High Summer Sail On Lustre June-july 2019

[YnysMon]

Saturday 29th June

On this holiday me, hubby Graham, eldest son Harry and dog Seren. Almost two years since we sailed Lustre’s sister-ship Lullaby (see holiday tales July 2017). We did miss sailing last year!

We started off around 9am. Had a couple of traffic delays on the way, and also stopped off for coffee at Caxton Gibbet Costas. I had suggested to Graham that we could skip the coffee break and get to Norfolk quicker, so when Harry asked his Dad if we would be stopping off for coffee, he got the response ‘Well I am, but Mum isn’t’. A signal that I’m going to be well and truly teased this week. (More than usual, that is!)

We didn’t get to Ludham until almost mid-day. Made a bee-line for Alfresco Tearooms, where we always get a good meal and it's handy that they allow dogs inside as it was too hot to leave Seren in the car. Just a sandwich lunch today, but up to their usual high standard. After lunch I popped into Throwers for some bread and salad ingredients and into the butchers for some BBQ meats and bacon.

We got to Hunter’s Yard just after 1pm, (a little early). The reason we had booked Lustre this year was in response to Harry’s discovering that she had been fitted with an ‘electric quant’, i.e. an battery powered ‘Torqeedo’ engine. On our previous holidays with Hunter’s Yard boats we’ve had to quant (use a very long pole to push ourselves along with) when the wind has failed us. There's been quite a lot of controversy about fitting the Torqeedo engines to three of the boats. Some people view it as sacrilege and think Percy Hunter would have been turning in his grave. We thought it was a really good aid though. We had heard that some older sailors had regretfully stopped hiring from Hunter's Yard as they found the manual quanting was too difficult. Hopefully, this will mean that more people will hire these wonderful old boats. The Yard Foreman, Ian, showed us how to use the Torqeedo. I asked whether we should buy some cards for topping up the electric charge (I have some that we bought for our last holiday on a Ferry Marina boat but forgot to bring them with us), but Ian reassured us that they haven’t yet had a battery run-out over a week’s hire.

This year we just dumped all out stuff on board without bothering to unpack and got on our way as quickly as possible as we wanted to make sure to get to Potter Heigham for low tide (forecast for 4.50pm). First though, we removed one of the mattresses from forward cabin and put Seren's doggy bed in its place.

Whilst Harry and Graham were taking off the awning and readying the boat for setting-off I spotted a small white bird with black markings (possibly a Little Tern?) suddenly drop down into the water of the dyke and fly off with a fish in its beak.

The electric quant came into use immediately to get to the area at the end of Hunter’s Yard to set sail,

and even after that we used it a little to help us down Womack Dyke, given that a SW wind was blowing down the dyke.  

We mostly sailed up to and through Potter Heigham, though we did use the engine once or twice when bungalows/trees ‘stole’ our wind. Seren loves it when she's allowed on deck.

Mast down, ready for the bridge passage.

It was getting on for 4pm by now, and since we had the electric quant, we thought we would go through the bridge without waiting for the turn of the tide. First though, Graham wanted to pop to Latham’s to get a blanket as he’d forgotten to pack the fleece blankets that we usually use to cover furnishings.

It wasn’t long before we got on our way again. Harry took us though the bridges on the engine. A lot easier (and quicker) than quanting though manually!

Sails back up, we continued with a fair wind up the Thurne and through Candle Dyke.

We had thought we’d moor at the Deep-Go-Dyke BA moorings, but they and the Whiteslee mooring were full. We managed to find a space on the Deep Dyke moorings though, near the entrance to Hickling Broad.

I put some new potatoes on the boil and Graham fired up the BBQ. We had Ludham butcher’s minted lamb chops and their soy, garlic and ginger chicken skewers with the potatoes and salad for our dinner. Yum! The chicken was especially tasty. We sat with a beer or two enjoying the late evening sunshine until sundown. A beautiful warm and still evening. Can’t believe how lucky we are…the weather has turned so favourably for us, after a fairly rainy June.

