Carried Away By A Moonlight Shadow...

YnysMon · January 2

I’ve just been checking the tides and am starting to think that getting down south could be a possibility. I’d scratched that idea when we were due to arrive on Friday as we’d have had to return up north almost immediately if we didn’t want to end up night nav’ing.

I shall have to check the project troll website though to get an idea of the clearance under the bridges. The weather forecast is looking promising too.

NorfolkNog · January 2

Tides look good from Wednesday onwards although you would probably have to come back Saturday or Sunday to avoid nav lights. I would have thought you'd be OK under the bridges. Hopefully no high winds either, you should be fine. Go for it!

YnysMon · January 3

51 minutes ago, NorfolkNog said:

Tides look good from Wednesday onwards although you would probably have to come back Saturday or Sunday to avoid nav lights. I would have thought you'd be OK under the bridges. Hopefully no high winds either, you should be fine. Go for it!

Yes, that chimes with what I am thinking. We’ll probably stay on our mooring Weds night and start off early on Thursday. I’ve no idea whether today’s ‘atrocious’ weather will have had a ‘locking’ effect again. We are hoping not to have to move the boat to another location to load her up (like we had to in November) but are planning to get there early afternoon, just in case.

Was it as bad today in Norfolk as was forecast? We did have some moderate rain and wind in Milton Keynes, but it wasn’t a storm by any means.

NorfolkNog · January 3

6 hours ago, YnysMon said:

start off early on Thursday

Slack on Thursday is 10.14 so you would need to be off early although you'd probably be OK a bit later. The weather has abated here in flat hat land so it should be OK. The levels were high in December but we had plenty of room under the bridges. Good luck!

Mouldy · January 3

9 hours ago, YnysMon said:

I’ve just been checking the tides and am starting to think that getting down south could be a possibility. I’d scratched that idea when we were due to arrive on Friday as we’d have had to return up north almost immediately if we didn’t want to end up night nav’ing.

I shall have to check the project troll website though to get an idea of the clearance under the bridges. The weather forecast is looking promising too.

Water availability may be an issue currently. Obviously Beccles and Oulton Broad should be okay, but I read on FB that the hose at Loddon has been removed and supply to the tap switched off to prevent the use of your own hose.

Water should be available at Swancraft though, as long as the pipes haven’t frozen and if you’re desperate, Broom may be an option.

NorfolkNog · January 3

We used to rely on Reedham as although the hoses were removed the taps were left on. But last couple of years it's been cut off completely. The water is on the pontoon at Oulton Broad but you need to borrow a portable hose reel. Goodchilds used to have water on their pontoon, not sure if they still do. We usually moor at Swancraft so top up there but you would need to give Paul a bell ideally. If you are careful with water it's amazing how long a tank lasts though.

Mouldy · January 3

9 minutes ago, NorfolkNog said:

We used to rely on Reedham as although the hoses were removed the taps were left on. But last couple of years it's been cut off completely. The water is on the pontoon at Oulton Broad but you need to borrow a portable hose reel. Goodchilds used to have water on their pontoon, not sure if they still do. We usually moor at Swancraft so top up there but you would need to give Paul a bell ideally. If you are careful with water it's amazing how long a tank lasts though.

There is a hose on Moonlight Shadow for such eventualities. I think most private craft owners will have one on board anyway, but appreciate the heads up.

We’ve topped up at Oulton Broad before, out of season, although with some difficulty. The Broad had frozen overnight and because the pipes to the taps run under the pontoon, they’d frozen too. We found one had thawed out enough to top up as the surface ice thawed though, so all was well!

NorfolkNog · January 3

Apperently there is a sunken vessel at the Berney Arms, be careful if you go that way Helen!

Broads01 · January 4

On 03/01/2024 at 07:35, Mouldy said:

Water availability may be an issue currently. Obviously Beccles and Oulton Broad should be okay, but I read on FB that the hose at Loddon has been removed and supply to the tap switched off to prevent the use of your own hose.

Water should be available at Swancraft though, as long as the pipes haven’t frozen and if you’re desperate, Broom may be an option.

