A Holiday (on) Melody

[catcouk]

With a little more than 24 hours until we take the helm of our next broads cruiser, I thought now would be a good time to start this year's blog. What could be better than a short break on the Broads? A full week! The higher authorities have allowed us to book a full week afloat this year. As Mrs Catcouk said, she isn't sure if I'm the most excited or if it is our six-year old son!

As is fairly usual for us, we'll be arriving around 2pm tomorrow at our favourite Stalham based hire boat provider (or should that be charter boat?). This year, we have hired one of the Melody fleet (we'll find out which number tomorrow). We'll also find out if Melody will still bare her yellow and blue livery or if she has been repainted into the new corporate grey that Richardson's seems to be going with. I know this is controversial, but I actually really hope she is still in the bright yellow and blue (I think it gives some character).

Melody is a 1980 Bounty Traveller 34 Sedan (no, I can't believe that makes her 44 years old either). Not the largest boat we've had but our first 'sedan' style cruiser. As we will be venturing South, I wanted a higher steering position (it's easier to keep a look out for the dragons, krakens, and other sea monsters that live below Yarmouth - not to mention helping see over the reeds). I'd really have liked a fly bridge but that seemed excessive with only the three of us aboard.

Here's looking forward to another great 'luxury cruise' on the Norfolk Broads!

[Broads01]

Look forward to hearing about it. I know the Melodys have a strong following. Watch your clearance at Great Yarmouth and St Olaves but you probably don't need me to tell you that.

[dom]

Really jealous, I'd love nothing more than to be heading off onto the Broads - and have a bit of a soft spot for the Bounty 34. I've tried to find one to buy before now, but they seem like a boat owners tend to hang onto. I worked in a yard where all the boats were blue and yellow, so with you on the more traditional look!

Just in case you're not aware, it's extremely windy in the east at the moment and the forecast is for 40mph winds until Sunday evening - so may be wise to have a contingency plan to stick around the more sheltered parts of the Ant for the first day. On the up side, the temperature is defintely on the up and looks positively warm towards the end of the week.

[Lulu]

Have a fantastic time!

[RS2021]

I've often wondered if the Melody's started out life as the Benson Bountys. Does anyone know?

[catcouk]

45 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Look forward to hearing about it. I know the Melodys have a strong following. Watch your clearance at Great Yarmouth and St Olaves but you probably don't need me to tell you that.

I've heard those bridges offer a free service to convert Sedans into convertibles...

[catcouk]

17 minutes ago, RS2021 said:

I've often wondered if the Melody's started out life as the Benson Bountys. Does anyone know?

I know Melody 1 was on the Thames before Richardson's bought her. Does that help?

[catcouk]

29 minutes ago, dom said:

Just in case you're not aware, it's extremely windy in the east at the moment and the forecast is for 40mph winds until Sunday evening - so may be wise to have a contingency plan to stick around the more sheltered parts of the Ant for the first day. On the up side, the temperature is defintely on the up and looks positively warm towards the end of the week.

I haven't looked at the forecast yet - a bit worried by what I would find...

Thanks for heads up about wind. At least the temperature is on the up!

[RS2021]

34 minutes ago, catcouk said:

I know Melody 1 was on the Thames before Richardson's bought her. Does that help?

Craig's lists all of them as 'Thames fleets', but the names given are all from the Richardsons era on the Thames and I know they did a lot of swapping about with the fleets they bought.

[kpnut]

I walked past a Melody yesterday on the moorings at Potter Heigham and was quite shocked by how high she was to get on, with the very high water levels. 
If not too late to consider, I’d suggest bringing some sort of step or a stout wooden box to help, especially with littl’un. 

[catcouk]

26 minutes ago, kpnut said:

I walked past a Melody yesterday on the moorings at Potter Heigham and was quite shocked by how high she was to get on, with the very high water levels. 
If not too late to consider, I’d suggest bringing some sort of step or a stout wooden box to help, especially with littl’un. 

That is an amazing spot! Thank you very much, I will ensure we have a step just in case!

[catcouk]

Full blog post later but... I can confirm it is WINDY! Quite a chop over Barton Broad and needed a bit more throttle to make progress. Now sat at Ludham Bridge watching the almost sunset before we tackle the boy into his bunk for the night!

[Hylander]

Sure is windy.  You do pick your weather.  A bit like us we always manage to catch a named storm.  Hope you get some sleep.  At least tomorrow not so bad.   Enjoy.

