Luna’s Log

[SwanR]

Love seeing your photos of hearing how your Easter weekend went Sam. Certainly looks busy 

[BroadAmbition]

 We waved at Broad Ambition as the crew went by. Purdey very much supervising proceedings. 

Nice photo's of 'B.A' and Purdey  

The Crew - consisted of just me and Purdey on our way to Horning it was an early morning transit.

Purdey does insist on doing her upper deck rounds whilst underway, normally not an issue, however she tried the same thing coming back Sunday forenoon from Ranworth to Stalham in the constant rain.  Her favourite set of upper deck rounds consists of going out the port side wheelhouse, onto the foc'sle.  Pauses  there to view the surroundings then down the stbd deck and back inside.  Not good in the rain which never seems to bother her.  Sometimes she comes back inside from the well deck if the mood takes her

Griff

[BroadAmbition]

Oooh Look - Papaver with only a partial compliment of port side fenders on deck - Have a word !

(She does look good though)

Griff

[Broads01]

I love the photo of B.A. with Purdey "supervising". I've never stopped at the Boundary Farm moorings but you've sold it very well and I want to give it a try now.

[Lulu]

Monday 10th April

I’d had a great nights sleep. The wind must have picked up a bit during the night and Luna gently rocked. Very soothing, unlike what was to come later. The weather forecast said rain and possible thunderstorms and a big drop in temperature. I admit, we are becoming more fair weather boaters nowadays and we really don’t like helming in the rain so we decided on a very short cruise back to Acle and get moored up for the rest of the day. There was a space by Dunes so nabbed it and hooked up to the electric. Then the rain showers started and the wind really picked up by late afternoon and the river really choppy. We saw a few cruisers struggling to moor on Pedros side in the wind.   I managed to get out for a short walk in between the showers. The moorings filled up very early. I think everyone had the same idea. 
 

We turned in at about 10pm then woke up at 1.30am to the boat really rolling about and the noise of the wind. Luna is quite a lump and it takes a lot to rock her about.  It was that bad that I started feeling a bit seasick! Desmond wasnt happy and I was trying to keep him calm while Graham went outside  to adjust the fenders and ropes. We usually get them pretty much spot on but they had been pushed out of the way and were doing nothing.   We didn’t really sleep the rest of the night. I wished we had gone up the Ant for more shelter. Lesson learned!  Not many photos as the weather was rubbish. 

[kpnut]

13 hours ago, Lulu said:

Just before Acle there’s a lovely little cottage on the right near a mill. I’ve decided I want to live there. 

You’ll have to put up with living with me with then Sam😂

It is so lovely, with a beautiful old apple tree in the garden. Access by car not quite so good mind you. It’d always be muddied up. 

[kpnut]

13 hours ago, Lulu said:

dismay.  I had even contacted Mark to ask if it was ok to post an advert to sell Luna on the forum it had got that bad in my head but it was days like we had at Boundary Farm and later on that made me realise its not what I wanted to do much to Graham’s relief.

Yayhay. And don’t let BA issues like charging too much etc put you off either Sam. There are plenty of other mooring spots other than Ranworth in high season!

That’s not to say that I’m not seething about it too. 

[SwanR]

Sounds like a rough night Sam, one of those where you just want the dawn to come. We were at pretty much the same spot the night that we had to get a fender lifted to stop it banging against the side keeping us awake. It’s not the calmest piece of river in stormy conditions I guess but hindsight is a wonderful thing. 

[Lulu]

Tuesday 11th April

What a difference a day makes (in her best singing voice) 

The plan for today was to go back up the Ant and meet Kate who was moored at Irstead. No one had moored behind her so we kept in communication every now and then to make sure there was space. I bottled out helming under Ludham Bridge. The wind was still a bit gusty and sure enough, a sudden gust caught us a bit at the entrance to the bridge but all was fine after a quick adjustment. The weather was beautiful. Back to the sunshine and blue skies.  Saw a couple of kingfishers . One day I will get a decent photo.   I texted Kate as we approached the corner to Irstead and we moored up on the parish staithe behind Springer’s Retreat.  Kate had kindly invited us for lunch and our plan was to go back to the marina afterwards but the day was so glorious. The BA moorings became free so we moved over to those and decided to stay for the night, despite the wind warnings later that evening. We were so tired from the night before but decided it would probably be quieter than the marina. Decision made.  
 

