Broads01

Saturday 5th September Time to head south. Slack water at Great Yarmouth was a very civilised 10-30am. We left Stokesby around 8-45 & the long (let's face it, boring) run down to the bottom of the Bure was quiet & uneventful and at the Yacht Station there were far fewer boats than I'm used to seeing. The new Premier Inn at Great Yarmouth is conspicuous by its presence fairly close to the river. Breydon was calm but the tide was well and truely with us and we absolutely bombed across. Although I don't enjoy the lower Bure I always love the Breydon bit. Not enjoying himself so much however was Pacific Grayling which was well and truely beached at the far edge to our left, bows a few feet above the stern. I expected that the crew had been rescued but I was surprised to see people aboard so I can only assume they had not long since got in to trouble. In hindsight I could have phoned Pacific to check help was on its way but the people didn't look to be in any distress. We pulled in at a quiet Burgh Castle around 11-15, pleased to have a break after the long slog south. A little later we made good use of the favourable tide and headed for St Olaves. On arriving there I was pleased we hadn't waited any longer because headroom at the Bridge was only about 7 foot 6 with the water still rising. Bridge safely cleared straight after we moored somewhere I've never stopped before - The Bell Inn. More entertainment ensued, this time a Herbert Woods ex-Connoisseur centre cockpit who realised rather late in the day that to clear the bridge lowering the canopy and screens might be quite a good idea! It was a relaxing stop at St Olaves and nice to take in the surroundings at somewhere I usually pass straight through. For our third night we opted to head for Oulton Broad. The scenery below St Olaves is quite nice and the weather was improving a little (it had been cold and a bit drizzly again). I came to Oulton with my daughter at Easter and enjoyed it enough to make me want a quick return. The Yacht Station moorings were pleasantly uncrowded as we pulled in around 4pm. There is a lovely gift shop a short walk from the Yacht Station - I don't know what it's called but I'd like to recommend it as there's a good choice of stuff (both Broads-related and not) and I bought a present for my wife there. Later we had a drink at The Wherry - great view of the broad from there.

Friday 4th September Today the plan was to finish up on the lower Bure ready to head through Great Yarmouth the following morning. In contrast to the previous day the weather was gloomy, being cold, grey & damp & feeling more like late October than early September. Cian takes the mick out of me for always wanting the sliding roof open except when it's raining but today even I 'gave in' to the cold a lot of the time and opted for the comfortable roof shut option. We were going to head for Womack to begin with but given it was raining decided to carry on to Potter Heigham as there's more to do there in poor weather. We pulled in to Herbert Woods yard around 9-45am and were surprised to find how rammed full the yard was with their own boats, most of which were locked up and not looking like going out that day. Indeed there weren't many Woods boats out on the river either although there were far fewer boats about than I expected. The schools had returned the day before and I think we found a temporary lull in boat traffic before the main September hiring started (the north Broads were a little busier later in our holiday but not as much as I expected) We needed water at Herbert Woods and I found a gap on the inner quay where the sheds are. The member of staff there was surprisingly grumpy, clearly much more concerned about keeping the space for returning Woods boats than he was about giving us any courtesy. He washappy for us to stop long enough for water, after which we got out of his way and moved to the Broads Authority moorings. The previous day I had tried unsuccessfully to contact the Bridge Pilot but I needn't have bothered - clearance at the bridge was around 5 foot 9 and only yachts and the Martham boats were squeezing through. We 'suffered' Lathams a little (not my favourite shop in the world) and wandered back in to Woods yard before returning to the boat for a coffee. The weather improved slightly and we moved off and headed for Womack Staithe. There was plenty of room to moor there and we did so. We were provided with some free entertainment over lunch time. A hire boat had opted for a mud weight mooring and two male crew disembarked to the dinghy to row asure (why they didn't just moor the boat on the staithe in the first place is a mystery). Meanwhile the same crew members evidently hadn't dropped the mudweight far enough as the boat began drifting back towards the Thurne. Still aboard were two children and two adult females who had the task of starting the engine and returning the boat to it's previous position which they managed - eventually! Later we moved on and eventually to the Bure and a stop at Acle. We stopped there and I caught up with a couple of the chaps at Horizon Craft I've got to know. One of them, Rob, is always slightly injured when I tell him I've hired from Stalham and not one of theirs (hired from them at Easter and a coiple of times previously)! We could have stayed at Acle for the night but with the rivers quiet there was a good chance of a space at Stokesby so we opted for that as it's along time since I'd been in the Ferry. Sure enough there was plenty of room. We had a good meal at the Ferry and I'd recommend it.