A few mozzies were starting to come out, so we put the awning up and lit the paraffin lamps as they tend to deter the mozzies. A few other mod-cons have been fitted to the boat since we last sailed with Hunter’s. Some battery lights, fitted to ceiling magnets, fire-alarm and CO alarm. Harry managed to set off the fire alarm by letting his paraffin lamp smoke.

We settled down for the night around 10pm, just as the light was failing. Harry and Seren (both in the forward cabin) took a while to settle as there were several flies worrying them. A lot of banging went on for a while as Harry swatted the flies.

Seren settled for the night. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, YnysMon said:

This year we just dumped all out stuff on board without bothering to unpack and got on our way as quickly as possible

So you're telling me there is an alternative? 

[SwanR]

Love your photos Helen. Really looking forward to reading this tale. I was thinking of you through the week as you definitely seemed to have found summer. 

[YnysMon]

Thanks Jean. Yes, the weather was pretty much perfect. Not even a drop of rain! We certainly needed the sunscreen!

[YnysMon]

Sunday 30th June

As usual on Broads holidays I woke really early at 5am, not long after dawn. Seren had been whining quietly since it started to get light, but as she didn’t sound distressed, I ignored her (getting her in training for sleeping later as the week progresses). Graham was sleeping soundly. There was quite a bit of ‘bow-slap’ as an early Westerly breeze had sprung up as forecast.

Graham woke around 7am, but no sign of Harry getting up. It was another beautiful morning with a cloudless sky. We eventually woke Harry up after 8am with a cup of tea.

We put two reefs in this morning, as the breeze seemed quite strong - we could see that the water at the end of Hickling Broad was pretty choppy.  We started off by sailing across Hickling Broad until we were nearing the Sailing Club, then we turned back, sailed past the Deep Dyke moorings and made our way through Meadow Dyke, the wind being just right to take us though on sail. There was a fair wind on Horsey Mere, but not as strong as we had expected. We took out sails down on the far side of the Mere, using the electric quant to keep our bow to the wind and then motored into the Dyke, arriving late morning.

Graham went off down the end of the dyke to check out where to pay for the mooring (£5 for an overnight mooring). However, it turns out that the guy that runs the Ross’ Wildlife Tours now takes the mooring fees. I asked him if he had space for two for an afternoon wildlife tour and booked for the 3.15pm tour, as I had won a free ticket for two for the tour from the Friends of Hunter’s Yard photo competition a couple of years ago (3rd prize).

First though we had brunch (fried new potatoes, Ludham butcher’s smoked bacon and beans). We whiled away the afternoon sitting in the very warm sunshine until it was time for the Wildlife Trip. Graham made sure that Seren wasn’t getting too hot, he had brought a cloth and neck cloth with him which he dampened to help cool her down.

Graham stayed with Seren whilst Harry and I took the trip. This took us across Horsey Mere, the guide (Ross?) explaining some of the history and techniques of thatching (use of sedge for the ridge of the roof and reeds on the main parts of the roof). We went down Meadow Dyke, spotting Norfolk Hawker Dragonflies and another brown Dragonfly whose name I forget.

We also saw (briefly) a Swallowtail Butterfly zooming across the dyke on the strong breeze. Then into Heigham Sound to see a pair of Swans with cygnets, Avocets flying by, a Marsh Harrier and some Common Terns.

On the return cruise back through Meadow Dyke the guide turned off the engine and drew our attention to the song of a Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler.

We relaxed a bit more after our tour, before walking across the fields to the Nelson Head for an early dinner. As it was such a beautiful warm evening we sat outside to eat. Seren found a shady spot!

Crab salad for me off their specials board. It was okay but I would have preferred to have had it with potato salad or coleslaw rather than hot new potatoes and side salad. It was a very small crab, the smallest I’ve seen, though plenty enough for my appetite. Hope the size is not due to overfishing!

