Holiday In Antigua (well, Aboard)

[catcouk]

7 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

If you do get the opportunity on future visits, a night mud weighted on South Waltham Broad can be really special. 

I'd love too. My only comparable experience is anchoring in the Solent off of the Isle of Wight. For that occasion, we had to keep watch through the night in case of anchor slippage.

What do I need to know about mud weighting over night? Besides dropping the weight correctly, what else do I need to do? Thanks in advance for any advice.

[catcouk]

I forgot to post a few photos from today. One of ducks in a puddle that amused me - all that river and they choose the congregate in a puddle!

Also, for the uninitiated, a photo of the awesome showers at the Waveney River Centre. I guess there are between 12 and 16 identical individual rooms. Great facilities. And s swimming pool!

Lastly, just a shot of Antigua moored up at WRC - I tried to be arty with the barge in the foreground. Think it just looks in the way...

[Broads01]

Thanks for a well-written and entertaining tale. You've taken on some ambitious mileage for a 4 night break but fair play, it shows what can be done if you're a mind to it. The Waveney above Beccles, as you discovered is well worth the effort. It's always empty, even in the summer and almost feels like you've left the Broads and joined a separate waterway.

[catcouk]

29 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Thanks for a well-written and entertaining tale. You've taken on some ambitious mileage for a 4 night break but fair play, it shows what can be done if you're a mind to it.

I was aware that many forum members would consider our itinerary crass but I was desperate to explore the Waveney down to Geldeston. We were supposed to have a full week in April with a boat that would get under Beccles old bridge (an Alphacraft Lowliner) but 2020...

When we hired this boat, there was a temptation to see if Geldeston was achievable. I checked tides and distances and found, to my surprise, it was. The weather has been perfect for chugging along looking at the sights. We've stopped in a few places too so it hasn't felt rushed.

Last time we had a shirt break, we explorer everywhere between St. Benet's and Coltishall. Nice to try different things.

I prefer to get a talk dual steer cruiser when going South, so I can't see many reasons why I'd be able to get under Beccles old bridge again. There's no way I'm taking a bathtub all the way to Beccles! And I haven't enjoyed our sliding canopy boat...

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, catcouk said:

What do I need to know about mud weighting over night? Besides dropping the weight correctly, what else do I need to do? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Not a lot really. It’s mostly a doddle if you use common sense. We have a dog, so the only thing currently preventing us mud weighting is having to take the dog for her pre-beddy time comfort break. If it wasn’t for that, it would be one of our favourite types of mooring. Can’t wait until we have a week on Moonlight Shadow near midsummer, as our home mooring is very close to Bargate. 

We’ve always avoided mud weighting when it’s windy as I gather the mudweight can drag. Not experienced that myself, but then we’ve avoided that risk.

On most of the northern Broads there’s not that much rise and fall in the tide, but if you were somewhere like Surlingham Broad (Bargate), that’s something to take into consideration, allowing appropriate slack for the mud weight.

I’ve read lots of advice not to chuck your mud weight overboard as it might be difficult to extract it the following morning, but recently saw a reminder that, actually, that might be a good idea, as you do want your mud weight to be ‘stuck’. You can always use your engine to reverse slightly the next morning to ‘unstick it’ so as not to put your back out trying to retrieve it. 

Oh, and remember the boat will swing around in the night if the wind changes, so don’t moor up too close to other vessels or the margins of the broad.

If you take those things into account you should have the most peaceful night’s mooring ever.

[catcouk]

Huge thanks for the tips. I hope to give it a try. Swinging round the mud weight is the same as swinging around an anchor.

I dropped the mud weight when we were stern moored at Beccles. It took two of us to unstick it. But, as I understand it, that's the whole point. The mud weights are that shape to act as a plug under the mud.

[SwanR]

Enjoyed reading your tale and seeing your photos. St Benet's is a good mooring especially once the river is still when the boats have all moored up for the night.

As for whether to spend that last night in the yard ... if we're on a short break then I agree, four nights isn't many when there are so many lovely places to choose from. However if we're out for a week then we often do moor in the yard on the last night. Just something we like about having a lazier last morning, a quiet breakfast with no pressure to get going. And we often get a fair amount of our stuff off the boat and into the car the evening before. But each to their own.

[YnysMon]

There are some hire boats that have electric winches for the mud weight. Probably the more expensive ones though. None of the hires we took had that luxury, but we managed. It’s one of the things we appreciate having on our syndicate boat though.

Actually, thinking back, the only time we’ve mud weighted has been on sailing boat hires. We first mud weighted on Hickling Broad on our first ever night on the Broads. It was magical. 

 

[SwanR]

We had an electric mud weight on Sonnet. Hard to tell how much chain to let out on that one. And we ended up with it refusing to come back up. We had to haul it back up manually and get to a mooring where the yard could come out. Took them a while to pull things apart, untangle it all and get it back working!

[tim]

Sometimes it pays to keep it simple!

