Paddle Skedaddle - Saturday 13th May

[Hylander]

Do you think they had 3 Shredded Wheat for breakfast.

[Hylander]

On the web cam you can see in the distance by Martham Ferry several paddle boarders.

[Lulu]

There didn’t seem to be that many in the end. 

[Smoggy]

So how many died in the carnage?

[MargeandParge]

4 hours ago, grendel said:

well, just to raise the stakes, this morning while shopping at lidl, they had SUP's on offer for £199, so in light of that I have now joined the ranks of sit down paddle boarders (not quite up to the level of standing up yet) so a short toll will be purchased for two weeks (£19.20) for my upcoming trip later this week.

WOW knowing the engineer that you are. Your replica of a famous boat has proved that.

We wait with bated breath to see the combination of ebike and knee board. A mode of transport for all occasions. 

Grendel Old Parge has had to keep fit lately and I admire the ways you are doing it.

Take care and keep at it.

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

Edited May 13, 2023 by MargeandParge
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[Bikertov]

I'm impressed the paddle boarders stay upright for so long

Wonder if they take any supplements to help them 

[ExSurveyor]

21 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

I'm impressed the paddle boarders stay upright for so long

Wonder if they take any supplements to help them 

No, just a 'balanced' diet 😁

[marshman]

Watch out for two more events scheduled as well - might as well just repeat the whole thread or keep it for later!! 

[Wussername]

The broads is for everyone.

Or is it?

Is it a given?

May I suggest that there is a conversation as to regulated activity, privileges, as opposed to adhoc and events which appear on the calendar without any thought or consideration.

In brief, the broads is for every one. Is that what the Broads is all about, the so called National Park is all about? NO IT IS NOT.

.

There has to be control, recognised consideration. 

An appreciated and earned  privilege by all concerned. 

 

Sadly not understood or recognised.

I sometimes feel that the our heritage, The Broads, is so often used and abused.

[batrabill]

I think you will find that events are arranged with a great deal of planning, thought and consideration. I’ve just submitted an Event Plan, Event Application, Hazard Assessment, and Traffic Plan for an event later in the year. Those docs go to NNDC, police, BA, Traffic Management and a dozen other people. 
We have procedures for disabled parking, lost children, medical emergency, weather events, and boat fire. We have £10m insurance. 
 

The idea that events like this pop up is quite wrong  

 

[marshman]

And remember too, at this level, its not kids mucking around!

They are highly trained athletes and you will have to be to paddle 70k - you don't take part in these type of events because you are just out for a pleasant paddle!

[Gracie]

I'm so pleased it all went well and was a success.

My first post to this was to say I wouldn't want to helm through them and I still stand by that but what I have learned from this thread is that they are trained athletes who are well aware they are on a river with 40 ton cruisers (I'm not sure how much they weigh really ) and haven't just brought a paddle board to give it a try

If I wore a hat I would take it off to them, well done and look forward to reading about the next event x

[unclemike]

my lad picked up a pic of our old boat in the middle of this

[Vaughan]

Which I just see as a perfect demonstration of what they really see as the future of the Broads "National Park".  To allow an event such as this to take place in this area at this time of year is nothing but dangerously irresponsible.

I said this on another thread on Thursday and I still stand by it now.  Yes, it all went well but in my view, as a hire fleet manager, we were all very lucky.

Perhaps my risk assessment of this event would be rather different.  I can imagine a 45 ft centre cockpit hire boat, in the rain with the canopy closed, coming round one of those sharp, blind, narrow bends in the trees around Irstead, and driving straight over a paddle board or canoe without even seeing it or being able to avoid it.

I have offered an alternative route, which doesn't even have to start at Coltishall : it can easily begin  in the old Porter and Haylett (ex Broads Tours) basin above the bridge in Wroxham and go up the Bure from there.  Very little other traffic and above all, no hire boats either returning to or leaving a boatyard base.

But I fear the BA are looking at this through a different set of "eyes" more related to their dreams of a national park.  I have often said that paddle boarding doesn't need river dredging ; nor does it need made up moorings. Just a bit of car park space with some public toilets.  Just like a national park.  But to the BA they see this as ticking their boxes by "opening up the Broads to a wider public".  Watch this space folks - this is the future of the Broads, if we are not careful.