Annoyed on our return to the boat to find that my Kindle wouldn’t work. Ended up borrowing ‘Persuasion’ from Harry, who had brought three ‘real’ books with him. A re-read for me, but it is one of my favourite Jane Austin novels.

Watched the sun setting over Horsey Mere, then turned in for the night.

Nice to be able to use real loos! We were a bit bothered by flies again this evening, though not as badly as last night. No mozzies though, thankfully.

[YnysMon]

There will be a delay before I post the next instalment. We're planning to go to the RHS Gardens at Hyde Hall tomorrow. I've been off work this week as well as last and have been spending most of the last few days on our new allotment (new to us that is), which is why I didn't get around to posting until today.

Only half of the plot had been cultivated in recent years, the other half was overshadowed by trees that were growing on what was originally plot 1 (we're plot 2) and under the mulch beneath the trees we found about three layers of carpet (grrr!). Luckily for us a couple of guys on neighbouring plots helped us out by cutting back the trees (having checked first with the Parish Council). One of them even took the carpets to the dump for us. Aren't people kind! 

Helen

[YnysMon]

 

Monday 1st July

Woke to a cloudless blue sky again and a strong breeze. We turned the boat on the ropes so that the awning opening would be sheltered from the wind, and to bring our bow around to face the exit of the dyke. By 9am though there was a fair amount of cloud, though with sunny spells. We didn’t rush to get away this morning as I made us a breakfast of fried new potatoes, spam and scrambled egg. By the time we’d eaten that lot it was after 10.

We were a bit lazy this morning. We knew that we’d have the wind against us down Meadow Dyke, so rather than sail across the Mere we just motored across and then down the dyke.

Once in Heigham Sound I held the boat head to wind whilst Graham and Harry got the sails up. We had a lovely sail through Candle Dyke and then all the way up to West Somerton, passing a weed cutting machine near Martham Broad. There seems to be a weed cutter permanently working up there in July/August.

On the moorings at West Somerton.

When we got to West Somerton, we thought the mooring there was pretty exposed to the strong wind and would be even worse overnight as the wind was forecast to swing to the north. We decided to leave the mooring and head back down river to Womack. This was probably a bad idea, as we realised that we could have done with that northerly wind for the section past Martham Broad. We couldn’t use the electric quant on that section as it was far too weedy (would have fouled the prop),

and the wind was too strong to manually quant, so we were reduced to tacking against the strong westerly wind. We got on okay initially until we failed to turn on a section passing the Broad and ended up stuck in mud just outside the marked channel. Whoops!

Attempts to push ourselves off with the quant failed miserably and we ended up flagging down the two guys in the weed-cutting machine who towed us off the mud and downriver as far as a wild mooring on the bend (marked Dungeon Corner on the map). We rond-anchored there for a while for a coffee break, next to a couple who kindly lent us their boat hook to try to clear the weed that we had collected underneath the boat.

It was well after 2pm by the time we got going again. We were a bit tired by now, so just motored down the Thurne rather than raising our sails. We had to put the motor into reverse a few times to clear the remainder of the weed.

We all agreed, that's the last time we'll visit West Somerton. It's just not worth the hassle!

At Potter, Graham and I popped into Latham’s for a few essentials (citronella candles, fly-swat, doggy treats, duck and swan food).

Whilst Harry and Graham got our mast down, I walked Seren to the de-masting area south of the bridge and tried videoing their passage through the bridge.

As Harry came in to moor a large Herbie Woods boat unexpectedly came in to moor from the other direction, with imminent danger of collision (we had thought he was aiming for the boatyard entrance). Harry threw Lustre into reverse and I hastily threw the bow rope around a post. Phew – disaster averted!

When I told them that the area was reserved for de-masting, one of their crew explained that their helmsman was worried about negotiating the boatyard entry. It was only when I pointed out that another yacht was approaching and needed to de-mast that they moved to a space a bit further on.

