A Wc And F Holiday Afloat – Sep 2024

[CeePee1952]

Saturday 28th Sep 24

Finished packing the final bits of essentials and set off to take Luna to the kennels. It’s strange how she always knows where she is going and couldn’t wait to leap into the back of the car! The kennels are only 15 minutes away so we were back within the hour and loaded the car up ready for the off.

We set off about 1030 and after an uneventful journey, arrived at HW at 1300 hrs. Brenda’s brother, wife and son arrived about 10 minutes later having driven across from Derby. We knew the boat wouldn’t be ready until between 1330 and 1430 hrs so after checking in at the office we headed over to the Flour and Bean for a bit of lunch. I then decided to go and look where the boat was moored cos I couldn’t see it in the normal A section part of the marina! Sure enough it was moored over in the furthest section of the boatyard! We took the cars over from the main HW car park and parked them by the footbridge at that section which made it a lot easier to transfer our stuff onto the boat.

By now it was getting on for 1430 hrs and I still hadn’t received a text from the HW office to confirm that the boat was ready. Very unusual as being an “elite” boat you normally get away before the rest of the hirers turn up. Bimbled back to the office only to be told that the boat still wasn’t ready – Grrrr! Finally at 1500 hrs I got the text message and we loaded the boat with our stuff and then waited for a HW member of staff to come and do the handover etc. He finally turned up at 1545 hrs with another guy who he said was going to observe how the handover is done as they do not have that many staff trained up on the hybrid boats!  His first comment to us was that “you haven’t got the use of the electric motor – it’s broke, you will only have use of the diesel engine.  You will also have to ensure that you are connected to shore power every night and if you wish to use the induction hob and/or the electric oven/grill, you will also need to run the engine at 1600 rpm as well as being connected to the shore power”!!  Not amused!!  Anyway it is what it is and after a short handover and a quick trial run we finally got away from the yard at 1630 hrs!

We had planned to get to Acle bridge mid afternoon to try and get on the electric hook up moorings but I knew that by the time we actually set off that would be a miracle.  Sure enough, no mooring available (she is a 46’ boat by the way!) and I managed to get on a mooring just past the bridge on the pub side. We had booked a table in the Bridge Inn for that evening so didn’t have to think about using the onboard facilities and worry about power.

As always a cracking meal was had by all in the pub and we returned to the boat for a hot drink and bed – it had been a long day. Tomorrow would see us transiting Breydon and hopefully mooring up on the southern side somewhere with electric before the light failed.

…./to be continued.

[Mouldy]

So, what you’re saying is that for all intents and purposes, the hybrid craft you’d hired and paid a premium for, was actually conventionally powered, but even less economical as you had to run the engine and pay for shore power to be able to cook on board.

Not sure that that, as a concept, is progress.  Perhaps that’s why they’ve not bothered with a hybrid  drive train on their latest offering (Aurora Light?).

[CeePee1952]

42 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

So, what you’re saying is that for all intents and purposes, the hybrid craft you’d hired and paid a premium for, was actually conventionally powered, but even less economical as you had to run the engine and pay for shore power to be able to cook on board.

Not sure that that, as a concept, is progress.  Perhaps that’s why they’ve not bothered with a hybrid  drive train on their latest offering (Aurora Light?).

My thoughts exactly Malcolm! More will be revealed as I continue with the daily diary! I sent a lengthy email to HW on Monday after we got back. I have emphasised in the email that we're not complaining but very disappointed with the boat and I have also suggested a few simple modifications to the boat with regards to its operation and internal workings.  In fairness, this is the first time that we have encountered a few hiccups with HW and that is after many bookings with them. We have already got Olympic Light 2 booked for our wedding anniversary in June 2025 and we will most probaly continue to book with them in the foreseeable future.

Chris

[CeePee1952]

Sunday 29th Sep 24

Woke up at 6 and put the kettle on for the obligatory morning coffee and tea. (As this boat is all electric and no gas, it felt weird to plug in an electric kettle after so many years using a “normal” kettle on previous boats!). We have a boiling hot water tap system at home so not even an electric kettle there either!  Weather was good but little did we know what was to come over the next couple of days .  Everyone was up by 8.30 and we had a light breakfast consisting of toast (yep you’ve guessed it – electric toaster!) and cereal, washed down with another round of coffee and tea.

