Norfolk Lady Tales

[SwanR]

I’ve bought books of photos of the Broads and I reckon that your photos are right up there with them. But how anyone gets into something like that I’ve no idea. Perhaps I should see if there is a local photographic group up here. 

[Mouldy]

Friday 25th September

Well, the weather had certainly lived up to the promise.  It was wet and windy when I woke . . . . . very wet and very windy.  After 08:00, we ran the engine for hot water and had breakfast while we were waiting, before taking it in turn to get showered and dressed.  I was unsure whether to wait it out for the weather to calm down, before we moved off, but it looked as if it was only going to get worse as the weekend progressed.

A few craft passed us, obviously having left the shelter of the basin, as well as a few of the boats previously moored around us at Pyes Mill.  I waited until about 12:00 before eventually deciding to head for the safety of our home mooring.   Looking at Facebook, I saw a report from the BA stating that Breydon was closed to hirecraft and wondered how many craft would not make it back to base for changeover on Saturday.
Getting away from the bank proved to be a little difficult, with a high airdraft no bow thruster, but once clear, we turned and made our way back up The Chet.  
We turned onto The Yare just about at the time of the tide turning to rise, but the effect of the wind seemed to counteract any benefit that we might have gained from a rising tide.  I opened the throttle a bit more and we made about 5mph against the wind.

I’ve seen some rough water on The Yare before, but a combination of rising tide and strong headwind made for a very choppy river and a very lumpy journey.  Trying to keep a straight course required concentration and constant steering inputs.  
As we progress towards a Brundall, I noticed that we were being followed by one of Silverline’s hire fleet and what looked like a couple of craft from NBD.  ‘Brave souls’ I though.  I guessed that the one from Silverline was heading back to base, but wondered where the other two were going.
It’s not often that I’m pleased to see the blue building at the end of the Dyke leading to our mooring, but I was on this occasion.  Gratefully, I turned right off the river and slowed as we progressed past the moored boats.  Someone, in an ex Royalls craft was coming from the opposite direction, right down the middle of the dyke, crawling along.  Trying to hold station whilst he passed was not easy in the wind, but he was soon past, allowing me to carry on.

I was more than a little concerned about how I was going to reverse into our berth, alongside a neighbouring craft in the strong wind, but in the end, it was relative easy as it seemed to be slightly sheltered and we moored without issue.  With the boat safely tied up, I breathed a sigh of relief.  That had not been an enjoyable cruise.

We had food on board, so plugged into the 240v supply, set up out small electric heater and settled down for the rest of the day.  The river levels were rising and I wondered  how high the water would eventually reach.

I didn’t want to cut our holiday short - we weren’t due to go back home until Sunday afternoon, so wondered what we could do on Saturday.  Perhaps drive to Potter Heigham to visit Lathams.  We’d have to see.

We had dinner around 19:00 and watched tv, until retiring for the night at about 22:00.

No photos unfortunately.  It was just too wet and miserable.

[SwanR]

Wow! Not an enjoyable cruise at all then. That was certainly a horrible 48 hours of weather last weekend. Glad you made it safely back to base. Sometimes you just have to do the sensible thing. 

[YnysMon]

I was thinking of you Friday morning. I’ve only ventured up the Dyke to Swancraft once, so I’m glad to hear your mooring was sheltered from the worst of the wind. We were very relieved that we had made it to Brundall on Thursday.

[NorfolkNog]

Done that trip up Hobro's Dyke many times and still shed a tear 

That corner can be a bit breezy so not always easy (t-shirt etc) 

[Mouldy]

Saturday 26th September/Sunday 27th September 

Due to the continuing wind and rain, there wasn’t much to tell regarding the rest of our holiday.  We had planned to go to The Ferry House at Surlingham with Helen (Ynys Mon) and Graham on Saturday night, but with the river levels as high as they were, I suspected that the beer garden and car park would be flooded, making access to the pub difficult.  Also, I did not relish stern mooring there in the strong wind that still prevailed.

