Broom Hireboats Aground On Breydon Water

[Gracie]

I totally agree Monica, it does appear they may have been travelling together, newbies maybe, bit of panic set in and on the muds before they know it. We have never done it and I do get that people don't understand why it happens so often, something that is so simple to most of us seems to be out of the grasp of others. We don't know the circumstances to give us any right to make judgements. If it's the booze cruise type of boat that are being totally reckless then they deserve a bit of a lashing. Over the years we have met people who have been terrified of doing their first mooring etc, a little bit of kindness towards them can go a long way in them deciding whether it's a holiday from hell or the best holiday they've ever had, hopefully the latter and they will return for years to come

If the people on those Broom boats happen across this thread, don't worry, we all make mistakes, even the most experienced of us, I should know, that's for sure lol

Grace

[JawsOrca]

I've said before... perhaps they just wanted a nice peaceful mooring?!  Salty sailors do it alot. It's on my list to overnight on the mud there... Can you imagine the atmosphere.. you will get surrounded by oyster catchers and other wading birds but not another human in sight... Big skies so lovely sunrises and sunsets! A night on the mud is seriously the most peaceful mooring ever..   Bliss!

[LondonRascal]

I think Peter sums it up very well – I have travelled over Breydon many times but on the approach be it on the lower Bure or when you are returning to the northern rivers (I think more so from the Waveney) the channel marks do seem to be sticking up all over and only as you approach closer do they make some sense. 

Because we no longer have coasters coming over Breydon and down the Yare, and especially since the Broads Authority now have jurisdiction over Breydon Water – I think there could be and should be far more done to aid the main users of this stretch of water – holiday makers.

Sure, keep the channel markers and their colour but that ‘main channel’ sign with arrows point left and right is ideal if you are heading towards the sign, it makes sense but few would head towards it, most would transit past it to their left or right.  I have said this in the past that what would be so much easier is on the channel markers have a uniform large sign – similar in size to the count down marker signage on the side of motorways as you approach a junction.

On this would be the channel marker number – a telephone contact number for Broads Control and a clear, single instruction: ‘KEEP THIS SIDE OF POST’. Anyone unsure where to go can see you just keep that side and you will be fine.  What annoys me the most is this sort of thing would be easy to trial – they need not be expensive metal roadside quality, just agree a size, style and typeface and have them made in plastic and use a few on the approach to Breydon.

In a year record how many boats might go aground compared to previous years. That is of course if any records are kept of the number of boats that have been aground.

If less, extend the trial area and so on but upon writing to the Broads Authority on this very point, one is effectively told  the current marker system is proven and reminded about Spirit of Breydon being there to aid those in difficulty.

I might add that even in the main channel things are not exactly always deep.  Upon returning recently from Oulton Broad I kept a keen eye on Broad Ambitions sonar providing depth – as you approach and go through the right hand span of Breydon Bridge as instructed by signage, the dept reduced to less than 4ft under the hull.  While that is plenty for a boat that draws just over 2ft, clearly there is a great deal of silt here because perhaps 100 yards prior to the bridge you might have 14ft and more.

[Cheesey]

Could it also be that they thought they had to keep clear of the main channel looking at where they ran aground?

 

[Timbo]

I dunno Robin, you can put up as many signs of as many varying designs as you can think of but it will be to no avail. I mean how long have we had motor vehicles in the UK? The first pedestrian crossing was in 1868 ish. The Green Cross Code has been around since 1970 and the highway code since 1931. Yet there are vast numbers of people in the UK, all supposedly intelligent people, who can't handle the use of a roundabout or box junction and can't cross a road correctly or in some cases walk in a straight line. As for pedestrians who walk behind your car when you are reversing...don't get me started! I'm currently designing a mobile phone app that sits on all mobile phones that will play a message to all car drivers when pedestrians step off the pavement...something along the lines of "Warning! Moron traversing"! If your average punter has difficulty with driving a car or indeed walking along a pavement what chance do they have of pointing a boat between two sticks?

[BroadScot]

3 minutes ago, Timbo said:

I dunno Robin, you can put up as many signs of as many varying designs as you can think of but it will be to no avail. I mean how long have we had motor vehicles in the UK? The first pedestrian crossing was in 1868 ish. The Green Cross Code has been around since 1970 and the highway code since 1931. Yet there are vast numbers of people in the UK, all supposedly intelligent people, who can't handle the use of a roundabout or box junction and can't cross a road correctly or in some cases walk in a straight line. As for pedestrians who walk behind your car when you are reversing...don't get me started! I'm currently designing a mobile phone app that sits on all mobile phones that will play a message to all car drivers when pedestrians step off the pavement...something along the lines of "Warning! Moron traversing"! If your average punter has difficulty with driving a car or indeed walking along a pavement what chance do they have of pointing a boat between two sticks?