If I was ever to have a go at winter cruising that would make me nervous as I don't like to run the water low and tend to top up frequently. Do they switch off supplies to avoid freezing pipes?

Mouldy · January 4

3 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

If I was ever to have a go at winter cruising that would make me nervous as I don't like to run the water low and tend to top up frequently. Do they switch off supplies to avoid freezing pipes?

Probably. Theoretically, you’re not allowed to moor at Norwich Yacht Station over the winter months, so hoses have been removed and water turned off for a while. They used to remove the hoses at Reedham, but leave the water on and we’ve been to Loddon out of season and the hose was there with water available. As they are all BA sites, who knows the logic but as you suggest, it’s probably to prevent freezing.

With so few southern yards remaining open, there aren’t many alternatives that way now.

NorfolkNog · January 4

It's natural to want to keep the water topped up and it makes good sense. However it is suprising how little you actually use. I suspect some hirers maybe treat it as an Infinite resource and hence the standard advice given is to top up daily. However if you bear in mind it comes from a tank it's suprising how careful you become. For example Mrs Nog has long hair but when showering she turns off the water when applying shampoo then turns it on again to rinse.

We were out in December 2022 when there was a lot of ice about. We intended to top up at Reedham but found the taps turned off. As we hadn't filled up for 2 or 3 days I was becoming concerned and a very kind Forum member even offered to bring some water to us which was much appreciated. However we were able to fill up at Swancraft and I was amazed at how little water was needed to fill the tank.

So I would say, don't be put off Simon. December, in my humble opinion, is by far the best time to be out, you really do have the rivers to yourself, it's a magical time.

floydraser · January 4

5 hours ago, Broads01 said:

If I was ever to have a go at winter cruising that would make me nervous as I don't like to run the water low and tend to top up frequently. Do they switch off supplies to avoid freezing pipes?

From the evidence presented on this forum especially by one Mr Nog, I think it's safe to assume that the more time you spend in pubs, the less water you need on the boat. Have I got that right? :default_smiley-char054:

MauriceMynah · January 4

Spot on.

YnysMon · January 4

On our first winter allocation on Moonlight Shadow we were stuck on our mooring for three days due to a storm and had no issues with water running out.

Also, we had asked the last people on the boat before this Christmas not to fill the tank and, as the boat had not been used for several weeks we drained the tank and refilled it yesterday. It took ages!

MargeandParge · January 5

The Surlingham Ferry used to have water and they have always done all they can to help boaters, might be worth a call

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge

Mouldy · January 5

5 hours ago, MargeandParge said:

The Surlingham Ferry used to have water and they have always done all they can to help boaters, might be worth a call

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge

I forgot about that one! Yes, they do have water and it’s free to their customers, as well as 240 hook up. Like Beccles Yacht Station, their posts use specific cards, available from the pub, the there’s often residual credit left on the posts, if you check them. At this time of the year, they’re generally happy for side on mooring on the stern on moorings too, I’ve found.

YnysMon · January 5

14 hours ago, Mouldy said:

I forgot about that one! Yes, they do have water and it’s free to their customers, as well as 240 hook up. Like Beccles Yacht Station, their posts use specific cards, available from the pub, the there’s often residual credit left on the posts, if you check them. At this time of the year, they’re generally happy for side on mooring on the stern on moorings too, I’ve found.

Thinking back to that February when we had a prolonged storm, which was due to hit early Sunday. We picked up the boat Saturday early afternoon and prioritized a visit to Surlingham Ferry Inn to fill with water, as we guessed (rightly) that the previous owner on board might not have been able to fill up with water. Brooms had turned off all water supplies apart from one that wasn't easy to get to, near their boat lift...it was the winter when they were rebuilding their fuel quay, so that water point was out of action.

YnysMon · January 13

Moonlight Shadow Holiday Tale - Trip 17

Wednesday 3rd Jan

Harry was able to join us on this trip, as he was sacked from IKEA just before Christmas because he’d been on a final warning for sickness (since December 2022, having had two bouts of COVID in 2022) and unfortunately got the flu just before his final warning ran out. He couldn’t have gone into work anyway as you aren’t allowed to work in the restaurant for 48 hours after throwing up. My estimation of IKEA as a good employer has taken a nose-dive. The good values it had when the Swedish founder of the company have gradually been eroded since he died a few years ago.

