Lightning Strikes Again

[vanessan]

My favourite time to cross Breydon is around 6.30-7.00 in the morning in Spring. That usually means getting up at silly-o’clock to walk the dogs before getting away from Stracey Arms or Hardley Mill at 5-5.30am. So often then it can be quite still and tranquil and very beautiful. 

[Ray]

 We intended to leave Stracey at 06:30 today but only got away at 07:40 lol

Still early enough for a little mist on the water and a stunning display by two Kingfishers

Smooth crossing of Breydon and moored at Somerleyton for a lazy afternoon.

Great to see you again ST 👍

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Sorry I haven't updated yet, due to circumstances beyond my control, but all will be resumed from tomorrow, albeit from home.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

On 19/09/2019 at 08:48, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

We've never been cruising at 6.30 am, but in one, "WOW", what an amazing experience, and one we WILL be doing again. 

Because of bridge clearance requirements, and the fact we are currently experiencing some very high tides, it was necessary to get away early, so I was up before 6.00am, showered, and ready to go by 6.30. I thought we may be punching the tide, so left a bit earlier than planned. As we're cruising along, I can see the tide is still ebbing, and we were going pretty quick even at 5 mph. So I throttled back to about 4 mph, and really enjoyed the early morning sun with mist rolling across the water, truly stunning, why haven't we done this before?. 

In fact, when we got to the top of the loop before the old "Marina Quays", we were so early, i did that 2 mile "S" on tickover.  Once out into the main Breydon channel which was by now in flood, i throttled up, and got across in little more than 20 minutes. We enjoyed a really pleasant cruise all the way to Oulton Broad where we were looking forward to meeting up with Paul and Elaine (Peta`s Joy), Alan, (Ranworth Breeze) and his good friend and all round nice chap Andy, and John and Mary Jane (the Admiral and his good lady). What we did`nt realise was that Alan (Boycee) and his good lady were also there, along with their friend "Wiggy".  We arrived at Oulton Broad about 11.30 (i think?), and were hailed by a couple from Nicholas Eviritt park, it was Paul and Elaine, who came back to the yacht station and came aboard. A little while later, a strange looking bearded fellow was looking through and tapping on the window, it was Alan (Ranworth Breeze) and Andy, who also came aboard, so we all had a good chin wag. In the meantime, John and Mary Jane had already arranged to meet us at the Broadview for a drink at 1.00, so we all departed and gathered there. After a few drinks and chat, we all departed back to our boats, and the admiral and his good lady to their hotel, with arrangements having been made to meet up later for a meal at the Waveney. When we got back to Lightning, Karen said she felt drunk, having only had two glasses of wine. We sat down watching telly, and i started writing the post above, but i felt a bit tired and fell asleep. In the meantime, i did`nt know Karen got worse, her head was spinning, and she felt very unsteady, and felt sick. I woke up, saw the ensuite door in the fwd cabin was open, so i assumed she was having a wash. I could`nt hear anything, so went to see if she was ok, she was`nt, she was feeling VERY unwell, and being sick. She could`nt stand up properly, and was in a bad way. I managed to get her back to the salloon and sat down, and she was getting worse, shivering, bent over, and complaining of chest pains, she started to have a panic attack, and got worse, she was extremely agitated, and started to get a bit frightened, i kept saying i was going to phone for an ambulance, as i was out of my depth and did`nt know what to do, although i kept trying to bring her out of it, i just could`nt do it, but she said no, because she did`nt want to waste their time. By now i was getting very scared as the woman i love was in a bad way and was (maybe silly) fearing the worst. I called for an ambulance, which seemed to take an age, but had to come from Beccles. In the mean time, i asked Alan (Ranworth Breeze) to come over urgently (they were moored right behind us), and asked him to go round to tell the ambulance crew how to get out on the finger pontoons which he kindly did.  Many thanks for that Alan, i can`t thank you enough for that, you`re an absolute star. The crew arrived, and immediately started to calm her down just by talking to her and helping her to focus on things and just asking her questions. They were brilliant, with not having to use any medication or anything. Me in the meantime, i walked into the aft cabin and shed a few tears in private, as i felt useless, and could`nt do anything for her, she`s so special, and i could`nt do anything, it certainly makes me think of a few things in a different light. During what was going on, a member of the coastgaurd came aboard, because this was on a boat, but after he was assured the ambulance crew had everything was well in hand, he said his goodbyes. After a while, Karen was feeling better, and the ambulance crew departed, with my greatest thanks and appreciation. We`d agreed to see everybody at the Waveney, but i assumed Karen would`nt want to as she was still feeling a bit fragile, but she said she needed to have some food. We met up with everybody and had a nice meal, but i could see Karen was still not feeling very good, so after dinner, we went back to the boat, and watched a DVD, so she could relax and concentrate on the film, which seemed the best thing to do, as she said she was feeling a little better. It was getting late, and after this evening events, we went to bed.

