Moonlight Shadow Tales

[MauriceMynah]

Hmmm. When you were in the Lion, did you see an idiot getting as tight as a tic on rum?

[Mouldy]

52 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Hmmm. When you were in the Lion, did you see an idiot getting as tight as a tic on rum?

I didn’t notice anyone staggering uncontrollably.  Were you there then, MM?

[MauriceMynah]

Yes, I certainly was. I can recommend the plum rum, best of the lot. The others were white rums and rather too sweet.

I seem to be suffering from some sort of amnesia regarding anything after 18:00 maybe I suffered a blow to the wallet.

[Mouldy]

1 minute ago, MauriceMynah said:

Yes, I certainly was. I can recommend the plum rum, best of the lot. The others were white rums and rather too sweet.

I seem to be suffering from some sort of amnesia regarding anything after 18:00 maybe I suffered a blow to the wallet.

We came in around 18:45, so I’m guessing you were suffering from over imbibing of copious libations by then!  I’ll bear the plum rum in mind for my next visit, whenever that may be!

[Mouldy]

Wednesday 19th April

We woke to another bright, sunny but very chilly morning.  Just my luck that I sleep on the open side of the double bed in the aft cabin, as I was sent to the heating controls in the saloon to turn it on!

The morning followed the usual pattern - Deb walked the dog and I took a few photos.  We had our breakfast and set off for Potter.  By now, cloud cover had moved across and the breeze was increasing in strength.  We got lucky and snagged the last space on the BA moorings - any prior thoughts I might have had about sneaking in to Woods yard to moor and get water were dashed by virtue of the fact that it was rammed with their own craft.

Deb had a shower before heading to The Temple of Tat for a few bits for us.  While she was out, I showered and when she returned, I went for some cleaning materials and a new frying pan for Moonlight Shadow.  The good news (if you think of it as such) is that the hole in the bridge has been filled, with a bit left over for good measure.  The bad news (for us) was that Nippy Chippy was closed for ‘technical reasons.’ No chips for lunch, then!

Back on board, we cast off, heading for Womack Dyke.  It was still breezy, but the cloud had cleared and the sun was shining again.  It was very chilly in the breeze, but quite warm, where sheltered from it.  There were only about four boats moored along the dyke, so I turned into the wind and moored.  With the strong breeze, it was a bit awkward, but we managed.

We had a relatively light, early lunch, as we’d booked a table at The Kings Arms for dinner - Wednesday night is carvery night.  We’re big fans of their carvery!  After lunch, I walked into the village to get meat and veg for Thursday evening.  I was back on cookhouse fatigues for our last night on board.  Due to Harley’s arthritis, one walk into the village would be enough for her, so Deb stayed on board with her.

There were a few boats moored at the Staithe, but it wasn’t full, but I did see Fair Regal 2 moored next to her sister craft there.  I carried on round to the butchers and then to Throwers (as was) for necessary supplies, before walking back to the boat.

I spent some time writing my blog of the previous day and Deb did some knitting.  Her nephew and his wife are expecting their second child, so she’s knitting them a jumper for the baby.

We set off for the pub just before 18:00, to give the dog time to make the walk and arrived just in time for our booking at the pub.  Deb had a wine and I opted for my usual tipple (when the establishment has it) of Ghost Ship.  I asked for two carveries and was pleasantly surprised when the bill came to exactly £30.  Apparently, currently on a Wednesday, they have a ‘winter special’ of two carveries for £20!  Happy days!

As usual, it was very good and exceptional value.  The rib of beef was so tender it really didn’t need chewing.  No wonder it’s so popular.  We had a slow walk back to the boat and watched the glorious sunset before watching TV for a while.  By 21:00, I was feeling quite tired, so went to bed, leaving Deb watching a Star Trek film on Prime.

It didn’t take long for me to doze off and I didn’t stir (so I’m told) when she came to bed sometime later.

[SwanR]

Loving the photos as always. It really does still feel on the chilly side for mid April IMHO. 

[kpnut]

45 minutes ago, SwanR said:

really does still feel on the chilly side for mid April IMHO

It’s this blessed wind, must be coming straight off the North Sea. My allotment in East Yorks was cold enough for three layers and hat yesterday. Bit better today. 
But maybe we’re just comparing with the last few years. We used to get regular snow in April when I was young, just as the lambing season started!

[YnysMon]

Love that last picture but one. 

[DAVIDH]

Glad to see you've had the drone out Malcolm. My favourite shot is the portrait image of Thurne Windpump. 

[Mouldy]

2 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Glad to see you've had the drone out Malcolm. My favourite shot is the portrait image of Thurne Windpump. 

Drone time has been limited by the wind.  It’s really been quite breezy this week with some quite strong gusts.  I’ve been using my Mini 3 Pro due to the proximity of uninvolved people to comply with flying regs.

[oldgregg]

Ah, you upgraded....

I've been eyeing the Mini 3 Pro too. There's quite a few useful differences from the standard model and for the price (even with the DJI RC) it really is impressive.

I haven't owned a drone for a while now and the features, price and size (particularly compared with my old Mavic Pro) are really impressive.

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, oldgregg said:

Ah, you upgraded....

I've been eyeing the Mini 3 Pro too. There's quite a few useful differences from the standard model and for the price (even with the DJI RC) it really is impressive.

I haven't owned a drone for a while now and the features, price and size (particularly compared with my old Mavic Pro) are really impressive.

It’s a brilliant little drone and quite capable.  There have been a number of firmware upgrades since it came out which have greatly improved it.  I’m also very impressed with the RC controller.  Although the screen isn’t as bright as the more expensive DJI ones, having it built in, instead of using your phone, is a massive improvement imho.

