trambo

Great article Jill. Personally, the quietness obtained by having the engine aft, enabled by this type of drive, is a big plus when choosing a hire boat. Soundproofing engine boxes has never been a strong point on Broads hire craft. Fred

Hi. Keep it coming. Stunning boat and a great fit out. Fred.

Could it be South Walsham? Fred

Hi and welcome aboard Jim. Fred

Day 6 Wednesday17 July 2013 Woke to a rather murky start. Low cloud and still. As so often happens when mud weighted we had turned in the night so we had a view now towards the Inner Broad, and a couple of Hunters yachts, always a nice sight. Rico's one and only private 'Broadsman" was moored at one of the houses that border the Broad and the crew seemed to be getting her ready to leave. Not sure if I like a dark blue hull on a boat so big or thats what I told myself to curb the pangs of envy! So breakfast done we upped mud weight, purposely keeping it just below water level to clean, it was slow speed ahead. "Thats it" I shouted as the last of the black gunge cleared the weight. Hauled it up and down into position. Now I expected a clunk but instead got a muffled squelch. The bottom of the weight had a thick layer of the black stuff, now sandwiched to the deck! Let it dry out I thought from previous experience and off we set. The sun was now breaking through and with no urgency we made our way upstream. As usual Horning was crowded. I always say no matter what the plan is, if there is a mooring at the village we will stop, mooring here being so scarce. In ten years I have not stopped and today was no exception! Leaving Horning it was so pleasant we felt no need to increase speed so we just toddled on at 4mph. It was surprising how few craft overtook us and we arrived at Wroxham truly chilled. As Coltishall was the destination we made a beeline for the pilot, giving our customary wave to the Brinks web-cam. I'm always tempted and wonder if anyone has ever"mooned" to the camera? Anyway, the sight of a sixty + year old man doing such a thing would surely result in arrest as well as a lot of viewers spilling their coffee! Two Rico's Horizons occupied the pilot moorings so we kept well back until a space came free and then just hand held Symphony until it was our turn. Asked Derek if he had the dosh for the pilot but the pilot reminded us that Silverline boats went through free. Through the railway bridge and how the river changes. Intimate, shallow and pastoral. The Heavenly scene was about to be broken though! I glanced down at my ankle and despite precaution two mozzies were at it. Now I know you should not remove them but I did and they drew blood. By the time we had moored at the common I counted twelve bites, all on one leg! Anyway irritating but nowt else and I put cream on each bite. So off to the Rising Sun for lunch. "You're not going in shorts" exclaimed Derek. "Why not" I replied? Well, it seemed my leg looked like a cat with the mange so after a somewhat heated discussion I gave in and put jeans on. So a pleasant lunch was had in the Rising Sun although I always find its decor a little contrived and we returned for a pleasant afternoon doing absolutely nowt! That evening we planned to go into the village and have a meal. So for the first time this holiday, smart casual was the order of the day. Now on the boat I go barefoot and the problem came when I tried to put a shoe on my bitten foot. It had swollen up I would say two shoe sizes! "Try smart deck shoes" said Derek. Same again! Well, it's not quite the thing to walk into a restaurant bare footed so for not the first time we settled down to an impromptu evening meal afloat and retired for the evening, dreaming of squadrons of mosquitoes chomping away at my poor foot! Review. Rising Sun. Location. superb Beer. ok Cider. ok Pub food. ok Atmosphere. friendly but decor, you could have been in Manchester, Nottingham......

Gancanny. East Ruston. farthest I ever got up the canal in a cruiser although I made Honing Lock in the dinghy.

JTF. I'm afraid your not only off the boil but someones pinched the kettle! As Harry Lauder sang "keep right on to the end of the road" or in this case river. No thats wrong. I mean..........?

Oh ek. You went the right way, took a wrong turning and went off the boil. Fred

Hi gancanny,. Your sizzling hot but not quite there yet. Fred

Hi John. With that inventory dont take up back packing! Looking forward to your reports. Always fancied a boating trip to Holland. Fred

Sorry Trevor. Head North.

Sorry Jill, you're as cold as a Siberian Vodka!

An old one from the mid 70s. The boat was a cracker from Poolcraft Beccles named Broadsway 2. Now where is she moored? Fred

Me to. Would it be in Norwich? Jill. Do I get extra points if I name the boat in your photograph as Fair Regal 1? Fred

Good luck to Richard getting the site up again. From reading through the technical threads here. Am I the only one here, who doesn't understand what anyone is talking about? Fred ps Anyone seen my quill?

