Station for the night. I prepared our evening meal; I cooked off some sausages and sliced new potatoes in the oven, boiled some sliced carrots and red beans. The sausage and potatoes cooked I put tinned tomatoes and baked beans, the carrots and red beans with a little mustard into a casserole dish. Added the sausage pieces and potatoes onto Tan’s side (I have to limit my carbs at the moment) and covered with a good helping of grated cheese. Back into the over for 20 minutes before serving. We watched a DVD, had coffee and a crossword and were in bed before 10.30 pm Regards Alan & Tan

Wednesday 18th July. Awoke a little after 6.00am and retrieved emails and checked on the forum. We had breakfast and set off for Wroxham and called into Jeckells a little after 9.00am with a canopy section that needed stitching, one of the tie down patches was missing (I had already stitched one back on the previous evening that had been saved by one of my fellow owners). We left the section with them and did a little shopping in Roy’s , a little over an hour after a coffee we called back to Jeckells, the section was repaired. I have always found them very accommodating in these small repairs while you wait. Back at the marina we took down the canopy and set off, I took the boat out of the marina and did a little of “left-hand down it is sir” and handed the helm over to Tan while I took in the sun. We had decided that we would head to Loddon today and hoped we would be able to moor at the staithe. We passed a couple of boats coming down the River Chet, but there was a boat travelling in front of us. Tan relinquished the helm outside of Maffetts and we managed to get at the side of the boat we were following, there was just one space left at the side of us. During the afternoon a few boats came and went, it seemed strange that people were leaving a good mooring after 3.00 and 4.00pm. We walked a couple of boats into spaces at the side of us and chattered to their occupants. On the journey I had a couple of calls relating to our two shares that we put up for sale about three weeks ago, a couple I spoke to on Tuesday who are very interested are coming down to meet us on the boat on Saturday and today we had an interested party who will send me their details, sadly Loddon is virtually a dead zone with regards to phone reception and internet connectivity. In the staithe was Lightning and Trixie, I am not sure who is on Lightning this week, but Robin was walking passed the boat so I introduced myself and we had a chat over boating tails of woe. I had already nipped up the village calling in the DIY for some walking stick feet, we use these on the boarding ladder for protecting the hull. Into the Kings Head not for a beer, but a couple of shower tokens for the staithe shower facility. We have two showers on-board but tend to use land facilities, when ever possible. Clean and fresh we headed to the White Horse for an early meal, as usual a member of their staff had left leaflets with all the boats at the staithe. It was a fair meal but the menu was limited, this may have been because they were also having a barbecue out in the garden, we only saw the Morris Men queuing at the bar for a brew. Back at the boat we had a couple of games of Rummikub (a tile based game similar to scrabble but with numbers) I had won all the games we played the previous evening so Tan was desperate to even the score. We watched a DVD had coffee and were in bed by 11.30pm. Regards Alan & Tan

Dear all, We have been informed of the following updates regarding bridge closures in the Broads: · Haven Bridge in Great Yarmouth is now operational. · Mutford Lock and Oulton swing bridge are now operational. · Somerleyton swing bridge is also operational. Kind regards, Tom Tom Waterfall Digital Communications Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1603 756034 Twitter: @BroadsAuth Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY 01603 610734 www.broads-authority.gov.uk

Hi Robin, I saw you were out on the River yesterday, when we returned to the marina yesterday saw that Independence was out and later in the day you had returned to your moorings. Regards Alan

Hi Simon, We tend to wing it but will have to try and take account of the tides in case Somerleyton Bridge is none operational, having said that I have not seen any Broads Authority notices over the last week regarding the bridges, maybe we are having the wrong sort of heat. We may head towards Loddon when we get back from Wroxham. Regards Alan

Hi Matt, Not this time the tides are against us, last week would have been fine. after saying that the Southern Broads have been very busy last week with double mooring at most popular moorings, on the Northern Rivers it will be a nightmare and these days the slog through Yarmouth is not that appealing. I caught up on a number of jobs on the boat yesterday after going to Beccles to get provisions. After breakfast we are going into Wroxham to drop off a canopy section for some stitching and call in Roy's for some Black Bomber (waxed cheddar cheese) if they have any. Regards Alan