Once again, a massive thanks to Alan, for helping out, it was VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. And to Paul, Peta`s Joys, call, for his concern, it really does go to show what a great bunch the members of this forum really are.

Good night all.

[Ray]

So glad to hear that all was well in the end, very scary for you both!

Best wishes to Karen

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

5 minutes ago, Ray said:

So glad to hear that all was well in the end, very scary for you both!

Best wishes to Karen

She was still feeling tingles and a bit strange on Thursday when we saw you at Somerleyton, but was feeling much better on Friday, and is fine now thanks Ray. It was really to speak to you on Thursday, even if it was only briefly, but anyone who owns and prepares a boat as good as Dakota hes to be a decent bloke.

[Ray]

You are too kind, hopefully on your trip next year we can meet up and you'll be most welcome to have a closer look at Dakota.  

(Previous owners did all the work I just get to enjoy her... although some maintenance is planned to the varnish before next season gets underway.)

[Seagypsy]

Bit of a scary ending to your week Neil, glad to hear Karen is OK now. Roll on next year

[vanessan]

How scary, glad all is well now. The beginning of Karen’s ‘episode’ reminds me of a bout of food poisoning I had last year. Did the ambulance guys have any idea as to what caused the problem? These unpleasant happenings do remind us of how fragile we all really are don’t they?

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

21 minutes ago, vanessan said:

How scary, glad all is well now. The beginning of Karen’s ‘episode’ reminds me of a bout of food poisoning I had last year. Did the ambulance guys have any idea as to what caused the problem? These unpleasant happenings do remind us of how fragile we all really are don’t they?

They said it was probably because she had a couple of glasses of wine on an empty stomach, that caused her to feel like she was drunk, and probably what caused her to feel week with chest pains after being violently sick, and her head still feeling very dizzy. That's probably what caused her concern, leading to a full on panic attack. 

I hat seeing Karen suffering, it makes me feel useless because I can't do anything to help. 

[vanessan]

At least they were able to give a reason for it then, that must have put your minds at rest to a certain degree. A bag of crisps in future before the wine then? 😄🍷

[YnysMon]

Glad to hear Karen is feeling better. It must have been very scary..especially being away from home. She’s lucky she has such a lovely caring partner.

Helen

[trambo]

Yikes Neil, that really must have been frightening for you both. Lucky in one sense that you where at Oulton Broad and not in the wilds. Best wishes to Karen.

We passed on the Ant at Howe Hill but too narrow for me to navigate  and get a shot of Lightning.

Fred

[SwanR]

Glad that everything was ok in the end. There is a certain reluctance to make that emergency call but sometimes it really is for the best.

On a slightly different subject ... you mentioned Wiggy. I'm sure I saw that boat at Beccles again last weekend and that it was a friend of someone here but I couldn't remember who, or what boat they might be on! Must start keeping a list of these things on my phone for quick reference if we ever spot boats that look familiar when we're out and about.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

2 minutes ago, SwanR said:

Glad that everything was ok in the end. There is a certain reluctance to make that emergency call but sometimes it really is for the best.

On a slightly different subject ... you mentioned Wiggy. I'm sure I saw that boat at Beccles again last weekend and that it was a friend of someone here but I couldn't remember who, or what boat they might be on! Must start keeping a list of these things on my phone for quick reference if we ever spot boats that look familiar when we're out and about.

Hi Jean,

Wiggy is a good friend of Boycee, they were both moored next to eachother at Oulton Broad Yacht Station last week. Boycee`s boat is really nice and called "Sandpiper". Wiggy`s boat is called "Wiggy".