After we’d got our mast back up, we motored through Potter and back to Hunter’s Yard, back to our home berth.

Even more lazily, we drove (!) up to the King’s Arms for dinner. Graham had scampi and salad of their light-bites menu (still a large portion of scampi though). Harry and I had fish dishes off their specials board. He had plaice stuffed with prawns with a spring onion and cream sauce, crushed new potatoes and veggies whilst I had herb crusted sea bream fillets with creamy leek and bacon sauce and rosti. Although I try to avoid dairy most of the year, I usually find that I can get away with eating dairy products in July, August and September, so I’m making the most of it! My dish was very tasty, but I always find the helpings in the King’s Arms was too big. Harry and I swopped dishes half way though, as we’d both had difficulty deciding which dish to have.

We lit a citronella candle in the well area of the boat this evening to deter flies and mozzies. Seemed to work – we weren’t bothered by flies in the night.

[YnysMon]

Tuesday 2nd July

We had a very lazy day today (there seems to be a theme of laziness developing over this holiday). I woke pretty early as usual and got up around 7 to have a shower.

Pretty quiet when I got back to the boat.

We had tea, then porridge, then more tea. Leisurely washing up was done. I popped up the road in the car with Harry to get some salad stuff, cake, beers from Throwers (the main reason we went by car) and some meat from the butchers. Sat around in the sun relaxing and reading.

Late morning the guys from the Yard fixed one of the gas rings that hadn’t been working (it had been blocked with water by some previous hirers) and put the Torqeedo on charge for us. After all yesterday’s motoring we had 47% left on the battery – not bad considering.

We had coffee and cake. More sitting around in the sun (glad we brought our folding picnic chairs with us) before lighting the BBQ to cook our lunch. Today we had Chinese pork ribs (very meaty ones) and garlic-butter marinated chicken skewers with new potatoes and salad - lovely but we preferred the chicken skewers we had on Saturday evening.

I had a nap in the sunshine after lunch, before we went for a walk around Ludham marshes. Harry and I dawdled a lot. That wildlife trip has a lot to answer for, as we spotted and heard some of the wildlife we’d been introduced to on Sunday.

This one's a bit out of focus unfortunately...

Not wildlife, but...I love the way you can spot sails drifting along above fields.

Early evening, we hopped in the car again and drove to The Lion at Thurne. Noticed they have recently been awarded a regional ‘best pub’ award by CAMRA. Love the way they have refurbished the pub, and the excellent choice of beers, ciders and gins.

However, they seem to have changed their menu and portion sizes, no doubt to cater for the majority of their customers' tastes, but for me the menu was less interesting than it used to be. Readers of some of my previous blogs will have realised that I like unusual (and occasionally downright weird) food. Also, I thought that the portions are now too big (for me anyway – sure they will suit others fine!). Still really well-cooked food though. Harry had BBQ duck legs with fries and BBQ backed beans off their specials menu. He couldn’t finish it and Seren had to help him out a bit. I couldn’t finish my sea bream either. Graham managed to polish off his sausage and mash though.

Back to the Yard for a final pre-bedtime walk for Seren and showers for Harry and Graham before turning in for another early night.

[YnysMon]

Wednesday 3rd July

We really made up for yesterday’s laziness today, even though we didn’t set off that early.

I took advantage of the showers in the Yard again this morning. The sun felt scorching as early as 8am and there was hardly a breath of wind. We had another cooked breakfast (Ludham butchers bacon, fried potatoes and beans). I’m finding the ‘spray-on’ type of oil really handy on this holiday. It makes far less mess (splattering) than frying with normal oil.

By 10am a gentle northerly breeze had sprung up, so we set off sailing very gently down the Thurne

and then up the Bure, stopping at the St Benet’s moorings for a coffee break and a walk for the dog.

We also fed the swans and geese.

