Burgees-flags-wind Indicators

[MickyVee]

Hi all,

My first post, we are on the Broads this summer, and I have been harvesting all the information from this wonderful forum (so much information).

We will be on the broads for 2 weeks navigating the Northern and Southern broads, side on, stern mornings and mud weights (the lot ).

But I am concerned with mooring in Windy conditions, I interned to purchase a forum Burgee, but how to mount it to a hire boat?

I would like to get to Horsey Mere, the draft of the boat is 6' 9" do I have a chance?

Thanks again all for all the information my Broads book is nearly full (Maps, Contact numbers, Tide Times).

This is the first time we have been boating for nearly 20 years the last time was the Four Counties ring and Llangollen Canal (did the Llangollen return in a day a lot younger then), and quite a bit on the Thames with the S.B.C. (Small Boat Club).

Mick and Pam

 

[Timbo]

Welcome to the forum guys. I'm sure one of the folks will be along in a minute to recommend where to get a temporary flag staff from.

My boat Royal Tudor has a 6' 6" air draft. She does fit under that bridge...there's a photo somewhere of her doing it...but there's a 'cig paper' gap between the rails and the bridge.

[deebee29]

Hi Mick & Pam & welcome to the forum

I always use a burgee on various hire boats and find it invaluable for telling wind direction.

I bought a pulpit pole from Brian Wards ( Mention you are a NBN member for 10%(I think) discount )

http://www.brianwards.co.uk/stainless-steel-pulpit-flag-staff.html

Not sure about the Bridge though but someone will know

[addicted]

Hi mick and Pam, a very warm welcome from me, we are all concerned about mooring in windy conditions. The boat presents a big target to the wind and other than to try to moor while facing into the wind there's not too much you can do about it except pray! Good luck!! Hope you have a great time and it's not too windy when you go!

 

Carole!

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Mick & Pam,

Welcome to the forum, yes Brian Ward's do offer a 10% discount to NBN members, just have a word with Tanya & Nick on the counter. 

You could fit the burgee on a pole on one side of the bow and a wind indicator on the other side.

Best of luck with the bridge.

Regards

Alan

 

[JennyMorgan]

Another two options for wind indication: 

If a crew members likes a drag of whatever, not for us to guess what, then set whoever up on the front of the boat with instructions to keep puffing, a well known and effective wind indicator.

Secondly, a short length of ribbon tied to a boat-hook, ideal for skinflints, like me. 

[LondonRascal]

Welcome to the Forum - and already you can see you can get a Burgee here and buy a mounting pole and save 10% on its purchase Brian Ward - not bad eh? Now I'll come along and waffle on about what I have learnt so far as windy moorings go.

First of course it helps to moor if you are not suffering from wind, but we all like some Beans with our breakie so that is often not possible.

Now I personally much prefer mooring with a leeward (or downwind) from the point of view of direction that the wind may be blowing because this means you a far easier mooring.  Come in alongside and the wind helps you in, then further helps by keeping the boat against the bank while you tie your ropes. The issue is of course what happens when you come to depart the mooring and that helpful breeze is now 'pinning you' alongside.

Even with the above, I again prefer this (maybe as I often cruise solo) so can un-tie the ropes and take my time to stow them and get on board and the boat will not have drifted away from the bank while this is going on. If I have someone with me the I'll 'spring off' whereby you have someone at the bow of the boat, have the rope a couple of turned around the post on the bank (but not tied to it) the helm then puts on full left lock and puts the boat into slow ahead. 

Presupposing you also have a fender to protect the bow, the boat cannot proceed forward (since it is held in place by the rope to the post) so the only thing that can happen is the stern will move away from the bank, and once at about 45 degrees to the bank, then give a signal to your crew member to let the rope go on the post. Then go astern (with full right lock on the wheel) and you will head away from the bank towards the centre of the river.

When you are roughly in the centre of the river, simple move from astern to ahead and the boat will steer to the right - take off the amount of lock as it does so and your ease over to the right hand side of the river and cruise onward.  

But what happens if you arrive at the mooring on a windward bank - now that nice breeze is trying to keep you away making mooring a bit more tricky, especially if you are solo?

In my experience it is no need for alarm, just remember you’ve got all the control, power and steerage at your stern but (even with bow thrusters) very little comparatively at your bow .

