A Week On Pacific Star

[YnysMon]

14 minutes ago, tim said:

No seriously I’ve enjoyed writing another one and reminiscing on good times

That's really why I do it too. It does take ages, but it's a great way of revisiting the good memories, as well as those times when things didn't quite go as planned. How is it that it's those times that we remind ourselves about years on? 

[tim]

Yeah, did think of that but didn’t think I’d get away with it, I did ask Nick  if ours came with a periscope!  🤣

[tim]

10 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

That's really why I do it too. It does take ages, but it's a great way of revisiting the good memories, as well as those times when things didn't quite go as planned. How is it that it's those times that we remind ourselves about years on? 

Absolutely right,and between work and writing this, I’ve probably not read as much as I should but I’ll catch up sometime 

Enjoy your time on Water Rail, she looks a lovely old boat

I like old, probably because I am too!  😉

[grendel]

1 hour ago, tim said:

any tips for someone who’s never been in one on how not to drown

avoid falling in

[tim]

I was rather hoping for something less basic but I’ll try!  😀

[Guest]

On 16/09/2022 at 17:35, tim said:

Nick has booked us kayaking any tips for someone who’s never been in one on how not to drown!  🤣

Sit down, stay low, and for heavens sake don't lean over too far 

Kayaking is great fun, you will enjoy it immensely 

[YnysMon]

If it's a proper kayak (by which I mean not just a sit-on one), the important thing is to keep your knees braced against the under side of the cockpit coaming. That will allow you to keep your balance. 

[tim]

Wednesday 6th July

I apologise for not updating the blog after my break in Seville, I been a bit busy since our return. We did manage 2hrs of kayaking and didn’t fall in the water, so a bonus. I think at Mandy and my age, we need an engine for water activities

First time on a mud weight overnight and it was good, I was a little concerned about drifting, I did download the ‘Anchor Alarm’ app, and set it up just in case but we just gently floated without sliding at all

Lottie wasn’t bothered when I got up about 7am to make the tea, she seemed happy so no hurry to get somewhere for her, or me having to row to the dinghy dyke to let her do the necessary

The weather wasn’t the best of the week, not cold very overcast but dry, so sat on the bow with my tea and just took in the beauty of the place,

The plan today was to set off about 8am, hopefully get to Ludham Bridge before Lottie showed any signs of needing a walk, have breakfast at the Wayfarer’s café then up the Ant to Sutton for water.

So, with the girls still in bed, I lifted the mud weight and set off to do the short cruise to Ludlam Bridge. Now I’m not good with birds, well not the feathered variety, and to be fair after 37 years of marriage I’m probably no good with the other now, so is that a Kingfisher sitting in the tree? I also saw (probably) a Kingfisher with a fish in its beak, but by the time I got the camera on my phone it disappeared!

Down Ranworth Dam turning right at the end I saw what can only be described as ‘getting your ducks in a row’ (photo below) shortly after I passed the lady who owns Meander (Birchwood maybe) we exchanged a nice wave, I’m sorry I either don’t know her name or I’ve forgotten but I believe she is a member on here

Just as I turned into The Ant, I was joined by Mandy who put the kettle on for another cuppa, I hadn’t been on the Ant for a couple of years, as we had hired a dual steer, and at 8’6’’ we just couldn’t be certain of the tides so didn’t bother, we arrived at the bridge about 8.45am.

I must admit I didn’t expect it to be quite so busy, so had to hold station for 5-10mins, thank you bow thrusters, but got through and moored up on the left!

Obviously, with the likelihood of breakfast Susie had joined us, only to be disappointed as the café was closed, when did that happen? I would have thought that a café where there were so many moorings would do well, but clearly not!

For the first and only time on our week, I had put a fleece on as it felt a bit chilly (it wasn’t on for long) so a quick trip to the shop for a few bits it was back to the boat for breakfast

So, about an hour after mooring up at Ludham Bridge we were ready to leave and continue our journey to Sutton, it was probably a blessing the café not being open, if it had been open, I’d probably have been a pig and had the full jobbie, however back at the boat I settled for a bacon sandwich. We had pre-booked tables for lunch (Swan Stalham) and dinner (Sutton Staithe Hotel) so a cooked breakfast would probably have done me in!

It was a lovely cruise up the Ant, there are some beautiful houses that look idyllic, and I won’t begin to speculate how much they would set you back, not sure a lottery win would be enough!

Over Barton Broad, now I remember reading a thread on this site when there were a spate of run a grounds on Breydon Water, I think it may have been Jean who said they were more confused with Barton, I totally agree there just seems to be posts everywhere, whereas Breydon is just one channel, and to me simples!

