SPEEDTRIPLE

Hi all, we`ve just come back from a great week on the Broads, and we DID moor in Rockland Staithe on the Saturday night. When we left and came through "Short Dyke" being the southern most with the quay heading, it most certainly DOES have several "No Mooring" signs along it`s length. I must admit, i was rather surprised, as this has often been a popular place for those who prefer to moor in the open parts of the Broads. Regards to all ......................... Neil.

Some great pics there Dan, she really does look smart, but i still think she`d look a little bit brighter with a coloured stripe along the top of the hull, and along the topside of the cabin top. I don`t like the fwd cabin with the tapering berths, a bit claustrophobic for some, and think that section of the cabin should have been used for an en-suite with the beds moved elsewhere. That said, i`m sure Clives team could quite easily do a custom layout for any fleet that wants to buy them, have you had any other fleets interrested in them Clive, either on the Broads or other waterways?. Regards to all ................ Neil.

Hi Bill, hopefully, we`ll be able to get to Ranworth befor you leave, but will keep an eye out for you while around the rivers, so keep an eye out for an Alpha 32 bathtub called Kingfisher. I can`t remember the name of your new boat, (i know what model she is) so could you please pm me her name. Regards and best wishes to all, and hope to see you afloat somewhere ................ Neil & Karen.

T be honest John, i think it`s a bit of a myth. Anyway, even if they do feed better in the rain, I don`t fish at all well in the rain :

WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO................... Less than a week to go now.

Hi Gem, welcome from me too. We hired Pacific Emerald for the meet last October which was as John (Hockham Admiral) said over the first weekend, and the weather was stunning,

Seeing as you`re on the Northern rivers, stay there as (i may be wrong?) i`ve always had my best catches there. The Ant is well known for Bream, while the Thurne and Bure are good for general sport. As for favourite fish?, the only 3 i`m not interrested in are Pike, Eel, and Zander, though i don`t think Zanders have got on the Broads yet, but apparently, they`re widespread on the fens and canal networks. We`re on the boat in a week, and i`l be bringing my fishing gear, so i hope the weather bucks up a lot. Regards to all .......................... Neil.

The only thing i think could be changed is the rear windows. At the moment, and i hope you`re not offended Clive, the rear window looks like it`s been kept on from the original RC45 (which it has), because they either could`nt afford to change the plug, or they rushed the final build, and said let`s just stick with it because it`s too time consuming to change it. It would look far better if the lower edge of the rear window followed the line of the deck, and had a pronounced front edge, rather than a point to it. This is only my opinion, and like i said, i hope Clives not offended?. Regards to all .................... Neil.

This has been a very interresting read Robin, but i can`t understand one thing. If the Ant is your favourite river (it`s also my favourite), why on earth did you hire something that has little chance of ever going under Ludham bridge. While i can see the advantages of this type of boat on the southern rivers, i would have thought a centre cockpit, or single level boat would have been far better for your trip, or was the discount scheme only available on the sedan boats?. Still a great read though, and i wish we could have as many trips as you do. Regards to all ........................ Neil.

Hi Branden, The close season WAS supposed to be related to fish spawning, but in all honesty, it`s really related to the climatic conditions. In recent years, we`ve had some very mild winters, and i`ve seen fish spawning as early as late Jan early Feb, whereas in the last 2-3 years where we`ve had long cold winters, i`ve seen fish spawn as late as late July, early Aughust, so the closed season is largely ineffective or irrelavent. My last gripe is the cost, and duration of the license itself. For any agler who has the luxury of a wide selection of stillwater venues to choose from, (like me) the close season is of no bother, and i can fish year round, but for those who live in the middle of a built up area, with no stillwater venues, but 2 good local rivers, the local anglers have no chance of going fishing for a 3 month period, BUT they have paid for the same 12 month license. I think the time is right for a radical shake up of the licensing laws, AND the costs of short term licensing. Regards to all ..................... Neil.

