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A Horning Start


Broads01

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Great to hear you’re enjoying helming this one. I hadn’t hired a dual steer for some while when we took Zircon. I did find the upper helm felt really high up. But I love the way you can come out of the side of the cabin, along, and up rather than having to walk across the top or squeeze through a hatch from inside. 

Lovely photos. Have a great day wherever it takes you. 

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4 minutes ago, andyg said:

Water must be really high. 

It was way up around Hoveton Viaduct when I was down there yesterday. There’s a few places along there between the moorings that I keep an eye on. They were flooded when I came past about 5.30pm. I don’t know what state of the tide that would have been. 

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14 minutes ago, SwanR said:

It was way up around Hoveton Viaduct when I was down there yesterday. There’s a few places along there between the moorings that I keep an eye on. They were flooded when I came past about 5.30pm. I don’t know what state of the tide that would have been. 

Not sure if you have access to fb. If you have take a look at Bridgecraft page. Daniel only just squeezed it through about midnight last night. Guess if he'd of scrapped it his the one that has to fix it lol..

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Thank you for the posts and the photos.    How lovely to see a responsible owner that puts a lovely blanket on the seats for the dogs, which are absolutely gorgeous.   Not sure if you have said their names but can you repeat them.     You are really do so well and well done you for getting up to Stalham and all single handed.   

 

Looking forward to hearing more.

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6 hours ago, Hylander said:

Thank you for the posts and the photos.    How lovely to see a responsible owner that puts a lovely blanket on the seats for the dogs, which are absolutely gorgeous.   Not sure if you have said their names but can you repeat them.     You are really do so well and well done you for getting up to Stalham and all single handed.   

 

Looking forward to hearing more.

Yes that was a brilliant touch. Suzie is the grey and white Shih Tzu and Betsy is the Lhasa Apso. 

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Today it's been one of those days where you start out planning one thing, and end up doing something else. In my head before the trip and to begin with today was to finish up at Stracey Arms for an early Breydon Crossing tomorrow, via a stop at Potter Heigham. By the time I'd let the dogs enjoy a walk at St Benets before I set off and then mudweighted at South Walsham shortly after, I changed my mind. The thing with having dogs, especially solo, is you can't just get out of bed in the morning and "set sail" immediately, you have to do the doggie stuff as well as your own. With this in mind I wasn't looking forward to trying to be ready to set off for Great Yarmouth at 0630 tomorrow. At South Walsham I rechecked the tide tables and realised I could get through this afternoon, as long as I arrived just before low water so I could cross Breydon in daylight ( I'm not one for overnighting at Great Yarmouth). Decision made, I decided on a Womack stop instead of Potter. Not long after leaving Fleet Dyke it started raining heavily so I switched back to the lower helm. Suzie and Betsy stay safely inside whilst I'm "upstairs" and delighted at my return, Suzie taking the opportunity to demand attention the way she tends to do. At Womack the rain was still falling and it seems to make everyone want to stay moored up, because the BA moorings and the island were both full and there was only one spot at the Staithe. I would have liked to stop there but the space was no more than one boat width wide, so I opted to continue to Acle Bridge and stop there instead. Arriving at Acle around 1pm I had plenty of time before setting off for Great Yarmouth. It was soon time to take the dogs out and that's when I had a major panic moment. The boat has a narrow, low deck outside the stern door, in my view not an ideal design for humans never mind dogs, one of whom (Betsy) is a nervous soul. I've been carrying them off individually, always taking Suzie first because she's less likely to do a runner given the chance (Betsy has previous in this regard). Suzie is small enough to manage the narrow deck, so I departed from previous and allowed her to walk along and hop off. Unfortunately I took my eye off the ball, left the stern door open behind me, upon which Betsy made a bid for freedom, exiting the door and jumping off into the water. She briefly swam towards the opposite bank, just as a boat was approaching. I shouted across to the helm and fortunately he acknowledged me. Meanwhile Betsy quickly decided the river at Acle is far too wide and turned to swim in my direction. I was able to grab her lead floating behind, lift her out and breathe a huge sigh of relief. Drama averted, I later set off towards Great Yarmouth. The rain had abated now and the sun made it all the more enjoyable. Once again I appreciated the views from the upper helm. I was able to see not just reeds but livestock, the A47 road, buildings of various types and the big wheel at Great Yarmouth. En route, it was doggie tea time and Suzie wasn't going to let the small matter of my helming a boat get in the way. I swapped back to the interior helm ( not the best idea given the location and strong outgoing tide) and discovered that Betsy had already "self-served" her dinner. I had made the mistake of leaving foil-topped dog food out on the galley worktop. Betsy had evidently made use of the steps to the side door to jump on to the worktop and help herself. I managed to get Suzie some food and return to the upper helm. Great Yarmouth Yacht Station was busy as usual. I was about an hour before low water and of course the tide carried me along strongly but not in a scary way. There was over 10 ft clearance at the bridges. Breydon was beautiful with the low sun ahead and was flat calm. I was the only boat travelling south and I saw no more than three boats in the opposite direction. I've stopped tonight at Burgh Castle on the free moorings which are a considerable improvement on what was here before. 

 

 

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Having eaten aboard last night, I visited The Fisherman's for a drink. It was very quiet and by the time I approached the bar around 9-30 to refill my glass, I heard "all shut mate". I was a bit miffed at the time but I guess by then I was more or less the only customer so it's understandable. 

