Carried Away By A Moonlight Shadow...

[Tempest]

Love reading this and Lunas Log over the last couple of weeks as we ready ourselves for our first trip on Moonlight Shadow on 7th December and doing lots of research on the southern broads as we have tended to visit the Northern Broads more in the past as hirers, albeit we have visited the south a number of times before

I travel to Nigeria with work first (its currently 34C there) and get back on 5th December before a complete change in temperature and environment when we get to the broads.................and we cant wait

Dont think we will be going far on our first week as its a "get to know you" trip but thanks for the great posts and pictures

I have attached a few pictures we took when we met Steve and Debs and had a run to Rockland St Mary and lunch at the New Inn (and saw Mouldy on Norfolk Lady)

 

[hazelgirl]

Awwww Helen I have thoroughly enjoyed catching up on both your trips, I really enjoyed the churches so never apologise for that, plus what I have found interesting is the walks you have done. We don't have a pooch so tend to be so very lazy when afloat but we really should get off and walk about as I get a bit poorly by the end of a week of indulgent eating and drinking without moving much lol. 

I'm glad you are loving life with Moonlight Shadow 

[YnysMon]

Thanks for posting the photos of Moonlight Shadow Warren.

[YnysMon]

Just four more sleeps before we start our next week on Moonlight Shadow. I’m so looking forward to Saturday. I had meant to do most of the packing last weekend, but both Graham and I were wiped out by horrible colds. Back at work now, but still struggling to sleep at night due to coughing. Small mercies...better last weekend than next! 

Mind you, if the weather forecast for next week is anywhere near accurate (strong winds and quite a bit of rain through from Sunday to Thursday) I don’t think we’ll be carried away that much by MS. Never mind, there’s lots of Norfolk to explore by car, so we will hopefully have some good days out whatever the weather throws at us.

Can’t wait!

[SwanR]

Hope you are both feeling better and have a great time. I will be looking forward to hearing all about it. At least it's not half-term week!!

[ExSurveyor]

I will keep an eye out for your flag.

[YnysMon]

Saturday 8th Feb

We got on our way reasonably early, around 8.15, and dropped Harry off at IKEA before setting off to Brundall. Had our usual brekkie stop at La Hogue, which is just after the turn off A14 to the A11. We had another stop-off at the Sainsbury’s at Thorpe St Andrew before going to the boat.

As I was wandering around the store it occurred to me that I hadn’t checked that the keys for the boat were in the bag I thought I’d stored them in. Of course, when we got back to the car and checked, they weren’t. Goodness knows what we did with the keys at the end of our last stay! Graham suggested going home, but as I hadn’t a clue where else we might have put them, I opted to phone the BCBM agent instead. Thankfully, he let us borrow his set for the week.

We weren’t best pleased when we got to the boat. Although it wasn’t filthy, the person who had been on last clearly hadn’t cleaned the boat. Not a great start to the our holiday, having to clean the boat. We also started to worry whether the water had been topped up. Given the tap near our mooring was turned off, we wanted to check that we had plenty of water given that gales/high winds are forecast for the next three days. I don’t want to have to move the boat in high-winds in search of water. The friendly liveaboard guy on the mooring opposite us suggested that we could go to the Surlingham Ferry Inn for water, as an alternative to negotiating our way into the dyke where the Brooms boat lift is (the only place currently on site with a turned-on tap). He even phoned up the pub for us to check if their water was on.

I had been wanting to have a short trip up or down river this afternoon in any case. Our only opportunity before the gale. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and I really enjoyed our short trip. Exchanged waves with Mark (psychicsurveyor) as we passed his boat Whitey at its Brundall Garden mooring.

Seren enjoyed the trip too.

There weren’t any other boats at the Surlingham Ferry, so we moored side on so that we could access the hose more easily. I’m glad we did get water, as it took us more than 10 minutes to fill her up. We had drinks at the pub as our ‘payment’ for the water. It’s a while since I had Little Sharpie, and Graham was happy that they had the low alcohol Ghostship. After our drinks we carried on up river almost as far as Bramerton, then returned to Brundall.

We popped to Co-op to get a few more bits and pieces. Although there was washing-up liquid on board, we prefer to use the eco-friendly stuff when we are on the rivers. We also got ourselves some extra snacks.

We had a quiet night on board. Dinner was an easy option – some chilli I’d made last week and stored in the freezer, a rice pouch, guacamole, nacho chips and yogurt. We went to be reasonably early, anticipating being woken in the night.

[SwanR]

Hope you're all safe aboard MS. It's certainly a very different day to yesterday. Love seeing your photos, especially Seren with her front row seat. :)

[YnysMon]

We are fine at present. Considering venturing out somewhere by car so that Seren can have a good run. She didn’t get much exercise yesterday.

[Mouldy]

Ah, The Ferry House - great pub and with water and electric hook up, too.  The hose at Broom by the boat lift is a bit of a challenge even without the ‘breeze’.  Having the hose by the boat turned off makes cleaning the boat down externally more difficult too.  Good suggestion by Marty and a cheeky beer as well.