[Mouldy]

Thursday 20th April

The early morning routine continued for another day.  A bright, cold start to the day  and my first task was to start the heating, before returning to bed for a few minutes.  I’d been thinking about our plan for our final full day, which was originally to go for a mooch round Hoveton, but with so few hire boats out, I didn’t think there’d be much chance of mooring, so decided to go back up The Ant.

Deb took Harley for her walk and although it was quite breezy, I flew my drone to grab a few photos.  After breakfast, we set off.  There was little boat traffic on the rivers as we headed back to The Bure, forking right at the junction and continuing past St Benets.

The weather forecast was for the wind to increase in strength, cloud to move in and for rain in the afternoon.  So far, it had been quite accurate through the week.  The breeze was picking up already and the pennant flown at Moonlight Shadow’s bow was flapping briskly.

We easily passed under Ludham bridge, with about 8ft 4ins showing on the markers.  The works at Horning Marshes moorings were scheduled to start on 20th and I was surprised to see that they’d already made a start.  Not all the moorings had been closed and a few boats were still moored nearer the bridge.

We continued up the river, passed How Hill, where again, there were very few craft moored.  I hoped Jonny Crowe’s Staithe might be empty, but no, out of luck again.  One day, maybe, one day!  There was space at Irstead, but I’ d decided to go to Gayes Staithe first, to see if there was space there.

Heading onto Barton Broad, with the strong breeze heading from the north east, it was very choppy with white horses forming on the surface.  Spray was breaking across the windscreen that I’d cleaned the previous afternoon as we made our way across.  As we rounded the bend to Gayes Staithe, I was pleased to see that aside from one boat moored side on on the stern on moorings, it was empty.  I reversed onto the end, stern on spot that we favour and we tied up.

A few more boats arrived and I chatted to a couple of crews for a while.  Lunch was a park pie, bought from the Ludham butchers, with a bag of crisps.  Not exactly the healthy option, but enjoyable nonetheless.  Deb knitted and did some sewing, I cleaned the interior windows through the boat and we both tidied a few bits and pieces in readiness for the end of our trip the following day.

During the afternoon, the promised rain set in, although it did stop in the evening, when the sun emerged for short periods between the clouds.

Dinner was lamb chops, again from the excellent butchers in Ludham, with boiled new potatoes and green beans.  We watched TV for a while, before retiring for our final night on board, on this allocation.

We had an early start the following morning.  I dozed off thinking about how quickly the week had passed, but how much we’d enjoyed it.

[kpnut]

22 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

I hoped Jonny Crowe’s Staithe might be empty, but no

You didn’t miss that much Malcolm, it is very muddy there at the moment. Leave it to dry out a bit before visiting. 

[Mouldy]

Friday 21st April

I woke at quarter past five.  No time this morning to get the heating on, we needed to get back to Boulters for pump-out and refuelling by 10:00, when we were booked in.  I dressed and went to demist the windows, Deb dressed and took Harley for a short walk to allow the dog time to do what she needed to do.  By 06:00, we were on our way across a much calmer Barton Broad.  It had been raining overnight and was still raining as we made our way back down The Ant.

Once again, I cursed the idiot that positioned the windscreen wiper on MS where he had.  Every time we’re on board and it rains, the same thought crosses my mind.  It clears such a small area in the upper left hand side of the port side screen, frankly it’s of little use.  We had breakfast as we cruised along, then with hot water available, Deb went for a shower.

Despite the rain and wind, there was even more clearance under Ludham Bridge, with almost 8ft 6ins showing on the markers.  I noticed Kate’s boat safely moored in a corner at LBBY, the bright orange superstructure standing out on a dismal, wet, grey morning.

We we’re soon turning onto The Bure and just before we arrived at Cockshoot Dyke, where I’d intended to moor, whilst I went for a shower, we spotted the first boat on the move that we’d seen since leaving Gayes Staithe.  It was almost 08:00 by now and I’d expected to have seen some Friday hire returnees out and about, but it was really quiet.

Once moored, I went for my shower and got dressed, we tidied up the rest of our belongings, moving them all to the aft cabin, ready to load the car.  We chugged round to Boulters, a little early and with room at the fuel berth, we reversed carefully in.  The breeze, although present, was nowhere near as strong as the previous days, for which I was grateful.

We’d not used the forward heads, so there was just the aft en-suite to pump out and fuel to top up.  We’d used 44 litres of fuel, a good chunk of which would have been on the heating, so not bad for what we’d done.  Bill paid, we cruised the short distance back to Horning Pleasurecraft, where we moored without difficulty back in our berth.

We loaded the car, finished cleaning through and left at about midday.  It had been a good week and we were both reminded that hanging on to our half share in Moonlight Shadow had been a good idea, even after we’d bought Norfolk  Lady.  She’s a grand boat and with recent investment by the syndicate, now free of the management company that had cost so much over the years, was getting better with every visit.

[kpnut]

53 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

It clears such a small area in the upper left hand side of the port side screen, frankly it’s of little use.

I operate my windscreen wiper by hand. The lever is above the window so I have to sit up straight and stretch out to use it. Good exercise but seeing as the wiper doesn’t even touch the window, I don’t bother. I prefer the squeegee method of standing by the open front door, one hand on the wheel and stretching over the windscreen with the squeegee. Works better, but I get wet!!! One day I’ll upgrade!

I wondered whether it was going to be a quiet week as there seemed a lot of boats still in at Richardsons on Monday evening and I saw very little on Tuesday pm either as I delivered the boat back to LBBY. 
 

Thanks for your write up and wonderful photos.