Following several text messages with a Helen, we decided to drive to The Bridge Inn at Acle for our meal instead.  Helen made the booking and let me know the details of the time and arrangements regarding the additional measures in place to meet COVID requirements.
We read, listened to the radio , Deb did some sewing and we whiled away the day.  I did pop to the Co-Op to get something for lunch, but apart from that, it was a very lazy day.

Later, we got ready and drove to Acle and met Helen and Graham in the car park, before entering the pub at the allocated time. The meal was very good, as might be expected and we enjoyed a pleasant evening chatting over our meals and drinks, but didn’t stay particularly late as we were concerned at the possibility of flooding at each of our home moorings. 
Once back at the boat, we had a hot drink, whilst we watched tv and went to bed shortly after.

Sunday, after we had washed and showered, we put fresh linen on the bed, packed our clothes and got ready to leave.  Whilst we waited for the water level in the flooded car park to subside enough to allow me to get to the car, we had our customary Sunday brunch of bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes around 11:30.  With the washing up done, there was little more to do.
It wasn’t until about 14:00 until the tide has fallen sufficiently, so we hastily loaded our belongings and left around 15:00, having vacuumed the boat through and readied her for our next visit.

The journey home was uneventful and we were back indoors in Northampton by 18:20.

We’d had a great holiday, despite the weather and I still find it hard to believe the contrast between the warm and cloudless day that we’d enjoyed on Tuesday and the wind and rain replaced it just, a few days later.

Again, no scenic photos, but I have included a couple to show the difference in river levels from the Thursday evening when we first arrived, to Sunday as we left.

We hope to be back on board for another week in November, when I hope the weather might be more clement.

[YnysMon]

Hope the weather behaves itself next time Malcolm. It was good meeting up with you and Debbie. Hope we can do it again some time.

[SwanR]

Those photos certainly tell a story. It was almost unbelievable how the weather changed. September certainly felt like it brought autumn along sooner than other years. Already got the heating on in the house every day now.

[NorfolkNog]

Good grief, those levels are high, looks to be nearly over the moorings. Happy memories.............

[Mouldy]

We returned to Norfolk Lady earlier today for the first time since 25th October.  The last time we left, we had planned to be back for a week in early November, so had not set up the dehumidifier or prepped the boat for the lockdown.

On the way to Brundall from Northampton, we called into see our new bungalow, near Watton, to take some measurements for curtains and more importantly, the kitchen, so we can start to get some estimates for the necessary refurbishment.  It was good to see the place again to reinforce our opinion and confirm the choice we made.  We are both anxiously awaiting news that contracts are prepared for exchange and a move date confirmed.

I must confess that I expected the worst when we eventually arrived at the boat, but apart from some condensation and the butter we’d left in the fridge had gone out of date, there was little else wrong.  The water tank has been drained and refilled and we’re settled in for the night.  We have a table booked at The Ferry House tomorrow evening for a belated celebration of our ruby wedding anniversary, so will go for a short chug maybe to Rockland, before returning to the pub before it gets dark.

The weather is not the best, but we’re in Norfolk and on the rivers, so infinitely preferable to being at home!!

[SwanR]

Exciting times. Wonderful to hear that you’re getting closer to your move. Enjoy your time afloat this weekend too. 

[YnysMon]

Glad to hear you are back in Norfolk. Wish we were there!

[Mouldy]

11 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Glad to hear you are back in Norfolk. Wish we were there!

It’ll soon be next year when you’ll hopefully be back on a refreshed Moonlight Shadow, which incidentally is currently moored in Paul’s yard having some of the planned winter maintenance carried out.

14 hours ago, SwanR said:

Exciting times. Wonderful to hear that you’re getting closer to your move. Enjoy your time afloat this weekend too. 

They are indeed, Jean.  We’ve packed up a lot of stuff and put it in storage, but without a date, we are loathe to pack much more in case we need it!!  The pile of stuff in the garage to throw out is increasing in size and I fear a skip will become necessary before long though!!

[SwanR]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

I fear a skip will become necessary before long

We found a local company in Essex to clear everything. You told them what you'd got and they quoted a price based on how much space they would need in a van to take it all. Then they sent two fit young men who just loaded their van and took it away. No more expensive than hiring a skip, especially when you factored in that we would have struggled to get some of the heavy items moved and into the skip ourselves. Might be worth considering if you can find similar in your area.