Anyway, we got to the staithe at 11.15am, was pleased to see there was plenty of space, we found a nice spot on the green. We had a cuppa, and I threw a few balls for Lottie, she wasn’t having any problems with her leg but I made sure I didn’t over do it!

Our table was booked for 1pm at the Swan, I had worked out a route that avoids having to walk up the A149, it’s a fast road with no footpaths so we crossed over the main road and walked up Staithe Rd along Laxfield Rd and down Moor Rd to the main road again, where opposite Moor Road is a footbath which takes you around to Richardsons (see photo below)

Unfortunately, the path was a bit overgrown (It needs Kate with her secateurs) however it kept us off the main road and safe which was the main purpose

It took us about 45-50mins to reach the Swan, where we enjoyed a sandwich and a few drinks, I like the Swan, food and beer is always good and the service was excellent. We then had a wander around Stalham before retracing our steps back to the boat

On our way through Richardsons we noticed Blue Horizon in one of the quays, this was the second boat we hired way back in 2011 or 12, we managed to get through Wroxham Bridge with that, we took a couple of photos and reminisced for a bit!

Back at Sutton, we went into the hotel for a couple of drinks then back to the boat where I filled the tank with water

The plan now to chill out before dinner at 7pm, I managed to more than chill, laying on the bed I fell asleep and only woke up when Mandy woke me up to get ready for dinner, maybe it was the beer, maybe the exercise or just me feeling my age but I can’t remember doing that before.

Another excellent meal at the Sutton Staithe Hotel a few more beers then back to the boat, we were sitting in the lounge when I became aware of a bit of activity outside, wandering out I noticed that a piece of the bank had broken off further upriver and was floating towards the boats moored!

Probably nothing unusual about this as you see them all the time, however the size of this one was quite remarkable, you wouldn’t want to meet that coming the other, gradually people guided it passed their boats, but unfortunately it got stuck against my dinghy, I had to pull the dinghy over the island, it was solid.

Eventually, it came to a rest by the boatyard and the entrance to the private moorings, I suppose when the tide started going out it returned to wherever it came from, it entertained me and a few other boaters for a while!

 

[YnysMon]

Thanks Tim. I don't mind the wait for the next installment. Better late than never!

Isn't that 'all your geese in a row'? (LOL)

I'd heard somewhere that The Wayfarer Cafe had closed because the site is due to re-development, but you'd think that the shop would also have closed if that was the case. A bit of a mystery. I wonder if anyone has an update?

 

[NotDeadYet]

On 14/09/2022 at 13:11, ScrumpyCheddar said:

I had them on the sharp end and the blunt end

Sounds painful ........

[tim]

2 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Isn't that 'all your geese in a row'? (LOL)

 

 

You are probably right Helen, not good with birds!  😉

In the 70s early 80s I was quite good with them, but that might be a different type of bird!  🤫

Sorry, the East London in me coming out!  🤣

[SwanR]

Lovely photos. You’re right. I do find Barton Broad confusing. And if on the south then the change of which side is red and which side is green halfway round Rockland Broad totally confused me the first time I went there. 🤭

[tim]

Yup, agree again with Rockland, the first time I went in there I came out the same way as I went in even though it was longer!

Last September I was a brave boy, and went out the other way, I wasn’t totally comfortable though! 😉

[tim]

Thursday 7th July

As was now becoming the routine, I awoke about 7am and put the kettle on, after the excitement of the previous night with the floating bank, I had a look round to see if I could see where it had gone, it wasn’t at the boatyard, so I assume it was either in the private moorings or had floated back down the river when the tide turned

The weather was good, dappled sunshine and warm

I had thought I’d heard a boat go past in the early hours, and over by the boatyard was the rescue boat and Meander (the boat that I’d seen the previous day) I couldn’t remember seeing it there the night before, and I did spend a bit of time moving that floating island

So, whether she had suffered a breakdown and had to be rescued or arrived early I don’t know, Meander did leave after about an hour so hopefully if I was a breakdown it was fixed, we exchanged another wave as she went past

I’d taken Lottie for a walk along the moorings, played ball with her on the green for a bit, then made another cuppa, Mandy was up, we discussed breakfast options, none of us wanted anything heavy, we were now at the stage where we seemed to be eating just because we could!

The plan today was to go further up The Ant toward to Wayford Bridge, maybe going through depending on height under the bridge, back down the Ant to Neatishead for lunch, back over Barton Broad, mooring at Ludham Bridge, a walk up through the fields to Ludham to the Kings Arms for dinner

Well, that was the plan but plans this week haven’t always gone well, so about 9am we were ready to leave, the problem was she wouldn’t start!