Ironically, our younger son Alec started his new job the day before Harry got sacked, so Alec wasn’t able to join us.

This week-and-a-bit was another bonus for us, as the people who were due to be on board this week and next weren’t able to take advantage of their allocation. Actually, the boat hasn’t been used much through December and won’t be for much of January.

We tried our best to start off relatively early this morning, just in case we needed to move the boat to another location to load our stuff on board, so we set off shortly after 9am and managed to get to the marina shortly before 1pm, despite having a breakfast stop-off at La Hogue Farm Shop (on the A11, shortly after the turn off from the A14). I had just ordered scrambled eggs on toast, as I was feeling quite nauseous and thought that eating something relatively bland would help. It didn’t, so Graham finished off my portion as well as his. He also had a huge portion of Banoffee Pie, which he said was the best Banoffee Pie he’d ever tasted.

When we got to the Marina, the area in front of the sheds was awash.

Although the area behind MS wasn’t too bad, we didn’t take the chance of taking the car across as the tide was rising and we didn’t want the car to be stranded. Instead, we did the same as we had done in November and took the boat and car around to Ranworth to load up.

As we were passing through the dyke that leads to the marina we spotted a couple of deer.

At Ranworth.

With Harry’s help loading was done fairly quickly and we made our way back to the marina. Once there, Harry and I went off to Roy’s to do our food shop whilst Graham sorted out the boat – covering the saloon surfaces with rugs, emptying and re-filling the water tank (as it’s been ages since anyone has been on board) and making the beds.

There was quite a lot of unpacking and sorting out left to do when we got back to the boat, so we only had a simple supper this evening (pasta with pesto) before having an early night.

YnysMon · January 13

Thursday 4th January

We had thought to go down south this morning, as the long-range tide table had forecast low water for around 10.30am. However, when I checked the Aweigh App yesterday the forecast was for just after 9am, not enough time for us to get down to Gt Yarmouth from Horning without a lot of night nav’ing. Also, Project Troll showed that there wouldn’t be that much clearance under the bridges, even at slack water, so we decided to scrap the idea of going south, at least for today.

Kate (Kpnut) and I had been messaging each other about a good time to meet up, as she was on Springer’s Retreat this week. With the ‘going south’ plan scrapped, we agreed to meet up at Ranworth mid-morning with view to taking the dogs for a walk.

Initially we moored at the far side of the dinghy dyke.

Kate joined us on board for a cuppa. After we’d had a bit of a natter, we noticed that the boat that was moored side-on on the side furthest from us had left, so we moved our boats over there. Graham and I bagged the taxi rank and Kate moored closer to the water hose as she needed to fill-up. Whilst Graham was helping Kate moor up, Harry and I put our dogs on the lead so that they could meet with Findlay on neutral ground. As we were walking toward Kate’s boat Pozzie nudged me one way and Seren pulled in another, so I lost my balance and fell into a puddle (no doubt full of goose and duck poop). One leg of my trousers and one sleeve were pretty wet, and I had a few grazes, so I went back to MS to wash the 'ik’ out my grazes, change my clothes, and wash the muck out of my walking trousers and fleece.

Kate joined us for lunch on board MS and after that we went for a walk down Farm Lane (behind the Granary Stores). The dogs had a fine time and Kate and I (inevitably) continued to natter.

We retired to our own boats after the walk, but early evening Kate re-joined us for dinner, which was roast veg with mixed grains and houmous and we had a very pleasant nattery evening.

Later in the evening the rain started coming down really heavily and a northerly wind picked up so the area that we’d moored wasn’t as sheltered as it normally is. The wind was driving waves against the side of the boat, so it was quite noisy. We slept well though after our walk.

