Your First Time...or Are You A Virgin?

[Wyndham]

I'm talking about taking a boat under one of those bridges.

Some of you will have done it loads of times, but what was the first time like?.... you know....when it mattered... and do you still get nervous?

And for those who have never done it, like me, reckon you could passage safely?

I think I could, but I'd like to practise first with someone else's boat.

[BroadAmbition]

Nowadays all of them are a breeze.  Once you have accurately measured your crafts airdraft and you have successfully 'Shot the Bridge'  every time after that should be routine.  Having said that the first time I did Wroxham with 'B.A' was nerve wracking, nowadays I''m probably a bit to blasé with it to be honest. 

'That Bridge' or PHB however is a whole different ball game.  Yes I have taken 'B.A' through many times but it's still alongside beforehand with full preparation, then full on concentration to get her through, and proper relieved when I have done so.  I just don't get enough practise unlike Wroxham

Griff

 

 

 

[WherryNice]

Took mine through Potter (and back)for the first time on Tuesday, not the biggest of boats but no doubt the tightest bridge clearance of my boating career to date(have done Wroxham plenty of times in the past but not recently) and it was really rather nerve wracking but satisfying:)

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[Wyndham]

Watched your videos many times before Mr G, impressive.

And your reply " nowadays all of them are a breeze" and then "PHB is a whole different ball game"

 Potter still worries you even with all your experience?

 

[BroadAmbition]

I wouldn't say it worries me, but I do have respect not to get too over confident with it.

P.P.P.P.P.P

Griff

[Polly]

We took Bootlegger through PHB last week, with the pilot, Whelptons request that.. The tides were a bit awkward for Pilot hours  but just OK. We usually go through alone on Brilliant.

[Guest]

All bridges require respect , you only need one little thing to go wrong and then its a huge problem , 99% of the time everything is just fine but over confidence breed's disaster , that said most bridges arnt a problem but if you really want to go under and are worried the pilot services at the 2 main problem bridge's are the way to go .

Thank goodness there arnt tunnels , stand edge in Yorkshire is monumental as far as sorting the men out from the boys and its by no means straight at over 3 miles long its rare to see no damage but trust me don't leg it through its cold its wet ,  dark and not pleasant even if you are doing it for a charity .

PHB is nothing compared with that 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

Nowadays all of them are a breeze.  Once you have accurately measured your crafts airdraft and you have successfully 'Shot the Bridge'  every time after that should be routine.  Having said that the first time I did Wroxham with 'B.A' was nerve wracking, nowadays I''m probably a bit to blasé with it to be honest. 

'That Bridge' or PHB however is a whole different ball game.  Yes I have taken 'B.A' through many times but it's still alongside beforehand with full preparation, then full on concentration to get her through, and proper relieved when I have done so.  I just don't get enough practise unlike Wroxham

Griff

 

 

 

Trust me this is a genuine question Griff  but why backwards as I can't honestly see an advantage in doing that .

[BroadAmbition]

I can't honestly see an advantage in doing that .

Neither can I and I won't be doing it again anytime soon either.

Griff

[Polly]

Because it was there?

[Guest ExMemberKingFisher]

2 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

I can't honestly see an advantage in doing that .

Neither can I and I won't be doing it again anytime soon either.

Griff

I must confess to copying Griff recently and going backwards under Wroxham bridge. I really couldn't see what all the fuss was about and was actually thinking about doing it a second time whilst filming it, then my friend pointed out that Griff actually went backwards through Wroxham road bridge, not railway bridge!

 

[MauriceMynah]

I used to have a routine for going under PHB. Step one, pour large glass of scotch. Step two, take boat under and, Step three, drink scotch to stop the shaking..

Two (or was it three) years ago, I got it wrong. There wasn't much clearance and I went through slightly off centre. I still wake up to the scraping noise of my folded windscreen taking gouges out of the bridge whilst the bridge was taking gouges out of my windscreen. since then I usually use the pilot unless there is masses of room.