[vanessan]

Not a good start having no keys then having to clean up then needing to top up with water. Still, sounds as if you had a nice run up river, seems it was a good day for it. Stay safe today. 

[Jbx5]

Not good to have to clean the boat after someone else. Has MS been aground this afternoon, if so at least she wouldn’t have been rocking and rolling as much.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

John

[Broads01]

Ouch, taking over a boat that's not been cleaned, I can't imagine anything worse. I take it there's a defined process in the syndicate for dealing with such situations?

I've been to the Ferry a few times but not spotted the water hose. Where exactly is it? 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

10 hours ago, YnysMon said:

 We weren’t best pleased when we got to the boat. Although it wasn’t filthy, the person who had been on last clearly hadn’t cleaned the boat. 

If that was us finding that, i`d be charging BCBM for failing to oversee that other members are sticking to the rules. It`s what you pay your management fee for. I know cleaning is down to the previous owner, but should it NOT be up to scratch, then it might be  under your contract, seeing as she`s a "managed boat", BCBM could hold some responsibilty. At least then they can levy a fee to the owners who left it dirty through their fee`s and discounting yours in return.  Either way, i`d definitely be letting them know it WAS`NT left in the condition as layed out in your rules.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 minute ago, Broads01 said:

Ouch, taking over a boat that's not been cleaned, I can't imagine anything worse. I take it there's a defined process in the syndicate for dealing with such situations?

I've been to the Ferry a few times but not spotted the water hose. Where exactly is it? 

We took over a boat that had`nt been cleaned, but that was because the boat we`d originally hired was`nt suitable for various reasons, and the one we eventually took over had only just come back in and not had a chance to be turned around properly. We agreed that we`d clean it, but they were prepared to do it for us, but we needed to get going. It was also a bit more expensive than the one we hired, so they did`nt charge us any more because we said we`d clean it. They did do the engine checks and fill up with water and fuel though.

[YnysMon]

Well, in this case I’ll be giving them some leeway, as valeting arrangements were in place until three months ago, so it’s quite possible someone simply forgot that we now do the cleaning ourselves unless we have booked a valet. BCBM have been very quick to respond, and will be sending out a reminder to syndicate members once they have managed to speak to the individual who was on board for a short time last week.

Simon, the hose is on a red reel set back behind the picnic tables that are along the stern mooring area. It looks quite a distance from the key heading but the hose is long enough.

[D46]

1 minute ago, YnysMon said:

Well, in this case I’ll be giving them some leeway, as valeting arrangements were in place until three months ago, so it’s quite possible someone simply forgot that we now do the cleaning ourselves unless we have booked a valet. BCBM have been very quick to respond, and will be sending out a reminder to syndicate members once they have managed to speak to the individual who was on board for a short time last week.

Simon, the hose is on a red reel set back behind the picnic tables that are along the stern mooring area. It looks quite a distance from the key heading but the hose is long enough.

There's another hose on the front of the pub in the corner at the back of lazy breeze moored in the dyke .

[Mouldy]

12 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

 . . . . . I've been to the Ferry a few times but not spotted the water hose. Where exactly is it? 

Simon, it’s towards the back of the beer garden, near the overspill car park on a red fire hose reel. 

[Mouldy]

23 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

If that was us finding that, i`d be charging BCBM for failing to oversee that other members are sticking to the rules. It`s what you pay your management fee for. I know cleaning is down to the previous owner, but should it NOT be up to scratch, then it might be  under your contract, seeing as she`s a "managed boat", BCBM could hold some responsibilty. At least then they can levy a fee to the owners who left it dirty through their fee`s and discounting yours in return.  Either way, i`d definitely be letting them know it WAS`NT left in the condition as layed out in your rules.

Neil, I’m not certain that Moonlight Shadow has been used since winter maintenance was completed.  If it has been, then then owners should be reminded of the requirement to clean her thoroughly before leaving, bu if it hasn’t, it would explain it being left in a less than ideal state, with the water not filled.  MS has had work done to the sliding canopy to strengthen it and correct the roof spread that had caused a few issues over the past couple of years, which would potentially explain the condition, as I’m sure that Broom would not have valeted the boat to the required standard following the work.
 

Just guessing, perhaps Jay can answer.

[YnysMon]

Hi Malcolm,

I’ve purposely not provided more detail on an open forum. I’m satisfied that it’s being addressed, that’s the main thing.

Helen

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

Neil, I’m not certain that Moonlight Shadow has been used since winter maintenance was completed.  If it has been, then then owners should be reminded of the requirement to clean her thoroughly before leaving, bu if it hasn’t, it would explain it being left in a less than ideal state, with the water not filled.  MS has had work done to the sliding canopy to strengthen it and correct the roof spread that had caused a few issues over the past couple of years, which would potentially explain the condition, as I’m sure that Broom would not have valeted the boat to the required standard following the work.
 

Just guessing, perhaps Jay can answer.

Hi Malcom,

I can`t say about Moonlight Shadow as i`m not an owner, but whenever we have Lightning taken out and maintained, they always valet her as part of the process. 