I may be wrong, but if you allow someone to break the law while on your property, be it car boat house etc etc, YOU can be found guilty of "Aiding and abbetting"?. As for the fishing license, i`m going to go out on a limb here and say the licensing law need a radical shake up. While speaking to a local stillwater fishery owner down here in VERY sunny Dorset, i offered to show him my license receipt, as i`d only got it at the post office an hour before, he said he was`nt interrested, as he saw it as a tax on fishing. I asked why he said it, and he told me a few surprising facts. As a private stillwater venue owner, he gets NOTHING from the EA, but if he had some form of problem with the water at his venue, and he requested the intervention of the EA, he would have to pay for everything they do. As a result, he came to the conclusion that the current rod licensing laws were an unfair tax on fishing. if that IS the case, then i tend to agree with him, and think that the EA rod license should NOT be required for fishing in private stillwater venues. I also think the current close season is totally out of date, and should be abolished immediately. Regards to all .......................... Neil.

Ooh, that looks rather smart. A defnite mixture of new and retro. I hope you don`t mind me saying Clive, but all your new boats look very "white", is there any chance in the future of some coloured pin striping along the top edge of the cabin sides, and hull to brighten them up?. I think light blue would be quite subtle, so long as it`s not to wide?. She still looks good though. Regards to all .................. Neil.

Hi all, my own opinion (and i could be completely wrong?) is the weather over the last 2 years has put people right off. 2-3 years ago, the economy was about the same as it is now, but we had reasonable summers, and many people could`nt afford to take a family abroad, so holidays in this country enjoyed a boom in bookings. Now, even though the economy is still pretty tough, people are sick of the bad weather. That said, down here in sunny Dorset, it has been just that, "sunny", for a couple of weeks or more, so anybody that DID book in this country for this time of year has been able to enjoy some great weather. I don`t think cost is much of an issue, especially when you can hire a budget boat from Richo`s (and some of the independant yards) for up to 6 for little more than £500 per week?. This week, i`ve been trying to persuade a couple of the guys at work to take a boating holiday, and they`re the sort of people who are not that bothered about the weather, so hopefully, there`ll be a couple of newbies afloat this year. Whatever happens, we`ll be afloat in 2 weeks time, and we`ll be enjoying it, no matter what the weather throws at us. Regards and best wishes to all ..................... Neil

Hi Bill, we`ll be afloat from Friday the 21st, so if we can get a good run up on the Saturday, we should be able to stop off for a while at Ranworth and say hello. I believe Griff and BA will be there, so it`ll be nice to finally meet him and say hello, though i`m a little bit catious, as Karen would probably want to stay on BA permanently, as she absolutelly adores wooden boats, just as much as i do. Whatever happens, we`ll be able to meet up with you and Jenny somewhere. Regards to all .................... Neil.

Thanks for that John, we`ll definately be on the Southern rivers for the latter part of the week, and with long daylight hours, so we`ll definately meet you and mary Jane during the week.

Yes, John, but we`ll be taking Kingfisher (Alpha 32 fwd drv, forerunner to Friday Girl) from the Friday, as Maffetts only do Friday starts now, although you could get a short week from a Monday, subject to last minute availability though, which will finish on a Friday anyway. It`s a bit of a nuisance, as we now have to take 6 days of our annual entitlement for week on the Broads, instead of 5, so we have to plan our other holidays a bit more carefully now. Can`t wait till i retire in 10 years, then it won`t make a difference. Regards to all ................. Neil.

B....R

The other important question is "when is it", as we`re up there in 3 weeks, and would like to see some of it?.

Hi all, Karen and i have hired Maffett cruisers "Kingfisher" (an Alpha 32 fwd drv) for the last week in June, and are looking to do the Northern Broads/rivers. Will anybody be afloat around then?, if so, and you see us, please feel free to come and say hello or whatever, It will be nice to meet up if anybody is around. Regards to all ......................... Neil.

