Broads01

Wednesday 22nd June Rollie's first walk of the day completed, as per usual I couldn't wait to get going, this time Loddon-bound. I'd long been looking forward to the views from the top steering on the Chet. I wasn't disappointed and the Chet was fairly quiet with no craft visible in my direction and only 3 or 4 passing the opposite way. I moored at the Staithe and made a short stop to top up the water and visit the shop. I would probably have visited Rosie Lee's if the weather hadn't been quite so good but I could hardly wait to get going again. My original intention for today was to finish up at Burgh Castle via a detour to Somerleyton or possibly Oulton Broad. However things didnt work out that way. I chugged away from Loddon and just past the Pyes Mill moorings when the engine warning alarm came on. I was able to pull in at the Chedgrave Common moorings just downstream and on checking the dials downstairs I found a sky high engine temperature. I called Barnes straight away and described my location. I had to wait just over 2 hours for the engineer to arrive (I think I was 3rd in his queue). He was a little confused about where I was and phoned me from Maffetts Cruisers, soon after which he arrived on Maffett's 'Titan' boat piloted by Maffett's owner John. The engineer and John evidently knew each other well and the three of us engaged in conversation as the engineer attended to the problem. The issue turned out to be a split pipe from the impellor which was preventing water circulating. Soon all was fixed and I was on my way again, albeit having been at Chedgrave around 3 hours in total. At that point I changed my plan for the day. As I no longer had time to visit Oulton Broad, I decided to make the most of low water at Great Yarmouth that evening and head all the way to Stracey Arms for the night. One of the really good things about coming this time of the year is the flexibility you have from the long hours of daylight. Having passed Reedham I had time to go the long way round towards Great Yarmouth via the New Cut and St Olaves. I did so just for the hell of it having come the Yare route on the way down. I had time for a decent break, a doggie walk and some food at Burgh Castle. I left Burgh at 6 with low water at Great Yarmouth being 730, so too early for slack but OK for decent progress I thought. The engine on Jazz is a little on the weedy side and so across Breydon with the outgoing tide we made little more than 7mph. As I rounded the yellow post at Great Yarmouth I got that slightly scary feeling of being swept sideways by the strong tide but made it safely on to the Bure where initially against the tide we were doing no more than 2mph on full throttle. I've never very much fancied the idea of spending the night at Great Yarmouth and I was half tempted due to the tide but plodded on nevertheless. Gradually we picked up a more respectable pace and with the outdoor temperature cooling I switched to downstairs steering and whiled away the time listening to music. We arrived at Stracey at 8-15pm with a lovely sky in view.

Thanks Jean and yes I'm intending to write a review in the hire boat section once I've finished the tale. Tuesday 21st June It was easily the sunniest and warmest morning so far and the weather stayed lovely for the rest of the trip. Whilst Cian had been with me, Rollie had stayed inside the boat rather than venturing up top. This morning, however, as I stood in the galley making coffee just before setting off he came and sat on my feet. I couldn't bring myself to leave him alone whilst I helmed up top so I put his doggie life jacket on, led him upstairs and secured him to the railings. Being a companion dog breed he was very happy being by my side up there and it became his default position whilst on the move from then on. I wanted to spend some time mud weighting on Surlingham Broad (or Bargate if you're a purist) and it was a sunny, peaceful cruise getting there. Before turning in to the Broad, however, I stopped off at Church Fen mooring to give Rollie a chance to stretch his legs. The Broad was as peaceful as I expected. The only thing which slightly for me was despite all the Broad being available for mud weighting, a boat came and plonked themselves what seemed like 20 feet away from me which meant I was more concerned than usual about any possibility of drifting from my position. I had intended to head for Loddon tonight but the lure of a river side pint in the sun was too great, so I chose to head for Reedham Ferry instead. Out of curiosity en route I made a short doggie walk stop at Cantley, mainly because having passed it many times I've never actually stopped there. It's not a bad stop but the factory is so close as to dominate the view I feel. I arrived at Reedham Ferry around 1630 and I think there was only one boat there. Although the former pontoon moorings upstream of the ferry are closed now there's still a reasonable amount of mooring space remaining in front of the pub and just downstream. I enjoyed my drink in the sun.

