A Long Anticipated Break In Regal Star

[William92]

After last year's return to the Broads after a decade or so on solid land, I've been counting down the days. Finally today rolled around, I got up a bit late, one of my cats has been ill lately and not friendly - I think the pain of being constantly captured and having a wound cleaned has made her sensibly wary - but this morning she hopped on the bed and purred like a maniac so I endured a lie in for a bit.

Then off to my dad's to load my stuff into his car and get over to Wroxham. A cheerful greeting from the Barnes Brinkcraft office just after 4pm (they remembered us from last year and did not object to use coming back!), a surprise hamper of food to save us from a trip to Roy's, and we got the boat loaded and set off after a quick u-turn in the river to check we aren't completely in above our heads 

Most boats seemed to be heading in the other direction, cruisers mostly at first, but as we neared the Ant the sails started looming over the reeds. Which was fine. When they were heeled over at 45 degrees and sizzling along on a long reach, wow, we debated if it was still fine, and if we'd need to duck. We squinted hard and deciphered their pointed directions, though, and I'm hoping none of them will blame us for their race position 🤭

Entering the Thurne, one valiant skipper was beating all the way up as the rest of the yachts ran the other way. Mooring at Potter was simple, the wind held us nice and still, and when the lines were out and the engine off I went for a... potter up to the bridge, watch the boats dropping their masts and paddling past the 2 bridges... lovely atmosphere.

I get back to the boat, and my dad mentions that the boat we passed beating up the river earlier managed to give us a clobber as they passed our mooring - a badly timed tack or something (I am assuming a longer-than-expected boom might have been the culprit) - no damage, to my knowledge.

I mentioned the important info that there was a chippy by the bridge closing in half an hour, and was dispatched to get dinner, which we eat whilst catching up on Tally Ho! getting the first wind in her sails for 3 decades on Youtube (it is a beautiful series and acceptable viewing when afloat).

My dad stays on the boat, having assessed the gunwales as too high for him to jump from. Tomorrow we head south and hope to moor somewhere stern-on so he can escape to dry land.

Ok, so that is the day covered.

Why Regal Star?

Basically, we didn't enjoy the forward control experience we had last year, in Encore. Regal Star is pretty much the same as Belmore, which was the first boat we stayed aboard in... 2009? We enjoyed that, so we decided to see if the experience held up this time. I'll reserve judgement for now, but I get the impression that next year we will get a boat with slightly more interior space. The Encore was great for that, even if it was compromised in other ways... anyway, I'm looking forward to this adventure however it goes!

 

(I'm typing this and editing on my phone - I hate phone keyboards and I can't be bothered to fix some grammatical/tense issues I've seen - but I may come back to this when I get to my pc and fix it and all future posts...)

[kpnut]

Sounds like an exciting first day. Looking forward to the rest, thanks.

[SwanR]

Hope you have a lovely time. My favourite stern on mooring down south would be Beccles but that would be a long cruise in one day. 

[Broads01]

I'll be interested to know how you get on with Regal Star as I have Belmore TC in September (and coincidentally I was on an Encore in March). Intrigued to know how you get on with those high side decks and how it is squeezing it under bridges like St Olaves.

[William92]

1 hour ago, Broads01 said:

I'll be interested to know how you get on with Regal Star as I have Belmore TC in September (and coincidentally I was on an Encore in March). Intrigued to know how you get on with those high side decks and how it is squeezing it under bridges like St Olaves.

I found it easiest to step on a bollard.

 

I'm hoping we are ok for St Olaves or we will have quite a detour to make 😬 but I'll find out more as we get there!

 

SwanR, no day is a long day with a nearly unlimited supply of tea and biscuits 😁

[SwanR]

Incidentally we always take a small folding step stool with us as I often have trouble getting on or off the boat at some point in the holiday no matter what the boat or where we're moored. Loddon was interesting getting off the bathing platform stern moored. 

[MargeandParge]

Just like owning an MG midget "In and out with dignity or get a nice saloon? The amount of Christmas dinners you have consumed normally answers the question."

