4 nights on Dream Gem

[Gramps]

Sunday 26th October

 

The wait is almost over, tomorrow we are off to Norfolk for a four night break. Must say I am ready for the peace and tranquility that the Broads can offer. We spent Monday to Friday of last week at Butlins Skegness with two Grandsons Cameron and Jamie, so I was ready to chill out with my son Craig and Grandsons Ben Dean and Jamie, Cameron is not a boat person and already was suffering withdrawal symptoms caused by being away from his computer and games for a week. My other grandson Owen was deemed too young for this "lads holiday"

 

Monday 27th October

 

Ben Jamie and myself set of from Sutton on Sea at 8-30am to meet up with Craig and Dean at the Farm shop and Cafe on the A17, we reached Spilsby some 15 miles away to discover that the road to Boston, the A16 was closed at East Keal, only option was a diversion to Skegness and the A52 to Boston, adding 20 miles to our journey, never the less we arrived at the cafe just before 10am a few minutes before Craig.

 

After a hearty breakfast we set off for Stalham arriving 2 hours later at 12-30pm. A few "emergency" items purchased from Tesco and a visit to the post office for a short term fishing licence for Ben and we were off to the boatyard.

Reception was quiet so we were soon booked in by a very pleasant young lady who offered us the free WiFi kit to try out provided us with the necessary paperwork and advised that the boat should be ready by 3pm. 

We decided to walk back into Stalham for a drink in the couple of hours we had to wait. The first pub we came to was the Swan, we walked in the place was empty, the room looked small and uninviting so we turned and left,we were, later in the week, to discover how very wrong first impressions could be.

We opted for the "Grebe" we had noticed a lot of people sitting outside enjoying the warm sunshine but we stayed in the bar so the lads could play pool.

Back at the boatyard by 2-45pm to find the boat ready, life jackets obtained,stores loaded,we were soon away without the trial run as we were returning hirers.

 

There would be a maximum of 90 minutes daylight left so we opted for Sutton Staithe for our first night. On arrival we were surprised to find only 5 other boats moored there. We decided to turn the boat before mooring so that we could slip away early next morning without disturbing our "neighbours" it was at this point that we encountered the first GOG (grumpy old git) of the week.

He was fishing at the corner of the staith, from the stern of our boat I advised him that we were turning and apologised in advance for disturbing his swim. I could tell he was not pleased by the look on his face and the inaudible mutterings he was making. We turned anyway was not going to enter a debate on the rights of navigation this early into my holiday.

 

Clothing and food stowed away it was time to visit the hotel to book a table for our evening meal then back to the boat for a spot of fishing.

The table was booked for 7-30 so washed and changed we returned about 7 in anticipation of a pleasant evening. it was to prove just that.

Asking the barman for his recommendation for a pint of bitter he pulled me a glass of Sharpes, excellent choice suited my pallet well, a few more were to follow after dinner.

We visited the hotel twice last year but all agreed that this time the food was good but not as good as last year when it was excellent. After dinner we went in the games room for a few games of pool before returning to the boat, an early night for Ben and myself, a bit more fishing for Craig Dean and Jamie.

ITS SO GOOD TO BE BACK

 

 

[Hylander]

Lovely to read.     Pity you were so considerate of your neighbours if the grumpy old git was one of them.    Oh well at least you showed him how to behave.     You were obviously on a Richos boat,  when do they stop hiring for the season?

 

Looking forward to the rest of your holiday tale.

[Gramps]

Lovely to read.     Pity you were so considerate of your neighbours if the grumpy old git was one of them.    Oh well at least you showed him how to behave.     You were obviously on a Richos boat,  when do they stop hiring for the season?

 

Looking forward to the rest of your holiday tale.

Not sure Hylander prob after halloween

 

Ron

[Gramps]

Arose at the crack of dawn,dressed and out on deck. The weather was fine, clear and un-seasonally warm as it had been the previous night when the light from a myriad of stars had reflected in the still water. Pretty soon the rest of the crew were up and we quietly slipped our moorings for a cruise to How Hill before breakfast

 

It was during this section of our journey that a "major crisis" was to affect the younger members of our crew, a crisis so serious as to possibly cause us grief for the remainder of our holiday. What was the cause? the inability to charge their mobile phones no less. It transpired that the 12 volt cigar lighter thingy was not working, the free WiFi dongle had been plugged in for an hour and still not  charged, likewise Jamies' phone had not charged after half an hour Bottom lips were dragging on the floor at the thought of 4 days without their beloved phones, were we to turn round head back to the yard to have this fixed or were we to head into the unknown without these modern contraptions.