Can you make an App please Tim for us disabled drivers so when we are reversing out of a disabled space the other cars for once stop while we manouver out! I thank you in advance !

Iain

[ExUserGone]

How would you do a sign for the upper reaches of the river Alde where the withies can be port or starboard depending wether they have a branch or just a plain stick and sometimes a plastic milk bottle with a spat of green paint on? The trip I did to snape was most interesting, it is also about the width of breydon surface wise but with a far smaller and shallower channel winding it's way through.

[trambo]

As usual when this happens we have all the usual if's and buts. However it happens too often. So more than just perhaps, something is wrong that needs attention. You can have all the briefing and diagrams but the reality can look very different.  Just hope it did not spoil their holiday and put them off the broads. At least they had good weather!

Fred

[Poppy]

2 hours ago, Timbo said:

I dunno Robin, you can put up as many signs of as many varying designs as you can think of but it will be to no avail. I mean how long have we had motor vehicles in the UK? The first pedestrian crossing was in 1868 ish. The Green Cross Code has been around since 1970 and the highway code since 1931. Yet there are vast numbers of people in the UK, all supposedly intelligent people, who can't handle the use of a roundabout or box junction and can't cross a road correctly or in some cases walk in a straight line. As for pedestrians who walk behind your car when you are reversing...don't get me started! I'm currently designing a mobile phone app that sits on all mobile phones that will play a message to all car drivers when pedestrians step off the pavement...something along the lines of "Warning! Moron traversing"! If your average punter has difficulty with driving a car or indeed walking along a pavement what chance do they have of pointing a boat between two sticks?

Good post!

[Poppy]

2 hours ago, BroadScot said:

Can you make an App please Tim for us disabled drivers so when we are reversing out of a disabled space the other cars for once stop while we manouver out! I thank you in advance !

Iain

You could reverse in.... that's what I was taught to do on a defensive driving course - it's safer.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

While i can understand Andy`s (Freedom) strict rules re crossing Breydon, i think that in itself could present problems, as a hirer might NEED to get back somewhere, and NEED to cross at half, or nearly high tide.  We cross Breydon most of the time we`re on the Broads, and cannot understand why ANY hirer can`t understand four simple words, KEEP BETWEEN THE POSTS, emphasis being on the word BETWEEN, not outside, so it is irrelavent whether the red posts are on your left or right, if you are BETWEEN the posts. However, Robin has made a very valied point re the mouth of the Waveney where it meets the Yare at the south western end of Breydon, it can be very confusing, as you have a small area where you have red and green posts all over the place. I wonder if at this busy junction, would it be a good idea to have those floating streamers attached to the posts along the line of the channell, if you know what i mean?. As for crossing at high, or near high tide, i can`t see a problem, we`ve done it loads of times, and think it`s great,.  One last point, most of the boats that have been pictured aground, are in fact aground well away from the ends of Breydon, so confusion over post position is not an acceptable excuse.

[BroadScot]

2 hours ago, Poppy said:

You could reverse in.... that's what I was taught to do on a defensive driving course - it's safer.

I need the space on the outside for my scooter. Civility in car parks appears to be a thing of the past, sad to say.

Iain

[Baitrunner]

Just read this but spoke to guy at brooms today when I refuelled and one of the boats is in need of repair as they sucked up a load of mud!! No idea if the next hirers were inconvenienced though. 

Whilst I agree keep between the posts is idiot proof a recent crew member on my boat didn't quite get it either. Luckily I got us the right side in time. 

Having just got back from a trip to wells next the sea. Going on and out of wells is bloody scary the first time!!!

[BroadScot]

4 minutes ago, Baitrunner said:

Going on and out of wells is bloody scary the first time!!!

Ah Mark, but you have survived to tell the rale ! Nice golf course there ! 

Iain

[Matt]

Just seen on Facebook that one of the Herbert Woods boats lost all forward drive approaching GY Yacht Station so mechanical breakdown can happen at inconvienant times!

 

i understand it ended well with some nifty reversing needed.