All's gone very smoothly today and no more doggie dramas. After the usual morning dog walk we were off, initial destination Reedham (via the Yare route). The sun was shining and once again I found myself to be the only boat on the move - the first boat I saw was leaving the New Cut at Reedham. The ranger at Reedham was superb both for myself and other arrivals afterwards, running back and forth along the quay to help everyone, not only taking ropes but performing the full works of tying up with spring lines. Not only that, he was cheerful, friendly and clearly enjoying his job. I don't know his name but he's recognisable by his Irish accent and brimmed hat. Just after arriving, I was approached by a chap who told me "I've been reading your blog." It was forum member Graham (Graham47) who was visiting for a few days on a hotel break. It was good to meet you and chat to you, Graham. Whilst stopped I mopped the decks and swept the interior - the free moorings at Acle Bridge and Burgh Castle are covered in irritating fine gravel which gets everywhere. I missed having Sanderson's there. There are still five of their former fleet moored just upstream for which I assume there's been no buyer.  I continued my journey, opting to head for the Surlingham Ferry House overnight via a stop at Langley Dyke. I know Langley is liked by a number of people on here and I'm definitely one of them. It was a warm, sunny stop with the dogs enjoying themselves once again. Not long after setting off again I'm pretty sure I glimpsed a young deer in the reeds near the water's edge. I arrived at the Ferry House at 4pm having booked a table. As it happened, this was my first stern mooring of the trip and it's made it easier getting the dogs off and on the boat. I visited here in April and as I wrote then the food wasn't great on that occasion. This time they've definitely redeemed themselves. I had gluten-free scampi (a rarity) and it was lovely.

 

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Hi Simon. It was good to meet  and chat with you this morning. I was very impressed with your approach to the moorings at Reedham and the assistance from the BA Quay Ranger. Having hired Silver Emblem I agree with you, the stern mooring platform could do with being a bit longer to make easier to use, when moored side on. I hope that this experience as a solo hirer gives you the confidence to enjoy many more years boating on the broads.

 

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What a grey and cold day it's been, in contrast to yesterday. As I awoke at The Ferry House I was grateful to be on electric and be able to switch the heating on without needing the engine. The heating on this boat is a standard Eberspacher but it seems to take an age for the boat to become even vaguely warm. I think it's not helped by the fact there's no door to separate the aft cabin from the corridor so there's effectively one big space. Also, the heating vent in the cabin is in the wrong place, being in the corner in the very narrow space between the bed and side window instead of somewhere more prominent. I set off continuing my journey towards Norwich although I didn't want to go all the way there given I was in Norwich last Sunday evening. There was low mist/fog over the river to begin with, giving it an ethereal feel. I had a peaceful cruise past Bramerton and to not far beyond the Commissioner's cut before turning around and returning downstream. I made a dog walking stop at the Brundall Church Fen moorings so I could have a couple of hours mudweighting on Bargate. Unusually, I was the only boat doing so and in two hours I saw the sum total of one boat passing through. This afternoon I continued down the Yare, enjoying the upper helm for a bit and then switching to the lower to "thaw out". I've decided to head back north early in the morning so I opted to overnight at Reedham Quay. It was the same ranger as yesterday and sure enough he secured all my ropes once again with springs forward and aft this time. He mentioned that boats at Great Yarmouth this morning had been instructed to wait to cross Breydon until this afternoon due to the fog. I've stayed aboard this evening with a strong wind and heavy rain outside.

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It certainly has been a different day. Mostly bright where I am until the rain arrived late afternoon. I took a nice walk along the Hoveton Viaduct moorings at lunchtime. No boats there at all, and only a handful of liveaboards at the stern on moorings. 

I do remember the cabin only having a curtain across which of course isn't full length so you don't get the cosy feel of an enclosed room as on other boats at night.

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Now moored at Great Yarmouth Yacht Station for a short stop. It's a beautiful sunny morning and I set off early with low water about 0750. I really enjoyed the Breydon Crossing and arrived at the low bridges at 0900. Aaarrgh, 8 foot showing! I slowed to almost nothing and squeezed through with about 2 inches to spare. The people on a Broom Captain hadn't been so lucky, they'd just scraped the bridge. Come through Great Yarmouth an hour after low water they say. Yes but only in a low airdraft boat when water levels are like this.

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2 hours ago, Broads01 said:

 . . . . . . . . Come through Great Yarmouth an hour after low water they say. Yes but only in a low airdraft boat when water levels are like this.

Too many armchair admirals give the same advice on social media.  The river level is already rising by slack, so clearance is reducing.  Our airdraft is 8’3” and unless we’ve spoken to the lads at the yacht station who’ve advised otherwise, we aim to arrive at Yarmouth 15 - 30 minutes after low.

This website is useful, although we did find it a bit inaccurate a couple of weeks ago when the website stated 8’5” under the rail bridge, but there was 8’9”.    https://broads.bridgeheight.com/

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I left Great Yarmouth a short time later, next destination Upton Dyke. I don't normally break the journey at Great Yarmouth but I'm glad I did and it gave me the advantage of being pushed along by the flooding tide. River traffic was very light and I seemed to be passing Stracey Arms, Stokesby and Acle Bridge in no time. I turned in to Upton Dyke and headed down to the Staithe. Silver Emblem is a modest 31 foot but it was still a tight squeeze to turn at the end especially with Eastwood Whelpton boatyard looking full. Silver turns on a sixpence though, so well I hardly need the now thrusters and I moored up with no drama. I spent a very pleasant 2 1/2 hours in the sunshine, walking the dogs along the dyke and spending some time sat on top of the boat. Eastwood Whelpton didn't seem to have any customers arriving, which surprised me. Their Moorhen cruiser looks gorgeous. My destination for this evening was Potter Heigham. As I passed Thurne Mill there was a sailing event ongoing and so there was some throttling off, some stopping and some keeping well to the right to be done. I enjoy that though, all part of the Broads boating challenge. I arrived at Potter at 15-45 and there was plenty of space on the BA moorings. I've just had food in the Norada which was OK but very standard and unremarkable. Last full day tomorrow.

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