Sunrise From Richardson's Was Stuck Under Wroxham Bridge This Afternoon

[Hockham Admiral]

We hired in  Holland 4 years ago ... €500 deposit,  returned if you didn't scratch or mark the hull. They don't allow cdw over there....

[Broadsword]

I have very little sympathy for the 'is this Wroxham then?' brigade, sorry... It really isn't rocket science and, IMHO, it is a reasonable expectation that someone who decides to have a holiday navigating a big boat around the Broads, should give a little thought to, well, navigating!  Maps are plentiful, Broadcaster publishes a map, as do some of the yards... Simple attention to your progress on the river and very obvious markers (such as that very big bridge you go under, just before reaching the end of the Ant) should make it clear to any reasonably sensible individual whereabouts they are.  My kids could  always work out where we were when they were under ten years old... Fairly soon, they could do it without any kind of map

Most hirers by far manage to work it out and seem to find their way to the pub fairly easily.  Those who have no clue about where they are, are not really trying. How the flip do they get the boat back to their hire yard?

[Poppy]

18 minutes ago, Broadsword said:

I have very little sympathy for the 'is this Wroxham then?' brigade, sorry... It really isn't rocket science and, IMHO, it is a reasonable expectation that someone who decides to have a holiday navigating a big boat around the Broads, should give a little thought to, well, navigating!  Maps are plentiful, Broadcaster publishes a map, as do some of the yards... Simple attention to your progress on the river and very obvious markers (such as that very big bridge you go under, just before reaching the end of the Ant) should make it clear to any reasonably sensible individual whereabouts they are.  My kids could  always work out where we were when they were under ten years old... Fairly soon, they could do it without any kind of map

Most hirers by far manage to work it out and seem to find their way to the pub fairly easily.  Those who have no clue about where they are, are not really trying. How the flip do they get the boat back to their hire yard?

Couldn't agree more Broadsword ! How on earth do they know where the next pub is? That must spoil their holiday

[Hockham Admiral]

28 minutes ago, Hockham Admiral said:

We hired in  Holland 4 years ago ... €500 deposit,  returned if you didn't scratch or mark the hull. They don't allow cdw over there....

Just to add that the hire boats in Holland are far less battered than ours!   

[Stranger]

last year we had Suncharm from Rickos i thought ill be good and use the pilot   bad desision!! he was so agressive with the controls he had me on the floor of the boat what an animal

[BroadScot]

33 minutes ago, Stranger said:

last year we had Suncharm from Rickos i thought ill be good and use the pilot   bad desision!! he was so agressive with the controls he had me on the floor of the boat what an animal

The mature pilot is very sedate in taking the boats through. However, yes, the young big built lad, does take them through, full pelt. 

Iain

[Warp]

5 hours ago, LondonRascal said:

I think many lessons from how our road signage developed to our Health & Safety signage has been produced could be learnt on the Broads – every bridge to have its name clearly shown, a standard warning sign for ‘low bridge’ and a caution sign with a clear simple instruction ‘check your boat height’ – for example to alert people this does actually need a bit of care. 

While many members here will sigh, roll eyes and think ‘what has the world come to’, I think it has indeed in many areas come to this. People need to be reminded in clear terms in an easy to understand way and a style they are used to think and take care – even if most might ignore the risks, some might head them more than do currently.

I'm half with you, but I don't want the aesthetics getting trumped by blind application or we end up with a really ugly place to visit.

So for instance the low bridge sign should only be used where it may not be obvious that they are approaching a low bridge. For instance one should not be used for Potter as anyone who can't appreciate the evidence of their own eyes will probably not see the benefit of a sign that mars what is left of the good looks of the place.

[LondonRascal]

I don't mean more signs - just the signs that are on the Broads are removed and replaced with ones of a standard design, size and typeface with clear information and not a selection of different signs that either inform or warn but do neither of these things very clearly at the moment.

[JennyMorgan]

No signs and HD web-cams at all low bridges !

[Broadsword]

Got to say Robin, I like the very modest little fingerpost signs... Maybe just a few more needed - I've never really noticed as I made it business to know where I was and can read and follow a very simple map!

I mean, the junction from the Ant onto the Bure is hardly Spagghetti Junction... 

[stumpy]

Besides, hi_viz signage would never be allowed in a National Park would it?

[JennyMorgan]

We have already been promised new signs on the Broads:

[Poppy]

9 hours ago, Broadsword said:

Got to say Robin, I like the very modest little fingerpost signs... Maybe just a few more needed - I've never really noticed as I made it business to know where I was and can read and follow a very simple map!

I mean, the junction from the Ant onto the Bure is hardly Spagghetti Junction... 

And therein lies the problem! Many now don't even possess a map  - let alone know how to use one. Perhaps the time has come for hire craft all to be fitted with satnavs .

[JennyMorgan]

Perhaps an I.Q. test for prospective owners or hirers is on the cards then? Durr, which button turns on the sat nav? Durrr, what's a button? 

[Arthur]

Says it all Peter

You can could cover the Broads with ugly signage and goodness knows what else.

The main problem is that all require the use of the brain and common sense.

No matter if there  is a great big sign saying this is Wroxham Brdige or not.  

It does not take much intelligence to realise that if the height indicated in the cockpit is 7 ft something and the bridge gauge shows something less than tha then the boat is likely not to fit.

I guess the waterways are getting a bit like the roads.

Start the engine then dis-engage brain.

 

 

 

[JanetAnne]

1 hour ago, Arthur said:

 

The main problem is that all require the use of the brain and common sense

That's me off the water then 

[deebee29]

Well said Arthur 

when we first hired there was no such thing as sat nav, Internet or even mobile phones but we managed.