I rang GY yacht station to get the best time to cross Breydon (8’ air draft) and was informed to aim for passing the yacht station at approximately 1500. That would mean having a following tide on the way down but as soon as we would turn around the yellow post, we would be pushing the tide all the way across Breydon.  After spending the morning watching various boats pass by we had lunch onboard and set off from Acle towards Yarmouth. This would be the first time that that I have helmed a dual steer boat from the lower helm when passing under the bridges at Yarmouth. The design of the Platinum class boat does not allow you to duck down when at the upper helm so Brenda and I devised a cunning plan to swap over control from the upper to lower helm whilst on the move. The boat has fly by wire controls and to be able to switch from one helm to the other, the throttles have to be in neutral. To make sure this was a safe procedure and workable, we had practised it before we reached Acle where there was less current and more space to correct any problem that might happen.  The procedure was - Brenda helmed from the upper helm while I went down to the lower helm. I would then ring Brenda on her mobile, tell her to select neutral and then at the push of two buttons at the lower helm, I would take control and continue the journey. The procedure was flawless and by the time we approached Yarmouth I was in control at the lower helm and everyone else was down inside. We passed under both bridges with about a foot to spare and still in control at the lower helm, we passed under Breydon bridge and onto Breydon water proper. We then repeated the helm swap procedure (in reverse order) so that we could helm from the top and admire the scenery. We were definitely pushing the outgoing tide as the dials showed 2600 rpm and a gps speed of 2.6 mph on a fairly flat Breydon!!!

Our original plan was to moor up at either Burgh castle or Berney Arms for the night and head off to Beccles the following morning. We knew that we wouldn’t get under St Olaves bridge the following morning and to save having to come back up from Burgh castle and round to get to Haddiscoe cut, we decided on the free moorings up from Berney Arms. That proved not to be an ideal spot due to the wind getting up and constant bow slap so we decide to head for Reedham.

We managed to bag the last free mooring spot at Reedham but with no electric post  and with the help from the two Ranger guys, we were moored up safely and secure for the night. Dave (one of the other Rangers) came along later to check our mooring lines and asked what time we were thinking of leaving in the morning to which we replied about 0915. He said no problem, I’ll be here and I’ll spin you round on the stern rope to get you facing the right way. We spent the night on board and risked using the Induction hob (with the engine running at 1600 rpm) to heat up our previously made beef stew for our evening meal. That seemed to go smoothly and we retired for the night at 2130.

Chris and Brenda

…./to be continued

[CeePee1952]

Monday 30th Sep 24

Oh dear  Woke up this morning and it’s a tad wet! Kettle on and a well needed cup of coffee slurped while I contemplated the current weather situation. Dave (the Ranger) turned up at about 9 ish and remarked that the rain had appeared earlier than forecast (what a surprise – not!). Reedham bridge was looking a bit iffy to get under from where we were moored so Dave gave the bridge a quick call to find out what the height was under it (tide rising). Turned out there was about 10’ so we shouldn’t have a problem but I still lowered the windscreens just in case. So, having put my waterproofs and lifejacket on, Dave expertly turned us 90 degrees on the bow line and I reversed out into mid river before putting the pointy bit in the right direction and slowly made our way to pass under the bridge.  I gave the bridge guy a wave in acknowledgement for letting us know the height under the bridge (don’t know if he saw me) and we passed under with no problem.  As I entered Haddiscoe cut, the heavens opened – groan! Wonder why I was the only vessel on the cut?? I decided to continue driving from the upper helm as it gave me a better idea of where the boat was in relation to the banks/posts although I could have done with little wipers on my glasses  We exited the cut and carried on towards Somerleyton bridge where I hoped that it would be open for us to pass without me having to ring them. (Tide was on the rise so I knew we wouldn’t get under it). Luckily as we approached the bridge I saw that it was open to let a couple of larger vessels through from the opposite direction so I increased the revs slightly and hoped that the other vessels would give way as I was with the current.  They did and I gave them a “thank you” gesture as I passed.  We arrived at a fairly empty Beccles yacht station about 1 ish and moored up stern on with electric close to the station masters office.  Priority was to hook up to the electric and go and book in, pay for the overnight stay and purchase some more electric (remember we had not had shore power for 2 consecutive nights so I was a little concerned). There was still £2 on the meter so thinking that would be enough, I didn’t buy any more. Back on the boat, time to put the kettle on while I checked the weed filter. Now it gets interesting!