But I suppose in my scenario above, even if the hire boat were within the speed limit on the right side of the river, it would still end up as "the boatyard's fault".

 

[RumPunch]

Thankfully it went off safely. However, I personally could have had issues were I to have been trying to navigate my yacht in the area at the time.

Transom hung rudder and offset outboard means unless I'm moving I have no steerage - I can't just stop. Had I been trying to navigate the bridge, mast down, at the same time as this event, things could have got 'interesting'

 

[NeilB]

On 13/05/2023 at 11:04, grendel said:

well, just to raise the stakes, this morning while shopping at lidl, they had SUP's on offer for £199, so in light of that I have now joined the ranks of sit down paddle boarders (not quite up to the level of standing up yet) so a short toll will be purchased for two weeks (£19.20) for my upcoming trip later this week.

That's the entertainment sorted for the NBN meet !  

[batrabill]

Good God. Why does it always have to be about the Broads being, or not being a National Park. I’m so utterly sick of this obsession. 
 

What it is about, is the waterways being available to everyone who wants to use them. 
 

It’s that simple. 

[floydraser]

I still don't get why they get something perfect for shallow waters and encourage loads them into the main boating areas. Yes you have the right etc but surely the best thing for these would be to open up some of the areas un-navigable by boats? 

I suppose one argument would be that less people would see your latest gear..

[marshman]

Get used to sharing!! This isn't the first time one of these events has happened on the rivers and I just cannot believe the amount of squit written by some, especially those who should know better - there's more planned so you will be able to vent your spleen again in the not too distant future. The event is over now and nothing untoward happened, and neither did I expect it. 

Well done to all those who completed the course and I hope you had a great day!

 

 

 

[Ray]

22 minutes ago, batrabill said:

Good God. Why does it always have to be about the Broads being, or not being a National Park. I’m so utterly sick of this obsession. 
 

What it is about, is the waterways being available to everyone who wants to use them. 
 

It’s that simple. 

I understand the frustration of seeing it raised under every context. The reason it matters so much to a lot of people is simply that if the current situation eventually evolved into full NP status then the management criteria changes, the Navigation takes second place to conservation and the one thing you specifically cite ie "the waterways being available to everyone who wants to use them" becomes less certain, not more.

3 minutes ago, marshman said:

Get used to sharing!! This isn't the first time one of these events has happened on the rivers and I just cannot believe the amount of squit written by some, especially those who should know better - there's more planned so you will be able to vent your spleen again in the not too distant future. The event is over now and nothing untoward happened, and neither did I expect it. 

Well done to all those who completed the course and I hope you had a great day!

 

 

 

So, sticking with the idea that people don't want to share the rivers despite there being no evidence for it?

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, batrabill said:

I’m so utterly sick of this obsession. 

The obsession is with the BA in the person of the CEO, not with me.  I come from the days when the Broads were managed by those who really knew them, and understood them.

 

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

I just cannot believe the amount of squit written by some, especially those who should know better

That is a fine comment coming from a wherryman, who knows that anything from a paddle board up to a large hire boat, will simply bounce off the sides of the Albion!

 

1 hour ago, marshman said:

you will be able to vent your spleen again in the not too distant future. The event is over now and nothing untoward happened, and neither did I expect it. 

There will be an awful lot more venting of spleens next time, if someone is killed or injured on an overcrowded river.

As you say, this time nothing happened, so we were lucky. In the assessment of public safety, for all concerned, "lucky" is just nowhere near good enough.

[RumPunch]

...and just to lighten the mood, tried it once. OK but not for me - the wetsuit is challange enough

 

[Gracie]

 Everyone is entitled to their opinions whether we agree or disagree but shouldn't be labelled as a load of squit, that's offensive to those posters and their opinions. We all view things differently and rightly so, life would be pretty boring if we agreed on everything

This coming from someone who posts squit all the time thank you very much  x

[floydraser]

I think it's been established recently that it would help BRAG if we tried to keep away from the National Park issue and concentrate on the reform for now. Thankfully, it does not get raised too often around here these days. Once some kind of reform is achieved, then may be the time for a full appraisal of the situation.