To Travel Hopefully Is A Better Thing Than To Ar

[MauriceMynah]

I have just seen a clip n TV about the wonderful weather we've just had this spring bank holiday. It was taken from some beach showing people enjoying themselves and out at sea, in the distance were two yachts bimbling off somewhere. It had me thinking (never a good idea) just why do we cruise the broads?

Ignoring such things as forum meets or any other pre-arranged situations I wonder what it is we are doing and why.

To illustrate, let us imagine we are at Ranworth Island. It is 08:00 and a glorious day. We decide to make for Wroxham. Now I'm having a bit of trouble actually phrasing my question, but I suppose basically it's...

Are we going to Wroxham whilst enjoying the trip, or are we having an enjoyable trip that will just happen to end at Wroxham. (Other start-points and destinations are available).

I suspect that in the case of sailies, the journey is the prime enjoyment and whether they make it or not, isn't that important, where in the case f cruisers, it's a much closer debate.

As far as those two yachts out at sea, with not much to look at, I suppose the destination is the primary, though I might be wrong!

[TheQ]

In days gone by even though I lived only 3 miles from Wroxham, I used to go down to the sailing club, get the boat out, sail to Wroxham, do the shopping, have something from one of the takeaways, while sitting on the boat, and then sail back.

We have done the same in the motorboat and gone to Potter to La Thems, which is nearer to home than the Sailing club...

[Chelsea14Ian]

For me it's a bit of both,take Sunday for example we took the boat out for the day.We both looked forward to it and the day did not disappoint. We never lose our love of the broads either. It's been said by many it's like a bug.The funny thing to is, I have had a few flying lessons and get almost the same feeling.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

I have just seen a clip n TV about the wonderful weather we've just had this spring bank holiday. It was taken from some beach showing people enjoying themselves and out at sea, in the distance were two yachts bimbling off somewhere. It had me thinking (never a good idea) just why do we cruise the broads?

Ignoring such things as forum meets or any other pre-arranged situations I wonder what it is we are doing and why.

To illustrate, let us imagine we are at Ranworth Island. It is 08:00 and a glorious day. We decide to make for Wroxham. Now I'm having a bit of trouble actually phrasing my question, but I suppose basically it's...

Are we going to Wroxham whilst enjoying the trip, or are we having an enjoyable trip that will just happen to end at Wroxham. (Other start-points and destinations are available).

I suspect that in the case of sailies, the journey is the prime enjoyment and whether they make it or not, isn't that important, where in the case f cruisers, it's a much closer debate.

As far as those two yachts out at sea, with not much to look at, I suppose the destination is the primary, though I might be wrong!

Having owned boats with rag n sticks which have been only been sailed out at sea, it is still all about the journey. The destination is somewhere to stop get some provisions and discuss the journey with your crew and other boat skippers preferably over a beer somewhere nice. 

The other twist is that if you see two sailing boats close to each other and heading in roughly the same direction, then they are racing, simple rules: boat in front tries to stay in front and boat behind tries the pass the boat in front (often the best bit of the journey).

PS sometimes the journey is back to your home mooring after a day or two of "sailing about out there"

[Meantime]

For me it is all about the journey, and not so much the destination. If I have people on board with me then the destination will be somewhere that serves good food and drink and that makes the fitting end to a good days cruising. If I'm solo cruising then I'm more likely to cook on board and the destination is even less important. Somewhere to tie up, or float around the mud weight. Freed from the constraints of having to make a particular destination, it becomes even more about the journey, which is why I often make the trip down to Breydon, across to the bridge, turn around by the pontoon and then just drift back across Breydon again. For no other reason that it's a pleasant cruise, and because I can. It is not unusual for me to set out from one place with no real destination for that evening in mind and see how the day unfolds.

I think it was David Antares_9 ex member on here who said something like, "You have your boating balance wrong if you spend more hours in the pub, than you do cruising to the pub"

[johnb]

I've got to admit, very often I am only moving on because I was on a 24 hour mooring. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have our our boat, perhaps the need to rush round and see everything isn't part of the holiday experience.  I enjoy the journey, the scenery, the satisfaction of a perfect mooring up () . If the mooring suits me and would be quite happy to stay longer than normally allowed. Perhaps I am just lazy!