While I was sorting out the weed filter, Brenda shouted to me that the kettle wasn’t working! Hmmm! I checked the control panel and it showed that there was no shore power connected.  I checked the meter and it was showing zero!!  We had only been connected for approx. 15 minutes!  Anyway to cut a long story short, I phoned HW and spoke to an engineer and he said that because we hadn’t had shore power for 2 consecutive nights, the batteries would use the electric to recharge! Humpf!!  I ended up purchasing a further £7 worth of electric to ensure that  we wouldn’t run out before we left the next morning.  When we finally left the next day there was about £1 left on the meter!  Fortunately we had booked a meal up at The Wine Vaults for that evening so didn’t have to worry about cooking on the boat. By now it had finally stopped raining and later we enjoyed a very good meal at the  Wine Vaults. Returning to the boat, we had a hot drink, a bit of a natter and retired to bed for the evening listening to the rain bouncing off the boat yet again! The difference this time was that I was inside the boat and not getting wet!  Tomorrow would see us cruising to Oulton Broad hopefully in better weather!

Chris and Brenda

…./to be continued

[Broads01]

Enjoying your tale, thanks for sharing. Even though you were on an all-electric boat, I'm surprised you felt so dependant upon hook-up given the mileage you were covering. Given how much electric credit you consumed at Beccles though it does sound like you needed it. Was that a normal thing for that boat, do you think?

[CeePee1952]

24 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Enjoying your tale, thanks for sharing. Even though you were on an all-electric boat, I'm surprised you felt so dependant upon hook-up given the mileage you were covering. Given how much electric credit you consumed at Beccles though it does sound like you needed it. Was that a normal thing for that boat, do you think?

To be honest, I wasn’t sure at the time which is why I rang the boatyard, thinking there was some sort of fault on the boat. I’m still none the wiser after the holiday but there is a happy end to it all which will be revealed at the end of our holiday tales  we didn’t even use any of the 5 TV’s that were on board either for the duration of the holiday!

Chris

[kpnut]

2 hours ago, CeePee1952 said:

5 TV’s

?????

[BroadAmbition]

Enjoying your write up. Proper disappointment re boat and the consequences you had to endure 

Griff

[CeePee1952]

7 hours ago, kpnut said:

?????

Yep  it is a 4 cabin boat with a TV in each cabin and one in the saloon area! Also free wifi onboard which I have to admit was good and reliable.

Chris

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, CeePee1952 said:

Yep  it is a 4 cabin boat with a TV in each cabin and one in the saloon area! Also free wifi onboard which I have to admit was good and reliable.

Chris

Glad that something worked, Chris.  Looks like Woods need to take a lesson or two from a certain yard in Hoveton regarding building a functioning hybrid.

[NeilB]

They should really carry enough spares, or ensure they are available within 24hrs, to repair any issues.

It's new tech for boats and the costs are horrendous so the uptake will be slow to start.

[CeePee1952]

Tuesday 1st Oct 24

Well, it’s not raining!! Maybe, just maybe – we’re going to have a rain-free cruise to Oulton Broad. We decided that we would make an early start so that we could arrive at Oulton Broad and have enough time to venture into Lowestoft on the train.  We left Beccles about 0900 and made our way towards Oulton Broad, enjoying the rain free journey and admiring the scenery.  The wind started to pick up a little and by the time we arrived at the Broad, the water surface was a bit lumpy but nothing to be concerned about. I was surprised that the inner pontoon at the yacht station was virtually empty apart from the usual resident boats moored at the end so I picked a spot nearer the entrance and executed a perfect stern on mooring next to a rag and stick that was moored side on at our port side. Despite its size, Platinum Light 2 handles perfectly which surprised me giving the slab of grp that it presents to any side-on windage!

Still no rain so we decided to make the most of it and head off to the train station.  We were still wary of the weather conditions so donned our waterproofs just in case the weather decided to take a turn for the worse again.  We had a 15 minute wait at the station before our train arrived and before you could shake a rats tail, we were in Lowestoft. Brother in law and co decided to head for Wetherspoons for a bit of lunch (he has type 1 diabetes so needed to have something to eat) while Brenda and I had a walk around the shops (bonus – she didn’t buy anything ).  We had mentioned to Brian etc about the Lowestoft Side Winder trawler Mincarlo that is now a museum attraction in Lowestoft and arranged to meet them there after they had “wined and dined” in Wetherspoons. (We had already looked around the trawler during a previous boating holiday so gave them a good head start before we too sauntered off in that direction). Our decision to wear our waterproofs proved wise because as we made our way over the road bridge towards where the trawler is located, the heavens opened up yet again! We arrived at the trawler looking like a couple of drowned rats ( waterproofs were just about keeping us dry on the inside!) and quickly disappeared into the bowels of the trawler away from the rain.  We found the others down in the front of the trawler watching a video so joined them while we sort of drip dried at the same time. We chatted with one of the volunteers on the trawler and to our surprise he originated from Nuneaton (not a million miles from where we live) and it was fascinating to hear his story of how he as a young lad had moved to Lowestoft with his parents, ended up being one of the crew on the trawler and settled down in the area.