I used to service my car myself when I first owned one!

Now I lift the bonnet, shake my head, close it and pay a mechanic!    

 

 

 

[oldgregg]

12 hours ago, catcouk said:

I was aware that many forum members would consider our itinerary crass but I was desperate to explore the Waveney down to Geldeston. 

I think if you're on for more than two or three nights then the North gets a bit boring so if the tides are right a good run down South and back keeps things interesting...

Also with two 7-hour runs in there, you know you're not going to have problems with the batteries not having enough charge.

[Mouldy]

13 hours ago, catcouk said:

. . . . . . .  I dropped the mud weight when we were stern moored at Beccles. It took two of us to unstick it. But, as I understand it, that's the whole point. The mud weights are that shape to act as a plug under the mud.

Just a tip in case you’re not aware of it, but instead of having a hernia trying to unstick the mud weight, cast off and let the boat drag it free.  Obviously, someone needs to be at the bow to pull it up as you move forward (or astern if mudweighted on a Broad), but it’s often easier to do it that way when it’s been embedded in the mud.

[vanessan]

2 hours ago, SwanR said:

We had an electric mud weight on Sonnet. Hard to tell how much chain to let out on that one. And we ended up with it refusing to come back up. We had to haul it back up manually and get to a mooring where the yard could come out. Took them a while to pull things apart, untangle it all and get it back working!

My husband initially pulls up the mudweight with a couple of short bursts then longer ones until he is sure the chain is not tangling. This also helps loosen the weight from the mud. His tactics have not let us down yet. If covered in mud, we leave the mudweight dangling in the water by an inch or so whilst moving and within a short space of time the mud is gone. In that short space of time, at least one person will call and tell us we have left our mudweight down! (I’m glad people do that in case one day we really do forget - again!) On the hire boats, is there any way of letting an electric mudweight down manually?

[SwanR]

2 hours ago, vanessan said:

is there any way of letting an electric mudweight down manually?

I don’t know the answer to that. Certainly not on Sonnet as it hangs out of the front of the boat not over the bow from the deck. The engineer had to pull the fridge out to get to the workings because of where it’s been built in. 

[vanessan]

27 minutes ago, SwanR said:

I don’t know the answer to that. Certainly not on Sonnet as it hangs out of the front of the boat not over the bow from the deck. The engineer had to pull the fridge out to get to the workings because of where it’s been built in. 

I can see how that would make life difficult if things went wrong! Presumably the positioning of the mudweight was why it was also difficult to see how much chain was being let out? (On ours we have a ‘handle,’ for want of a better word, which allows as much chain to drop as you want.) I have seen quite a few boats with mudweights hanging out from the front of the bow like Sonnet, do they still allow the boat to swing as normal when in use?

[SwanR]

We only used it once or twice but it seemed to hold perfectly fine. 

[catcouk]

Our final and all too brief day of cruising...

When we moored last night, I noticed that the levels were so high that the fenders were only just protecting the boat (or not at all). The ones I wanted to move were spliced so I could do nothing quickly (the wet ropes and weather were somewhat unappealing). I went to check the ropes before bed and noticed we were even higher. Not wanting to hole the boat, I found some other fenders that weren't spliced on and placed them fore and aft. This did stop the boat thudding against the side all night so I guess it did the job.

It had been really windy all night and the morning was no different. After putting the fenders back and dropping the canopy, we attempted to get under way. I say attempted because two goes at casting off had the wind push us right back again. In the end, Mrs C pushed from the bow against a mooring post and I gave us some forward throttle until the stern was clear enough to go for a turn. It was tight on the moored cruiser in front even though I had backed up as much as I dared...

We followed Trinidad up the Ant (assuming, correctly, that they were headed back) - she's a dual steer Aquafibre 34. I was curious to see how they intended to negotiate Ludham Bridge as I'm sure that class of boat have an air draft of 8'6". Sure enough, the gauge only read 7'9" and I thought they had had it.

They were far enough ahead that I saw them start the s-bend on approach from the South but couldn't see them actually approach the bridge. I slowed down expecting to see them floundering around trying to abort, or worse still, having collided. Much to my surprise, they were already through. I totally get that gauges should be a tad pessimistic to help avoid accidents but that's nearly a foot unless I've over estimated her air draft.

Having seen this did make me wonder if we'd have fitted through with Antigua's canopy up. Does anyone know why yards only give you the minimum air draft but not the air draft with the canopy raised? Particularly useful information in the rain...

On this occasion, I was glad we'd lowered the roof - it was reasonably warm despite the gloomy overcast clouds. For the second time on this trip, I saw Contessa (this time moored up at Ludham Bridge's BA moorings - I love that boat) and we continued our chug up the Ant whilst I calmed myself.