Here's my tale of my recent week on Concerto 5 from Richardsons: Thursday 3rd September: I left my home in Cardiff at 6am for the long drive. My son Cian travelled by train from Lancaster. All went to plan - I arrived at Tesco Stalham around 11-30am and with shopping done and boat ready I was pleased to be boarding Concerto around 12-45. Cian's train was due in to Hoveton & Wroxham at 4pm so I might just have had time to take the boat all the way to Wroxham and pick him up by boat. Even though the handover was over in a few minutes (the guys are always helpful but when I tell them I'm experienced they do tend to rush it through a bit too much!) I decided to take the more leisurely option of eating some lunch and unpacking before picking Cian up by car. I was very pleased with Concerto and I'll post separately about the boat in the Hireboat Discussion section. I had some time to nose around one or two boats and I enjoyed a look aboard Symphony which I hadn't been on before - really nice fit out including a large bed but weird there's no door between the cabin and the rest of the boat. Back on Concerto just before heading for the station I noticed the hot tap in the galley wasn't working so I raised with the yard staff. By the time I returned with Cian around 45 minutes later the tap had been fixed and that proved to be the only problem we had with the boat all week. We were off downstream around 4-30pm, roof open in the sunshine. Cian was brought up with the Broads, now aged 20 he's been coming since the age of 2 but this was his first trip for 3 years. He was enjoying himself already, even if the lack of headroom on the boat was causing him some issues (see hire boat review later!). We opted to head straight down the Ant and save the 'twiddly bits' for the way back, pulling in for our first night at St Benets.

Great tale Julie, thank you. You raise a good point about tuition for newbies. I was at Ranworth 2 weeks ago and I had the same experience as you watching a skipper give up after several attempts at reversing, even though two people on boats already moored were doing their best to shout instructions and be ready to take ropes. Well done you for offering to take control of the boat that was struggling - I've had the same thought myself but worried about invading someone else's private space. I hired Broadland Wave 2 (sister to Escapade) last year and I have to say I disagree with your comments about the visibility, especially as the sun roof is large enough to stick your head out and rear visibility is brilliant. As such I think it would make a great boat for the inexperienced, albeit I do agree with you that the decks are on the high side.

Thanks for posting Siddy, keep it coming. Great tip about the Premier Inn.

Good choice Jim. Yep,Richos are still the number one vale option in my book. Don't forget you'll accrue 10% of your hire fee in the loyalty scheme as well. In October last year I had Broadland Wave 2 for 5 nights for a measly £176 (before fuel and damage waiver).

You're writing this up beautifully Andy, thank you. Some great pics as well. How did you manage to stay away for 14 years! I'm surprised your boat wasn't ready until 4pm as despite that being the advertised tome boats tend to be ready much earlier. Still you managed to pack in plenty once you got underway.

Hi Robin. I've really been enjoying all these BA videos which are every bit as good as your hire boat ones.

Thanks for writing Jean. I feel the same as you when I'm not boating, sometimes its almost as good just to be there.

I hired San Elena back in 2005 with 6 of us aboard. Its a very comfortable boat and the layout with its two saloons is great. We also liked the large forecabin, the sunroof within the sliding roof and the patio doors at the rear. On the downside the single cabin is particularly cramped but no boat is perfect. Its been smartened up recently with a new white exterior so should be good value I'd have thought.