 

 

[catcouk]

Another Easter school holiday and another opportunity to grace the beautiful waterways of the Broads! As usual for us, our adventure started at Richardson’s boatyard in Stalham (after a 4 hour drive from the Sussex coast). Also as usual, another swift handover from the staff and we were trained, loaded, handed additional bedding and a hair dryer, and underway in less than 50 minutes. Our guy at the yard told me they were turning around 35 boats today but that was less than this time last year. My 6 year-old son’s excitement was well and truly in overdrive by the time we started chugging toward the Ant – questions and screams of excitement shouted left, right, and centre (or should that be port, starboard, and amidships?).

In a departure from previous years, we didn’t start by heading down river but by turning right (or to starboard) and making for Wayford Bridge. Last year was the first year we had ventured that way and there is the most picturesque wind pump/ drainage mill and cottage. The wife suspects the cottage might be on Air BnB or similar – and it does look gorgeous.

Cruising aboard a sedan, we were never going to fit under Wayford Bridge and, bird song aside, it isn’t the most picturesque spot. So why head up there? Well, this year we MIGHT just be able to pull off a ‘Grand Tour' of the entire Broads river system. The wife had given permission for a full week and, tides and weather willing, it looks possible to make Norwich, Beccles, and Wroxham! Whether this happens or not remains to be seen. But I will remind forum members that I once made it all the way from Stalham to Geldeston on a short break (4 nights). However, tomorrow’s forecast isn’t looking great…

Having reached the bridge and ‘ticked off' this stretch, we began our leisurely chug down the Ant. A couple of speedy day boats were heading up (I assume back to Wayford Bridge?) and a big Alphacraft met us as the channel squeezed. I’m going to guess they are fairly new as they took up the entire channel whilst we had to find some weeds to hide out in as they passed. I hope their skills improve swiftly as many parts of the Ant are twisty and narrow and it can get mighty busy!

(For those keeping track, we came via Barton Turf to tick that off – I had forgotten just how many moorings were there!) Barton Broad was a new experience for us – or rather the wind was! It is becoming tradition that our son has his first go at the helm whilst we are crossing this large expanse of water. I was a bit dubious about whether this was the smart choice today as there was quite a chop on the water (at least a foot in places), not to mention a serious head wind. Richardson’s are in the process of equipping all their boats with GPS speed readouts (at least, the chap at the yard said that was their plan) which showed just how much of an effect the wind was having on us. We needed nearly 2000 revs to make 5 mph.

As many an experienced boater will know, not only does a headwind make the cruise slower but it also has quite an effect on the helm – steering can become quite lively. This was to be the case for our intrepid helmsman today. Several occasions saw a gust catch him off guard and saw us heading for a marker. Obviously, all is safe as I am always right at the helm with a hand on the wheel if needed but I like to give him the space to make mistakes and (sometimes) fix problems himself. I only really had to step in once when his little arms just couldn’t turn the wheel quick enough to correct our course.

Irstead was beautiful as always and we continued on to How Hill. As we approached, a small boat was… well, I'm still not entirely sure what they were doing. They had their bow into the opposite and windward bank. I assumed they were trying to start a wild moor but, as we approached, they sent the internationally recognised signal for stop (giant waving and crossed arms). I had already started backing off and complied (only now starting to realise how strong the side wind was becoming. They had boathooks astern (had they dropped something, fouled the propeller maybe?) so couldn’t be wild mooring. Then the wind pushed them across the river, seemingly without any attempt to avoid this from their motor (had they lost their engine?). The wind pushed them to the nearside bank where they started to go ashore with rhond anchors. Still no idea what that was about but I saw them come past us once we had moored up for the night.

We were leading two other boats as we approached the moorings at Ludham Bridge (our traditional first night spot). Boy, was it busy! A Siesta was making hard work of trying to moor on the BA moorings (into the wind) and was blocking the river. Another cruiser was waiting to pass them and us, and we had the two cruisers behind too. With the side wind, and no room to manoeuvre, I settled for allowing the wind to guide us to a perfect spot. Once we were secure, I went down toward the bridge to help the beleaguered Siesta tie up, having been blown over and down river.

A bit later, and our boat from last year showed up – Spring Horizon II – and I offered to help them tie up too. A lovely bit of helming as they slotted the boat in perfectly on to a space only a tad bigger than the boat. Once I had their stern line on, the most remarkable and unbelievable thing happened. I mentioned to the lady that this was our holiday boat from last year and she replied with, “Ooh - you’re the man on the video. I recognise you!” Naturally, I apologised to her and her daughter for my dreary boat review and then promptly ran away like a coward. I’ve never been recognised before! I did wish them a good holiday though.