That's one of my early Broads memories, from the same year. I have an image in my mind of our first hire boat, bows on the mud. By the time we visited Salhouse a second time the mooring quays were there and it didn't seem quite the same.

Monday 20th May With Rollie walked once again, off we set for Reedham. There was plenty of space at Reedham Quay where we made a brief stop for water and the shop at the top of the hill. I think I'm right in saying that with the Post Office now being combined with a tea room there's no longer a shop on the Quay which seems a missed opportunity somehow. We set off quickly again to make the most of the still incoming tide. We headed for Rockland but had a scary moment on Rockland Dyke as we neared the Staithe. When a boat appeared in the opposite direction I slowed to almost nothing and positioned myself on the far right, only to hear the crunching sound of us hitting the bottom. I waited for the other boat to pass and then went hard in to reverse and hoped for the best. Luckily we extricated ourselves without issue and were able to proceed to our peaceful resting point on the Staithe. Today was Cian's last day aboard before catching a 5-30 train from Norwich. Not having cruised in to Norwich for some time I was more than happy to cruise all the way to the Yacht Station. The number of new flats to our right as we neared the Yacht Station is ever increasing with new building work still going on. I can remember previously having good views of the Norwich City football ground but no more. Having said goodbye to Cian I decided to stay put overnight having previously only visited for a short stop. I was the most upstream boat of those staying and so I had an excellent view of Bishops Bridge and across to the cathedral.

The Bridge Inn looks exactly the same now I think.

Thanks. Indeed I am on Jazz 5 and I've really enjoyed it. The top steering isn't for the feint-hearted, being inaccessible for anyone with the mildest of mobility difficulties and full on as far as exposure to the elements is concerned. However, you get all the benefits of a forward drive with the top steering thrown in, so all good from my point of view. I think it could be the case that all the 29s are back 'home' on the Broads now. Brinks have 5, Silverline have 2, Richardsons have 1 and I've seen 2 private ones.

Please do, I'm aboard one at the moment.

Great picture. It was taken a month after my first visit to the Broads as a child and really takes me back. In those days the Connoisseurs were at the top end of the market and as the photo shows were plentiful in number. The 'Mark 2s' were similarly at the leading edge in the 1990s but somehow it all went downhill after the Le Boat takeover.

Cian and I enjoyed the quiz, albeit that both of us are keen snooker fans so we benefitted from the first round but we struggled afterwards somewhat. It was a nice length - I've been to quizzes before that take about 3 hours and become a bore after a while. I like the idea of multiple choice.

It was good to meet you on Saturday, Peter. Thanks for all the photos and it's good to have so many of the Judith interior. I'd like to hire from Martham at some stage.

I've been slow at updating this. I've been enjoying myself so much I haven't want to waste minutes by staring at my phone. Sunday 19th May We said goodbye to the folks at Salhouse and promptly messed up what should have been a simple departure. I forgot to switch over the steering from lower to upper, delayed by going downstairs to correct and then by the time I was back at the Upper helm the boat was pointing firmly towards next door. Thanks to Pauline and Cambridge Cabby for helping us correct. Today we were Great Yarmouth bound to head south. In the morning we made the journey as far as Acle in one hit. Those paddle boarder types were at it again around Thurne mouth but this time they'd turned away from Great Yarmouth when they reached the Bure. At Acle we needed water and so made a stop in Broads Boating Company basin. There were only 3 BBC boats in there and I've seen none on the river as I write this so I hope things are OK. We chugged around to the Bridge Inn where there was plenty of space and I'd booked a table for lunch. The food was lovely as always. We set off just after 3pm. This was on the early side given slack water wasn't until 1825 and sure enough we were in GY in no time with the outgoing tide but turning on to Breydon was slow. At full throttle on Breydon we made about 5mph. We moored for the night at Berney around 1815. It was very peaceful there, even though I continue to lament the loss of the pub. Rollie really enjoyed his 3rd walk of the day and seemed set on going as far as Great Yarmouth....