This is useful thanks. Today's reading is 0.35m so I assume by the same method I deduct from 2.33 to give 1.98 at Potter?

Thank you senator, at last some support. It actually doesn't matter which way round the posts are or the fact they are equivalent to those at sea - we're talking about an inland waterway. For those that say it's easy, I agree, but I've been crossing for many years just like you guys. For novices, of which there'll always be many, it isn't easy (don't assume those that get stuck are all automatically numpties) so I still say lets have a better system like there are elsewhere.

Why should you have to read a manual to find out what posts mean? Just because the posts system has been in place for years doesn't mean its a good system. I'm not saying my idea is automatically the right system but I am saying the current system is completely flawed and needs replacement by one that's intuitive. Taking road signs as an example, I don't need to read a manual to tell me what a stop sign means.

Parking is always tight at Barnes. Customers have to leave their keys and the staff squeeze cars in wherever they can.

There was some discussion this week in the thread about Wroxham Bridge pilot moorings regarding the posts system on Breydon. My view, as raised on that thread is that the current 'guess which side of the red or green post you have to be' system is inadequate. This week I was lucky enough to visit Paris for the first Tim and take a boat ride on the Seine. At least one of the bridges the boat passed through had signage indicating the correct channel which simply consisted of a diamond shape each side of the channel. Each diamond shape had a red half and a white half with the white halves pointing towards the channel. Could this work on Breydon. Could the current posts simply be painted red down one side of each post, white the other (all posts, both sides of the channel) so white was always the safe side and red the danger side? This could be improved further by a diamond red and white sign on each post.

I hope Griff has found someone. I would have loved the experience if I'd been able to take up the offer.

Mine is my first hire boat at the age of 10 in 1981, Consul 3 from Norfolk Broads Yachting Company Wroxham, a Broom 30. I've no idea why but that holiday made me fall in love with the Broads and of course I'm still coming twice a year. Paul - good to read your feedback on Pacific Princess. I've hired from Pacific twice, looked aboard Princess some years ago and always liked that design. Good to hear improvements have been made. How did Contessa compare?

Good to read your feedback. My concern with that design has always been the unusually narrow beam but of course I forgot its a great way of giving yourself a good shot at fitting under Potter! The 'forbidden' zone above the bridge is just fantastic so any boat that gets there more often is well worth considering.

Robin, I'm with you on signage on Breydon. The current coloured posts system is flawed because it relies on the helmsman working out which is left and which is right. Imagine driving down a motorway, seeing a line of red posts down the centre lane and being expected to work out which side to pass them. A change to a system with arrows on each post would make a huge difference. They have such a system on the Erne waterways in Northern Ireland which I've experienced and it works very well. For bridges though, I agree with those that have said signage makes little difference. On the San Remo example, there is a sign at the helm saying "This boat will not pass under Wroxham Bridge". How much clearer could that be?

Whoa! Hang on, I'll stick my neck out on this one, the tides on the south broads are strong, but not so strong you need to plan that much for. Set the alarm for 515 or punch the tide, mmm, I know what I prefer!

Don't do that Jim, firstly because at Ranworth you're around 3 hours from Great Yarmouth and secondly because you'll wake up every other person moored at the staithe.

I've always liked Melody when I've looked aboard. Its very good value for money. On the down side for me the helmsmans position is too enclosed and the sun roof too small but that's just my personal preference.

Thanks for the review Andy, it's always handy to read about the detailed stuff. Its easy to forget that design has been around for 30 years now and it's a lovely design in my view. I hired the larger version San Elena some years ago and it was great.

If you're able to pass through Beccles bridge there are limited moorings next to the swimming pool and its a nice spot.

This is all great info, thank you gentlemen. When I saw Robin's video I couldn't believe I'd missed such a lovely spot every time I've been to Coltishall. Thanks to your replies all being well I shall venture there in September now, Wroxham Bridge permitting.