Closing Breydon Water

[catcouk]

When we moored up at Beccles, our neighbours told us they'd been sent back from Breydon. Apparently it was closed due to safety and windspeed concerns. My weather reports are giving me the same wind speeds as when we crossed two days ago. Did we get lucky or did something happen?

Also, where is the best place to check for closure announcements? I've just been checking the Broads Authority's page on Facebook.

[Mouldy]

Most of the FB Broads groups share any Broads Authority announcements.  Otherwise, call the lads at Yarmouth Yacht Station.  They should be aware of any issues concerning Breydon, as they will be stopping hirecraft from progressing under the bridges and either getting them moored safely or turning them back up The Bure.

[CambridgeCabby]

Number as below

[dom]

It closed earlier, but only for a fairly short time. It was published on BA's Facebook page.

[marshman]

Whether you can weather the weather, on Breydon, can usually be down to the tide - wind over tide can on a windy day, make it a bit "sloppy" !!!!

[grendel]

wind direction plays a part too, I once crossed when it was closed to hire boats, I had the wind and waves coming from behind me and though it was rough it wasnt too bad, I passed Spirit of breydon, she was headed the other way and the spray was going clear over the top of the boat, I was glad I was headed the direction I was, even though the boat was crabbing sideways a lot from the wind, sometimes you can see why they shut it to hire craft, private craft have the ability to choose.

[catcouk]

I absolutely respect them closing Breydon. We were held at Berney Arms once due to fog and I wouldn't have chosen to cross even if it was open!

My wife raised a good point though. Anyone know what a boatyard would do if you couldn't get back on time due to a closure? I assume they would send someone from the yard to pilot the boat.

[grendel]

it has happened so they must have a procedure, my  guess is they would send someone down to pick up the holidaymakers, and arrange a substitute boat for the following crew while they got the boat back to base. similar to what they do if a boat gets damaged.

[grendel]

they might also send a crew down to bring it across at night on the next low tide.

[dom]

16 minutes ago, catcouk said:

Anyone know what a boatyard would do if you couldn't get back on time due to a closure? I assume they would send someone from the yard to pilot the boat.

Back when I worked in yards, every boat was booked out every week in season, so there was no option but to move heaven and earth to get a boat ready for incoming hirers. Closures didn't happen in the same way back then, but if one had, the boat would have gone across with a yard worker and you'd either have gone with them or got a taxi and met them the other side. If you'd been held up and it was approaching turnaround, all your gear would have gone back to the yard in a pickup and you'd have followed in a taxi whilst a yard worker motored non-stop back to the yard - quite possibly with cleaners on board.

The bigger issue was always damage. There wasn't the luxury of a standby boat, so it just had to be fixed. Worst one I saw was one of Summercraft's old wooden cruisers. It had a protruding wooden toe rail and the hirers had managed to catch it on something, peeling up and breaking off several feet of deck. Work started at 9am and she was back out on hire that afternoon with a newly fitted section of deck, albeit a few hours late.

We never had a sinking, but I saw another yard have one, which caused major issues. They'd have no choice but to cancel a full season's worth of bookings. My mum worked for Blakes and no doubt had to deal with similar on occasion.

These days, sadly, as Grendel says, they'd often have substitute boats available.

[catcouk]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

they might also send a crew down to bring it across at night on the next low tide.

I assume they would need to equip the cruiser with navigation lights for that? Also, crossing Breydon in the dark must be one heck of an experience on a river cruiser!

[Vaughan]

3 minutes ago, catcouk said:

Also, crossing Breydon in the dark must be one heck of an experience on a river cruiser!

That is something, in my life, that I have only done once, when late on the tide and will never do again.

Setting out onto Breydon in the dark is folly.

[dom]

I don't think crossing Breydon itself in the dark would be too bad. Just make sure you have a decent spotlight (and a spare!), keep picking up on the posts and stick to one side of the channel.

The bits at either end are another matter. Entering the bottom of the Bure is not something I'd be in a hurry to try. Vauxhall Bridge in the dark would be pretty scary, although I suspect possibly never fully dark around that area.

[NeilB]

2 hours ago, dom said:

We never had a sinking, but I saw another yard have one, which caused major issues. They'd have no choice but to cancel a full season's worth of bookings. My mum worked for Blakes and no doubt had to deal with similar on occasion.

These days, sadly, as Grendel says, they'd often have substitute boats available.

Only dealt with one hire boat sinking in my 10 years at a hire yard, either a Friday or Saturday afternoon the hirers sideswiped a nice concrete bank at speed and split the corner open.  Didn't go right down but the engine was several inches underwater, front/rear cabins waist deep and the sunroof was opened so we had an escape route while plugging the hole!

In fact it was Vaughan and his crane who lifted it out for us!  Back on hire the following weekend.  Probably 30 years ago now so cannot remember what happened to the hirers.