[MauriceMynah]

It is certainly true that the boat hirer's perspective on this will be different from that of the boat owner's. This is probably why the owner is more likely to overstay on a 24h mooring. for me, it's just 'being on a boat', be it watching TV cooking or whatever. Sometimes it's nice being in a waterside pub, having a beer and watching the other boats, so I would put the enjoyment as 60/40 in favour of the destination.

There will be some holiday makers who never do the same holiday twice. For them neither the destination nor the journey has great significance. They will be in too much of a rush to see much whilst under way, nor stay at any one location for long. They visit the broads, stay on a boat and tick the box. Next year it will be Bognor Regis!

I'm sure regular hirers have a list of favourite haunts, and visiting them, gives as much pleasure as the journey between them.

 

 

[Lulu]

Just being on the boat watching the world go by and Im happy.  We went out for a cruise on Sunday, but to be honest the amount of traffic on the river rather put me off particularly at Horning.  It wasnt relaxing and i got quite stressed as we manoeuvred around at that point.  Selsie was calm and did brilliantly but i know i wouldnt be able to.  Maybe we needed to time it better but I can now completely see the appeal of off season boating and if we dont go out that much during the summer I wont be that disappointed. Being on the river in the marina, away from normal day to day life is enough and I will look forward to quieter times.  

 

[Markw]

As fairly regular (ish) hirers over the years - our enjoyment in definitely being on a boat and the cruising in between destinations - we are equally happy to moor remotely on our own or in a (relatively) busy staithe / yard (so long as no idiots etc...) - we just enjoy being on the water - but we are not able to get back as often as we would like.... when we do though - we tend to be out of the main season if we can (March & September for us).

[BroadAmbition]

Onboard ‘B.A’ it’s probably 60/40 in favour of being underway for me. During the Lads Week it’s more likely  to be 50/50

Astride the nighty Tiger it’s easily 90/10 in favour of the ride

Passenger  flying  10/90 in favour of the destination 

however with MrsG it’s easily  - nope,  second thoughts, not going there

Griff

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

Onboard ‘B.A’ it’s probably 60/40 in favour of being underway for me. During the Lads Week it’s more likely  to be 50/50

Astride the nighty Tiger it’s easily 90/10 in favour of the ride

Passenger  flying  10/90 in favour of the destination 

however with MrsG it’s easily  - nope,  second thoughts, not going there

Griff

Even on inland waterways it is 70/30 in favour of being underway for me.

As for the others:

My Ducati (sadly now sold) 99/1 in favour of the ride

Passenger flying 1/99 in favour of the destination

[LondonRascal]

I am love the rivers, the sound, the look the landscape around them. But that is not enough - I don't just want to look I want to be on the water experiencing it. For me the point is not where I am headed to therefore, it is the journey.

If I am at Ranworth I could not just got to Wroxham and that be that - because Wroxham offers me little, so the journey to there would be too short. I enjoy changing situations that one may encounter along the river. It could be sailing boats tacking which gets you aware and actually doing some proper boat control  and not just putting little inputs of steering for a few hours, to a random mooring opportunity like 'Oh Horning staithe is free" and getting it spot on and getting off the boat with a slightly larger head.

While most boaters tend to enjoy the boat as a 'get away' from everyday life, a major aspect is the social side too. What fun is there in going for hours on end and when you arrive at the given place not really having much idea on what to do next, worse still if the weather has turned against you?

I guess I am just a bit odd for that is what I do and enjoy most and while in previous videos you will see me in Wroxham and say "Today we are going to Oulton Broad" and get underway full of expectation and excitement and arrive as if I had accomplished something.

 

[CambridgeCabby]

the fact that we never “pre-decide” our destination just goes to prove that the journey to us is often the more enjoyable part of our times afloat 

[BrundallNavy]

As a life long Sailey I do not find the trip from A to B as enjoyable on a MoBo, with sailing it’s all about the challenge of getting there.  Mind you I have never enjoyed sea sailing as it takes away the challenges.  

[TheQ]

11 minutes ago, brundallNavy said:

As a life long Sailey I do not find the trip from A to B as enjoyable on a MoBo, with sailing it’s all about the challenge of getting there.  Mind you I have never enjoyed sea sailing as it takes away the challenges.  