If you`re going to Acle, remember to moor in "Horizon" boats yard upriver from the bridge, as it`s the sister yard to Richardsons where you`ve hired from. There`s also a good pub serving good food right next to the bridge, so you`llget free moorings, a meal in the pub, and the chance to take your daughter riding. 3 out of 3 can`t be bad eh?. One last thing, ALWAYS ALWAYS ENSURE YOU AND YOUR CREW KNOW HOW TO, AND ARE WEARING YOUR LIFE JACKETS WHILE MOVING AROUND THE DECKS, OR MOORING UP, especially as you`re both inexperienced.. In wet conditons, the decks can be slippery, so always have one hand on the grab rails when moving around on deck, and wear some good deck suitable footwear, and if in any doubt, don`t hesitate to phone your hire base to ask their advice as to what typt of footwear is most suitable for your boat

Hello Si, Welcome to the forum from me too. You`ve picked a great place to start from, as the Ant is one of my favourite rivers. It`s quite narrow, so less daunting for a 1st timer. For a 1st night, i`d recommend the cruise to Dilham, which is through Waford Bridge. It`s usually a lot less busy than lower down the Ant, which will give you a bit more peace and quiet, and it`s not far from North Walsham where one of the riding stables mentioned by Jill is based, so an easy taxi ride. If you`re into fishing, the Northern Broads and rivers are very well known for their excellent sport, with the Ant being a favourite for big bream, but all other spicies are widespread. If you`re into wildlife, then keep a look out for all the different species of birds, such as swallows, Marsh Harriers, and that special one, the Kingfisher, which we`ve often seen on the upper reaches of the Ant. There`s also millions of Ducks, Coots, Moorhens, Geese, and Swans, which can often be found hanging around when food is around. One other bit of advice is to make sure you understand how to read bridge height gauges, which are always found on approach to the bridges. Quite a number of people have made the mistake of reading them "upside down" thinking they have insufficent headroom, where in fact, they may have nearly a foot to spare. Quite simply, they are measured from the underside of the bridge DOWNWARDS, though as Robin says, you should`nt have any trouble with San Fernando, and to back up another one of Robins comments, try not to plan too much, just go with the flow, and enjoy yourselves. Regards, and have a great time .......................... Neil.

On the day of Karens sisters wedding, her fiance (Dave) turned up with a plaster cast on his arm. He and his best man spent all the previous night in A&E after they rolled a car late in the evening before. In all the wedding photo`s, he`s got his arm behind Clara`s (Karens sister) back. On the eve of OUR wedding, i sat in all evening waiting for my Brother and sister in-law to arrive from Lythm st Annes, while everybody else was out enjoying themselves.

I`ve just clicked on the link for LIDL`s, and it came with lots of other stuff, one being a trolley Bar b que. When Karen and i had our first holiday together down in Cornwall 9 years ago, we bought one exactly the same (also from Lidl, and a different colour) as the one advertised, and it`s still going strong today. I know the weather in recent years has`nt been good for bar b que`s, but this thing lives in a damp summer house all winter every winter, uncovered, and with stuff plonked on top of it most of time. It may have been just a cheap and some would say naff thing, but it`s lasting extremely well. I`ve often said that some of the things you can buy in Lidl`s are of good quality, and if these "cheap" prta potti type toilets are anywhere near as robust, they`ll be well worth the money. In fact, it may be worth buying 2, so you will have a replacement in years to come. The bar b que back then was a wapping £9.95. Regards to all .................... Neil.

I think a 38ft version would make an ideal 4-6 berth, but would also lend itself well to the ultimate 2 berth fwd dv cruiser, with all the comforts of home, any chance Clive?. Regards to all ......................... Neil.

Hi Dean, i think you`ll find the Pearson operation from Reedham is nothing to do with the Pearson operation on the canal network?. Which boat have you hired, and which week will you be going?. As far as maps and guides go, we always use the "GEO projects" one from the BA. It`s an excellent map, and if you get the latest edition, it has individual local maps as well as the general plan map of the Broads. It also shows pubs, moorings, shops boatyards etc etc, so it`s all the maps and guides you`ll need for the Broads in one. As for guides withing the Norfolk and suffolk area away from the Broads, the best thing to do is to contact your local tourist information centre, and they will contact any relevent Norfolk/Suffolk offices with a view to sending you any local details of what`s on and where. Regarding moorings etc, if you`re looking for a bit of peaceful fishing, then i`d recommend the head of Langley dyke or Rockland staithe, both on the Yare, or Geldeston loch at the head of navigation on the Waveney (mind the bridge height at Beccles), plus Pye`s mill moorings on the Chet which would make an ideal first night stay, as it`s only an hours cruise from your base at Reedham. Have a great holiday, and when you come back, don`t forget to write up a tale in the holiday tales section. Regards and best wishes ................... Neil.