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[William92]

5 hours ago, SwanR said:

Incidentally we always take a small folding step stool with us as I often have trouble getting on or off the boat at some point in the holiday no matter what the boat or where we're moored. Loddon was interesting getting off the bathing platform stern moored. 

Yeah I am putting serious thought into a small stepladder. I saw a boat with a "fenderstep" earlier today and that seemed clever.

A better update when I'm not stood on a silly little* hill at the edge of the marina as the only place to get signal.

I think the on-boat WiFi worked OK moored here last year so that has become a new priority!

 

*big for Norfolk!

[William92]

Too little sleep on Saturday night finally caught up with me and after a fry up moored at Loddon Staithe (from Potter!) I turned in before sunset while my dad went to the pub.

Apart from that it was a nice trip down. Stopped at Acle Bridge to get some milk (4 pints is really the absolute limit of the tiny fridge aboard!) and passed the yellow post at Yarmouth at 1258.

We were followed down the Bure at Yarmouth for a few minutes by a very inquisitive seal!  He popped up about 6' behind us and I got a quick photo (it is not a good one) before he vanished. Hopefully I'll see him again in the other direction!

Left Loddon today after picking up a bit of post we'd had delivered to a shop in Chedgrave. Take a photo ID if you do this (oops).

Heading up the Yare today. Saw a pair of barn owls just upriver of British Sugar which I hopefully managed to get some in-focus photos of. Nipped in to Rockland to try and get a bite to eat (and a decent set of erm... facilities... I will not horrify you with the issues a circular head provides...)

Hopefully we'll have lunch in Brundall then turn around to overnight at Langley Dyke- I have a plan to get a good photo of an owl or 2!

Rain expected (70%) tomorrow, should be a nice day to transit to Beccles (preferable to committing to Breydon if it's really hammering down!) Pizza is forecast for that evening, with a 100% chance if the pizza shop is open 😁

[CambridgeCabby]

Was the pub reopened at Rockland ?

[gancanny]

27 minutes ago, William92 said:

Hopefully we'll have lunch in Brundall then turn around to overnight at Langley Dyke

langley dyke is not available anymore, 

[Mouldy]

28 minutes ago, William92 said:

Hopefully we'll have lunch in Brundall then turn around to overnight at Langley Dyke- I have a plan to get a good photo of an owl or 2!

Don’t forget that Langley is no longer a BA free mooring.  Spaces there can be booked on this website:

https://langleystaithe.co.uk

It’s a bit clunky, but easy enough when you get the hang of it!  Not sure about photos of owls, but the crows/jackdaws/ravens (delete as appropriate) are still there and making plenty of noise!

[Mouldy]

5 minutes ago, gancanny said:

langley dyke is not available anymore, 

It is, but no longer free!

[gancanny]

4 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

but no longer free!

l didnt know that, how much for overnight

[CambridgeCabby]

12 minutes ago, gancanny said:

l didnt know that, how much for overnight

https://langleystaithe.co.uk/

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, gancanny said:

l didnt know that, how much for overnight

£5 per night up to seven nights and £5 booking fee, so £10 for the first night and an additional £5 per night if you want to stay longer.

[William92]

3 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

Was the pub reopened at Rockland ?

Alas, no. We ended up at Coldham Hall near Brundall, I had battered squid and chips. The proprietor has only been there a month or so!

 

There is change in the air, it feels like it wants to rain.

 

A holler from my dad as I typed this - "there's a waterskier!", and a man on a string hurtled past. Think I managed a photo or two on the camera. That was my high adrenaline action for the day 😂

[BoatsmanJetsom]

7 hours ago, William92 said:

Too little sleep on Saturday night finally caught up with me and after a fry up moored at Loddon Staithe (from Potter!) I turned in before sunset while my dad went to the pub.

Apart from that it was a nice trip down. Stopped at Acle Bridge to get some milk (4 pints is really the absolute limit of the tiny fridge aboard!) and passed the yellow post at Yarmouth at 1258.