 

The grown ups decided, despite the wailing and wringing of hands that the journey would continue and we would attempt to keep at least one phone charged for use in emergency. Any more mutiny and the complainants would be walking the plank.

 

Craig was on breakfast duty today, I was designated pot washer but before we could start breakfast our attention was drawn to a cruiser that had followed us down the Ant having difficulty mooring behind us. Ben and myself jumped ashore to offer our assistance which was promptly refused.

Their problem was they had come into the mooring at too great an angle and the stern was being carried around by the wind and current, try as they may they could not correct it and they were broadside across the river. after about 5 minutes with boats at a standstill either side we again offered assistance this time accepted. Taking the bow rope we allowed the stern of the boat to turn and hey presto they were safely moored all be it facing the direction in which they had come.

Four full english breakfasts and one bowl of cereal later we were ready to continue our journey in the warm sunshine and blue skies. Life is good

 

 

 

[deebee29]

Great start Gramps (apart from the GOG)

 

There's nothing quite like that first day getting back on a boat    and cruising out of the boatyard and that first night feeling of being "back home"

 

looking forward to the next installment

 

  David

 

 

[Gracie]

Couldn't agree more David, there's not much that can beat that feeling, I hardly sleep on the Broads so as not to miss a moment, we go home more knackered than when we started Lol

 

Great holiday write up Gramps and the photos are lovely, keep it coming

 

Grace

[LondonRascal]

You've been captured on the Captain's Blog

 

I'm waiting for it to process on You Tube, but here is a screen grab ...

 

[Gramps]

Hi Robin fame at last, the grandkids Did point out this posh boat as we passed but didn't realise you were at the helm

[Hockham Admiral]

A great start to your story, Gramps!    

 

Looking forward to the rest of it!  

[Broads01]

Great read so far, keep it coming.

[Gramps]

Tuesday 28th October continued.

 

Leaving our mooring at How hill we proceeded down river boat traffic was getting busy now. We needed fresh bait for fishing but seeing the comings and goings above Ludham bridge we decided on Womack for our next stop. As we entered the Bure we noticed that the wind speed had increased on this open stretch of water still very nice and still brilliant sunshine. St Benets moorings were all but deserted with just one or two moored craft.

 

This time last year this stretch of water was littered with dead fish, mainly large pike and bream, nothing so far this year maybe the recent salt incursion was not so severe as last year. However as we approached Thurne mouth we spotted a few casualties, mainly small fish.

 

Upon entering Womack the weather seemed even warmer, we were sheltered from the fresh breeze. Soon we were at the Staithe and happy to find mooring spaces and were soon tied up near the shops. A visit to the tackle shop with Craig Dean and Jamie (Ben had returned to his bunk for 40 winks) I knew Craig and the lads would take time with their purchases, seeking and getting advice from the shop owner, so I bought a pint of maggots and a pack of glow sticks and left them to it. My purchases back on the boat I was off to explore

I was looking for a holiday cottage that I had seen advertised, The "Limes" wanted to see if it had a river frontage suitable for fishing from. I thought it was somewhere on the lane between the toilet block and the boatyard, saw several that looked the same but not that one.

Did spot a familiar name on a boat "Woodwoose" remember it as a user ID on this or the other forum. 

 

Walking down the lane enjoying the autumn colours on the half bare trees, with the rustle of leaves underfoot was a joy.

 

Back at the boat it was still deserted apart from Ben who had arisen from his slumbers, were the lads still in the tackle shop or had they sneaked off to the pub?

Dean and Jamie had been back to the boat to collect their pike rods. After they had made their purchases the shop owner had offered to set the rods up for them, what a great service this guy gives, please support him if you are down that way.

With the crew all back onboard it was time for a well earned cuppa on deck while the lads practiced casting with their newly set up rods.

 

A decision was now needed for our next port of call, on our week long holiday last year all had agreed that the favourite overnight mooring and evening meal had been at Thurne dyke and the Lion Inn. The small arcade, pool table and the landlords after dinner illlusion and magic tricks had made for a very pleasant evening, as I recall the beer wasn't bad either. on the other hand we wanted to go through Wroxham bridge on wednesday and needed to be there at low water about 1015am, the lads also recalled that the fishing was better in the Horning area as well. Decision made we set sail for Horning with Salhouse as our backup destination.