Jill. Is it Reepham because the towers have an almost minaret look about them John & Mary-Jane. I'm having a guess at Reedham? Fred

Day 5. Tuesday 16 July 2013. Wow. We woke up to a glorious morning, warm cloudless and still, perfection. Horsey is a lovely spot and so peaceful. Now wouldn't it be nice to have breakfast out on the Mere? So at about 0800, when we thought most people would at least be awake we started up and as quietly as possible left the dyke moorings and out onto the Mere. Pure heaven. It was so tranquil that we decided there was not going to be any clattering of pans for the full English and we settled for a duck egg with toast and marmalade. Horsey Mere While out there I noticed the two markers you used to line up to find the Waxham cut had gone. Is the cut still navigable and if so are there any casual moorings at the end anymore? Remember the last time I went up (years ago) the water was a brownish colour and reminded me of the Trent & Mersey at Harcastle. Anyone remember E.W. Johnson's small boatyard at the end of the cut? All good things come to an end and as we wanted to pass through the bridge at Potter about 11:00, we reluctantly upped mud weight and set off. Got to the bridge a bit later than wanted but no problem getting through, unlike the last time on Symphony, a few years back, when on a very stormy day the pilot was hit by a sudden squall as we were just exiting, resulting in us scraping the bridge. Now besides the bang as the canopy involuntarily was thrust back the one thing that sticks out in my memory is the big"ooohhh"we got from above the bridge. Fortunately there was only some minor damage to the handrail and a small chunk out at the rear of the canopy where it had hit the stop. Now you can't stop at Potter Heigham and not visit Lathams, the shop that makes Poundsaver look like John Lewis. Derek made a beeline for the gardening section and I amused myself looking at the tack and almost buying a few times. In fact I did. I bought the anti-misting cream for windows that Robin recommended on one of his YouTube films. So if you reading Robin I hope you are on commission! So with the rear deck now decorated with Derek's garden plant buys we took the chance that there would be a mooring and left to have a late lunch at Ludham. We used to moor at the boatyard but these moorings are occupied by private craft since the demise of DRL and this has put extra strain on the village moorings. Two boats in front turned and left. It was not looking good. Opals are slightly narrower than their Alpha mould sisters and this came to our rescue. There was just a gap between two boats. To make sure I shouted to Derek to up fenders and started to manoeuvre into position to reverse. Looking back Derek had not moved from his stern position. "Are you putting the fenders up?" I shouted. "I am." came the reply. I won't repeat the words that went through my head when I saw him struggling to raise the two large stern fenders onto the deck! "Just put them down" I said and by now I was reversing in. Now sometimes. Just sometimes, everything goes spot on and this time it did. I felt like the captain of the Queen Mary 2 as my neighbours congratulated me on my manoeuvre. I of course modestly blushed and said it was luck! So into the village. Ludham is one of my favourites. Good butchers and one of the best small village stores anywhere. Provisions bought it was off to the Kings Arms for lunch which was more liquid than solid! After two (or was it three) pints we made our way back. Shall we try one of those casual moorings for the night or stay and have a meal at the Kings Arms we pondered? The wild mooring won. So after topping up with water we departed. Not a good decision as it turned out as they were all occupied. Ok, down to Thurne. How about Fleet Dyke I suggested? Ok said Derek. Again, not a good decision. Full. Looks like we are anchoring on the Broad. Fine was the reply. So we dropped mud weight and settled down for a boat cooked feast. How hungry we were with nowt since breakfast other than a packet of crisps! I don't remember the main course but the desert I do. Roly Poly and custard, just the thing in a heatwave, fabulosa! After a further high cholesterol helping, this time of cheese we watched the sun go down on a fragmented but rather fun day and like the sun we retired for another day. Spotted this ex Loynes beauty Loch Connan at Thurne on the way to South Walsham Fred Reviews Kings Arms Ludham. Location. Good Beer. Excellent Cider. Excellent Food. Crisps are very upmarket! Atmosphere.Good.