Kate and I took the dogs for a short walk. It was the first time Desmond was walking on roads since his injury and he was still feeling a bit uncomfortable.   We got back and Graham realised we hadnt got anything for dinner so he yomped to Neatishead for supplies while Kate and I gossiped in the well deck. I just love the outside space of the Horizon.  The new kitchen is really smart and we spent a lot of time looking at flooring samples. I think Kate had enough flooring samples to cover the floor without buying anything to be honest! Finlay very kindly gave up his spot on the sofa to Desmond and the dogs snoozed away obviously not interested in our conversation.   We had a lovely lunch (loved those salad leaves from your allotment Kate). A little later we waved Kate and Finlay off and settled down for the rest of the day.  Graham had picked up breaded lemon sole and scampi from the shop for dinner and very nice it was too. Sure enough the wind once again arrived but not nearly as bad as the night before so had a pretty peaceful night.

[SwanR]

I don't know whether you like Chinese food Sam, but if you're ever caught short at Instead again, the Chinese takeaway in Horning will deliver. Last I knew they only take cash not cards but the food is always really good.

[Lulu]

That’s good to know Jean although we rarely have cash on us and my diet would have been completely ruined! 

[Lulu]

Wednesday 12th April

Woke up to another beautiful morning. Unfortunately it was time to head back to the marina and return home. Just as we were really relaxing.  We left at 7.30 and had a lovely slow cruise back and didn’t meet anyone. The dredger wasn’t positioned in a particularly safe place in our opinion, right on the narrow part of the river on the corner. Thankfully nothing was coming the other way but hoped it would be moved before the Friday Richo convoy.  
 

Back in the marina, boat cleaned through ready for whenever we can get back and also got to know our new neighbours. A very mixed bag of weather, met up with wonderful friends, resisted cake, felt sea sick. There were lots of boats over the Easter weekend but got quieter afterwards so assuming a lot of people hired  just for the long weekend.   Boat bags are now packed ready for the next time :) 

[BrundallNavy]

8 hours ago, BroadAmbition said:

Oooh Look - Papaver with only a partial compliment of port side fenders on deck - Have a word !

(She does look good though)

Griff

The deck crew was feeling a bit under the weather so was a bit slow getting the fenders back up. 

[Lulu]

I haven’t been keeping Luna’s Log going as we tend to do the same thing but spent a lovely afternoon at Ludham . Just had a rain shower then the rainbow appeared 

 

[Ray]

Lovely pics Sam 👍

[Lulu]

One more from a few mins ago . 

[Mouldy]

Will I need to look out for you on a YouTube video filmed tomorrow?

[SwanR]

There were some amazing sunset colours and skies this evening. Lovely photo Sam. Enjoy your weekend. 

[YnysMon]

We don’t mind ‘same thing’. Every day on the Broads is different. 

[Lulu]

I didnt go into detail about our last trip. It was way too stressful with constant battery monitoring and a sudden decision that we had to get back to the marina so we didnt have to resort to using our breakdown cover,  but thankfully with two new batteries installed this weekend we should now be all sorted for our 10 days on board coming up.  
 

Friday 25th Aug 

We knew the drive up wouldn’t be fun being a bank holiday weekend. In the end it took just over 2 hours instead of the usual 1hr 20. The worst part was Barton Mills and Thetford roundabouts. The newly redone A11 was brilliant though.   We decided as it was getting quite late in the day we would stay in the marina which isnt a hardship, we have had a lovely view.  I realised i hadnt packed a jumper of any sort so I drove to Lathams to  get something actually I needed and some chocolate bars (which I didnt need) while Graham installed the batteries. After our usual first night on board of pasta I set about cleaning the outside of Luna so she would look half decent out and about.  Early night beckoned. It had been a long day at work, the drive then settling in.