We continued up the Bure and through Horning, using the Torqeedo near the Ranworth turn off (pesky trees!) and again in the wooded section before Horning.  By the time we got through Horning it was after 2pm, so we turned into Blackhorse Broad and mud-weighted whilst we ate a bread and cheese (Camembert and Boursin) lunch with some red wine to wash it down. One of the swans resident on the Broad was a bit cheeky. He was trying to get his neck over the side of the boat to nick Harry’s lunch.

Rather than continue to Salhouse Broad as originally planned, we decided to head back down river and up the River Ant to look for a quiet mooring.

The wind had freshened and, although we used the Torqeedo a couple of times through Horning we were able to tack down most of the Bure, even the wooded section.

An Eastwood Whelpton boat had been just behind us through Horning. When we got to the wooded section I was surprised to find that we left him far behind, despite not using the Torqeedo. Maybe Hunter’s boats are easier to handle tacking through such sections? The Torqeedo did get used more once we were on the Ant, but even there we were able to catch the wind here and there.

We went past How Hill, even though there was lots of space on the moorings. The evening light was lovely through Irstead.

It was getting on for 8pm by the time we got to Barton Broad and the wind was dying down. There were a couple of spaces on the Paddy’s Lane moorings but we opted for a mooring on the Barton Turf Parish Staithe, where there’s a water point and refuse/recycling facilities. It was lovely and quiet there overnight. Dinner this evening was pasta with carbonara sauce from a jar. Yuk! Don’t think we’ll be trying that again!

[SwanR]

Wonderful write up. That lazy day back at the yard sounds like it was a good idea. I always like to have somewhere in a week’s holiday for not going far or doing much. 

[YnysMon]

Thursday 4th July

I woke slightly later this morning – not until 6! Kept quiet as usual until Graham woke around 8. Seren, bless her, had been awake well before that as I could hear her whining now and again, but very quietly.

Although Barton Turf had been very quiet overnight, there was a fair amount of aircraft noise in the morning, but that’s the case for all the moorings around the upper Ant.

We had a porridge breakfast this morning and got on our way mid-morning. To start with, Harry swopped our Welsh flag for the stars and stripes (4th July - in honour of American family and friends), then we motored up the Ant as far as the Stalham/Sutton fork, checking whether there were any wild moorings that are not overhung with trees. We set our sails on our way back down and had a lovely sail to and fro across Barton Broad, though we had to use the Torqeedo through Irstead and most of the way down to How Hill, where we stopped for coffee and cake.

I managed to lose the lid of the kettle overboard whilst trying to thoroughly empty the kettle. Oopsie! For the remainder of the week Graham and Harry kept pulling my leg about not losing other things overboard.

We continued on our way in a hybrid sail/Torqeedo fashion down to Ludham Bridge as we kept catching/losing the wind. Ludham Bridge moorings were very busy, but luckily there was a space at the de-masting moorings just before the bridge. Normally we prefer to moor further away from the bridge as it can be a bit chaotic immediately before the bridge. It was chaotic too! Just after we moored a large cruiser slowed down to a stop mid-river between the de-masting area and the water point. They proceeded to take down their screens to prepare for the bridge passage whilst another boat came to a standstill behind them. Given it wasn’t a Richardson’s boat, they surely must have realised they were nearing the bridge? They then spotted the water point, so waved the other boat past. It didn’t help that a day boat had moored in front of the water point!

Fortunately, it had calmed down by the time we had de-masted and we were able to get through the bridge without any problems.

Also, there was plenty of space for us to moor up the other side of the bridge to put the mast back up. Sails back up, we had a lovely, though slowish, sail down the Bure to Upton, getting there just before 4pm. The (tiny) staithe was full, so we asked at the Eastwood Whelpton Yard if we could moor there. They were happy to oblige and we were able to moor overnight side on and use their loos, though we found that the lights/hand-dryers didn’t work after dark.

Upton is a lovely quiet mooring, though I wouldn’t want to take my chances negotiating the very narrow dyke in anything other than a sail boat or very small cruiser. There isn’t much room for manoeuvre at the end where the staithe is.