Hi Fred (Trambo),

Had i have known, i would have given you a wave. We saw Thunder at the bottom of the Ant.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Thursday morning see`s us wake up to a nice sunny day, with Karen feeling much better, though still not 100%, it`s more psychological now, because she`s worried if it will happen again. We get up, and Alan (Ranworth Breeze) and Andy are already preparing RB for the off. I gave my thanks for yesterday afternoon, and hope they enjoy the rest of their holiday, and yes, i WAS in my dressing gown, hardly a pretty sight, but i wanted to thank them before they got going. I did miss a golden opportunity to get a great photo of RB as they came out of the yacht station and cruised past on flat calm water, and in the morning sun, as i said, a golden opportunity missed, sorry Alan. Karen and i get showered and dressed, and walk up to 142, a lovely little tea shop and gardens just up from The Waveney inn, where we have breakfast, me with a toasted sausage egg and cheese toastie, and Karen with 3 poached eggs on toast. We get back to Lightning, and have a quick chat with Boycee and his good lady, along with Wiggy.  fill up with water, and get underway. Just as we were casting off, the guy at the end of the finger asked where we were headed, i said Loddon, and in a surprising manner, he asked if Lightning was 42ft, i said 43, and he said i was very brave, hmmmm, i told him i`d done it many times, and it was fine. It`s a lovely flat calm morning, and we have a quick detour across the broads to the former Topcraft Cruisers yard, where Graham from Maffett Marine has taken over, and installed some pontoons and 240 posts for moorings. I don`t know whether he will be offering overnight moorings for visitors, but at least the yard is being re-opened, which can only be a good thing. We carry on across the broad and out onto the main river enjoying the sun. As we come through Somerleyton Bridge, i noticed a familiar sight up on the public moorings. It was Ray again on Dakota, so i slowed to tickover and crept up on him. I gave a couple of toots, and out he popped. It was great to have a very brief chat with him, though in hindsight, we had plenty of time to moor and have a cuppa, another missed opportunity, but one i hope will be addressed next March. As we went further down the Waveney, i noticed a large Hardy cruiser coming up behind us at what was obviously more than the legal speed, and creating a large and unacceptable wash. We rounded the bend, and dead in the middle of the river was a dredging barge, being pushed and pulled, albeit slowly, down river. I waited till i could see round the bend, then moved passed as it was clear. There was a ranger launch further up warning other river users, which they should have had upriver, maybe they would have caught the speeding Hardy. We reached the New Cut, and were doing 5 mph heading up to Reedham, though the limit is 4 mph, and the impatient twatt on the Hardy, who had no chance of getting under St Olaves bridge, decided to speed past us, bearing in mind we were already above the limit at 5 mph. I shouted at him, saying he was very inconsiderate, but as usual, got ignored. I did however get the name and base of his boat, and when downloaded will be reporting it to Broads Control. We raeched the other end, and saw the Hardy turn toward Breydon, obviously still over the limit.  We passed through Reedham and saw the ranger, so said good afternoon as we passed, the reply we got was a really grumpy "good afternoon", so i humerously said cheer up, he did`nt like that, but it WAS meant with good intent. It seems the Reedham rangers (not a football or rugby team) seem to be a bunch of miserable jobsworths. We carried on up to Loddon enjoying a lovely sunny cruise, though when the wind dropped, it was very hot, burning my legs through my jeans, though they are black. We reached Pye`s Mill, it was empty except for a couple of private yachts. We reached the staithe, and it was quite busy, but there was a space between one of Silverlines Alpha 42s, and Sweet Freedom, one of Andy`s which looked in good condition, and with satisfied customers aboard, he must be doing things right. We got moored up and went over to Rosie Lee`s where we enjoyed Tea and cake, the "courgette and lime" cake is to die for. We reserved a table for breakfast the following morning, and went a bought a few essentials, some to stock up Lightnings cleaning supply cupboard, and some for us. Back on Lightning, and we`ve planned to go to the Raj for a curry, but after yesterday, Karen was still feeling fragile, and tired, so we opted for the chippie, where i had a chicken pie and chips, and she only had chips, that was all she wanted, though i said she MUST eat something to get some sustinance back into herself. We settled down for the night with a couple of DVDs, and whiled the evening away. It`s a been a lovely relaxing day, which was what we needed after yesterday. Good night all.

[Mouldy]

5 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

 . . . . . . . Wiggy is a good friend of Boycee, they were both moored next to eachother at Oulton Broad Yacht Station last week. Boycee`s boat is really nice and called "Sandpiper". Wiggy`s boat is called "Wiggy". . . . . . 

Spotted Wiggy a couple weeks ago heading towards The Ferry House from Brundall.      In fact, we moored next to him back in April at The Ferry House and had had a few words with him (friendly obviously).  Also saw Boycee’s boat outside The Ferry House a couple of weeks ago, with what used to be Mr Nog’s favourite boat (Swan Royale), which has clearly found a new owner.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

