SPEEDTRIPLE

Absolutely spot on. Tking passengers on planes like those you mention is against the Health and Safety Gestapos rules. We`re not allowed to enjoy ourselves if it means we`re not 2,000% safe in their eyes.

This is something you`ll not see vry often, hardly ever in fact, and probably VERY UNLIKELY to ever see it again in this country? https://www.facebook.com/royalairforce/photos/a.263638134884.138827.26035834884/10152625379819885/?type=1&theater

One of Karens friends has just got back from a coach trip to Norfolk, and stayed in the Holiday Inn at Norwich. She said it was really good, with excellent breakfasts. It`s only just off the main A47 Norwich bypass, and about 10 mins from Acle. Also, from my experience, Holiday Inns are usually better quality and value for money than Premiere inns, or Travellodges.

Would that be a "spiders web" full o f advice?.

Thanks Folks, that`s great news. Geoffers, a few months back, i bought a share in Lightning (sister ship to Thunder, that forumite Matt has a share in), and will be using her for the first time in October. If you`re a regular visitor to the Broads, why not buy a share in one, you`ll get 4 weeks holiday each year for around a thousand pounds, which is about the average maintainace costs per share. That`s around £250 per week on a boat which an equivalent hire boat could be around £800 - £1,250 dependabt on boat and season. And when you decide to buy your own boat, simply sell the share, often for what you`ve payed for it. Look into it Geoffers, you may be plesently surprised.

I would have thought it best to fill up at Goodchilds on your return leg, as they were reported as being the cheapest on the broads. Then when you get back to Brooms, just fill up a gallon or so. Incidentally Matt, we`re on Lightning for the first time in October (18-25th), will you be aboard then?.

There`s quite a few of us syndicate owners on the NBN, i wonder if it`s feasable to have a section for Syndicate boating, where we can post up various things of interrest etc. It would also be a good place to advertise to buy/sell shares. Do the mods think it`s either a good idea, or possible?.

They`ve always been very reasonable at everything Alan, we hired Kestrel in late June this year, with everything thrown in, car parking, diver insurance, tank of fuel etc etc, the boat even has its own 240v hair dryer, toaster, and 2 tele`s with dvd players, all for a LOT less than £1,000 for the week. Not bad for a boat that has permanent berths for 9 adults?.

Geoffers, you`ll NEVER have a yacht on the broads :Sailing

i`l make this my last comment on the subject as it`s well off topic. This goes back to my comment about watching you wash. If you can go at say 7mph over the water, which might be 5 mph over land, the amount of extra wash you`ll produce could cause problems to moored boats. When the speed was measured over moving water, you would be doing the 5mph, with little wash which would be 3mph over land, and more considerate to moored boats. Now, all they`ve done is to legalise irresponsible use of a LEGAL speed limit, which if caused an accident would get the reply "i was within the speed limit, so i`m not responsible" or something like it. I`l always think it`s best to measure speed over water, and nothing anybody can say will make me change my mind. If you need to make up time by going faster than 5 mph over the water, go with the tide and not against it. I`m not going to comment anymore, as i`ve gone off topic for too long.

CHEAPSKATE.

Yep, i love Loddon, the first place i`d ever been to on the Broads at the age of 11 and loved the place evr since. It`s remarkable how LITTLE the place has changed over the last 44 years, with the exception of the luxury housing opposite the staithe. One thing peeps have forgotten to mention is the Indian restaurant. It`s one of the best i`ve ever been in, but watch what you order, as you`ll more than likely be taking some of it back to the boat, yes the portions ARE that big.I`l also echo what others have said, Rosie Leas, superb place for breakfast or lunch, as Caroline does`nt open during the evening. As far as navigation goes, the Chet has recently had some bank repairs, and many of the short sharp narrow blind bends have been widened considerably, so you`ll have plenty of width, though nearer the Yare Junction it`s still very narrow, so take care. It`s also worth remembering that Maffetts and Pacifics both have pump out facilities, with Maffetts also having full engineering facilities in case of any emergencies. I hope you enjoy your visit. Regards and best wishes ........................... Neil.