I tried several times to get the engine to fire, let the glow plugs warm up, although it shouldn’t be necessary, but nothing

Mandy kept telling me to ring Richard (owner), but I really didn’t want to so unless I had to, my knowledge of mechanical stuff is basic, my knowledge of diesel engines less so!

I remembered when I  worked on my  cars years ago that you could ‘flood’ them, I wasn’t  sure if that could be the case with a diesel, but thought I’d give it a try, so I left it alone for 10mins, then disengaged the gearbox, pushed the throttle forward a bit then had another go, it turned over for about 10 secs it fired, spluttered for bit, then kicked in, I left it running at about 1500 revs for a minute then reduced it to tick over, it was now running sweetly!

I have no idea what was wrong, I did discuss it with Richard when back at the boatyard, the response was ‘you should have told her Richard’s on his way, that would have done it’ I’ll try and remember that technical tip for next time!

Anyway, off we went over Sutton Broad and towards the main river, I decided to take the little cut that connects the river to Sutton and the river to Stalham, the trouble was despite it only being a couple of minutes, I’d forgotten I’d done it and instead of heading to Wayford, I ended up at Richardsons, what a plonker! So, I turned round and headed in the correct direction!

As we approached Hunsett Mill, I saw signs warning of dredging works and long delays of (I believe) 45 mins to an hour, so shortly after the mill I bottled out, turned around and headed back down the Ant.

As I’d never been there before, I turned right before Barton Broad and had a little cruise past Paddy’s Lane and Barton Turf before heading to the ‘land of confusion’ that is Barton Broad!

With the help of Aweigh App on map mode, I picked my way through to Limekiln Dyke. We had decided that we’d head for Gaye’s Staithe, rather than Neatishead Staithe

I’ve got nothing against Neatishead, I just prefer Gaye’s, I’ve been to Neatishead on a number of occasions, you just have to work so hard to get in there and more often than not the same to get out, Gaye’s suits us as we can take Lottie for a walk then the short stroll to the pub and back!

As we turned off the dyke we could see a number of stern on moorings along the side, I could see behind that there was a boat a couple of hundred yards behind us that also appeared to be mooring at Gaye’s, Mandy started to move the dinghy to the bow so we could moor, as she was tying up at the bow the boat behind, a Herbert Woods, past us to moor the same side we were going to do!

Mandy was not happy, quite laid back is my wife, but when riled wow! She let them know what she thought, funny thing is, I’m the one that normally overreacts to stuff, but when she does, I normally find it hilarious!

Anyway, they called back to say they thought we were mud weighting! Yup, that didn’t help, as she told them that mud weighting there would be stupid

No harm done, they moored up, we followed them in, they helped Mandy and Susie with the ropes and apparently apologised for their misunderstanding, I was keeping well away from that confrontation!

Using the footpath app, I found a suitable walk, which was about a mile and a half, so off we went with Lottie and ended up at the pub, shocker!

None of us fancied food, so we sat in the garden and had a few drinks, I can’t remember there being a garden at the White Horse when we last visited only a small courtyard, is this new? Only problem with the garden was it was a long way from the bar!

On leaving the pub, Mandy got a few things from the shop then onto the fudge lady, where Mandy and Susie bought quite a lot of fudge which I paid for, sometimes I think my family see me as a walking wallet!

We called into Neatishead Staithe on the way back for little look before returning to the boat filled up with water and left for Ludham Bridge, no problem starting the engine this time

A short leisurely cruise down the Ant, saw us arriving at Ludham Bridge before 4pm, shortly after mooring up, I went to help a private boat moor up who was indicating he had a problem with his engine, it turned out he had little power, he did tell me what the problem was, but as I’ve already alluded to today my mechanical knowledge isn’t good. He said he worked for Richardsons and they were sending their breakdown tug to sort him out, it turned up after about 30mins or so, he waved as he left and thanked me for my help, hopefully he got it sorted

We then had a wander over to the Dog for a drink, well it would be rude not too!

Dinner was booked at The Kings Arms Ludham for 7.30, so it was back to the boat get ready to leave for the walk through the fields and long the footpath to the pub

We had a very nice dinner at The Kings Arms, good beer and food and the service was good also, for the first time since we came away, I had a glance at this site, there was a post from Helen asking about the carvery at the Kings Arms and what the vegetarian option were, how bizarre was that? So I was able first hand to find the info and send a picture of their offerings

We got back to the boat about 9.30pm, it was still a nice evening, so whilst the girls decided on bed, I enjoyed a couple of glasses of red whilst beginning to fret about the boat starting in the morning, I really wanted to test the engine but that would’ve been so wrong at that time of the evening, so despite my anxiety I resisted

We were crossing Breydon in the morning to get back down south, so should have an issue with it starting it could cause a problem, hopefully not!

