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Autumn Delight - Bronze Emblem


SwanR

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As there are several other holiday tales running at the moment I'm going to write this slightly differently and as usual there will be a little video posted when I get to the end.

Our route for the week, starting Saturday 14th October, worked out as follows ... with very little planning really other than deciding roughly which days we wanted to cruise the Ant so as to avoid too many Richardson's boats on changeover days!

Day 1 - Picked up the boat at Ferry Marina and headed for St Benets.

Day 2 - After watching a beautiful sunrise we cruised from St Benets up the Ant to Wayford Bridge, stopped for coffee, then cruised along to Sutton before heading all the way back down the Ant and along the Bure to Ranworth. The staithe was full so we happily moored on the Island with the peace and tranquility of only one other boat moored overnight. Lovely.

Day 3 - Ranworth Island to South Walsham Broad including a cruise around the inner broad, on down the Bure about halfway to Acle before turning back and then going up to Potter Heigham. Moored in Herbert Woods yard for our lunch stop which was somewhat challenging as by now the wind had got up. Moved on to Womack Water a little later as we had thought that might be a bit more sheltered. Let's just say that after that incredible sunset with the red dust in the air on that Monday, it was very blustery and the ropes and fenders were creaking quite well until late into the night.

Day 4 - Womack Water to Horning. Took a quick pumpout at Ferry Marina as we were passing and the side mooring was available. Plus if you have hired from there then the pumpout is free. Moved along to the New Inn for lunch. Then in the afternoon we cruised on into Wroxham, turned around before the bridge, then went back to moor overnight at the yard. Yes, I know, overnight in the boatyard may not always make sense but with Ferry Marina being right on the riverfront it's really like a stern on mooring anywhere else with the added bonus of a free connection to the electric post.

Day 5 - hmmm ... now where did we go today ...oh yes, I remember. We had decided that as the forecast was for a cloudy maybe showery kind of day, we would have a Ranworth day. Given that the battery was well charged from the night before, we only cruised for two hours from Horning down to Acle and back to Ranworth. This time we got onto the staithe so we had lunch at the Maltsters, went for a walk to the church and the nature reserve, then returned to the boat as it was raining quite hard by then. There was already some money on one of the slots on the electric post so we plugged in and turned the heating on and that was us settled in for the rest of the day.

Day 6 - doesn't the week go so quickly?! We awoke to a mild but very foggy morning so had an extra cup of coffee and stayed where we were until a little later than we usually set off. Once it started to clear we decided to head back up the Ant again. Another successful pass under Ludham Bridge saw us heading up as far as Gaye's Staithe where we moored for a break. That was the first time that we had moored there and we could see why it is popular. After taking the opportunity to fill up with water we headed back out onto Barton Broad. Lovely! I used to have a real fear of Barton Broad, a wide open expanse of water where I didn't understand all the different channel markers and struggled to see where I was supposed to be. No such problem now and it's one of my absolute favourite places. I went round through Paddy's Lane turning right and right and then coming back onto Barton Broad. Straight back across we were soon back down the Ant again. And this time we headed back to Womack Dyke. Absolutely love that place. One of our favourite moorings on the northern side.

Day 7 - the last day had dawned all too soon. No urgency to get underway as unfortunately this was the worst weather day of the week really. Cloud and rain which didn't really clear other than briefly at lunchtime. We cruised back from Womack Dyke via South Walsham Broad again, on to Salhouse Broad where we moored up for a couple of hours. We could see new hirers from Wroxham starting to come along the Bure so mid afternoon we headed back to Horning. Could even have stopped at the public staithe but carried on back to Ferry Marina. It's personal choice as to whether to spend the last night in the yard but we find it a relaxing way to spend the last evening and the final morning. And when it's a little chilly at night we do like the chance to get plugged into the electric and put the heating on if we want to. No rush to get anywhere, no need to get up really early the next morning, just a leisurely breakfast before loading up the car and heading for home.

I'll post some more of my highlights, observations and recommendations along with how we liked the boat in another instalment tomorrow.

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So next my observations on a few things.

The Weather

Now this was amazing for middle of October. We had the top back on the boat every day. Sunday was spectacular, not a cloud in the sky from dawn til dusk, a warm temperature around 23 degrees and probably our best ever day afloat ... and that's saying something given the number of trips we have made over the last five years. Other days were quite sunny as well. The wind was a bit of an issue when mooring up but we did our best and other folk kindly helped us on occasion. One foggy morning but even that held its own charm once we got underway.

Was It Busy?

Well we have hired during that same middle of October week since 2013. But every other year we have gone for a four night midweek break. This year we took a full week and the weekend was very busy. The good weather had been well forecast and we had never seen as many private boats out and about. Come Monday it calmed down a bit and we were able to moor where we wanted to. The popular spots were fairly full most days - Ranworth Staithe and Womack Water being the obvious ones that we visited and which pretty much filled up even during the week when we were there.That said we could have got onto the public moorings at Horning a number of times but didn't fancy being by the car park!