There are some really good points raised here, and i seem to remember "Jonny" raising a point regarding stern on moorings (similar to above) some time ago. It`s a very valid point to question why someone who moors stern on should pay the same as someone else with a boat 30% wider. If a mooring is payed by footage, it sould also be the same as length. When you cruise down the Chet, have a look at the moorings at Loddon, most of which are stern on, but they will always be charged by the "Length". I`ve also often questioned the fairness of charging people for a minimum length. If there are 2 20ft boats both wanting a mooring, it costs no more than 1 40ftr so why charge them for an extra 50% each, thus charging for 60ft?, GREED, that`s all. Maybe some authority (the BA?) should investigate the yards and issue a license to allow them to only charge for the amount of river frontage used for moorings. If they use 100ft of river frontage for moorings, then they would be falling foul of their license by charging a minimum length charge for theoretically charging for 150ft of boats, on a 100ft stretch of moorings, (if you see what i`m getting at?). It seems that big buisness is only interrested i making the biggest buck possible via what some may say is unscrupulous means, rather than offer the public a service, and value for money. As a result, it`s very refreshing to see Mark (MBA Marine) keeping his buisness at a size that benefits his customers, well done Mark :clap . I did wonder whether it was possible to do on the broads what you can do on the Thame and Medway, whatever mooring you had in the main river, you always had to pay a fee to the crown commisioners (or whatever they`re called), but what you could do was contact the Medway ports authority and apply for a mooring location, which you were then issued with a chart grid reference point, then you had to make and sink your own mooring, a friend of my dads did exactly that off Gravesend sailing club in the 70s or 80s, and had it for many years. I don`t know ehether you can still do that there anymore, but you certainly can`t down here in Poole harbour, as all the mooring spots were sold (or maybe leased?) to all the expensive marinas, with the harbour authority making big money and the moorings now costing a fortune, thus driving away a lot of the small boat owner./ Regards to all ........................ Neil.

According to that report, it was the HEMSBY marine rescue that came out to the incident, i don`t understand why this could`nt have been dealt with by local emergency services, unless Hemsby marine rescue is the only one in Norfolk of course?. This brings back memories of the late 90s when my brother and his family and me were moored at Salhouse broad when a boat reversed into the quay and the woman holding the roap fell off the stern breaking her arm. That day, the ambulance crew had to walk her round the rough track in a chair, as there was no air ambulance. Now there is an air ambulance, so why did the rescue service have to come from as far away as Hemsby? A bit strange?.

Personally, i think this will only lead to on the spot fines, and other such rubbish. The police set a precedent with their gatso cameras (now no longer usable due to PROVED inacurracy readings), and the BA will only follow suit. On the road, speed is always a constant on stationary tarmac which is what you`re travelling on, whereas the only constant on a river is tidal movement, which can also be affected by climate conditions. Therefore, you`ll never get an accurate reading. Add to that the operator being in a moving boat, and hey presto, lots of revinue for the BA to spend on yet more manufactured jobs for university students. Keep speed cameras off the broads i say, and go back to having rangers do what they were originally there for, and that`s patrolling the rivers properly.

Read the OP again Strow, Leo said Rockland DYKE not Broad. The dyke is a VEY narrow (only wide enough for one boat passing boats on their moorings. short dyke to Rockland Staithe. I doubt whether the pub manager would appreciate the possible loss of customers due to not being able to get to the Staithe?.

Yes, i do agree with a lot you`ve said Strow, but if a boat is capable of doing 6 against a strong tide, then the wash and bow wave will be much greater, possibly causing problems for other boats, maybe moored or underway in the opposite direction.The one thing all hireboat skippers are told on handovers is "watch your wash".

Quite so Peter, Whenever we moor stern on to an uneven quay heading, i always throw the mudweight a way ou from the bow and tie up tight to the cleat, and have plenty of slack on the stern ropes. That way, when the tide comes up, The mudweight rope shortens, drawing the boat away from the quay heading. I`ve also seen boats hung up at the yachtstation, both at Oulton Broad and Beccles.