YnysMon · January 13

Friday 5th January

We had considered going by car to Holt today, but the forecast was for rain all day. We decided instead to visit Norwich. It would be an opportunity for Graham to join us looking around Norwich as we normally visit by boat and he always volunteers to stay on board with the dogs.

We left Ranworth shortly after 8am to return to our home mooring at HPC. It was still windy, but a more moderate wind than last night. Luckily, Evening Shadow was in the shed for her winter maintenance, so I had a lot more manoeuvring space to moor-up than normal.

Once moored up, we had breakfast, so it was getting on for mid-morning before we set off for Norwich. We made our way to the Rose Lane Multi-storey Car Park, passing the Yacht Station on the way. The car park is behind the Premier Inn that overlooks the river. There was a laminated sheet pasted up showing the relative parking charges of the different Norwich car parks and Rose Lane appeared to be one with more reasonable charges. It's not that much of a walk up the Prince of Wales Road to get to the city centre.

Leaving the dogs in the car, we made our way to the Cathedral. Graham and Harry had a quick tour around whilst I spent my time in the Cathedral shop, having been around the Cathedral several times on previous trips. Some photos from Harry...

There is a Cathedral cat. :default_biggrin:

Midday, we made our way to the Shikki Japanese Restaurant in Tombland, intending to introduce Graham to its delights. Unfortunately, they were closed for the week, so instead we made our way to Saporita Italian Restaurant on St Andrew’s Hill. It’s family run, so we thought that would be better than going to a chain restaurant like Zizzi, besides the reviews on Google are really good (I don’t always believe bad reviews, but if a place has mostly rave reviews they must be doing something right).

Saporita lived up to expectations. It’s quite small, so we were lucky to get a table. Five minutes later we’d have been out of luck. Initially, I was a bit sceptical about their pizza menu, which offered a slice of pizza for between £7.50-£8. When they arrived they were very impressive though. Generous slices, filling most of the plate, and I’ve never seen such a thick (and light) pizza base, with very generous toppings. Graham and Harry had pizza with a shared portion of chips. I had a piadina (a thin Italian flatbread, a bit like a tortilla) filled with roast veg, tomato and olive pate and which came with chips and a side salad. Not bad for under £9.

After lunch we just wandered around a few shops before making our way back to the car.

We stopped at the Sprowston Tesco’s on the way back. Actually, I think this Tesco’s might be closer to Horning than the Sainsbury’s at Thorpe…if we want an alternative to Roy’s,

Another quiet evening on the boat.

YnysMon · January 13

Saturday 6th January

We had a very lazy day today. We were late getting up and then even later getting out of our PJs. Late morning, I cooked us a brunch, then we set off by car to Caister-on-Sea where we had a grand walk northward along the beach. The dogs enjoyed it too. The wind was surprisingly strong, considering there had only been a moderate breeze in Horning.

It took me a few seconds to realise what Pozzie was sniffing at in this next photo. Unfortunately, it was a dead seal pup, which must have washed down the coast as there wasn't any sign of seals on Caister beach.

We stopped off at the Caister Lidl and at Latham’s on the way back to the boat. I had been hoping to get a new draining rack for the boat as the one currently on MS is too large for the draining board, but none of the racks they have were small enough.

YnysMon · January 13

Sunday 7th January

We finally made it to Holt today. The weather was cloudy, but at least it stayed dry for most of the day.

Holt is a lovely Georgian town with some interesting architecture and a good range of independent shops. However, the majority of the shops were closed, so we didn’t spend as much time looking around the town as we’d anticipated.

We found a good place to park for free, in the layby beside the entrance to the Spout Hills Park at the bottom of the hill where the A148 leads out of the town.

The dogs had a good run around the park before we left them in the car and walked back up the hill to have a look around the town.

For lunch we went to The Snug, having first checked out the menus of the other places that were open. The Snug had the most interesting sounding menu and was fairly reasonable cost-wise. I had Persian-spiced chicken with couscous, Graham had roast veg with lentils and halloumi and Harry had a burger.

As there wasn’t that much else to see in Holt, we returned to the boat by mid-afternoon.