The other good thing about Upton is the community-owned pub – The White Horse. They had an exceptionally good selection of 0%/low alcohol beers (Becks – yuk, but also Ghostship, Old Speckled Hen and Estrella). Graham opted for the Old Speckled Hen, as he hasn't come across that option before. Harry and I had full-fat Wherry. We looked for a table in the shade, as the afternoon had been exceptionally hot, even on the river. We felt baked to a crisp, though our sunblock had done its work.

After dinner we returned to the Yard and sat in our picnic chairs for a while. It was still very warm, but the sky had clouded over and it almost looked as though a thunderstorm was brewing. However, by sunset the sky was clearing again. Spent a peaceful night.

[Guest]

 

55 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

I popped up the road in the car with Harry to get some salad stuff, cake, beers from Throwers (the main reason we went by car) and some meat from the butchers. Sat around in the sun relaxing and reading.

I love how you go shopping on holiday and buy cake, then get "salad stuff" to make yourself feel better about it 

13 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

They had an exceptionally good selection of 0%/low alcohol beers (Becks – yuk, but also Ghostship, Old Speckled Hen and Estrella).

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo 

13 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Harry and I had full-fat Wherry. 

Now that is much better 

Enjoying your tale Helen as always, and some beautiful pictures there too 

[YnysMon]

Yeh well, - the salad stuff was for the BBQ - just to accompany lots of meat!

Graham doesn't drink alcohol, so it's good that he can get something that isn't just sugary.

The cake was very good - I recommend the coffee and walnut cake from Ludham's Throwers!

 

[NorfolkNog]

yep, agree, really enjoying your tale Helen. Its also good to have a tale aboard one of those flappy things too - in fact this could be a first? Fascinating stuff and glad to see you are supporting the local hostelries too!!

[YnysMon]

Not a first Mr NN! I've previously posted some other tales from Hunter's Yard boat hires - 1st week of July in 2014, '15, '16 and '17! Missed out last year though!

[YnysMon]

Friday 5th July

It was cloudy first thing this morning, but the sky started clearing by 8am. Yet again, we were very slow getting on our way this morning, partly because I made a cooked breakfast again. A couple of Eastwood Whelpton boats were due back early morning, so we were kindly asked if we would mind being stern moored. Of course we didn’t! Has a bit of a chat with one of the Yard owners and got permission to look over one of two of their boats once they were vacated.

We’ve been very impressed with the appearance of all the Eastwood Whelpton boats that we’ve come across during the week. They are obviously very well cared for. Impressed too at the welcome they gave to returning parties and that they asked each how the boat had been and whether there had been any issues. Good customer care!

It was getting on for 11am before we got on our way, setting off toward Acle. It took us a good hour to get there as the wind was very light in places. Once moored at the BA moorings on the northern bank we made coffee, got the picnic chairs out and watched the world go by.

Amused by the antics of a large family of ducks. Mum and Dad hopped up onto the shore, and most of the ducklings managed the leap up, apart from a couple of smaller ducklings who struggled for a while, gave up, swam around, but eventually made it.

The tide was coming in strongly, bringing with it a remarkable amount of seaweed.

After a while we went along the bank from the moorings for a walk to give Seren some exercise. At least Graham went for a walk, Seren had a run, whilst Harry and I just had a dawdle. We kept stopping again to look a wildflowers and wildlife. Whilst I was trying to take a photo of a bird in the reeds, Harry gave a whoop of joy. Earlier in our walk, he had been recalling the four-leaf clover that he had found when at School. He had now found another one. How lucky is that!

After our walk we went over the bridge to Pedro’s. After such a large and late breakfast, we weren’t really hungry, but we managed to find room for some Nacho’s, breaded calamari and some hummus and pitta. Harry and I each had a drink off their gin menu.