Hi Simon, Yes I swapped with another owner he was going to be working abroad so could not use next but wished to still have a school week allocation, we are not tied to fixtures so swapping seemed logical. In the end his job abroad was put on hold. All owners try and accommodate other owners when possible. Tan was unsure re having two weeks together, washing came into it I believe and there was talk of how we would get it all in the car. Regards Alan

Tan and I set off for Norfolk at 6.30pm last night after waiting for a truck that was picking up a jukebox part I had repaired destined for Spain. We had a good journey down at that time with not many hold ups and stopped for some food at the Truck Stop on the A17. A couple of splashes of rain in places almost evaporated in the heat, it was still 27 degrees at 8.00pm with the car windows down, needless we were loaded to the gunnels so the roof down was not an option. We arrived at Brundall a little before 10.0pm and managed to scrape into one of the Brundall Co-op's before they rolled down the shutters, a few provisions for the morning later we arrived at the boat. We just unloaded the basics an made up the bed after doing battle with the mattress topper (what a difference these make to any bed). Coffee and a couple of crossword puzzles later we hit the sack. Sleep seemed to come easier for me than Tan, maybe it was the late meal that gave her grief. I awoke at 5.50am seeing the light I could not sleep in anymore, I got dressed and checked out the forum world and then started to write this blog. More later of our two weeks on the Broads, I just hope all the dampening posts of how hot it has been have not jinxed our tome on the boat. Regarding the heat bring it on Regards Alan & Tan

Most of the yards and marinas on the Southern Broads have boat lifts and Brundall has more than most. As you know boat lifting is not cheap, but you may not find there is an alternative. Regards Alan

We go down to the Broads tonight or tomorrow morning. If you see us on the rivers, give us a wave. Regards Alan

Hello Karen welcome to the NBN forum. Regards Alan

There is nothing wrong with fenders down unless they are dragging in the water. Regards Alan

Hello Ted, Welcome to the forum and the best of luck with the sale of your boat. Regards Alan

St. Benet’s Abbey Annual Service – Sunday 5 August 2018 Broads Authority 24hr moorings, St. Benet’s Abbey Due to demand from a number of organisations and commercial operators the Broads Authority will not be able to reserve mooring space for the St Benet’s Bishops Service this year. To accommodate vessels taking people to the event by boat we will set up a drop off area. This will be open from 11am on the day of the service and will be open for everyone to use. Vessels will be able to come in and have time to safely unload their passengers. Rangers will be on site to assist with this and to monitor use. Once unloaded vessels will then have to depart the mooring and find a safe place to wait. The picking up of customers will be done in the same way. The remainder of the 24 hour mooring will be operating as normal on a first come, first serve basis. Reserving of the moorings by signs or otherwise will not be permitted. Lucy Burchnall Head of Ranger Services ______ Kind Regards Laura Milner Administrative Officer Operations Broads Authority Tel: 01603 756035 Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY 01603 610734 www.broads-authority.gov.uk

to the NBN forum

Cycle schemes are fine is cities/towns where it is fairly flat, Sheffield is a none starter with its 7 hills. The likes of Oxford and other similar locations may be a goer. Regards Alan

Hello Ray, Thank you for posting this interesting information, no doubt this will prompt a lot of debate. Regards Alan

Hello Willow, Welcome to the NBN forum Regards Alan

Hello Robeverson, Welcome to the NBN forum Regards Alan

I have just been informed again that Somerleyton is none operational. Dear all, We have just been informed by Network Rail that Somerleyton Swing Bridge is currently not operational until further notice due to the high temperatures (06 July). Kind regards, Tom Tom Waterfall Digital Communications Officer Tel: +44 (0) 1603 756034 Twitter: @BroadsAuth Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY 01603 610734 www.broads-authority.gov.uk

Just to please. I have had no notifications up to now for today, but looking on the Broads Authority website, it says that Somerleyton & Reedham bridges are now operational. I did not know that there had been an issue at Reedham. Nominally there is 10 foot airdraft at high tide so this bridge does not cause as much problems as Somerleyton. Regards Alan