Luna’s Log

[Lulu]

We think our new crew member is going to take to boating life.  He was a nervous wreck when we started the engine but very quickly settled down once it was running. We started it again a few times throughout the day and he was fine. We decided to stay in the marina and just get him used to getting on and off the boat, the general sights and sounds and moving around on board.  He wasn't  fussed about the geese thank goodness. We will probably go up next weekend and stay.  He’s a tired boy now we are home.  It’s been a busy day.
 

Meet Desmond, our two year old whippet 

 

 

[keifsmate]

Just got to love Desmond's 5 o'clock shadow. He looks like a fully paid up member of the Ant Hill Mob! 

[addicted]

Oh Sam you brought back such happy memories to us of my daughter's cocker spaniel, now sadly departed. We were baby sitting Bertie and took him to the boat with us on our first trip of the new season. We were on board for a couple of days before we got round to starting the engine. 12 week old Bertie who had been snoozing on the cockpit floor beneath which was the engine leapt in the air and didn't touch the ground till he hit the saloon floor! He crept back up after a few minutes and from the safety of the stairs, gingerly felt the cockpit  floor with a very tentative paw, decided all was in order and came up and promptly went back to sleep .Your new  little man looks very laid back  I must say.  A new skipper in the making I think.

 

Carole

[BroadAmbition]

He looks like a fully paid up member of the Ant Hill Mob! 

Ok, admitting that I'm old enough to remember them, along with Penelope Pitstop, Dick Dastardly and of course Mutley 

Griff

[CambridgeCabby]

Surely “The How Hill Mob”?

[Lulu]

Think our first trip out with him next week will have to be to How Hill now! 

[YnysMon]

If you do go to How Hill, remember to visit the Secret Gardens. They should be a riot of colour at this time of the year. Beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas. 

[Lulu]

8 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

If you do go to How Hill, remember to visit the Secret Gardens. They should be a riot of colour at this time of the year. Beautiful rhododendrons and azaleas. 

Will Desmond be allowed in the gardens?

[YnysMon]

Graham and I took it in turns to go around the gardens (they aren’t that extensive) whilst the other waited around the entrance with Seren (our collie). She had a good run beforehand. The path down to the gardens runs through bluebell woods. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bluebells clustered so thickly together.

[Maxwellian]

I am sure we took Max round on the lead.

[vanessan]

Dogs welcome round the secret garden, it can be slow walking though due to lots of trees.......

[Timbo]

I remember the last time we visited with both beagles that dogs were made more than welcome as long as they were on a lead and owners cleaned up after them. There were even water bowls placed at intervals. I scraped my knees and cricked my neck getting down to them so I assumed they were intended for the dogs! 

[Lulu]

Friday 30th April to 2nd May 2021

This weekend was a trial run for Desmond to prepare for our week on the boat in May. He settled really quickly and sleeping arrangements were finally sorted when he gave up trying to get in my sleeping bag and decided his cave bed was ok after all.  

The plan for Saturday was to go early to Acle but the weather was all over the place with the heavy showers.  Mid morning  the sun cane out and we decided to go to Barton Broad then moor up at Paddy’s Lane.  We put a plan in place that Desmond would always be locked in the saloon when we were either leaving a mooring or mooring up. This worked well.  I took him for a lovely walk were he peed on every mole hill he could find. He finds the geese fascinating but once they hissed, he lost interest.  We were tempted to stay there for the night but the cold temps forecast made us decide we would go back to the marina.   We left this morning as we felt we had achieved a lot and didnt fancy being onboard with the rubbish weather due soon and too much to do at home. Just a few pics from a very successful weekend.  There will be a proper log when we are away for a week and promise they wont be all of Desmond! 

 

 

[SwanR]

So glad to hear that it’s all going well. You must be really looking forward to that week aboard later in the month. 👍

[Lulu]

44 minutes ago, SwanR said:

44 minutes ago, SwanR said:

So glad to hear that it’s all going well. You must be really looking forward to that week aboard later in the month. 👍

Definitely and hopefully it will be warmer at night.  The plummeting temperatures each night recently,  does make us prefer to be hooked up to electric. We arent really fair weather boaters but just hate being cold. 

[Lulu]

Friday 14th May 2021

We both took half a day off work and arrived in the marina about 2.30 and our little crew member settled very quickly.   It was so good to know we had the week ahead of us. We had been keeping an eye on the weather and were being quite flexible with our plans.  We had a rough idea of where we wanted to go but unsure what day we would go home at this stage. 
 