We were followed down the Bure at Yarmouth for a few minutes by a very inquisitive seal!  He popped up about 6' behind us and I got a quick photo (it is not a good one) before he vanished. Hopefully I'll see him again in the other direction!

Left Loddon today after picking up a bit of post we'd had delivered to a shop in Chedgrave. Take a photo ID if you do this (oops).

Heading up the Yare today. Saw a pair of barn owls just upriver of British Sugar which I hopefully managed to get some in-focus photos of. Nipped in to Rockland to try and get a bite to eat (and a decent set of erm... facilities... I will not horrify you with the issues a circular head provides...)

Hopefully we'll have lunch in Brundall then turn around to overnight at Langley Dyke- I have a plan to get a good photo of an owl or 2!

Rain expected (70%) tomorrow, should be a nice day to transit to Beccles (preferable to committing to Breydon if it's really hammering down!) Pizza is forecast for that evening, with a 100% chance if the pizza shop is open 😁

If you do get to Beccles there is a good pub that does wood fired pizzas halfway between the marina and town. Look out for the signs they have up about wood fired pizza and you’ll find it (Oak Fired at the Royal).

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, BoatsmanJetsom said:

If you do get to Beccles there is a good pub that does wood fired pizzas halfway between the marina and town. Look out for the signs they have up about wood fired pizza and you’ll find it (Oak Fired at the Royal).

We can recommend Oakfired too. We have eaten there in their pub garden but have also done takeaway more than once.

We might even see you at Beccles. I say might because we are very good at changing our minds last minute on where to head to. 

[William92]

Ended up overnight in at Short Dyke by Rockland. An owl taunted me by briefly perching on the BA mooring sign 20 feet to our rear - by the time the camera was pointed at it, it had left.

Went for a walk up the path almost to the Beauchamp Arms (I knew it was closed, I just wanted to stretch my legs) and back, and would you believe the size of the mosquitos.

Off our mooring by 8.15 and sitting at a nice 3-ish mph all the way down the Yare, taking the New Cut past those hilariously tall pylons. It's quite busy with 3 cruisers headed north at the same time as 3 headed south.

Bird of the day is the harrier, they've been giving a great demonstration of why the jump jet got the name, though I've never seen one of those getting mobbed by gulls. Saw a pair throwing a vole between each other so I predict more little harriers soon!

[William92]

Stiff breeze at Beccles made mooring fun. Ended up about 5 berths (and 1 boat) downwind of where I originally aimed. May re-jig my lines again to try and arrest my rather jaunty angle. Could probably have moored head into wind with how much space there is and pivoted around the stern after getting the upwind side solid.

Good job I like learning 😅

[SwanR]

I have often found the same at Beccles. And bow thrusters are usually redundant in a strong breeze … I.e. not much help at all. 

[William92]

To be fair, the bow was behaving itself, the whole boat was making a graceful slide without a hint of yaw.

I need to work on some lassoo skills to snag a mooring post from the helm (or learn to drive a boat 😇)

[Graham47]

10 hours ago, William92 said:

Ended up overnight in at Short Dyke by Rockland. An owl taunted me by briefly perching on the BA mooring sign 20 feet to our rear - by the time the camera was pointed at it, it had left.

Went for a walk up the path almost to the Beauchamp Arms (I knew it was closed, I just wanted to stretch my legs) and back, and would you believe the size of the mosquitos.

Off our mooring by 8.15 and sitting at a nice 3-ish mph all the way down the Yare, taking the New Cut past those hilariously tall pylons. It's quite busy with 3 cruisers headed north at the same time as 3 headed south.

Bird of the day is the harrier, they've been giving a great demonstration of why the jump jet got the name, though I've never seen one of those getting mobbed by gulls. Saw a pair throwing a vole between each other so I predict more little harriers soon!

I saw a Regal Star moored at Reedham this morning. I think it moved off down river at about 10.30 / 11.00. 

[YnysMon]

Sorry we didn't say hello. I suspect we passed you when you were on your way to the Harbour Master's office. We were on our way on the opposite direction with our two dogs.