I don't like to use this word when one talks of mooring, but you have to be a little more 'aggressive' - or perhaps another way of putting it would be ‘sure and committed’ to your approach and the initial stages of your mooring. By this I mean that if you come in slow and take your time as you can if the wind is helping push the boat on to the bank (or on a still day with no influence from the wind) you will soon find your bow has been pushed away from the bank and there is nothing you can do about it thus rendering the mooring a loss and a ‘go around’ inevitable.

I therefore come into the mooring at a greater angle than otherwise would, and just as I go astern to come to a stop, I quickly move the wheel to full right lock then a good burst of ahead. This will bring your stern in to the bank - if you do it often enough as was the case recently when I hired Bronze Gem (a bath tub style boat) you can already have left the helm and be making your way with the bow rope off the boat while the momentum of you last manoeuvre is still taking place at the stern bringing it in.  

The point is you’ve got to move quickly to secure the boat and at all cost get a rope around a post so it takes the weight and strain of the boat not your arms.  You might also begin to plan moorings by wind.  I have been on the water in some pretty windy conditions with ‘white horses’ coming down the River Thurne and having to turn at Potter Heigham and moor with this trying to blow you off the bank is not fun.  But if you know the direction of the wind, have a map and know where you are mooring is there an alternative – even just the other side of the river – where the wind will aid you? Use the Reeds as indications of wind strength and direction as to how much they bend and in what direction.

I actually think what would be really nice and cheap would be at each formal mooring a flag – and it need not be a fancy once, just a normal flag (the Broads Authority could have their logo on it, or ‘moorings’) anyway the point is you look a the flag and can see what the wind is doing, just as you can at Ranworth Staithe where there is a flag and I always check what it is doing to help mooring there.

[Hockham Admiral]

Mick and Pam, Hi.    

A very warm welcome aboard from us, too!    

[Maxwellian]

Welcome from me as well

[YnysMon]

We tied our Welsh flag to the aerial post when we were on the Broads last week.  I was glad that we did as it was pretty windy for much of the week!

Welcome to the forum!

Helen

[Timbo]

41 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

We tied our Welsh flag to the aerial post when we were on the Broads last week.

I'd heard reports that a boat had 'sprung a leek', all's clear now! 

[MickyVee]

Thanks all for the advice, even Jenny Skinflint

Have already purchased the NBN burgee (today).
Thanks deebee29 just purchased the pulpit pole from Brian Wards.

Thanks Robin for the detailed instructions, fantastic idea about mooring flags, B.A. take note.
I have watched a lot of your VLogs on youtube, all excellent, gave me the confidence to take on the Breydon Water crossing! (Pam now knows who to blame if it all goes wrong ), must remember to turn right not left (Starboard not Port) when coming from Yarmouth onto Breydon.
When are you going to do the 24 hr all of the broads challenge? I seem to remember this in one of your Vlogs, if you do it for charity let us know and we will chip in.

Thanks all for the Welcomes.

Mick and Pam

 

[kadensa]

A flag at each mooring? If the wind is strong enough, wouldn't it be easier and far more cost effective to gauge the wind direction by the tried and tested finger-licking method, or even by just standing on deck and turning to face the wind. In a light wind, assuming we're talking about powered craft, it really doesn't matter. Either way the tide also has to be taken into consideration and no amount of flags is going to help with that! 

I really fail.to see why people have to complicate matters when,every year, thousands of holidaymakers manage perfectly well.  MickyVee,despite what some people may imply, boating on the Broads is easy. Your hire company will make sure you know all you need and you  will have a fabulous holiday if you stop worrying and just 'go with the flow'.

[JennyMorgan]

A lot of sense in Kadensa's post. Really the best wind indicator is the boat itself, you will very quickly adjust to the effect of the wind, just as you would if you were on a bike. There are private boats with next to no keel and you might see one going almost sideways like a crab yet going in a straight line down the middle of the river. Hire boats tend to have a keel and handle very well. 

[TheQ]

Potter Heigham bridge has a clearance nominally, According to the BA, of 6ft 6 inches.

 You therefore would need to go through at low tide, If there is high pressure weather. If there is a low going over the water level will be higher and you won't get through even at low tide.

Similarly, I note, that today there are lots of large cruisers at Coltishall, we've had High pressure for several days, but they will need to get back through Wroxham - Hoveton Bridge (7ft 3 inches)  before the weekend low pressure arrives or they could have problems..