[Gramps]

continued:- 

 

A steady and pleasant cruise up to Horning, the weather was still lovely, hard to believe it is late October. Approaching Ferry marina I spotted a vacant mooring spot just past the day boat area, The first spot on the Ferry Inn moorings. I gently eased the boat in, the crew were unprepared but were soon ashore to secure the ropes. Dream 3 fitted in like a hand in a glove a metre above the last day boat spot. We noticed that mooring fees only applied on Friday, Saturday and Sunday another bonus. There were another couple of spaces outside the pub but we prefer to be at either end.

 

Dean Jamie and Craig were soon enjoying their fishing and quickly started catching quality Perch, Time for Ben and myself to take a walk around the marina and beyond. Our walk concluded it was time for a visit to the Inn for refreshment and to book a table for our evening meal. Sitting in the bar near the window we spotted the real "Harry the Heron" sitting on the stern of Gold Gem, totally unfazed by the attention he was receiving. Ben had a little charge left on his camera so went out to get a picture or two. When he came back his phone battery was exhausted. Ben has a laid back approach to life, a little like me, no point in worrying about things that you can not change (or in this case charge) but being an avid reader used his phone for access to online books, I knew he would miss that at night.

 

Back at the boat the fish were still biting but no sign of Pike yet, perhaps they would show later when the boat traffic subsided. Showered and changed we were soon off to the Ferry Inn for our evening meal. The Ferry Inn is a little like Marmite some love it some loathe it. We have always liked the place, sometimes the service is a little slow, so what we are on holiday no need to rush. A pint of Greene King, a Lager and 3 cokes later we were shown to our table spot on 7-30pm. We explained our phone charge predicament to our waitress and asked if they would allow us to charge a phone from one of their power points. she replied that she would ask her supervisor, she returned very quickly to say that if we had chargers they would charge 2 phones behind the bar and if we were prepared to dine without the table lamp switched on we could also use that power point. Excellent service to start the evening, the lads soon collected the necessary chargers from the boat and we were ready to order our meals. The food was good the veg on the carvery was fresh out of the kitchen and piping hot and the price was right, a shade over £49 for 5 adult meals including 2 carveries. the cheapest and one of the best of the holiday. We had managed to charge all phones as well, the offer of payment for this was refused so a charity donation and a tip followed.

 

By the end of the evening the lads were in good spirits, I was content having been able to phone home and hear that my better half was coping without me (She was unable to join us because of mobility issues) so we had a happy crew returning to the boat, Dean and Jamie for a little more fishing Craig Ben and myself to open a couple of cans and reflect on a most enjoyable day.

 

 

[Guest]

Wednesday 29th October

Up at first light once again, What is it about the Broads that seems to compel us to be up with the Lark?. In my normal daily routine 6am 7am and 8am are times that do not exist except in the summer months when the lure of a fishing session may cause me to be out and about at these ungodly hours. You will note from this that I am well passed retirement age.

Out on deck, cuppa in hand, surveying another warm and pleasant late October morning, a few people walking the dog, 3 pike anglers in a fishing boat on the opposite side of the river, in the same position they had vacated last evening, one catching bait fish the other two fervently watching the pike floats. Ducks and Geese patrolling the moored boats, waiting for signs of life from the said craft hoping for a morsel for breakfast. There was I in a world of my own when "Harry" zoomed overhead and landed on the dayboat astern of us. He is either having an unseasonal moult or his diet needs to change.

By this time Craig had joined me on deck just in time to witness the first pike of the day caught by the anglers across the river. Another pot of tea made we decided to let the lads sleep awhile. If we set off about 8-30am we would be in good time for our passage through Wroxham bridge at low water. Ben arose at a little after 8am and by a quarter past we were on our way. Boat traffic in Horning was getting busy we were in convoy with two other cruiser through the village travelling at a reasonable speed, but that did not stop another boat forcing his way past us by the New Inn at excessive speed almost ramming a Dinghy of young people crossing the river. where is Broadbeat when you need them. The noise of the engine soon awoke Jamie so he took the helm for a while into Salhouse we went the stern on mooring were pretty full so it was a good job we secured our preferred overnight mooring at Horning

The remainder of our journey was incident free and soon we were passing Wroxham Broad, At this point we phoned the pilot, he was just about to take the first boat of the day through, after telling him we had airdraft of 6'7'' and we would be arriving in about 10 minutes he said we would be 2nd boat through. On arrival at the bridge the first boat was still on the pilot quay so we pulled into the quay heading between the hotel and bridge. A word of warning this belongs to the hotel not the pilot quay as I had assumed. No problem within minutes we were through the bridge and moored just above the pub. Time for a late breakfast for three, the other lads off to McDonalds.