[MauriceMynah]

Jean, I'm sure that the company you used was completely Kosha, but be very careful. Some are less so and it is far from unheard of for people to remove the stuff, charge you for the service, then fly tip the load on some country lane.

When that happens the owner of the rubbish, IE you, are still responsible for it and you are the one charged with fly tipping. That's both very annoying and you can get a criminal record as a bonus.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Waste carriers licence is required and should be shown upon request.

[SwanR]

Thanks MM and OBB. It was definitely all above board and legit. I wouldn't have mentioned it if I wasn't sure of that. It was a great service and really helped us out.

[MauriceMynah]

Agreed Jean, If the good guys doing it didn't exist, the bad guys couldn't get in on the act, but the bad guys are out there, and in their masses. My post was just to highlight that caution needs to be used. Many good and sensible people have caught colds on this one.

[Mouldy]

Having had my breakfast and a shower, I gave the boat a quick wash.  I didn’t want anyone seeing it to confuse it with Nyx 1 (sorry MM).  It didn’t take long and Norfolk Lady looked a lot better for it.  We had a slow trip up to Short Dyke, where we moored for a while.  I read and the wife did some knitting.  The weather was fairly much as forecast, overcast and predictably quite chilly, but with the heating on it was warm and cosy on board.

We had lunch before leaving the mooring at about 14:15.  There were a few boats about, mainly fishermen, but we did see a couple of Brooms hire fleet on the river - a Captain and a Bolero.   I managed to grab a sneaky screenshot of Norfolk Lady as we passed the Brundall webcam, before arriving at the pub at about 15:20.
Now sat on board outside The Ferry House.  Table booked for 19:00 and I’m resisting the temptation to share a bag of crisps with the wife.  I do not want to spoil my appetite!!  Sadly, it looks as if there is no seasonal menu this year, but given the current circumstances, it’s hardly surprising.  There are however, plenty of things on the menu to tempt me!!  It’s been too long since we were last here (early August) and we’re looking forward to it.

 

[SwanR]

Sounds like quite a relaxing day all in all. Must add the Ferry House to my list of places to try through 2021. 

Never mind the webcam, maybe I'll get out and about next year and grab some footage of Norfolk Lady somewhere. 

[Turnoar]

Waste transfer note on arrival or send them away empty vanded. Your only defence is a WTN if fly tipped stuff gets traced back to you.

5 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Jean, I'm sure that the company you used was completely Kosha, but be very careful. Some are less so and it is far from unheard of for people to remove the stuff, charge you for the service, then fly tip the load on some country lane.

When that happens the owner of the rubbish, IE you, are still responsible for it and you are the one charged with fly tipping. That's both very annoying and you can get a criminal record as a bonus.

 

[YnysMon]

7 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

Jean, I'm sure that the company you used was completely Kosha, but be very careful. Some are less so and it is far from unheard of for people to remove the stuff, charge you for the service, then fly tip the load on some country lane.

Back in late summer we sold our older car to WeBuyAnyCar.com. A week ago I got a letter from an AAA office, but under a Lancashire Constabulary letter head to say we could be liable for up to £300 recovery fee as it had been dumped somewhere. Fortunately, once Id explained the circumstances, the guy who answered the contact phone number told me not to worry, they would update their records.

I wonder if that’s happened to anyone else who has sold on an older, slightly battered car.

[Guest Jayfire]

3 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Now sat on board outside The Ferry House. 

Good to see you out again Malcolm, I can't wait for Monday to get back to my boat to do the same myself.

Hope you and Mrs M are doing well and have a lovely evening. Would love to have that meet up as soon as life allows again 

[JanetAnne]

31 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

 

I wonder if that’s happened to anyone else who has sold on an older, slightly battered car.

Mine come old and battered when I buy them 

[YnysMon]

Maybe we should have sold our old Renault to you then Dave. It was a bit sad to sell it. Nice to have a car that you can drop the roof down on in the summer. Though it did leak a bit through the driver’s window when we had a downpour.