Like most of you I'm sure we bought ancient manuscripts ( known as books and maps in those days) and we did our research long before the holiday.....I still have the books to this day and still find them useful.

I'm all for technology and embrace it fully but we always use a paper map.... Much better unfolding a map on the table than all trying to huddle around an iPad to plan the day's trip...... Part of the holiday for us..

anyone hiring from Richardsons always gets a free map on picking up the boat..... Not sure what other yards do this.

[addicted]

17 hours ago, JanetAnne said:

Erm......

I absolutely do not have a smart phone. I always have detested having to upgrade my phone and only do so when the existing one is beyond all help.

The one I have now is so old it probably qualifies for attention from Age Concern! Like myself it's well past it's sell-by date and getting a little cranky but I have not the slightest intention of replacing it until it breathes it's last.

Regards,

Carole

[addicted]

13 hours ago, Warp said:

I'm half with you, but I don't want the aesthetics getting trumped by blind application or we end up with a really ugly place to visit.

So for instance the low bridge sign should only be used where it may not be obvious that they are approaching a low bridge. For instance one should not be used for Potter as anyone who can't appreciate the evidence of their own eyes will probably not see the benefit of a sign that mars what is left of the good looks of the place.

No matter how thorough the signage, there's always some idiot who doesn't understand the basic rule that if you are at the wheel of something higher than the underside of the bridge you are approaching  you won't go under without hitting it. I live just outside Ely where there is a very low railway bridge. The signage is so clear as to be in your face but hardly a week goes by without some cretin getting wedged under it. Each time this occurs in addition to the time taken to remove the wedged vehicle,  rigorous tests have to be done to see if the safety of the bridge has been compromised which takes a considerable time and involves the closure of the line and the road.  A real pain in the proverbial.

[MauriceMynah]

Hear hear Carole, My mob is also fast approaching the "Vintage" tag. It has so few functions and capabilities that even on the broads the battery lasts for nearly a week.

Do we yet know all the details and circumstances that pertain to this incident or are we just doing what forums tend to do and making judgment on prima facie evidence. (which I have to admit does look pretty damning)

[BroadScot]

Just think, without the Barnes Brinkcraft web cam, there is a strong possibility we would never have known about said boat stuck under the bridge.

The good news is, no reported serious damage done, and the crew were able to enjoy the rest of their holiday, hopefully.

However, if we had had the old Hotel Wroxham cam, oh what fun we could have been discussing !

Iain

[Gracie]

I think Dave is spot on, we also gather round the table with a map to see what the day could have in store, all part of the holiday. I know most hire yards have their own websites showing what they have to offer in great detail but I still get excited when a Boat brochure drops through my letter box.

Oh and by the way, what bridge is that, then?

Grace

[LondonRascal]

You cannot stop all of the people being stupid all of the time, but you might be able to stop one stupid person once.

Of course there are countless times that low railway bridges are hit by lorries and you wonder ‘how on earth’ but the fact is because we (humans) do things by habit, get easily distracted and so on, so despite all the signs it will continue to happen because the driver will be effectively on automatic pilot not thinking about the driving, that is habitual, but what might be going on around him – traffic, frustration, calls from the office, late delivery etc etc which is why in so many cases where lorries hit bridges the drivers seem genuinely surprised it had happened. 

Having stated the above, you might like to say to me ‘well then, case closed no need for signs on the rivers who would take notice of them?’ but a lot more people would take notice because for many this is a new environment they are not familiar with so it has not become a habit.

What is key is merging the fact people are in a new environment, controlling something that is new to them and behaves very differently than what they are used to but also ensuring that a warning is taken seriously. 

A sign simply saying ‘Low Bridge Ahead’ therefore might seem clear enough to many reading this, and believe that it might trigger those on the boat to take action – lower screens, a canopy and so on but I think not.  

While they would be aware a bridge is coming up, they generally continue on regardless such as at Ludham Bridge which does warn of the bridge as you approach upstream. However, those on the boat have nothing to compare this with; in a car they can drive under any bridge without any worry despite warnings as they know such would not apply to them in a car. What they have not perhaps taken on board is they are on a boat that has some height to it and is more akin to being in an HGV or Bus on the road – there is therefore ‘vertical responsibly’ needed. 

It is for this reason the sign should say:  ‘Low Bridge. Check your boat height’. 

If it was of the standard design for caution signs as per my previous example I posted a few replies above, people would recognise this (habit of seeing these types of signs many times in their lives) but it is both warning and instructing at once.

Check your boat height – and it is this which could well cause someone to ask “how high is this boat?” and that is all that is needed, that single thought, or question or the moment where they snap out of the holiday bubble watching the ducks on the water and take some form of action or if you want to call it such a ‘trigger’. 

Finally I think all bridges should have their name on them – even higher ones like Acle, all Canal bridges are numbered so you can use such as easy reference points to your location – but few of the Bridges on the Broads are named – how often do we talk of ‘Vauxhall Bridge’ here and know where it is, but new boaters would not have much idea certainly not when on approach to it.  

If a cheap plastic sign therefore meant that just one or two boats in a season took action to turn around, or lower screens etc at a Bridge because someone on the boat took action as a result of the sign is it not so worthwhile?

 

 

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Robin,

A good idea that the bridges could have name signs, the only issue I could see with them is that more than likely they might be fitted lower than the bridge

Regards

Alan

[stumpy]

Speaking of maps, I do miss the old Hoseasons maps that had a foaming pint pot to mark licenced premises - although I'd probably have to get my trusty chart-correcting pen out to cross a few out nowadays.