I was on breakfast duty today and rediscovered how slow cooking on Butane could be. 3 clean plates later it was time to fill the water tank on the other side of the river so Craig and the lads set about that task while I washed the pots and tidied the galley. The water supply at that point is coin operated giving 5 minutes fill for a pound, the flow was good so that was all we needed to fill up

It was going to be 11am on Thursday before we could get back through the bridge so we had the remainder of the day to get to Coltishall Lock and back again as we were planning to overnight at Wroxham.

The journey upriver was serene we did not see another moving boat. Ben and myself had travelled to Belaugh and back on a day boat when the trees were in full leaf and everything was lush and green,there was also lots of weed.this time was completely different but it is still a lovely stretch to visit. We spotted our first Kingfisher as we approached the Wroxham church mooring, must be our most beautiful bird. Further upstream we spotted "Death or Glory" glad to see she is still afloat and looking good. It is about 30 years since I have visited Coltishall but as we got to the bend in the river I recognised it as if it were only last year. Very few boats were moored at the common as we passed, continuing our journey to the Lock where we let the lads practice turning the boat under supervision of course, then back to moor at the common for a couple of hours.

First stop for the lads was the General store to top up on sweets and chocolate. then fishing for all of us and a nice cup of tea.

Leaving the mooring to return to Wroxham we noticed a change in the weather and soon it began to rain, the first rain we had had during daylight hours. Dream 3 has a windscreen wiper at the helm window, the first boat we have hired to have this facility.One and half hours later we were tied up at the stern on moorings, we were the only ones here although one more boat did arrive later, by now the rain had stopped so we went into town for provisions for Thursdays breakfast.

[deebee29]

Enjoying your tale Gramps,

That is a lovely cruise up to Coltishall. We did it the last week in September when the trees were just turning, we saw so many kingfishers that week... Don't think I've ever seen so many

David

[Guest]

Thanks Dave,One of my favourites too

Ron

[stumpy]

Cracking yarn,Gramps. Thanks for sharing.

[Guest]

Shopping completed it was back to the boat for a spot of fishing, Craig and the lads continuing to explore Wroxham/Hoveton.

Where to go for dinner this evening?I n the past we had dined at both the Hotel Wroxham and the Kings Head, the latter only once when we had to clear a table to find a seat. The place was dark and dingy and the food was awful. However it seems to have had a makeover in the intervening six and a half years. We did at least walk in to peruse the menu. The choice of dishes was somewhat limited and because past memories were still strong we decided that the "Wroxham" would be our first choice. This is not intended to be a negative comment about the Kings Head and I feel sure we will dine there sometime in the future

Arriving at the hotel we found that the open restaurant area was full but upon asking for a table for five the room divider was pushed back and we were given a table near the window overlooking the terrace and the river. We asked for two phones to be charged and our request was granted once again.

The quality of food was excellent as was the service,we were also happy with the bill, a little over £52 for the food. After dinner we spent a little time in the bar watching the televised football. Our walk back to the boat was tinged with a little sadness, tomorrow was our last day of cruising. It was also to be quite eventful and not as we had planned.

[ranworthbreeze]

I have to say that I quite like the Hotel Wroxham, we are there next weekend for our AGM. Most of the bedrooms have been refurbished. The downstairs is what it is and could do with some money spending on it.

The staff are accommodating and you only have to ask.

I have never had a bad meal there be it a lunchtime snack or a meal, the carvery is very popular during lunch.

Regards

Alan

[Guest]

Totally after Alan whether it be a drink on the terrace or a meal the staff look after you

Ron

[Guest]

For after please substiture agree,do I not like predictive text

[Gracie]

Gramps, I have loved reading this but please hurry with the last instalment and not keep us in suspense with the " eventful " remark Lol

 

Be careful of Alan (RB) he sits with a drink at the Wroxham Hotel watching the mishaps of us pesky hirers trying to moor at the Pilot station, I think he's what's known as a Gongoozler (I think that's how you spell it)

 

Grace

[Guest]

Sorry to keep you waiting Gracie but family commitments have limited my time on the PC this week, added to this my one finger typing skills are not great. Will promise to complete this tale by sunday at the latest.

