High Time For A High Boat

[Broads01]

More sunshine today and more miles. 

First stop Somerleyton this morning.

Left there later, 8 foot and a bit at the bridge so waited 15 minutes to open, next stop pump out at WRC.

Tonight at Beccles YS, pizza at the Royal Oak, then snooker.

[Broads01]

Long haul back north today.

Waited at Somerleyton again and no chance of clearance at St Olaves so took the long way around via New Cut and the Yare.

Lengthy break at Berney Arms as low water not until late in the day. Visited the train station for the first time - surreal experience, the tiniest station ever in the middle of a field.

Through GY with no issues 1 1/2 hours before low to ensure we reached Stracey Arms in daylight.

[Broads01]

Final full day today. A 5 minute rain shower at 7-30am, the first and last rain this week.

Stayed on the Bure, then turned off for South Walsham, mudweighted for a while in the sun.

Continued to Ranworth but no luck at the Staithe, stopped on the island instead.

Pm through Horning and to Salhouse for a short dog walk and cup of tea.

Back to the boatyard for our last night. Meal at the Water's Edge, excellent and not nearly busy enough.

[Broads01]

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, Broads01 said:

Final full day today

What? Where has that gone?

[Lulu]

I was thinking the same thing!

[Broads01]

That's the trouble with hiring, it's always only temporary.

[SwanR]

I must give the Water’s Edge a try for a meal. Scones and coffee were excellent when we were there recently. Safe travels home. 

[Broads01]

Straightforward handover this morning. With the boat on the pontoons we loaded the car from there and then Barnes sort out the fuel after you've left. I took Keira as far as Birmingham International station and then she took the train home to Lancaster whilst I continued with Suzie to South Wales. Full tale to follow.

[Broads01]

Saturday 14th September

I booked this trip around 12 months ago with no idea it would end up being the worst timed boat trip of my life. To explain, my sister passed away suddenly in August and I'm very much still in the throws of dealing with that both emotionally and from an organising life perspective. Just to make life even more interesting, our long planned and stressful house move took place a mere 4 days before my departure, so I had to set off on my way with much still to do in terms of unpacking/ removal of previous owner's unwanted stuff/ reassembling of beds etc etc.

Buy in reality, is there ever really a bad time to do what we love? It certainly felt good to pack up the car and get on the road. My journey to Norfolk is now around 5 hours having moved about 30 miles to the west but it was a good journey with only a single stop required. I was parking at Roy's just before midday and took Suzie to the Riverside park. Unlike my previous visit in March a few low airdraft boats had made it through the bridge which was showing about 6 foot 6 at the time. We walked to the downstream side and watched the pilot take a boat through having carefully moved it only as far as the height gauges to check there first.

Having visited Roy's and had a sandwich I drove around to Barnes at 1-40 and luckily the boat was already ready (not all were at that point). One of the first things I did on boarding was to see if my portable step would enable me to peer out of the sliding roof from the helm and I was very pleased to find it did.

I was soon receiving the world's briefest hire boat handover. I think the time from the guy arriving to him taking us out to the river for a brief trial run must have been all of 5 minutes.

Overall attention to detail in boat preparation has never been Barnes' strong point. I later realised the windscreen and all the windows were filthy, so much so they couldn't have been touched since the previous hire. Added to that, the mop and broom were both missing and the gas was switched off at the bottle.

Having got away early I decided on mudweighting on Wroxham Broad to finish unpacking. I soon set off again however as we seemed to be drifting in the wind. I continued past Salhouse and Horning to a first night stop at St Benedict's church. It's been a while since I've stopped there but it's a lovely spot with a good dog walk through the church yard and beyond through the fields. We had the mooring to ourselves.

 

[Mouldy]

Sorry to hear about your sister, Simon.  It’s possibly easier to prepare for the passing of a loved one if they have been ill for some time, but when it happens suddenly or unexpectedly, it is much more of a shock and more difficult to comprehend.

That, together with a house move must have been a difficult combination to deal with.  I remember heading for The Broads soon after mum passed to just get away from things and clear my mind.  I think that a quiet week on the rivers helps to get things in order mentally and return to normality in a better frame of mind.

[Dan]

11 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Saturday 14th September

I booked this trip around 12 months ago with no idea it would end up being the worst timed boat trip of my life. To explain, my sister passed away suddenly in August and I'm very much still in the throws of dealing with that both emotionally and from an organising life perspective. Just to make life even more interesting, our long planned and stressful house move took place a mere 4 days before my departure, so I had to set off on my way with much still to do in terms of unpacking/ removal of previous owner's unwanted stuff/ reassembling of beds etc etc.

Buy in reality, is there ever really a bad time to do what we love? It certainly felt good to pack up the car and get on the road. ...

Ah Simon I am so sorry to hear that, so so hard, and nothing people can say that really helps, often if they try quite the opposite happens, but being around those you love and keeping going, being busy and surrounded by people is good, great that Kiera was boating with you as well, perhaps that and the busyness of moving will help pull you through the toughest times.

Interesting and quite unusual layout on Belmore TC... they've kept them so must do OK?  Be interesting to hear more on them later in the tale

Dan

 

 

[Andrewcook]

Hi, my condolences, Simon. You may want to come to the Broads next with some company to make your Holiday experience better. Go to Richardson for a nice Boat like the Swan Romance or similar. I hope all things are ok at Home for you Simon

[kpnut]

18 hours ago, Broads01 said:

I booked this trip around 12 months ago with no idea it would end up being the worst timed boat trip of my life.

I hope , as Mouldy said, that your trip has let you clear your mind and feel renewed for the organisational and emotional tasks ahead. When my mum died so suddenly as I was undoing my mooring lines to set off, and realising that having one day on the boat would not deter in any way from the days/months ahead, my trip down the Ant and back that day allowed me a day of quiet reflection before setting off to Sussex.