It`s a sunny Friday morning, and we`re looking to get back to Brundall just after lunch time, as we have to service Lightning for our next owners. So we`re up and about, showered and dressed, and over to Carolines (Rosie Lee`s) for breakfast. Karen is a lot better, and has her now usual poached eggs on toast, and i tuck in to a really nice egg and bacon cheese topped toastie, with a couple of bangers on the side. I love her cheese topped toasties, and have had them about 4 times on the trot now, creature of habbit by any chance?. We have a walk up to the chemists, and see the new Bistro in the old Barclays building. Possibly another  place to have a meal, but it will have to compete with The White Horse, and The Raj though. We`re back on Lightning now, and fill up with water, disconnect the 240, and get underway. It`s our last days cruising, and with our plans being necessities, we head straight for Brooms where our home mooring is. En route, we have a really enjoyable, if short, cruise, and are soon approaching Brundall. It`s always the saddest part when you round the bend by Harvey Eastwoods old yard and see straight up the Yare to our mooring, i always throttle back to eke out a few minutes more cruising. Silly i know, but every minute cruising is precious when you have limited holiday time to enjoy more.  We reach our mooring and pull in, and switch off. We`re not finished though, as we have to re-fuel and pumpout a little later. But for now, we`re in full packing mode, and get the bags from the car. We also make use of the berth holders laundry facility, and do the washing, as we`ll have more to do when we arrive home. While the laundry is underway, we have a walk down the road to find out which chalets are for hire, as we`re planning to have two weeks in October next year, the first on Lightning, and the second in a chalet, so we can drive around Norfolks greater area, you only see a small amount on the Broads. We find one which is eactly what we`re looking for, and they have availability to suit. We walk back to the Laundry which has finished in the washing machine and put it in the tumble dryer. We walk back to Lightning, and pack what we have on board, and start loading up the car, but while doing so, forget about the laundry. We take Lightning the short distance to the fuel and pumpout quay, and find out we`ve used £100 ish worth of diesel. We did do a lot of cruising, some of it against the tide, so it`s no real surprise. We`re cleaning up, and realise we`ve forgotten the laundry. I walked round, and found the door locked. It`s a coded door, so i punched in the code, but no luck, i thought they`d locked it with a key. I went round to Lightning and got the old berth holders key to the door, to see if it would work, but no joy.  I went back with Karen as she said maybe i did something wrong, so again, i punched in the code, and no luck again. By now i was spitting bullets, and phoned our chairman to find out if there was an out of hours number for Brooms staff in case of any problems. I was expecting to have to leave it all overnight, and would have to collect it in the morning in a black sack and take it home unfolded. With this in mind, and the fact i wasted what must have been an hour fuming about it, we decided to go for dinner in the Yare and started walking round, when Karen said she wondered whether the toliets had also been locked, so we tried them, and at first i thought they they had. Then i had an embarrasing brainwave, did i turn the latch the right way?, no i did`nt, humble pie was on the menu for me. So we quickly went round and tried again, EUREKA. We collected the Laundry, then went for dinner. We always eat in the Yare on our last night, being convenient, and good quality food at a reasonable price, and tonight it was traditional lasagne, with salad for Karen, and salad and hash browns for me, helped along with a side of garlic chiabatta, yummmmyyyyy.  We `re back aboard, and carry on packing, tidying up, and loading up the car, it always seems never ending. After a while, we relax and watch some telly. It`s been a nice day, but always sad to leave our lovely boat. About 11pm, we decide it`s bed time and go to bed for the last time this trip.  Good night all.

[ZimbiIV]

If you are looking for a chalet on Riverside, try Herons View really recommend it. We usually have a week there while preparing the boat for the season.

But be quick it books quickly.

paul

[boycee]

Seems a lot of money for fuel Neil even though you went North and back. I did 166 miles in my 3 weeks and used 60 littes of fuel @ £1.16 a litre cost just over £69 when I filled up to the brim at my mooring  Sutton Staithe. Boatyard.Brooms are probably one of the most expensive fuel providers on the Broads. Would it not be an idea if you filled up at Swancraft as I think you will find them cheaper. Sandpiper averaged almost 12.6 mpg not always with the tide. Food for thought maybe

Alan 

 

 

 

[NorfolkNog]

On ‎22‎/‎09‎/‎2019 at 20:41, Mouldy said:

with what used to be Mr Nog’s favourite boat (Swan Royale), which has clearly found a new owner.

Aw, how was she looking? I know Alan said that she had been sold.

21 minutes ago, boycee said:

Would it not be an idea if you filled up at Swancraft as I think you will find them cheaper

I can't remember what Swancraft are charging at the mo but I'm sure it would be very reasonable.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

That did include one pumpout. We get a discount as berth holders on fuel, but not pumpouts. I know Brooms are expensive for fuel, but trying to get it elsewhere can sometimes make you go out of your way just to save a few quid. It might be a saving, but sometimes takes you out of your way, and the inconvenience is more of a pain than the increased fuel cost. Having said that, i did wonder about filling up elsewhere during the latter part of the week, but don`t know where there are any fuel supplies on the southern rivers that sell to the public.

[NorfolkNog]

5 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

but don`t know where there are any fuel supplies on the southern rivers that sell to the public

Good point Neil. I know Swancraft definitely do.

Otherwise Goodchilds, maybe Hippersons at Beccles? Pacific maybe would too?

[NorfolkNog]

.............and WRC of course

[boycee]

Steve at Quayway Boats the old Astons Yard at Beccles does fuel & pumpouts