Hi Geoffers, We ALWAYS hire a boat specifically designed to go under ALL broads bridges, but have on several occaisions NOT been able to get under Wroxham bridge. Not many i grant you, but still quite a bit more than once or twice. As for Potter Heigham bridge, we`ve only ever been able to get under that thing twice since the early 90s. Once in May 97 on Merrymore, the other about 4 years ago on Tower Bridge. I may be wrong, but i`m sure Alpha and Bounty bathtubs were ALL designed with Potter Heigham bridge in mind?.

Yep, York Air Museum, been there and bought a mug. Another fantastic museum which also has a replica of the first human operated plane, which actually took to the skies long before the wright brothers powered flight, and a few miles up the road between Pickering and Scarborough. It was in a little village called Brompton by Sawdon. Karen and i had a holiday cottage in the village of Sawdon about a mile North of the village. I was stunned to see the stone at the village boundary proudly displaying the words "birthplace of aviation" engraved on it. I`ve told Karen we`ll go back to Yorkshire soon, as i want to go back to the Air museum, which incidentally has the catapult that Barnes Wallis used in the ship testing tanks when developing the bouncing mine for "Operation Chastise" (Dambuster raid) as an exibit, along with other artifacts all about the great man and his achievements.

You should have taken the name and registration number and reported it to the BA. They`re quick enough to hand out warnings after people get caught for speeding, so why not "encourage" them to actually do their job by keeping ALL rivers and broads open for navigation and give out a warning to the idiop who did it.?.

That`s the problem with the way the BA rangers measure speed. Unless you have a GPS speedometre or log, you can never really be sure of your speed. If you go by engine revs like the majority of hire boats, then that speed is over moving water, and NOT static as it would be over land. The very idea of having river speed limits "over land" is in my mind rediculous, as there are far too many variables. Your speed will be dependant on how much drag you get from a clean or dirty hull, wind direction and speed, whether you are towing a dinghy, and even if you drag your fenders in the briny. When we were on Kestrel in June, most of the fenders were dragging in the water, so i picked them up and stowed them on the side decks. The result was we gained an extra .5 mph average, so we could drop the revs a little, and saved the yard some deisel. With these variables in mind, it`s a bit naughty of the BA using speed guns from "static" positions. The next thing will be fixed penalty notices and a fine, It`s coming. Then when the BA start throwing out hundreds of speeding fines every week, the hire boat industry will die, no matter how much deisel you use (or don`t as the case may be(

Hi Simon, To be entirely honest, i also miss places like Dilham, Coltishall and Ludham, but whenever we go there,moorings are very hard to find, (especially at Ludham) unless you moor for the night at lunchtime, even earlier in some places.. Sometimes, if tides are higher than normal, we can`t get under Wroxham, let alone Potter Heigham bridges, but on the Southern rivers, bridges are not a problem providing you hire a purposely designed broads cruiser. Also, it`s very rare to go somewhere and not be able to moor., though Reedham can get busy. One other thing about the Southern rivers is you get to see more private sea going boats, which are sometimes a welcome change from always seeing hireboats. We`re out on Lightning for the first time in October, and hoping that my brother and his partner will be able to join us again. When we were on Kestrel in June, i suggested staying south again which he said would be a good idea, as whenever we`ve all been together before, we`ve always done North and South. It`s also nice to not have to use nearly 2 days cruising from one to the other, and enjoy those extra days at a more leisurely pace.

I worked at Biggin Hill from sept 92, to July 98. Only once did the company give us free tickets. The rest of the years, all the tickets went to the directors who took thier friends. We used to go into one of the village shops and bought them for about £3.50, with a gate price of £9.00. Had we applied for discount tickets through the company, or directly through the event organisers who were based just round the back from us, they wanted £6.75. The company did however let us park in the company carpark for free.......... Big deal.

Hi Peter, yes, most definitely. Karen and i went to the Flixton Air museum while staying in Suffolk in May. They`ve got so much of interrest, with a large selection of planes in a small area. It`s also behind a pub, so you can go in, then come out and have lunch,, then back in. But the most amazing thing about this museum is that it`s absolutely free to enter, leaving you to make a donation of your choice if you want to. A very definate yes vote from me on this one, and as you say, a slight detour required, or if stopping in Beccles, take the bus or taxi, it won`t take long..