Breydon Water Catches People Out Again!

[Vaughan]

4 minutes ago, andyg said:

Everyone is safe the boat will be recovered and its no big drama. 

I agree with the rest of your post, but it feels like a big drama, to those who find themselves on the mud!

Breydon never used to be closed in bad weather until just recently but 'elf 'n safety now seems to think it should be.

[Hylander]

4 minutes ago, andyg said:

To much is made of crossing Breydon. Like anything treat it with respect and use your common sense and it's not a problem. Back in the 80/90 we've made crossing in all sorts of weather, it's been a bit fly by your pants at times but nothing to scarey. I also don't remember them closing it to hire traffic back then, I may be wrong on that tho. Boats running aground on the mud are as common an event as boats bumping into each other at Ludham bridge. Everyone is safe the boat will be recovered and its no big drama. 

No big drama - really.      I would have been suicidal had it happened to us.         I should imagine it was very frightening.     Another group that wont be returning.    Accidents happen and not everyone is so au fait about it all.     It is the unknown.   Especially having a young baby on board and two dogs I believe now.   How does Fido go to the loo?    When you do think about it seriously there are a lot of problems that arise.

[Vaughan]

I was just thinking, in the "old days" Blakes towboat would have come out to them from the Yacht Station, which was run by Blakes at the time.

It was maintained there for that purpose and would have been able to stop them drifting further on to the mud as the tide came up.  All done without mobile phones or apps, as well.  Just a message passed by word of mouth from other boats passing on their way through Yarmouth.

I must say Blakes never had a nice new big flashy helicopter though.  How technology has changed!

But is it more efficient, as it turns out?

[SwanR]

When anyone says no big drama perhaps what they mean is that other folk shouldn’t make such a big drama of it. It happens and I’m sure there must be some embarrassment alongside the worry for the people involved. But they really don’t need social media being judgmental and drawing so much attention to it other than as a reminder to be careful. 

[Vaughan]

 

Here is Blakes' tow boat, coming past St Olaves staithe in 1953.  In later years they had a bigger one.  For a suitable fee, it would tow Blakes yachts with the mast down, from above St Olaves bridge, over Breydon and leave them on the yacht moorings above the Iron Bridge in GYYS.

Edited to say : notice that there were no Blakes emblems on their boats in those days.

Edited April 25, 2022 by Vaughan
line added

[andyg]

14 minutes ago, SwanR said:

When anyone says no big drama perhaps what they mean is that other folk shouldn’t make such a big drama of it. It happens and I’m sure there must be some embarrassment alongside the worry for the people involved. But they really don’t need social media being judgmental and drawing so much attention to it other than as a reminder to be careful. 

Thank you, exactly..the photo they have used has been deliberately chosen for dramatic impact. Everyone is safe I've no doubt it was a bit scary for those concerned. The boat will be recovered checked and put back to work. In a few weeks time no doubt we will re visit this topic as the next boat runs aground. Richardsons keep a tow boat at acle for a reason 😉

[andyg]

37 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

I was just thinking, in the "old days" Blakes towboat would have come out to them from the Yacht Station, which was run by Blakes at the time.

It was maintained there for that purpose and would have been able to stop them drifting further on to the mud as the tide came up.  All done without mobile phones or apps, as well.  Just a message passed by word of mouth from other boats passing on their way through Yarmouth.

I must say Blakes never had a nice new big flashy helicopter though.  How technology has changed!

But is it more efficient, as it turns out?

Times have changed indeed Vaughan, just take postman pat, he never use to have a van, he does now oh and his allowed to take his cat to work. 😁 crazy world we live in. I'd glady jump into a time machine and go back 40 years. 

[Hylander]

14 minutes ago, andyg said:

Times have changed indeed Vaughan, just take postman pat, he never use to have a van, he does now oh and his allowed to take his cat to work. 😁 crazy world we live in. I'd glady jump into a time machine and go back 40 years. 

Is this Time Machine big enough to take many of us with you please?

[andyg]

7 minutes ago, Hylander said:

Is this Time Machine big enough to take many of us with you please?

There's always room 😉

[Vaughan]

I have just been tossing some figures about for fun, based on 25 boats going over Breydon on each tide, with an average 6 people on board, over a 26 week holiday season.  The full season is actually 32 weeks.

Based on that I suggest that well over three and a half million people on holiday have crossed over Breydon in the last 75 years.  In the 50s, 60s and 70s, the figure would have been more than double, and maybe even more considering all the yards on the south rivers.

As the old saying goes : you have more chance of being struck by lightning.

[rightsaidfred]

1 hour ago, andyg said:

Richardsons keep a tow boat at acle for a reason 😉

Not anymore.

Fred

[Vaughan]

12 minutes ago, rightsaidfred said:

1 hour ago, andyg said:

Richardsons keep a tow boat at acle for a reason 😉

Not anymore.

Fred

No towboat or no reason?    