Hopefully I haven't gone too far with the photos, just emptied the phone folder! 

[Gracie]

Not gone too far with the photos at all, they're lovely, thank you x

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, tim said:

I’d forgotten I’d done it and instead of heading to Wayford, I ended up at Richardsons, what a plonker!

I've done something similar on that upper Ant stretch, only in my case I thought I had turned toward Paddy's Lane and Barton Turf when in fact I was heading toward Weyford. Doh! It's not that wide up there near to turn around either. 

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, tim said:

I can’t remember there being a garden at the White Horse when we last visited only a small courtyard, is this new?

I think they opened up the garden bit when pubs were allowed to reopen after Covid.

1 hour ago, tim said:

We had a very nice dinner at The Kings Arms, good beer and food and the service was good also, for the first time since we came away, I had a glance at this site, there was a post from Helen asking about the carvery at the Kings Arms and what the vegetarian option were, how bizarre was that?

Our thanks!

And you can't really overdo it with photos. 

[tim]

I just need to learn how to insert them in the text! 😉

Mind you the fact I managed to get them off my phone and on here is an achievement for me!  🤣

Baby steps! 🤭

[tim]

1 hour ago, YnysMon said:

I've done something similar on that upper Ant stretch, only in my case I thought I had turned toward Paddy's Lane and Barton Turf when in fact I was heading toward Weyford. Doh! It's not that wide up there near to turn around either. 

Quite right Helen, try doing it with a dinghy!  🤣

[tim]

2 hours ago, Gracie said:

Not gone too far with the photos at all, they're lovely, thank you x

Thank you Gracie, good to see you posting on here again

BTW, I’m still waiting for the invite to get down to Sussex with your mates so we can discuss shoes!  🤣

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, tim said:

I just need to learn how to insert them in the text! 😉

Mind you the fact I managed to get them off my phone and on here is an achievement for me!  🤣

Baby steps! 🤭

Once I’ve up loaded my photos I click on (or select…whatever) the place in the text where I want a particular photo to appear than click on/ select that photo. It’s a lot more time consuming that way as you have to select each one individually, compared to just posting them all at once and it’s easier to do it on a laptop or tablet than a phone. 

[tim]

51 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Once I’ve up loaded my photos I click on (or select…whatever) the place in the text where I want a particular photo to appear than click on/ select that photo. It’s a lot more time consuming that way as you have to select each one individually, compared to just posting them all at once and it’s easier to do it on a laptop or tablet than a phone. 

Wow, thanks for that Helen, whilst it hasn’t gone over my head, it’s probably about neck high at the moment 

Maybe too soon to finish my tale, but I will give a go sometime soon

Prepare people for a strange (more than usual) posting from me. 🤣

[YnysMon]

2 minutes ago, tim said:

whilst it hasn’t gone over my head, it’s probably about neck high at the moment 

Probably my inept description!

[tim]

Not at all Helen, I’m sure it’s me, your description made total sense, doing it for a non tech more people person might be more tricky 

I will give a go when I’m feeling brave!  😀

[tim]

Friday 8th July

I must admit to not sleeping well during the night, my mind kept churning over the starting problem at Sutton, not starting wouldn’t normally have bothered me but this was the last day of the trip and we needed to get down to the south.

Low water at Breydon was at 11am, so I decided that I would leave early for two reasons, firstly should I have a problem there’d be time to get assistance and still make the crossing, secondly going through at low water would mean we’d get to Burgh Castle early enough to be able to go for a walk with Lottie before going to The Fishermans for lunch!

That’s what was going through my mind as I lay in bed at 6.30am, so I decided to get up, make some tea take Lottie for a short walk along the bank and be prepared to start the engine and leave about 7.30am

The moment of truth arrived, time to start and leave!

What a load of fuss and stress for nothing, key turned engine started within a second or two, ropes released and off I went, alone as the girls were still in bed.

The weather was glorious, I had lowered the screens before I left, just to be safe under Ludham Bridge, the sun was beating down but was low which was an issue at certain parts of the journey, but with baseball cap and sunglasses I managed, just about

I was also quite surprised how quiet the moorings were, plenty of room at Acle and the Bridge Inn, room at Stokesby and plenty of space at Stracey where we planned to have breakfast!