Time to brave the weather again so we bid our farewell to the volunteers and ventured off back towards the train station thinking is it ever going to stop raining! We found what little shelter was available at the station (they had shut the indoor part of the station ) and waited impatiently for the train to arrive (some 10 minutes later). In the short time it took us to get back to Oulton, the rain had eased off (typical!) and we were glad to get back on board the boat, get out of our waterproofs and relax for the rest of the afternoon.

A stay at Oulton Broad is not complete without paying a visit to the Wherry so in the evening we enjoyed a very nice carvery before retiring for the night.  Tomorrow will be a journey back across Breydon and more cruising on the north side.

…./to be continued

[CeePee1952]

Wed 2nd Oct 24

Woke up to the sound of ------ silence!! No rain, no wind and no slapping of water on the hull – bliss!! Today is transit Breydon day. Low tide was showing late afternoon and I was a little concerned at how far we would get before dusk once on the northern side.  We had plenty of time to have breakfast on board, use the yacht station shower facilities and top up with water etc. Supreme Light 2 had arrived yesterday afternoon and moored up on our starboard side, had a quick chat with them and they were off down to Beccles later. There were four adults on board and I’m thinking hmmm that will be a bit cramped as we have hired that boat a few times and we find that for two of us it is just right.  It is advertised as a 4+3 berth cruiser but in all honesty – that would never work in our opinion!  As always, I rang GY Yacht station to find out the best time for us to cross Breydon. I was pleasantly surprised to be told that if we get to Berney Arms for about 1330 and then give them another ring, they would let us know when to cross over.  That would give us more time to progress up the Bure than I originally had planned for.

Not trusting the weather, we donned our waterproofs yet again and left the yacht station at 1015 and had a slow cruise up towards Somerleyton bridge where I hoped it would be “swung” in order for us to get through.  Binos at the ready we approached the first bridge height board and saw that there was only about 7’ 6” clearance   The bridge was also closed so for the first time in years I was going to have to moor up on the pontoon on our port side, give the bridge operator a call and ask them nicely if they would open for us.  Just as we were alongside the pontoon and Brenda was tying us up, I heard her shout – “The bridge is opening!”  Okay – so without hesitating, Brenda untied us, stepped back on board and I made a beeline for the now open gap.  I gave a wave to the bridge operator (again not knowing if they noticed) to thank them for opening the bridge and as I looked back the bridge was starting to close again – must be a train due methinks!

We met a few boats coming towards us on Haddiscoe Cut and was thinking – I’m so glad there hadn’t been as much traffic coming towards us when we came down it in the torrential rain at the beginning of the week!  We reached the end of the Cut and in non-nautical terminology, I swung a right and started the boring bit of the journey to Berney Arms.  When we arrived there (about 1300), there were 3 other boats already moored up and they were doing the same thing as us – waiting for the yacht station to give the go-ahead to cross Breydon (they had the same airdraft as us and were cruising together).  Sure enough, we got the nod to set off and not wanting to be the lead boat I let them go first and then followed on behind.  This time, instead of 2600 rpm and 2.6 mph across Breydon on our trip across from North to South, we were 1500 rpm and 6 mph!! We encountered a bit of bow spray while crossing which amused our passengers who decided to remain below for some reason!   Reaching the last turn to starboard before passing under Breydon Bridge, we swapped control to the lower helm and lowered the windscreens. On reaching the yellow post I turned to head up towards the bridge and to my surprise the 3 boats in front of us had virtually come to a stop!  Oh bu**er I thought – have they got it wrong and can’t get under? The last place I want to be is at the mouth of the Bure in amongst the current.  Worse case scenario is that I’d have to do an about face and head back up towards Breydon and faff around there until such time as there was enough clearance to come back and get under the bridge.  Just before I got to the “squeaky bum” stage, to my relief the 3 boats started to move forward and navigate under the bridges. (It turned out that the lead boat of the three had forgot to lower his windscreens!).  Once past the yacht station, we raised our screens and assumed control at the upper helm and continued on our merry way.