I'd agree 100% with that, sailing off in the sea for hours on end without changing course was most boring.

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I'd agree 100% with that, sailing off in the sea for hours on end without changing course was most boring.

All I can say is that you and Brundall Navy have obviously never done it properly which is why you find it so boring.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Philosophical said:

All I can say is that you and Brundall Navy have obviously never done it properly which is why you find it so boring.

Extreme I admit, but not boring.

[TheQ]

Thats stressful not enjoyable...Too b******y cold for me, though I have sailed down that way... Around gull island pond, ( as long as Wroxham broad but thinner in the shape of a "P") on the Falklands In a Norfolk built wayfarer...

[Maxwellian]

When we first started coming to the Broads we used to travel all over the place to get to the destination. I loved being on the boat and have always found the journey very relaxing but we would go for miles just to make sure we got to the big places. As time has passed and over many trips (probable age related as well) it is all about the journey. I just love being on the boat pootling along listening to the water and nature, looking at the wild life. Will leave early in the morning to see the Kingfishers and Otters. When we get to our destination planned or not, we just love to walk for miles enjoying to surroundings. This year we will be taking our dog Max with us for the first time. Our old dog passed away at the end of 2016 and was extremely travel sick. We got Max in June 2017 and he loves travel.

 

[SwanR]

As a hirer, the only time that it’s really about the destination is sadly having to plan our arrival back at the boatyard at the end of our holiday!


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[NeilB]

12 hours ago, Philosophical said:

Extreme I admit, but not boring.

The current VOR boats were built by Green Marine in Hythe and now on their 2nd race.  I was offered a sea trial on the first boat off the line back in September 2012, my wife was expecting our 3rd child at the time so it was a non starter.  It would have been the Solent as opposed to the Southern Ocean though ! 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, NeilB said:

The current VOR boats were built by Green Marine in Hythe and now on their 2nd race.  I was offered a sea trial on the first boat off the line back in September 2012, my wife was expecting our 3rd child at the time so it was a non starter.  It would have been the Solent as opposed to the Southern Ocean though ! 

A couple of years ago when I was living in the UAE we had two of of the older Volvo 60's in our marina, there was a challenge, the task being to single handed grind the main up without stopping. It was never done, not even by these young fit guys !

My sailboat was only 15m, but sailing that on the "ragged edge" was just as exciting for me.  

[LondonRascal]

As we are talking of sailing, there are countless people out there sailing the world and recording their adventures and posting them on You Tube. They tend to fall into thee main areas:

1. Young, beautiful couples having an adventure and oodles of sponsorship deals
2. Mature couples doing it alone and trying to build a 'brand' chasing the younger couples model
3. Mature men sailing alone and filming it

Among the men out there doing it alone I used to very much (no i still do) very much enjoy Dylan Winter's films. Although sadly because he has not been able to gain enough support from the chaps who watch through personal donations to him it looks like he is about to stop sailing - at least videoing his travels anyway.

But then, out of nowhere,e with hardly any views is a chap in a steel sailing boat who is not far off traveling over the Atlantic to the Caribbean. I am not sure where he set off from originally, but I picked up things when he had to change his engine in Brighton Marina. Talk about 'as it happens' he saves no graces but I am hooked. His name is Steve, and his channel is 'Wandering Steve' the only thing is he has not been active for two months now, which I hope is not because something happened to him or boat.

Here though is one of his typical videos, and I see nothing boring about it:

 

[Bexs]

The thing I love about visiting the broads are the destinations.

Here at home in Poole Harbour I sailed competitively but never cruised, as I find large expanses of sea, sailing in one direction for hours on end dull. 

From Poole you can’t ‘pop’ many places for an afternoon or a evening meal. You can go to the Solent or Weymouth easily enough, but they are weekend trips and do require more planning, preparation and the conditions to be in your favour, that cruising on the Broads. It’s why I dream of owning our own boat on the Broads but not here in Poole. 

 

[TheQ]

I remember Poole, been there many times but under sail only once. Did they ever sort out the harbour  where the council removed the mooring rings as a trip hazzard to the public, and then got upset at the sailors mooring to the very heavy plant pots they put there instead?