Helen has said she`s sorted the issue so i won`t comment any further.

[YnysMon]

Sunday 9th Feb

On reflection, maybe I should have started off another thread for this trip entitled 'Not carried away by a Moonlight Shadow'! It's too late for that though...I've started, so I'll finish (well hopefully, if this crazy weather allows).

Woke just after 4 this morning, with the boat being buffeted by Storm Ciara and repeatedly banging against the key heading. Graham slept through it initially but woke when it got worse. He got up and adjusted the ropes, and it was a lot better after that, so much so that he managed to get back to sleep. I didn’t though. Seren started whining shortly after Graham had dropped off again, so I got up to let her out of her cage.

It is handy having wifi at our mooring in Brundall. Normally I don’t post much when I’m on holiday. We hadn’t realised about the wifi until almost the end of our previous week in November, but this week I'm making full use of it. I spent the time before Graham woke again writing up yesterday’s blog, loading up some photos onto my laptop, and then posting the blog.

We took our time getting ready this morning, and it was after 10 before we decided to take Seren out in the car so that she could have a good run. We weren’t that organised, and were still debating where to go whilst driving along toward Acle. Fairhaven Gardens got ruled out as we didn’t think a woodland walk would be wise during a gale. We considered a beach walk, but thought the sand would blow into Seren’s eyes (and ours!). In the end we went to Burgh Castle. The stretch between Acle and Gt Yarmouth was the worst bit to drive along; it’s so exposed there.  There was a lot of debris blowing across the road, and when I passed a double decker bus going in the opposite direction the effect was a bit like two express trains going past each other, with me hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life as the car lurched toward the side of the bus. Eek! When we finally got to Burgh Castle, I don’t suppose it was any windier there than anywhere else, but it was a bit of a struggle to walk against the wind.

After having a look around the castle we went down toward the river. The effect of the wind on the reeds was pretty impressive.

After our walk I thought I would have a look around the church, especially as the information board near the gate gave some tantalising hints about its history and further information being available inside.

Well, that was a welcoming church!

By this time, it was late morning and we decided that we needed a Sunday roast. Yet again, we set off without having decided where we would stop off. We ended up at the Surlingham Ferry Inn again, but by land not river. We arrived not long after 12, and although it was clear that they had quite a lot of tables booked we were the first to arrive, so they managed to squeeze us in and we got served really quickly. It’s the first time that I’ve been served the food so quickly that I’ve hardly had time to take more than a few sips of my drink. We enjoyed our food very much, though the helping was a bit too big for me, and I found that I wasn’t that keen on having stuffing and chipolata with beef roast. I could have asked for a mixture of pork and beef though. It would have been fine with that. Very friendly service, and I would definitely go again – hopefully by river though, as it’s a lot easier to get there from Brundall by river compared to the car journey.

We had another visit to Sainsbury’s on the way back to the boat to get some new keys cut, so that we could return the set we’d borrowed. Unfortunately, while the new engine key turned out fine neither of the two new door keys that the lady at Timpson’s had attempted worked – she had warned us that she wasn’t sure they would be okay. We’ll be back to Sainsbury’s later in the week.

As several people have commented on other threads, the river levels were very low when we got back to the boat, and dropped further as the afternoon wore away. We started to wonder if we would need a ladder to get off the boat.

I jest…one of the handy things about MS is the way the deck slopes downward from bow to stern, so you can usually find somewhere on deck that’s a good spot to embark/disembark. There’s also a handy set of steps near the mooring for use when the tide is particularly high.

Another quiet and lazy late afternoon/evening on board. There was a lovely sunset, which I thought was quite remarkable after all that stormy weather.

I made us a non-dairy mac’n’cheese. Comfort food. That’s what you need when it’s stormy!

[NorfolkNog]

Cracking photo H 

[SwanR]

Interesting day then Helen. That video of the reeds is very impressive. 

Hope you can get out for a cruise tomorrow perhaps. :)

[YnysMon]

Thanks Jean. However, it looks like the wind is picking up again (I can hear some gusts already) so maybe not tomorrow. I have great hopes for Wednesday onwards though!

The hail that fell late afternoon and gathered at the stern well still hasn’t melted. The river is still very high too. I’m completely flummoxed by the tide. According to the tide tables I downloaded low tide was supposed to be about an hour and a half ago, but the river level doesn’t seem to have dropped at all since we arrived back around 4pm. I have no idea...does that mean it will rise even more with the incoming tide?

Although we have been reassured that the quay heading here is normally above the flood, we have moved the car just in case. I’m a bit short on sleep since the last two nights, so the last thing I need is to stay awake worrying about the car.

At least we are fine on the boat. I’m thinking of those with riverside properties...and all those people in Yorkshire and other places who have been flooded out during the last few days or affected in other ways due to the weather. Graham got a call earlier from our parish council office to say that the polytunnel on our allotment ended up on a neighbour’s allotment. It was fairly new, and not cheap, but a tiny thing compared to what others are struggling with after the storm. We have so much to be thankful for.