Saturday 26th Aug

Took Desmond for a walk around the marina grounds. Always a delight. They are so beautifully kept. Had a quick breakfast and got away by about 7.30am after stopping for water on the way out. The plan was Womack Dyke but as is often the case, that changed when we saw the end spot at St Benets was free. We had both had enough crusing by then anyway. My back was playing up and we dont sit down when helming Luna.  It had been a lovely cruise, quite quiet.  Wow did it get busy as the day went on. We spent the day watching endless boats going past. It seemed so strange after all these months of very quiet rivers.   The weather was glorious until the evening when we heard a bit of thunder and a heavy rainstorm which soon cleared up.   I took Desmond for a walk, intending to walk to the cross but the cattle were in the field and an awful lot of cowpats which Desmond wanted to roll in so instead we went down the track for a while which was so peaceful.  The mill is currently closed off due to loose bricks which was a shame.  We spent the evening watching the athletics before realising we couldn’t keep awake beyond 9.30

Sunday 27th Aug

Woke up to another beautiful day. The abbey looked so lovely as the sun rose. It was also very peaceful at 700am. Mission today - to try Ronaldo’s gooseberry icecream so it was off to How Hill. We left early as we didnt want to get caught up in any chaos at Ludham bridge and end up on YouTube.  I got very brave and took Luna under the bridge. No one about thank goodness.  Even though it was early, there were a few spaces at How Hill and we picked the space just after the private mooring.  I took Desmond for a walk to the secret gardens. The woods were lovely. We were totally on our own. Desmond’s favourite place because of all the squirrels. It got very muddy as we got down to the gardens so turned back as I hadnt got suitable footwear on for mud.  I resisted stopping for a cake at the cafe but didn’t resist the ice cream at Toad Cottage. The gooseberry icecream was ok but couldn’t really taste it as my taste and smell hasnt recovered from covid 3 years ago so my favourite is still the rhubarb and ginger as I can taste ginger.   Graham spent the day fishing and I did my favourite thing of watching the boats go by. Again, very busy. I did wonder if a lot of hirers were on short bank holiday breaks or if its a particularly popular week before the schools go back.  

Monday 28th Aug

Up early to an absolutely glorious morning.  I wiped the boat down again after another rain shower the previous evening. The temperature was just how I like it and we set off about 7.15 to head slowly back to Stalham.  A really lovely cruise back. Barton Broad was so pretty with so many boats rafted up for what we assumed was a weekend regatta. Overall a reassuring weekend that Luna is in good health again ready for our 10 day trip. The drive back was brilliant. With the roadworks gone, it makes such a difference.  Days like this weekend certainly makes up for the stress when things go wrong.

[Ray]

Great photos Sam 👍

[YnysMon]

Thanks Sam, glad you had a good time. Those dark clouds near St Benet’s  looked menacing. The weather over the last couple of months has been really weird. Here in MK it’s been warm, but not particularly sunny. Hope September is better.

How awful that your sense of taste still hasn’t recovered from that pesky Covid. 

[Lulu]

The rain was torrential but we dont mind once moored up and a good opportunity to check for leaks. We found one under a galley window so thats the next job on the list. 

Ive sort of got used to the lack of taste and smell and  I realise its probably been too long to ever come back properly now. Just as well I wasnt a food critic or wine taster as a career! 

[SwanR]

Lovely write up and photos Sam. Looking forward to hearing where your adventures take you. 

[YnysMon]

36 minutes ago, Lulu said:

Just as well I wasnt a food critic or wine taster as a career! 

You are obviously a ‘glass half full’ person, always looking on the bright side. Good for you.

Now let’s all join in with a chorus of Monty Python’s ’always look on the bright side of life’ de dum, de dum de dum de dum.

Sorry, I think I’ve slightly lost it this evening.