It took us almost two hours to sail back from Acle to Womack Water and the Yard. A lovely sail with a fair wind all the way. It was a bit hot again though!

When we first arrived back at the Yard, Graham made me lower and raise the mast with him, just to prove that the two of us can do it without problems, in case Harry can’t make it next year. We have provisionally booked Lustre for the same week next year. (Whoopie!).

This evening we just sat around in the sunshine again, making the most of the last few hours of our holiday.

Seren - waiting for Graham's return.

[YnysMon]

Saturday 6th July

Very sad to be leaving Lustre this morning. We cleared our stuff off the boat by 9am and went to The Old Mill café in Wroxham for a full-English. It’s not a dog-friendly establishment, but it was really cloudy this morning, so we were able to leave Seren in the car. They do a lovely breakfast!

Just as we were driving over Wroxham bridge on our way home it started to rain. First rain we’ve seen all week. We’ve had amazing weather this week, especially considering how cold it was for much of June.

We got home around 1pm, after a very easy journey.

[SwanR]

Great write up and lovely photos. It’s a sure sign of what a great time you’ve had when you book the same boat over again. 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

What an amazing write up, and with some stunning photo`s. We were on Lightning the same week (see "Lightning strikes again"), but the tides were yet again unfavourable for going North, so we stayed South, though In hindsight, had we have got away very early on our return, we could have made it easier, though i`m fed up with bashing a hard ebbing tide back across Breydon. Totally agree with you re the weather, and like you, the only rain we had was when we were driving back down the A11 between the A47 and Snetterton. It was fine afterwards. 

I love your write up about the upper Thurne network, something we can`t do on Lightning, as our syndicate rules don`t allow it, plus, at 43ft long and 12ft wide, she will very rarely fit through "that damned bridge" (blow the bloody thing up).  I`m seriously considering mooring one night at Potter Heigham and hiring one of Martham Ferry`s pic nic boats in september for a day to go to Horsey, and Hickling. Your tale and photos are a perfect encouragement.

Many thanks for an excellent read, and enjoy many more sailing holidays, just a shame there are no hire fleets hiring yachts on the southern rivers, you would enjoy them as they are far better for sailing being much wider with many long straight runs or reaches.

[YnysMon]

Thanks Speedtriple, Shame our paths didn’t cross. 

I’m cherishing that bridge. Just think, without it there wouldn’t be that tantalising quiet area, just out of reach...it just wouldn’t be quite so special. Do hire a picnic boat, we did last August from Whispering Reeds boatyard on Hickling and we had the perfect day. Don’t forget to have lunch at the Nelson Head if you manage to get to Horsey,

We are thinking that hiring a sailey with a proper inboard engine (with more ‘oomph’ to it) would give us the back up power to get through Yarmouth (with careful planning). Every time Graham and I get down south we always say to one another that it would be lovely to sail there. We are considering the Swallowtail boatyard at Ludham or Eastwood Whelpton. 

By the way, there are some interesting info boards on the walls of The White Hourse in Upton about the history of the EW boatyard. I think I read that a boat that first won a sailing speed record was built there in the 1950s. 

[tim]

Lovely tale, I'm having a 'day off' from writing mine so I've been catching up with other blogs on here, and watching the cricket (we play sky go through a play-station to a 55 inch tv in the office) not that that's been fun viewing!

I tried to like your posts, but 'computer says no' apparently I've used all my 'likes' up for today!  

Anyone know how many you get a day?  

[YnysMon]

Hi Tim, 

The same thing happened to me when I first joined. Apparently you have a limited number of likes per day until you achieve full member status. 

Helen

[BrundallNavy]

On 21/07/2019 at 16:25, YnysMon said:

 

By the way, there are some interesting info boards on the walls of The White Hourse in Upton about the history of the EW boatyard. I think I read that a boat that first won a sailing speed record was built there in the 1950s. 

Did you see the case with the white pants in, they have a very interesting tale attached. 

[YnysMon]

No, I missed the pants. Any more info?