Graham has figured out a new way of keeping the our saloon cosy. It worked too. If you dipped under the blanket into the galley you really felt the temperature difference.

YnysMon · January 13

Monday 8th January

Graham’s birthday!

We had been debating where to go for lunch. The initial plan had been to cruise to Thurne and visit The Lion, but Kate had reported that they would be closed on Mondays during winter. Someone else had confirmed that the same was the case for The White Horse, Neatishead. I phoned The White Horse, Upton, but they were also closed for refurbishment.

However, some fellow syndicate members had sent me a 50% off voucher for The Swan Inn, Horning, so this morning we cruised up to the Staithe, nabbed a mooring near an electric post and I phoned to book a table.

We had a very pleasant lunch; the only disappointment was that the ‘Chef’s Special’ of venison steaks was out of stock. Harry and I both had Sea Bass fillets with pea and bacon in a velouté sauce with broccoli and spring onion mash. Graham had the vegan version of their Penang curry. For puds I had sticky toffee pudding, Graham had banoffee pie (again) and Harry had the double chocolate brownie, his first choice of ‘The Honey Pot’ again being out of stock.

After lunch we returned to the boat for a while. It was trying to snow/hail. Pozzie was not impressed.

Harry and I went to have a look around the Post Office and Tidings. I bought a second-hand board game for Graham as a birthday prezzie – having left the prezzie I had bought him at home. The game was QI – based on the TV series.

When Harry and I returned, Graham took the opportunity to visit the Post Office too, getting himself a second hand book about Wellington (the general, not the boots!). The Post Office is a tiny shop, but they usually have an interesting selection of books for sale. After that, we decided we might as well return to our home mooring as we have wifi there, rather than stay on Horning Staithe overnight.

We didn’t want much to eat this evening, so I just made us some quesadillas filled with vegan cheese and a salsa made from red pepper, tomato, red onion, chilli, black beans, and sweetcorn. There was rather a lot of it, so we’ll be having quesadillas later in the week, no doubt.

Cosy, cosy...

Watching canal boaters on YouTube...

YnysMon · January 13

Tuesday 9th January

A lovely sunny morning at last! As the next few days were promising to be dry and sunny, we thought it would be a good opportunity to go up the Ant. We were certain that we’d need to drop our canopy and screen to get under Ludham Bridge, so we had been wary of doing that over the weekend. High water was for late morning, so we thought it best to start off early, just as it was getting light.

I do love early morning starts, especially when the sky is clear.

The sun was just getting up as we were approaching St Benet’s.

As anticipated, there wasn’t that much clearance under the bridge. Just 7 ¼ foot.

Still, we were under.

We stopped off at How Hill and had coffee and cake (Walsingham Honey Cake from Roy’s – I recommend) before taking the dogs for a walk south along the riverbank.

After that we continued on our way, ending up a Neatishead where we chilled for the rest of the day.

I made us a brunch.

One other private boat arrived late afternoon. It was very peaceful.

This evening we had a creamy mushroom sauce with pasta, using a vegan version of Philadelphia cheese for the sauce, along with some garlic and olive oil ciabatta slices from Roy’s.

After that we started watching a boxed set of the original Sharpe series from the first episode. Graham and I had watched it years ago when it was first on TV, but Harry hadn’t seen it. I’d forgotten how good it was.

YnysMon · January 13

Wednesday 10th January

As there was a possibility of rain tomorrow, we thought we’d best get back under Ludham Bridge today. We started off quite early again and stopped off at Gaye’s Staithe to fill with water. The sun came up as we were there.

We didn’t stop at How Hill this time, as we wanted to get under the bridge well before high tide, so we just carried on down the Ant and then down the Bure until we got to Stokesby.

Ludham Bridge.

You know where...

There was plenty of room at Stokesby.

Unfortunately, the Ferry Inn was also closed, as was the shop, so I made us another brunchy lunch.

After lunch we set out for a circular walk, walking westward along the river until we reached the draining pump, then northward along Muck Fleet before turning southward again to reach Stokesby.

Picture2.png.2d61568b7d0dd6b6841b507b0dd998c5.png