Ron

[Gracie]

Thank you Gramps, sorry if I seem a little impatient, it's your fault, you shouldn't write such a good holiday tale should you

 

Grace

[Guest]

Thanks for the compliment but I do tend to ramble on if not checked. will be home soon and will get to work

[Guest]

Thursday 30th October

There was no need to be up early today, the pilot would not start taking boats through until 11 o clock at the earliest. As usual at first light I was awake, getting dressed as quietly as possible and ashore for a couple of hours fishing, hoping the bream would be feeding as they had the night before. Although the area around these moorings is quite nice with the park behind, it was my least favourite of the week. Frequent trains passing over the viaduct till well after 11pm and road noise from the bridge was less than ideal, but it is close to town and the fishing was good if you could avoid the pesky swans'

About 9-30am the boats started arriving from upstream, the second boat was one of two Gold Gems that were travelling together, trying to moor at the space nearest to town they made a complete hash of it, first striking the corner of the quay then travelling full asten collided with the quayside the impact was so great that the boat came to a complete stop then rebounded forward some 5 or 6 feet. This event was accompanied by raucous laughter from both crews. Peace shattered my fishing gear stowed away for the day, Time for breakfast I think

Breakfast over ventured back on deck, much quieter now.An Horizon craft had moored alongside us, we struck up a conversation with the couple on board who hailed from Surrey and were having a change from Thames cruising then at 11-15 the pilot arrived to take us through the bridge and dodge the Kamikaze day boats downstream.

The lads wanted to stop at Horning staithe for a while, but finding it full e carried on to Ranworh. Passing through Horning we noticed a very bad sewerage smell thinking we may be ready for a pump out the toilet was checked, no, it was not us. The smell persisted until we were well passed horning ferry.

Now Ranworth is a place where we have never managed to moor overnight, we did manage to spend a couple of hours there one morning last year, but we have never set foot in the Maltsters, maybe this year.it was lunch time after all. We were in luck a space large enough for two boats on the staithe. Craig decided to let Jamie have a go at stern on mooring with is help and supervision.

TYPICAL, plenty of onlookers and they made a b**ls up of it. Jamie was sent out to sit in the forward well and Craig took control circling to line up for another try in the mean time another cruiser that followed us across the broad seeing our plight had nipped in and taken one of the two remaining places, they did however help us in to the other, as did the crew of the boat on the other side (must have thought we were first timers straight out of the boat yard).

Safely moored it was off to the shop for the lads for their chocolate and sweets arranging to meet me at the pub, Craig opting to stay onboard, but did change his mind later the lure of lager too strong. By now the weather was warm and pleasant so we decided to sit outside. My first pint of Wherry of the week and it was worth waiting for. Another was to follow before we set sail again.

I must say I like the Maltsters and will make more of an effort to overnight there in the future. Time seems to fly when you are enjoying yourselves, half way down the second pint we realised we must make a move to reach our last night mooring, but could finish our drinks we were not going to waste them.

We left Ranworth and made our way back to the river Ant, I was at the helm while Craig and the lads were packing, I would do mine when Ben took the helm at Ludham, we were heading for Sutton Staithe and Dean was to take the helm at Irstead. The lower Ant was extremely busy in both directions and at Ludham bridge a lot of boats were trying to moor and we were at a standstill at times.

Because the river was busy I stayed in the saloon area to assist Ben if he needed any until we had passed How Hill.The river was much quieter then so I was off to do my packing. At Irstead Dean took over so that Ben could pack. a short while later Jamie came to my cabin to say he thought we were going the wrong way, I reassured him that his dad knew the way and carried on sorting my clothes out.A short time later Craig shouts me "which way now? going forward and looking out of the window saw that we were at Gays Staithe, Oh bu**er Jamie had been right, we were the wrong side of the broad.I pointed them in the right direction. I was getting concerned that we may run out of daylight.

Common sense should have told me to look for a mooring at Gays or Lime Kiln but knowing it was not too far and that the lads wanted to fish at Sutton I let them carry on. By the time we reached Sutton broad light was starting to fade but seeing a boat heading towards us and being an optomist I said well there will be at least one space. how wrong can you be, reaching the staithe to find boats packed like sardines in a can, even the chargeable boatyard moorings were full so much so that it was difficult to turn. To say panic was setting in was an understatement, nothing for it but to dash back to the boatyard. Turning right towards Richo's dusk was setting in and I was convinced we would not make it, I was standing in the front well looking fora tree to throw a rope round, then I spotted the white hull of a cruiser at the end of the boatyard, we could still see sufficiently to make it, A feeling of extreme relief set in and in a short time we were safely moored on Kingfisher quay. Afew minutes later it was pitch black.

That was a very close call.