My boat needs 6' for the pilot to take it under, he will not go if it's any less.. That fateful day I had 6'1" according to the gauge in the pilots office.

The pilots take the boats under at speed, I do not I chicken out and creep under. I know that the extra speed tucks the stern down, but had I gone through at speed whilst off course I think the damage would have been worse, so it's still the "yellow bellied" approach for me.

Just remember, Confidence is that feeling you have just before you really screw things up.

[Broads01]

Years ago there was no pilot at Wroxham and I took a boat through on several occasions. The most memorable is on Sarah Bee from Bees Boats (32 foot Alpha forward steer) in 2001 where going upstream I went too slowly and skewed to one side - I only just got away with it. I was relieved when the pilot service came in and I've never been tempted to pass through without using it. 

[Polly]

My first bridge was Ludham in a boat called Ladybird. She wasn't a Broads saily and we were on day 3 of being sailies ourselves. Our instructor suggested dropping the mast at Ant Mouth as it was busy and the dismasting area likely full.So we set off up the Ant for the very first time with about 15 ft of mast and rigging hanging off the back. Yes it was busy, no we couldn't reverse, just peachy!

I was helming. As we got to the bridge, right to the bridge, another boat arrived on the other side and showed every intention of pressing on through. I throttled back, sounded the horn and when there was no response put both palms up and shouted 'Back, back, back,'. That got it, so back in fwd and through we went, thank goodness the tide wasn't flooding upstream! 

[SteveO]

I have taken many hire boats under Wroxham road bridge in the days before there was a pilot but since our present boat has an air draught of 7ft 3 in with everything down, I think I would struggle, so the most exciting bridge on our current repertoire is Ludham, which can have challenges of its own as Polly found out.

Cheers

Steve

[DaveB]

My very first was that bridge (very unplanned! )I was 13, I can't remember exactly what boat it was but it was from I think alpha craft at st olaves, mum, dad and me had been coming to the broads every year since I was 4 and I had been helming since I could reach the controls, but never taken anything through bridges, that year was the first for a long time we had gone north and dad wasn't too well.

We had gone up to potter with the tide to visit lathams, mum's favourite!, dad was helming,  we had nearly reached the end of the moorings by the pilots cabin and dad had a bad turn that later we found out was a mild heart attack, mum panicking, dad on the floor, I grabbed the wheel by which time it was either hit the bridge or aim for the hole  so I went for it  and probably thanks to dumb luck made it and moored up by the broads tavern. 

It was a few years before I fancied trying a bridge again! 

BTW dad was OK after a brief stop in hospital 

[Polly]

Wow scary.

[DaveB]

At the time I think I just acted, but yeah afterwards I was a bit shakey :-)

[TheQ]

I've been under Horstead-Coltishall bridge maybe half a dozen times in the Elysian 27CC and not had a problem but that's probably because I'm used to Potter Heigham Bridge.

 I've been  under Potter Bridge maybe 50 times, but most of them paddling furiously during  the 3 Rivers race. It did mean I was very familiar with the underside of the bridge, before I attempted it with the Elysian. So far I've not had a problem with the Elysian other than a day boat deciding to come charging  towards me with the tide, as I had just got the nose under the bridge. So I just cut the power and drifted back out, as I knew He wouldn't be able to stop.

I have gone under the Potter bridge backwards at an unearthly hour of the morning!!!

 

 

We had just paddled through against the tide, during the 3RR when the mast hanging over the stern the other side of the bridge got hit by a wayfarer. We had a man on the bows, he got thrown overboard and with the loss of propulsion we were washed back upstream through the bridge..

[MauriceMynah]

How do you get to the "Horsted-Coltishall" bridge in an Elysian?

[TheQ]

Easy,      take it on a low loader 'cos the low loader will grind to a halt on the WroXham bridge,

 I have absolutely no idea why I typed Horstead- Coltishall instead of Hoveton -WroXham My brain is not working this morning...