I was amused by the sight that greeted us as we crossed Barton Broad. A sizeable flotilla (of which we were part of) was heading North - clearly I'm not the only hirer to enjoy a cruise on the last day. As we were at the back of a long string of Richardson's cruisers, I decided to drop back, and take the slightly longer route around the Stalham/Sutton triangle. This had the advantage of giving us some space after the other returning hire boats and let us see a partially sunken house boat - what a mess!

I haven't noticed it before, but I like the speed radar sign coming into (or leaving) the marina; you know the type, they flash a smiling face and your speed at you. I would guess you get an angry face if you're over the limit but I've certainly never seen that when I'm on the roads... 😀

I always hate returning to Stalham boatyard. Obviously it means I have to give my boat back and that the holiday has ended but that's not the main reason. The stern mooring always feels really tight. Add this to the audience of staff members and the pressure is on. I always worry they think, "how did this bunch of numpties manage..." as it's always my untidiest stern mooring of the trip.

The usual diesel refill and unloading of stuff commenced. I considered our trip: whilst the boat had been rather frustrating at times, we had still had a great time. The worst day boating is still better than the best day at work - I totally agree!

The engineer handed me my fuel receipt and told me I'd get a refund. I was surprised given the mileage we'd covered - it wasn't going to be much. Check out was similar to previous years other than a one way system and limited numbers indoors. Turns out that the engineer was wrong - we owed £16. Oh well, I guess spending more fuel than the deposit is some sort of badge of honour.

A great trip that satisfied my needs for exploration, whilst giving us the nature and beauty of the Broads you can always expect. The only photo I remembered today was the water level at St. Benet's with my improvised double fender system. I will post a review of Antigua 2 at some point but, in short, it's not a boat class I'll be rushing to hire again...

We stopped off at Latham's for the obligatory browse and spend (as we hadn't been able to moor there this time) but the rain put a stop to play some crazy golf at Great Yarmouth. Just a long and wet trip back to the south coast through traffic filled motorways awaited us. I miss being on a boat already!

That's it for another year then. My Alexa speaker informs me that I have 161 days to wait until our family return to Stalham - next time with my best mate and his family. We'll be aboard White Champagne (which we saw and photographed on the lower Bure on Tuesday) but we haven't ordered the almost mandatory stag party with it...

[SwanR]

Great tale. And wow, what a long distance covered in a short break. I’m sure there must have been some choice words at times. But you seem to have managed to remain positive and enjoyed your trip nonetheless. 

[catcouk]

12 minutes ago, SwanR said:

And wow, what a long distance covered in a short break. I’m sure there must have been some choice words at times.

We've had a great time. I would say that only the water coming in through the canopy in driving rain caused us misery. Everything else has all been part of the adventure. And, despite the mileage, nothing has seemed too rushed (other than early starts - wish I'd realised the clocks changed BEFORE our trip when I booked it!).

[YnysMon]

Mooring up in Stalham on the last day? That must be a doddle compared to mooring up outside Ferry Marina on the final morning into a tight squeeze, with a brisk breeze and tide to help matters, and all at the end of your first ever full week of hiring a Broads cruiser. Well, we got in that space, but I can’t claim it was our finest hour.

[grounded]

On the subject of wind and muweighted boats, we do have an experience to share. it was 2019 and we were on Swan Rapture. We broke down crossing Barton Broad (well the engine overheat alarm sounded and I switched off). The wind was blowing a hooley and we were being blown rapidly towards marker posts around a reed island. We had two muweights aboard as we always request a second, and I put one over the bow and the stern. They served only to slow the progress of our drag across Barton Broad. Now I did "only" lower the weights into the water and in future they will get the Highland Games heave.  Also the Richardson's rescue team recommended dropping both off the same end of the boat as this would have had a greater drag reducing effect.

We have loved reading your story. We live in NZ and are/were hoping to come back in 2020 (we have booked Swan Rapture again) but watching the way Covid 19 is hammering the UK I am far from certain our government will let us leave (or let us back in if we did!). We may have to settle for the vicarious pleasures we get from reading of others trips to our favourite place.

Chris

[YnysMon]

I love how people so love the Broads that they travel across from NZ or Auzzie land for their Broads ‘fix’. Makes me realise how lucky we are to be only a couple of hours away. 

[Broads01]

A tip for you when leaving a mooring such as the one you had at St Benets - reversing out can work out much easier. Turn the wheel hard round towards the bank, a quick burst of forward throttle to kick the stern out a bit, reverse a bit then repeat.

I also have happy memories of Contessa which I hired two years ago -  great boat and brilliant value for money.

[grendel]

yes, I too was about to impart that advice, keep a forward rope around a post and nose into the bank steering as though to push it hard into the bank and the stern will kick out, once its far enough out to be clear of the boat behind slip the forward rope reverse out into the river, which then gives you plenty of room to turn. this can be done using a crew member on the bank to stop the front moving too far, but they have to get aboard sharpish at the correct time before you reverse out.

[catcouk]

Thanks for the advice - I knew someone would have a better solution! Makes total sense. This forum is great!