[ExUserGone]

10 hours ago, Baitrunner said:

Having just got back from a trip to wells next the sea. Going on and out of wells is bloody scary the first time!!!

Blimey it's fairly easy now compared to how it was when I first did it in 2007, the trick when early on the tide was to aim straight at the starboard marker by the beach and ignore the fact you could see sand poking through the boiling water mass and not turn till the very last minute, that was fun in an old RLM 31.

Now the channel is dredged most of us mobos can get as far in as the lifeboat house at LW on neaps with not too much trouble if needed.

[Viking23]

14 hours ago, Poppy said:

You could reverse in.... that's what I was taught to do on a defensive driving course - it's safer.

Problem with that is, if you have a full trolley, you can't get it to the back of the car, and often the driver behind parks 3" off your bumper, mind you if you have a tow bar, they normally give you a foot. lol

[JanetAnne]

The obvious way to sort the 'problem' would be to double up on the number of posts as in fill in the gaps.

But, is it really such an issue? I mean boats spending a few hours on the putty turns a holiday into an adventure and very rarely is there any harm done.

Poor Jaws will never get his night with the birds at this rate because he will be rescued, towed and reported on long before the mud appears under his keel, whether he wants to or not.

A lot of years ago we used to regularly take the local schools ornithology club to Breydon and hang off a post while the tide went and returned. These days you never see anyone stopped for pleasure such is the big bad wolf that piece of water had become. Still looks exactly the same to me though...

[Vaughan]

I have always had great respect for Breydon. I got caught out once at the end of a season, in Hearts' tow boat, towing 4 boats home from the north rivers. I was late, it was getting dark, and by the time I got half way across, as I passed one post, I couldn't see the next ahead. All I could do was look back at the lights of Yarmouth and try to keep them lined up with the stern, to keep a straight line. I got across but I have never been on there at night again.

There is no doubt that to come across at low tide only, is still the most obvious and safest way.

Seamanship.

[marshman]

To all those who want to increase signage, there is no limit to the stupidity of people and their inability to follow signs - how many more stories about sat navs do we have to read to realise that? What these people are missing are brains!!!

Even if you joined all the posts together with chains, I guarantee that people would still manage to get stuck - thats the nature of it i am afraid and under no account should the BA spend even more money on more signs!!

[Gracie]

Yep, I am one of those people missing a brain I'm afraid, when I first ever used my sat nav I ended up in a farmers field I loved JA's post, can you imagine Jaws sitting on the back of Orca, enjoying a beer and the tranquility, Spirit of Breydon turns up and hauls him off, only to have photos posted on every Broads forum and the faceache thing for us all to say "You really should have known better"

Best not to get our knickers in a twist over this, it has been happening for years and probably will for years to come, no matter what it says in the user manual, things happen, whether it be mechanical failure, loss of concentration or plain stupidity, it will happen, no amount of signage or chains is ever gonna change that lol

Grace

[ranworthbreeze]

41 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Spirit of Breydon turns up and hauls him of

That would be a first Grace the boat above is unsuitable for rescues off of the mud on Breydon Water.

Regards

Alan

[addicted]

54 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Yep, I am one of those people missing a brain I'm afraid, when I first ever used my sat nav I ended up in a farmers field I loved JA's post, can you imagine Jaws sitting on the back of Orca, enjoying a beer and the tranquility, Spirit of Breydon turns up and hauls him off, only to have photos posted on every Broads forum and the faceache thing for us all to say "You really should have known better"

Best not to get our knickers in a twist over this, it has been happening for years and probably will for years to come, no matter what it says in the user manual, things happen, whether it be mechanical failure, loss of concentration or plain stupidity, it will happen, no amount of signage or chains is ever gonna change that lol

Grace

I remember faithfully following the sat nav and finding myself on a private driveway in Hendon while trying to find the back way into Brent Cross in an effort to avoid the dreaded north circular.

regards,

Carole

[BroadScot]

1 minute ago, addicted said:

I remember faithfully following the sat nav and finding myself on a private driveway in Hendon while trying to find the back way into Brent Cross in an effort to avoid the dreaded north circular.

regards,

Carole

You girls should really update your sat navs  I use my eyes, even though I have Tom Tom!

Iain

 

[addicted]

2 minutes ago, BroadScot said:

You girls should really update your sat navs  I use my eyes, even though I have Tom Tom!

Iain

 

that's all very well Iain, but in addition to eyes one needs a sense of direction and as my husband will tell you, when they gave those out I got called to the phone!

regards

Carole