[Lulu]

I’m so sorry to about your sister Simon. I hope the time on the boat gave you some calmness from all the recent stress you've been through 

[SwanR]

So sorry to read your news. I hope you settle well into your new home. And maybe that will balance some of the sadness.

[YnysMon]

I’m sorry to hear about your sister Simon. Like Mouldy I spent a week on the Broads immediately after the death of my mother and found it helped. Hopefully a week on the Broads will also give you renewed energy to tackle sorting out your new house. 

[Broads01]

Thanks all for your kind wishes, very much appreciated. My sister died from secondary breast cancer at the age of 51, leaving behind two children aged 16 and 13. It was sudden though as although we were in no doubt her prognosis wasn't good, she had responded to treatment well and was active until it all caught up with her unexpectedly.

I did benefit from the time away. I don't do inactivity and reflection very well hence as usual I wanted just to do my beloved helming hours and keep planning where to go next. Being away did take me into the surreal boating zone mentally that it always does though and there was comfort in that. There is a constancy about returning to the Broads I love - whatever is going on in your life at the time and whatever has happened since your last visit, Broads boating is always there for you.

[webntweb]

Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your sister Simon.

[Broads01]

Sunday 15th September.

Time to head south. My previous two trips had been confined to the north so I was eagerly anticipating the chance to hit Breydon and beyond. With Belmore TC needing 8 foot 10 at bridges I knew I had to hit GY around low water. Two years ago I was almost caught out by arriving at slack on Silver Emblem (8ft 6?) and only just making it through.

After Suzie and I stretched our legs once again we were off downriver, first stop Stokesby and time for a break before setting off for GY. The Bure was busy but not by quite as much as I expected. At Acle, it was strange to see the moorings closed on the former Pedro's side as I have happy memories of mooring there in the Horizon Craft and Pedro's days. I recall it was only last year the signage changed on that side to "Broads Bank Moorings" or some such - what has gone wrong? It looked as if people were still mooring in the basin but I'm not 100% sure if that's permissable. Sadly I suspect people are arriving at Acle and being disappointed, especially if they don't realise about the pay moorings downstream of the bridge. We arrived at Stokesby around 11 and pulled in at the BA moorings. It was peaceful although all the moorings filled up over lunchtime and the Ferry's terrace filled up with people enjoying the sun.

We set off again later, trying to time it right and arriving at the bridges around 20 minutes before low. We made it through with no issues and glided across Breydon in the sun. There were very few boats heading south and not many more crossing in the opposite direction. I dithered between heading for Reedham Quay and Reedham Ferry but in the event the quay was full so the Ferry it was. I took Suzie in to the pub for a couple of drinks before returning aboard for food.

By now I'd had chance to experience mooring the boat side-on a few times and was feeling relieved this was my final night solo before Keira joined me. I knew Belmore TC's decks were high beforehand but I'd now experienced just how high they were and it wasn't fun. It was even less fun late that night when high water combined with carrying Suzie combined with unexpected mud led to me losing my footing as I stepped on to the bank and hitting my shoulder as I fell on the wooden piling. It was very painful, I had no painkillers aboard and ended up with an uncomfortable night.

[DAVIDH]

It looks very much that you were afloat the same time I was, though I didn't see your boat. I left Horning on the Saturday, overnighting at Acle, then on to Yarmouth on Sunday morning, where I stayed overnight. You must have passed Goosander when I was moored at the Yacht Station. 

[Broads01]

Monday 16th September

Today Keira was arriving and we'd arranged to meet at Brundall station around 4pm. Once again on the morning dog walk it was getting to high water time and even with my portable step getting myself and Suzie off the boat and back on again was hard work. I opted to head for Rockland Staithe first of all as I knew I'd be able to walk to the village shop and pick up some painkillers. All was peaceful on the Yare as we headed there and Rockland Broad was it's usual serene self. The Staithe was also quiet, except for a fleet of large tractors and trailers that noisily charged along the road, passing every few minutes during the 3 hours or so I was there. It was nice to be stern-on for the first time this trip given the boat's easy stern access. It was the warmest day yet and by lunchtime I was changing into tee-shirt and shorts.

Casting off stern-on can be tricky when solo because in the time it takes to release the ropes the bows can drift sideways towards your neighbours before you've had chance to reach the helm. So it proved this time with the result I gently nudged the neighbouring boat. Despite my apology to the owner, he gave me a filthy look which left me wondering, to some owners realistically expect their boat never to be touched under any circumstances, no matter the risk of damage was close to zero?

Next stop was Brooms for water and I pulled in to the side of the service quay. When I checked with a staff member where I should leave the boat for a while he kindly said I didn't need to move it (there was space for 2 other boats at the quay). I made the short walk to the station with Suzie and met Keira off her train at the end of a long journey and showed her to the boat. We had a short cruise to our pre-booked overnight at the Surlingham Ferry House. We couldn't find a reserved sign with our boat name on it and gave up when we realised at least some of the boards were for the night before. We did get a side-on spot near the pub though and by coincidence our next door neighbour was forumite John (Old Gregg) who was aboard Pacific Star with his Mum. John and I had a good catchup about all things hireboat. 

Food at the Ferry House was excellent as always. There were plenty of folks in there considering it was a Monday night and it has a friendly local feel.

[Smoggy]

36 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Casting off stern-on can be tricky when solo because in the time it takes to release the ropes the bows can drift sideways towards your neighbours before you've had chance to reach the helm

Contact when in a row of stern to boats is always fender to fender (when leaving) so give them a similar look back with your own choice of finger, mudweight is up, ropes are loose,tide/wind is there so deal with it.

You did nowt wrong.