Where To Eat?

Talking of Horning reminds me that we stopped at the New Inn without any trouble for a lunchtime mooring at all. And Gus very obligingly helped with the ropes as always. This was without doubt the best meal of the week. Scampi and chips, a good sized portion but not too much and worth every penny. We only ate out three times - the tea rooms at Potter Heigham did a lovely cod and chips. But I found the Maltsters a little average - the service was good and hubby enjoyed his fancy burger but I was perhaps feeling a little under the weather that day.

Other Hirers

Now I am usually amongst the first to defend any generalisation about the attitude of hirers. However I have to say that during this week I was surprised by what I saw and came to perhaps appreciate better why private owners would be wary of who is coming along. Saturday night one hireboat came along after sunset and bumped several others at St Benets because they couldn't see what they were doing. They had lights on in the cabin and would have lost any night vision they might have had. Being unsuccessful at mooring they disappeared and I don't know where they ended up. We saw a few people moor bow first at Ranworth. One boat tried several times to moor stern on but gave up and poked the bow in instead. Someone else moored that way overnight but I didn't see how they managed to get themselves back out the next day. And there seemed to be an attitude at stern on moorings of just bumping other boats to either side to get in. We weren't impressed at all and this really wasn't something that we had ever encountered before.

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Now for what we thought of Bronze Emblem .... absolutely loved it. What a great little boat for two people. It's only 31 foot long, air draft 7'1, is older than most boats we have hired and was the first one I have helmed without bow thrusters. But we managed.

It was a dream to be at the helm. The steering was really responsive and required no effort at all. 

The winch for winding the canopy back was very easy ... again no effort required to use that.

Plenty of storage throughout the boat and a very well equipped kitchen.

We like hiring from Ferry Marina. Great staff, very helpful and friendly. They really look after you. Yes the all inclusive approach to cost could work out more expensive if you are someone who often gets some of the fuel deposit back. On the other hand it meant that we weren't so concerned about fuel economy because we knew it made no difference. I did try to work out whether we were going with the tide but the wind was such that I don't think it made much odds most days. They had fitted a new engine last year and we had no trouble with the batteries being charged although we did cruise around four hours most days.

It's great to be able to take the electric hook up cable with you in case you want to use it. And at the end of the week it's so much easier to get away because you don't have to hang around to wait for the fuel to be sorted out. It suits us.

So in summary we loved Bronze Emblem - I was sad to leave and would definitely hire this boat again. Highly recommended.

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Thanks Jean. Excellent video. We've considered Bronze Emblem in the past. I think it was the first boat we tried to book but were 'upgraded' to Turquoise Emblem instead during the first week of the season. Your account has made me think it might be a good option for us next year.  How did you find the loo being at the front of the boat? That's put me off a bit as I tend to have to get up to go to the loo sometime in the wee hours (pun intended).

Helen

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Hi Helen, that worked out fine. We had taken torches with us and tended to use those if we got up in the night rather than putting the lights on. Once you get used to being up and down the steps through the boat all day anyway then it's not a problem. We had been a little dubious about that ourselves but it kept the cabin space maximised.

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Certainly interesting to read your thoughts as we have Fair Ambassador booked next year, which is essentialy the same boat. I’ve never hired anything this style before so am a little wary as I’m a bit of a tart and prefer the sportier looking boats, but decided for once to be practical

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Thanks everyone for your very kind comments. It has become a little hobby of mine to put these videos together. The biggest challenge is always choosing the music! I nearly went for something classical but wasn't sure that would have quite as much appeal.

Anyway ... that's another holiday behind us. Now for next year ...

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37 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

I guess if you really wanted to moor bow on you'd be best moving the mudweight to the stern to keep it in place.

Of course, you are right... however, if, (for whatever reason) someone can't reverse a boat or understand "stern on only" then the logic you describe will be well off their radar.

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One of the boats had tried a number of times to moor stern on but gave up even though there were plenty of people around who would have helped them in. They looked quite desperate to get in. Maybe they were looking forward to lunch in the pub or needed shopping. The other one was down the side of the staithe. Our thought was what would happen with the bow over the quay and it being high water. Not much rise and fall there but was there a risk of damage that way.

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Bows to mooring is the norm for hire boats in Greece/turkey.

Point the boat towards the quay, Lob the anchor/chain over the stern, When attached to the quay tighten anchor chain to keep bows off the quay. However with this method the anchor lies some way from the boats stern.

 

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It was the weekend that was really busy and the usual most popular moorings. But everything I had been reading seemed to indicate that the rivers had stayed busy right through September and this year it did seem to stay that way well into October. But you could mostly still get in where you wanted to. 

Mind you I've still not managed to stop at Irstead. That remains on my wish list!

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Nice video and well edited too.  I've only made and finished one video at the end of a holiday in the Tarn region of France about five years ago.  It took so long to put together and I currently don't have the time, but there are some things that come across better with moving pictures than with photos.

Thanks for sharing.

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