[Wussername]

The worst experience I ever had was fog on a broad. Wroxham broad in fact. A broad I know very well from cruiser races. 

On that particular occasion we were well and truly lost. Not a breath of wind, and no way of knowing where we were.

[Vaughan]

3 hours ago, dom said:

Just make sure you have a decent spotlight (and a spare!), keep picking up on the posts and stick to one side of the channel.

Just wait till you go out there from Yarmouth in late September, on your own but towing 2 other boats, in the failing light of the evening. This was in the days of Jenners, when we  were towing home the "dead" ones!

A nice clear sky and no wind - so no problem.  Until you get half way across and watch a fog bank, literally rolling in across the marshes.  And then it hits you, until you can just see a post about 50 yards ahead but once you get to it, you can't see the next one.  I think that must be the loneliest place I have ever been on this Earth.

For some reason I could still see the lights of Yarmouth, so I kept them in the same place relative to the stern and kept going, until I got to the "Dickey Works" where the channel curves, and managed to see enough of the old quay heading posts sticking up, to get round the corner to Berney Arms.

Once you have done that - you never do it again.

 

[Smoggy]

If you must cross breydon at night a trial of navionics on your phone would keep you in the channel but you'd need to be well zoomed in and set to night colours, all the posts show on my garmin plotter but I'm not sure if they are from the sea charts or the topo chart card I have in.

The one time I did it there was no moon and a bit of mist and as soon as we got under haven bridge the plotter froze (due to a recent flawed firmware update, later fixed), it only takes a small amount of light from yarmouth to spoil any visibility when heading up the yare and then you realise how big the spaces between the posts are and how easy to go out of the channel, it gets shallow very quickly outside that channel. 

Without modern nav aids I wouldn't want to do it and I wouldn't do it for fun with them.

[BroadAmbition]

I've 'Done' Breydon in the dark only twice, no real enthusiasm to to it again anytime soon either.  What was worse for me was going over in the fog, now that really is challenging and to be avoided at all costs.  Been over a few times when it has been shut to hire craft, never experienced any issues, yes there was a bit of a chop but nowt to be concerned about

Griff

[socrates]

9 minutes ago, BroadAmbition said:

I've 'Done' Breydon in the dark only twice, no real enthusiasm to to it again anytime soon either.  What was worse for me was going over in the fog, now that really is challenging and to be avoided at all costs.  Been over a few times when it has been shut to hire craft, never experienced any issues, yes there was a bit of a chop but nowt to be concerned about

Griff

Yes, some of us remember the early morning crossing in fog a couple of years back when we were going to the wooden boat show. Half way across the flotilla was enveloped in an east coast pea soup. Not an experience I would want to repeat anytime soon.

[catcouk]

We started crossing during fog but following the ranger (they had literally just reopened so I assumed they were expecting it to be clearer). It wasn't too thick as you could see the next post (and sometimes the one after it). Although we were following the ranger, I kept a compass bearing and put my brightest torch on the back.

About a third of the way across, the ranger had to leave us as another hire boat had found itself up the mud bank (and they were just thinking about getting off!). We continued as instructed but it did real rather spooky. Happily, there was no wind so it was an easy crossing and the fog didn't get any thicker. Quite the experience so I am fascinated by some of the even more reduced visibility stories above!

[MargeandParge]

Talking of how did they do that I saw a Martham Julliette approaching Ludham Bridge heading North on Tuesday no problems their as you could just see the concrete sides. They would have had to lower their screens etc I think.

How did they get through Potter?

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[catcouk]

 

44 minutes ago, MargeandParge said:

How did they get through Potter? 

Large water barrels and lots of additional crew members is my understanding...

[LizG]

No doubt I have told this tale before but back in the later 1960's father decided to have nav lights installed on WR and had this jolly idea of crossing Breydon Water in the dark or at least dusk!  This we did with no problems that I recall............we then went through Yarmouth and as we proceeded up the Bure hit a blanket of fog!  We couldn't see anything and of course there were no safe moorings.  We just had to somehow keep going!

I know we knocked a boat around 5 or 6 mile house and finally we got to Stracey Arms where we just threw the mud weights into the reeds on the other side of the moorings, creeping over to the other side at dawn.

Mother never let father try that one on again!

[Vaughan]

Those North Sea fog banks, on a clear still night, are also a death trap when they roll in across the Acle Straight.

I don't mind fog on the river too much, so long as you can see the shadow of both banks beside you. When one bank starts to look a bit darker, steer away from it!

[grendel]

9 hours ago, MargeandParge said:

Talking of how did they do that I saw a Martham Julliette approaching Ludham Bridge heading North on Tuesday no problems their as you could just see the concrete sides. They would have had to lower their screens etc I think.

How did they get through Potter?

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

they need only about 5'10" at potter, but they did have a couple of boats stuck the wrong side of the bridge for a while. I have been taken through potter at 5'10" and still had about an inch clearance