[Bluebell]

I think Everett Marine Services based at Gt Yarmouth handle most incidents around Breydon in the first instance…😎

[marshman]

Lots of yards still have towboats - Bridgecraft still have one I believe up their dyke. Having said that most yards will use a cruiser thats not being used if necessary!!

[andyg]

21 minutes ago, rightsaidfred said:

Not anymore.

Fred

It's gone now then  it was there back in October. 

[andyg]

4 minutes ago, marshman said:

Lots of yards still have towboats - Bridgecraft still have one I believe up their dyke. Having said that most yards will use a cruiser thats not being used if necessary!!

I see Daniel post a video on fb of them going out to tow a boat back. Funnily enough I think it was a Richardson's boat. 

[Vaughan]

6 minutes ago, marshman said:

Having said that most yards will use a cruiser thats not being used if necessary!!

I know a yard in Stalham that have the use of my boat, if needed.  They built the boat, after all!

[OldBerkshireBoy]

Those onboard will dine out on their tale of near death for years. How many of them have alreay put it on their FB page. 

[rightsaidfred]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

No towboat or no reason?    

They have kept it in Horning since they moved Horizon out and BBC took over the site.

Fred

 

[grendel]

I think its worth remembering this from the original BBC article

Coxswain Daniel Hurd said the cruiser's engine had broken and the boat was listing (leaning), meaning "those on board were in some danger".

and that it was the local marine engineers who placed the call to the emergency services (presumably they were in attendance to attempt a repair on the engine) who better to determine that the situation might be dangerous?

[Meantime]

21 minutes ago, grendel said:

I think its worth remembering this from the original BBC article

Coxswain Daniel Hurd said the cruiser's engine had broken and the boat was listing (leaning), meaning "those on board were in some danger".

and that it was the local marine engineers who placed the call to the emergency services (presumably they were in attendance to attempt a repair on the engine) who better to determine that the situation might be dangerous?

I might be tempted to wonder when the engine broke? Was it as a result of trying to get off the mud with a blocked intake?

I went through Yarmouth yacht station at 11:05am on Saturday a fraction after slack low water and then crossed Breydon. At that point there were no stranded boats. I did notice two missing green posts at the lower end which had been replaced with 6 green buoys. From one of the pictures I'm fairly certain that's where they ran aground. To the uninformed it does looks slightly more confusing than normal there.

From the reports it appears it was called in on Saturday afternoon, which would have been much closer to high water. We passed one of those boats moored up at Yarmouth Saturday morning. 

As has been said previously, following the advice and going across at slack low water may have helped them, and more to the point their rescuers if indeed there had been an engine failure before going aground. Going aground on a rising tide at 11am would have given EMS ample opportunity to tow them off to the yacht station.

I make no apology for speculating, but a day out in Yarmouth and leave the yacht station before getting clobbered for the overnight mooring fee, means they would have been leaving just before high water, or perhaps just after high water once they had enough clearance under the bridge. I.E. late Saturday afternoon.

I've said it before the mooring fee policy needs to be addressed at Yarmouth. 

Edited to add:

There was a strong bitterly cold North Easterly on Saturday which lasted through the night. It wouldn't have been at all pleasant out on Breydon overnight.

[grendel]

thats a pretty shaky foundation you start your speculation with, then build speculation on the foundation of speculation, all to blame the pricing policy of yarmouth yacht station?

[Meantime]

1 minute ago, grendel said:

thats a pretty shaky foundation you start your speculation with, then build speculation on the foundation of speculation, all to blame the pricing policy of yarmouth yacht station?

Too many times I've seen the procession of boats all leaving Yarmouth between 9:30 and 10 punching the tide back towards Acle when it might perhaps be better to have waited a few hours for the incoming tide to help them. I don't think the pricing structure based around daytime and overnight mooring works there given the tide times are not static. A simple 25hr period from the time you arrive might be better? If you follow the advice and hopefully arrive at low water, you would be leaving at low water.

As for the rest, well one of the boats was moored at Yarmouth when we went past, therefore it is not speculation that it left after low slack water and would either have gone aground on a rising tide, or on the falling tide just after high water, since the incident was called in on Saturday afternoon. The tide times are not speculation because we used them to pass Yarmouth at just after slack low water.

I suspect EMS would confirm that it would have been easier to pull the boat off the mud on a rising tide, which would have been occurring pretty much from 10am to 4:30pm.

[Meantime]

3 hours ago, andyg said:

In a few weeks time no doubt we will re visit this topic as the next boat runs aground.

Seems you won't have long to wait. Another is sitting on the mud and from the picture I've seen it looks to be in a very similar place to the missing Green posts I mentioned earlier. I fear there could be many more this year unless the BA pull their finger out.

[Mouldy]

It was noticeable that channel marker posts were missing either last year or the year before.  Green or red cones had been anchored in place to give some idea of the channel.  It seems strange so early in the season that there are posts missing again - surely these should have been replaced over the winter.  Whoever is responsible for maintaining Breydon, whether it’s the BA, EA or anyone else, ought to be prioritising their replacement.  Using buoys is far from ideal.