Wow Neil, I feel for you. Hirers nightmare. What did Karen say? Fred

One of our neighbours had his cat shot in the leg a few years ago. Just find it incomprehensible that people do such things. Fred

Good action by the crew, they should be very proud of themselves. I just hope the memory of the incident does not cloud the rest of their holiday as I'm sure it must have been traumatic for themselves as well. Fred

H.A. Thanks. Quite fun writing, brings it all back. As for gongoozling at certain bridges you should all be ashamed.

Very nice Andy. Particularly like the little touches on the upper deck, very classy. Fred

Come on Jill, too easy! Try reversing and posting upside down the next one.

Day 4. Monday 15 July 2013. Always find it difficult to change sleeping habits on holiday. Usually up at 05:00 but today managed to sleep in till 06:30! Cook was dispatched to do what cooks do and I waited for the result listening to 'Today' on the radio. Lazy sod eh? Breakfast over I did my washing duties and checked low water times at Potter Heigham as plan 'A' was to end the day at Horsey. Low water was 11:50 so we left to arrive 10:30/11:00 at the Phoenix Fleet boatyard to pick up the pilot. The weather which had been a little murky was beginning to clear and we enjoyed a pleasant cruise up to Potter Heigham even though I kept on thinking, "We are going against the tide. Grrrr" my pet hate. Anyway we arrived at the shambles that is Potter Heigham. Reminds me of Blackpool. It's so kitsch its great! Know I'm sure everybody has the same thought as they arrive at the pilots quay, "Will we get under." Well, we got under easily and we headed for Hickling. I think the upper Thurne is the most beautiful of all the Broadland rivers. Wild but without the brutality and starkness of the lower reaches of the Bure Yare and Waveney. We had three day boats travelling at a sedate pace in front of us all the way until one forked right to Horsey and the one immediately in front signalled if we wanted to overtake but we declined, after all what was the rush. Now arriving at the Pleasure Boat staithe it was full although there was a mooring occupied by two chairs and a set of fishing rods but no anglers anglers to be seen! This resulted in us taking a chance that there would be a space at Whispering Reeds boatyard. There was and we checked with the office that it was ok to stop over which it was as long as we left 17:00 as they had a boat due back in. It was strange mooring at Whispering Reeds as we had hired another opal 28, Hawaiian Goose the year before they ceased hiring out cruisers. The yard itself looked just as it had, complete with Hoseasons signs as if nothing had altered. Asking about Hawaiian Goose we where told it had been sold to a lady in South Walsham and I am sure I saw it moored at Belaugh later in the week. So we strolled round to the Pleasure Boat and had an excellent light lunch and a few bevies in their beer garden. Sods law, there were now plenty of moorings on the staithe and no sign of my angler who had packed up and gone. We had hand turned and moored stern on at the boatyard to facilitate leaving as it's always just a little more difficult even after only two pints! So we left and crawled up the very narrow boatyard dyke and passed the houseboats and onto the Broad. If I was going to hire a houseboat it would have to be one of these, the view must be fantastic. On to Horsey and moored, again hand turning ready for leaving. As we came in the trip boat passed us which always pleases me when I see her as I went with mum & dad on her when she was Little Ships Tudor Rose. Looks very different today but the aft cabin still remains. Two ice creams from the kiosk and we are off to the beach. Love the way you get to the gap and suddenly the roar of the North Sea hits you. The seals where out in force and showing off but as if on purpose every time I went to get a shot they went down and just peeped their heads out the water. One even seemed to want bark to us. On the way back we noted many wild flowers including Ragged Robin and a wild orchid. Stopped at the Nelsons Head for our evening meal which was very good and got into a conversation with the locals on a range of subjects from how to make a proper Caesar salad and the Broadland legend Susan Ellis. Anyway I think we may have had just a touch too much beer as we wobbled slightly as we stroled back to the boat. The beer and that sea air took its toll and yet agin we retired about 22:00 after a busy but enjoyable day. Reviews Pleasure Boat Hickling Location. Excellant Beer. Excellent Cider. good Food. good Atmosphere. good Nelsons Head. Location.good Beer. Excellant Cider. Good Food. Good Atmosphere . Good

Hi Baz. I use a fairly basic Nikon D3000 SLR which I find ideal for most of my photography which is mainly tram orientated. If I wanted to be a bit more arty I would probably have to upgrade. The trouble with SLR and bridge cameras is the shear bulk and that is were compact cameras come into their own and can be a real boon and I always carry a small Canon compact when out with the movie camera. I would tell you the model I use but it is so compact I can't find it! Fred