Saturday 15th May 

We got up at 6.15. I took Desmond for a walk while Selsie got breakfast. We left the marina at 8.00.  Desmond was nervy and paced around until he decided he was happier sitting high up in the helm and that became his spot when we were on the move.  The engine lulled him to sleep and we could then relax. We passed Irstead which was free. We decided it was ridiculous to stop there so soon so carried on but oh it was so tempting! We intended to top up with water at Ludham but suddenly every boat seemed to be on the move at the same time after hardly seeing anything on the way.  The boat we were behind suddenly changed their mind and reversed from under the bridge. We went along side a moored boat and hung about until all was clear. The weather was dull and spitting with rain and I didnt take any photos of the journey. We went past St Benets and work is progressing well. Each time we passed throughout the week, it was being worked on. 
 

We made the decision to go to Acle with the hope to hook up to electric. We do have heating on board but we wanted to be as comfortable as possible overnight especially as whippets are prone to feeling the cold.  We waved at Norfolk Lady en route.   It was a lovely cruise despite the weather.  As we arrived at Acle we put Desmond in the saloon. This was to be the routine to keep him safe each time we left a mooring or moored up, much to his protests. There were quite a few boats there but we got our much wanted electric post with £3.60 left on it!  After a while everyone left until we had the whole moorings to ourselves.  This seemed to be a theme for the rest of the week.....was it something we said or did?    I took Desmond for a walk on the Pedros side. I could already tell he was enjoying the new scenery.   We spent the rest of the time watching the world go by, so happy we had loads of days left and not worrying about work. 
 

[Lulu]

Sunday 16th May 

We woke around 6.30 to glorious sunshine. I took Desmond for a walk, past the Bridge Inn and along Weavers Way.  Ive never really walked much before in Norfolk and its so lovely seeing the rivers from another perspective.  After breakfast we set off at 8.15 and decided on Potter as our destination, again with the hope of an electric post.   As we were going up the Thurne, we passed Norfolk Lady again. Looks like we all have a similar routine of cruising times!  
 

We arrived at Potter and there was a nice space by one of the electric posts.   There was a massive clump of reeds floating by the moorings which we later saw being towed away.  Set off to go to Lathams and met Brundall Navy.  Hope you can get Nipper through the bridge soon!  Selsie went into Lathams for things we actually needed but they didnt have!   I wanted a cake from Bridgestones but the queue was quite long and Desmond had been getting fed up with hanging around outside Lathams so we went back to the boat. We timed it well as we had had a tip off from a fellow NBN member (Boatyman) who was moored at Ranworth experiencing hail while we were in sunshine. 10 mins later, and it arrived at Potter. We couldn’t hear ourselves speak amongst the din.  Later in the evening after a fair amount of rain, the weather cleared up and it was a lovely evening. I took Desmond for his evening walk and went in search of Bond Island.  It had been a lovely relaxing day and certainly mixed weather! So good to be back. 

 

 

[BrundallNavy]

On 18/04/2021 at 20:29, Lulu said:

Will Desmond be allowed in the gardens?

Yes dogs allowed we took the fur balls around last year. 

[YnysMon]

How lovely to hear about your first trip with Desmond. I’m glad to hear he’s settling down well on the boat and loving all those walks.

Where and what is ‘Bond Island’ by the way?

[Lulu]

26 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Where and what is ‘Bond Island’ by the way?

Bond Island is behind the chalets opposite the mushroom house. You can hire Bond Island. I believe it was once owned by Roger Moore. It has a crocodile in the garden. I had seen it on One Dan and His Boat vlog the other day so was curious to see it for myself. 

[JanetAnne]

How's the camera coming on? 

Only a couple of months practice left 

[Lulu]

30 minutes ago, JanetAnne said:

How's the camera coming on? 

Only a couple of months practice left 

Ummmm in all the excitement, I forgot the camera so all the photos are from my iPhone.  Hopeless, I know 

[YnysMon]

Don’t blame you. Desmond took priority on this trip. And, if you are like me and Graham, will inevitably be on each and every trip. (We are still refining our packing list.)

[Lulu]

I’d forgotten how much stuff a hound needs.  Cave bed,  endless fleece blankets, rainwear, cold weather gear, food, treats, more food, more treats but we love him to bits. 

[YnysMon]

Graham packs a whole bag for Seren, and then some more. As we are on a syndicate boat we also have copious rugs, non-slip mats etc. to ensure Seren doesn’t mess up the furnishings. At least you don’t have to worry about that. One thing about collies, they are really skinny dogs disguised in lots of hair. At least you don’t have that problem!