I have happy memories of Grecian Girl which I hired in 2011. My wife Mel and I have four children between us and Grecian was the first and only time three of the four came with us for the same trip. If it didn't let well I'm surprised because I've seen it on hire just about every time I've come since I hired it.

Saturday 18 May First up we chugged up to Potter and a quick visit to La Tharms for a couple of things we'd forgotten. Then it was time to head towards the meet at Salhouse. As we left Potter, we happened to time our setting off to coincide with a paddle board event going on. These were athletic types standing on boards and paddling along with a canoe-style paddle. We kept dead slow and watched them overtake us one by one - quite entertaining. The sun was shining by now as we turned right at the bottom of the Thurne and watched the paddle boarders head towards Great Yarmouth. There was less river traffic on the Bure than I expected, quieter than when I came two years ago at this time. Cockshoot provided a short break and doggie walk stop before we arrived at the meet around 2-30pm. It was good to chat to those I talked to and we really enjoyed the quiz later on. I'll add some photos when I have WiFi.

We passed Ferry boatyard today and they have more unused boats than I expected. There are 4 using up the mooring opposite the Ferry Inn and perhaps 3 or 4 others besides.

Maxwellian (Nigel?). I can't speak for the interior but it did indeed look nice and he was full of praise for the boat and Maycraft. Parking arrangements at Potter sound much better than I've been led to believe so I can see myself hiring.

I enjoyed myself yesterday. Lucky there was a snooker round at the beginning of the quiz because Cian and I struggled a bit after that. Shame I made a twit of myself trying to exit the mooring this morning. I forgot to switch the steering back to 'top' after starting the boat and by the time I'd corrected the boat was all over the place. Thanks to Polly and Cambridge Cabby for helping.

Where better for our first night than my favourite Broads pub (also includes a free wind pump)

All really good so far. Left home in Cardiff at 0640 and pulled up in Roy's car park at 1210 after two stops en route - smoothest journey up for a long time. Picked Cian up at Hoveton and Wroxham Station just after 2. Boat was ready and we were very pleased with it (review at the end of the trip). I said hello to Andy (Boatyman), who'd taken over Brinks Encore and is also coming to the meet tomorrow. It was an ultra laid back hand over. "Have you been before?". "Yes, many many times." "Is there anything you need to know?" I asked 3 or 4 questions about specifics I could think of for the boat and that was it. "Are you OK to get out of here?" "Yes, fine" I said, knowing the space was very tight. As it happened Jazz twisted around no problem and we were away. It was a cold and drizzly afternoon but nevertheless Cian and I enjoyed time up top enjoying the scenery. We decided to head for Thurne and a meal at The Lion. Lovely beer, food and atmosphere once again. Rollie has been fine aboard. I think he thinks the boat is a small house. I must admit although I like the boat so far it does have the look of a house about it.

We passed you around St Benets. I only realised who it was too late to wave. See you tomorrow pm.

I'd have thought Symphony 2 was a very tight squeeze.

I'm hitting the road early in the morning for the long drive to Wroxham and then a week on Brinks Jazz 5. Rollie is our 3 year old Lhasa Apso. He's a rescue dog we've only had since January hence this is his first trip to the Broads. I'm sure he'll enjoy it, even though it means him putting up with a long car journey to get there when he's not the happiest of travellers. I'm excited as always and trying to sleep tonight I'll be like a child on Christmas Eve. Even better this time, I'm meeting my son Cian in Wroxham tomorrow and he'll be with me until Monday, his first visit since 2015. We'll head off to a pub somewhere or other tomorrow night and then those of you at the meet we'll see at Salhouse on Saturday. I'll write up as we go, connection permitting.

Leaving home early for the long drive to Wroxham. See you all Saturday at Salhouse.