We decided that we would more up at Stokesby and have an evening meal in the Ferry Inn.  We’ve never stopped there in all the years we have been coming to the Broads and not trusting the boats electrical capability we didn’t want to cook onboard.  On arrival at Stokesby, there was just enough space behind a boat already moored there to moor up right outside the pub so I eased her in gently and Brenda stepped off to make fast the bow line.  Ooops, the wooden post that was available decided that it wanted to end its relationship with mother earth and duly popped out of the ground!  Ok, so I moved back a tad and we moored up on a more firmer post and after making sure we were suitably attached both bow and stern I switched off the engine and we decided we’d pop in to the pub and have a quick drink and pay the overnight mooring fee.  Well – the customers that were already in there were friendly, the couple of dogs in there were also friendly but the same can not be said about the “painted lady” (Griffs apt reference!) behind the bar.  We paid the mooring fee, ordered our drinks and checked to see if we needed to book a table for five for our evening meal (no – was the rather abrupt answer to that!).  We made use of the toilet facilities, finished our drinks and had a quick shufty around the back in the little shop.  What a totally different atmosphere in the shop! Lovely, friendly lady and we left, me having purchased some choccies for Brenda and a floppy brown thing that I saw and it made me smile (I’ve already posted a pic of it earlier!). That evening we went back into the pub for our evening meal, thinking that the atmosphere might be better – nah!!  The food was surprisingly good and the young girl that brought us our food was pleasant and friendly.  After a couple more drinks we left and retired back to the boat for a hot drink before retiring for the evening.  Brenda and I will not be going back to that pub again which is a shame because the food was good but the atmosphere and impression that we gained of the bar service outweighs our desire to re-visit.

…./to be contunued

[CambridgeCabby]

It’s a real shame when the ambiance is spoilt by staff in a pub , with the reports both from yourselves and Griff , people who can be regarded as sociable and friendly , it is compounded.

The hospitality trade is suffering enough nowadays without staff adding to the negativity ; it reminds me of The New Inn Horning a few years ago where the landlady was to say the least brusk with some customers and certainly didn’t encourage return visits.

[LizG]

3 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

It’s a real shame when the ambiance is spoilt by staff in a pub , with the reports both from yourselves and Griff , people who can be regarded as sociable and friendly , it is compounded.

The hospitality trade is suffering enough nowadays without staff adding to the negativity ; it reminds me of The New Inn Horning a few years ago where the landlady was to say the least brusk with some customers and certainly didn’t encourage return visits.

I was just thinking that myself re the New Inn!

[oldgregg]

6 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

It’s a real shame when the ambiance is spoilt by staff in a pub , with the reports both from yourselves and Griff , people who can be regarded as sociable and friendly , it is compounded.

The hospitality trade is suffering enough nowadays without staff adding to the negativity ; it reminds me of The New Inn Horning a few years ago where the landlady was to say the least brusk with some customers and certainly didn’t encourage return visits.

My experience in the Ferry in the summer was also not brilliant. The meal was nice enough and the general ambience good but we weren't at all impressed with the customer service skills of the staff.

It used to be a decent pub and I've had a fair few good nights in there, but I won't hurry back now. It's weird how people seem to have no concept of the importance of service at a place like that which needs tourism income to survive.

We'd only ended up eating in there because the Bridge Inn were full and politely turned us away (no issue with that, we should have booked and I'll be back there again).

We were in the car and so it was a very short run to Stokesby. Wish I'd gone the other way.... I won't trouble them in the winter either, I reckon we'll visit the Bridge Inn though.

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, oldgregg said:

My experience in the Ferry in the summer was also not brilliant. The meal was nice enough and the general ambience good but we weren't at all impressed with the customer service skills of the staff.

It used to be a decent pub and I've had a fair few good nights in there, but I won't hurry back now. It's weird how people seem to have no concept of the importance of service at a place like that which needs tourism income to survive.

We'd only ended up eating in there because the Bridge Inn were full and politely turned us away (no issue with that, we should have booked and I'll be back there again).

We were in the car and so it was a very short run to Stokesby. Wish I'd gone the other way.... I won't trouble them in the winter either, I reckon we'll visit the Bridge Inn though.

Don’t forget The White Horse at Upton and The Hermitage.  I haven’t been to The Hermitage for years, but seems to get good reviews and we like the Upton White Horse very much.

[Broads01]

2 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Don’t forget The White Horse at Upton and The Hermitage.  I haven’t been to The Hermitage for years, but seems to get good reviews and we like the Upton White Horse very much.

Went to the Hermitage for the first time last year when we were staying at Acle Travelodge and the food was good value.