Turning round into the tide, we moored up just down from the shop, fortunately during the cruise down from Ludham Bridge I was joined by both the ladies, so help was on hand to moor up!

It was about 9.15am, Susie wanted to get a few things from the shop, I took Lottie for a walk along the bank, she was a bit nervous with the goats and Shetland ponies, so we didn’t go far, just enough for her to do what dogs must do. Mandy started breakfast, again just a sandwich for us all.

I wanted to cross Breydon at low water, I knew this would mean having to punch the tide after turning at the yellow post, but I wasn’t concerned, if I had to pay for a bit more fuel then sobeit

We wanted to get to Burgh Castle for about 12.30pm, so only stayed for 30 mins before continuing our journey to the south, again engine started without a problem, we were now getting quite a push with the tide, we were easily doing 6mph without many revs, I thought to myself I’m going to pay for this on Breydon!

By the time we reached Yarmouth, the weather had clouded over a bit but it was still quite warm, once round the yellow post I noticed quite a change in the speed, from barely more that tick over I was up to 2000 revs doing about 6mph, once under Breydon Bridge, I eased it back to about 1600 revs, we had made such good time there was no point in doing that speed, and even at 1600 rev we were going fast enough, Mandy and Susie took turns at the helm, while I had a shower and a little rest, Mandy is very competent at the helm (not always that way) but she doesn’t like to do it for long periods, Susie is learning but getting better, Breydon was a good place to have a go!

I took over the helm again as we approached the split in the river right to go down Yare, left for the Waveney, which was the way we went, I discussed with Mandy where we should moor, outside the pub or the new BA moorings, we decided not to decide and just go on instinct when close, as we approached the Fishermans moorings there was a lot of space so in we went!

The moorings outside the Fishermans look very harsh and unforgiving, I think if I was overnighting, I would use the BA moorings, we were only going to be there for a couple of hours so wasn’t too concerned

We’ve only stopped there once before, again that was lunchtime but have never gone for a walk to the Castle, so I pulled up a suitable walk on my footpath app (photo below) only a short walk but really nice, we all enjoyed it

Lunch was then taken at The Fishermans Arms, they seemed to have done a lot of work on the pub and gardens since we last visited in 2019, the only downside was that you couldn’t walk directly to the gardens from their moorings, you had to go into the pub and then through the back to the gardens

We all had a sandwich and a few drinks and enjoyed the superb weather, which now was glorious, whilst having lunch Mandy noticed she had missed a call from Annie, landlady at The Lord Nelson where we had a mooring and dinner booked for the evening, unfortunately the chef had tested positive for Covid, therefore the kitchen would be closed.

However, she said she would still reserve the mooring for us, and they would still be open for drinks, Mandy rang to thank her for letting her know and I rang The Ship and booked a table for dinner that evening, so fortunately we were sorted

Whilst we were in the pub, I spotted a Woodie coming up from Breydon with two sailing dinghies attached to either site, don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before

Once back at the boat we decided to have a little cruise down The Waveney, with the mooring at Reedham booked, we weren’t in any hurry. So, a cruise down to St Olaves, under the bridge and past the Bell, we were tempted to stop for a drink, but last September it was chaos in there as everything had to be ordered through an app or wait for someone to come and take your order, so we decided to push on to Reedham.

It had got very hot by now not a cloud in the sky, Lottie was beginning to feel the heat, so we got a towel that we had brought with us and wet it, wringing it out it was paced over Lottie, this made her more comfortable

We got to Reedham shortly after 4pm, as we passed the Lord Nelson, Annie was true to her word our reserved board was on the quay, so I turned round and came in slowly against the tide, the ranger was waiting for us as I got close, ‘this mooring is reserved’ he said, ‘yes, for us’ I replied. ‘Oh, sorry I didn’t notice the name of your boat’

We got moored up, the ranger then told us the kitchen was closed due to Covid, so I told him that we had been informed and that we were still ok to moor there, he seemed happy and wandered off. It seemed only fair to have a couple of drinks at the pub as they had let us moor there.

After a couple of drinks, the girls went back to the boat I took Lottie for a walk before returning to the boat to get changed to go out for dinner

I cheated with the last photo, that was taken last September

The food at The Ship was excellent as was the beer, we eat there last September it was very good then as well. We have also eaten at The Lord Nelson a few times which has always been good also, so the only place in Reedham I may avoid next year is The Chain Ferry

Back at the boat for about 9pm, Mandy had already started to pack for handing back the boat the next day, there was still some wine left in the box, so I thought I’d try and help by finishing it, well one thing less to pack!