Having driven here with heavy overcast, I had mentioned to Mrs Catcouk that I suspected we wouldn’t be treated to another glorious sunset over the Horning Marshes, I’m delighted to say that I was wrong. Maybe not the best sunset but it was still great. We watched the sun go down as we ate tonight’s meal from ‘Hello Fresh’. Not sponsored but this was a great idea. We have five compact meals aboard and tonight’s macaroni cheese and homemade garlic bread was delicious (well, the bread wasn’t homemade).

I finish tonight’s post with two moans. Firstly, why are there no recycling bins here? That’s fairly minor though. My main moan is why are so few people wearing lifejackets?!?!?! I helped moor three boats up tonight and only our crew were fully prepared! Seriously, how hard can it be? We really don’t want any more deaths up here – WEAR A LIFE JACKET!

Rant over. Now, we’re going to try and get some sleep whilst the 40mph gusts batter us against the mooring, creaking on the fenders. Here’s to a great week!

[Photos to follow – wrote this on my laptop, photos are on my phone…]

[catcouk]

 Forgot to mention - we weren't popular with the ducks. We don't get duck food until Ludham Bridge stores open tomorrow!

[catcouk]

Forgot to mention this too. Last year I was surprised that we had no washing up liquid (supply issues I'm told). This year, we have it. A very, very, VERY small bottle. Definitely smaller than the last time we had one!

[Mouldy]

Not sure that Hunsett Mill is an Air B&B, but it is a holiday rental and has its own website, http://www.hunsettmill.co.uk 

Be warned, it’s not cheap!

[YnysMon]

Thanks. A great start to your holiday tale.

You look very organised with that clipboard. Are you as nerdy as I am with print outs of tides, plans of where to go, and so on? 

[CambridgeCabby]

32 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Not sure that Hunsett Mill is an Air B&B, but it is a holiday rental and has its own website, http://www.hunsettmill.co.uk 

Be warned, it’s not cheap!

There is an episode of “Extraordinay Escapes with Sandi Toksvig” that features Hunsett Mill too 

[NeilB]

If your are hoping to tick Wroxham and Beccles off your list I’d suggest a low airdraft boat.  Both the Coltishall and Geldeston stretches are stunning.

Take care tomorrow as more strong winds are forecast.  I’m currently at Horning church Staithe and heading up the Ant in the morning so I’ll keep an eye out for you.

[catcouk]

9 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Thanks. A great start to your holiday tale.

You look very organised with that clipboard. Are you as nerdy as I am with print outs of tides, plans of where to go, and so on? 

Well... You say nerdy, I say... Prepared? But guilty as charged. Tide table, transit times, and a map to keep an eye on our location in case of emergency.

[catcouk]

7 hours ago, NeilB said:

If your are hoping to tick Wroxham and Beccles off your list I’d suggest a low airdraft boat.  Both the Coltishall and Geldeston stretches are stunning.

You are absolutely right. Both stretches are gorgeous but we won't see them this holiday. Geldeston is a right pain because I like to be higher up if we're going South but our one experience of a sliding canopy but wet and windy (and some of that weather came inside the boat). Having said that, it is worth the reward - last time the only other boat we passed down there was a canoe!

[kpnut]

I’m looking forward to your tale of your week afloat. I don’t often venture down south, but will be during the second half of April so any up to date date info would be most welcome. The tide times won’t be brilliant for us so it might be late finishes or early starts and not as long down there as I’d have ideally liked, but it’s do-able. 

Have fun. Be careful with this wind today and check with GY yacht station that Breydon is open to hire craft before venturing too far down there if that’s planned for today. 

[catcouk]

3 hours ago, kpnut said:

Be careful with this wind today and check with GY yacht station that Breydon is open to hire craft before venturing too far down there if that’s planned for today. 

I have been keeping a very keen eye out for any updates about Breydon being closed. We're just about to depart Stacey Arms and all seems okay at the moment so fingers crossed!

[Broads01]

11 hours ago, NeilB said:

f your are hoping to tick Wroxham and Beccles off your list I’d suggest a low airdraft boat.  Both the Coltishall and Geldeston stretches are stunning.

I agree Neil although at the moment even a low air draft boat isn't much good for getting through Wroxham. I suspect Beccles might have a small window around low water.