The Adventures of Orca

[JawsOrca]

...The real life story of a born again cruiser on the Norfolk Broads...

 

 

 

Coming soon!

 

 

#18thapril

[BroadScot]

 

...The real life story of a born again cruiser on the Norfolk Broads...

 

 

 

Coming soon!

 

 

#18thapril

 

Hi Alan,

 

Is Grace going to sell the ice cream choc bars at the intervals?

 

 

Iain.

[littlesprite]

Oh Alan, you are a tease, but I like you.   

[Gracie]

Wow Alan, I canny wait  More like Wine and Wherry, Iain Lol. Roll on April

 

Grace

[JawsOrca]

...7 Days...

 

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Alan,

 

7 Days; more than enough time for a refit

 

Best of luck with the transportation down to Somerleyton.

 

Don't forget ALL of the fenders :dance

 

Regards

Alan

[Gracie]

I am so excited for you Jaws  I bet there were times when you thought the day would never come, now only 7 left, yay

 

Grace

[GeoffandWendy]

Best of luck from Wendy & I too. 

[JawsOrca]

Thanks guys..I must admit I still can't believe it will happen.. I don't think I will believe it until the lorry arrives and maybe even not until it's lowered into the waveney! Oh erm Fenders are aboard already (I think?!!) I need to make a list!

 

Dave will be driving up so I'll have some spare time to post frequent updates throughout the day but I'm sure its all ready and it will a good smoothly!!! 

[JawsOrca]

Welcome to the first edition of

 

"The Adventures of Orca"

 

(the (to be) award winning blog (maybe one day!) )

 

Friday 17th April

 

Orca was still at her home port of Rochester, but I booked the day off to load up a boat load of bits and secure the area around the boat to stop any Orcafans (Orphans?) from getting camping out in the way.. Thankfully there wasn't any?! That evening I had a full nights sleep (did I heck!)...

 

Saturday 18th April (D-day (Delivery day!) ):

 

Awoke to the sound of the pesky alarm at 5.45am, I could already feel my stomach turning! It was actually; whoops the alarm should have been set a bit earlier so it was a quick; throw the last few bits into some bags and a quick check through the inventory list .. seems like we had everything.. I walked over the boat at about 6.20am (arriving at 6.25am lol) I was worried if the lorry would arrive early (as the last one did) and the club gets all locked up so the lorry would get anywhere near the club if it did, so half asleep I unlocked the gates and yup to no surprise the sound of a lorry engine could be heard over the peace and queit. Matt, the hauler, jumped down from the truck, wide awake and with a firm handshake, "We ready to go then". 

 

Dave followed a few minutes later with the car so we quickly managed to get the canopy off and secured everything aboard the boat. Matt then calmly and reassuringly pressed the buttons on his remotely controlled hiab and quickly lifted the boat on to the lorry (I really wish I had one of these toys!).  Out the gate for 8.30!

 

We followed the lorry through the Dartford tunnel, waving goodbye just as it entered East Anglia. The drive up for us, although smooth (and ever shortening!) was a bit stressful wondering if everything would be ok etc.

 

We arrived into Somerleyton at about 11.30am driving down the lane we noticed some London tourists who seemed a bit lost although as we got closer we noticed it was my parents! It was also good to see the launching spot was all clear and as Mark from the marina had promised he moved his crawler crane! Before we knew it we heard that already familiar sound of a lorry! and to our relief through the trees (it was a bit tight!) Orca and the lorry appeared! Thankfully all in one piece! Matt again leaped out of the lorry and said along the lines of "Ok boat goes there, sorted!), he quickly once again pressed the buttons on his flash remote control whilst we started talking to Steve (Steveanddebs) and my parents, Orca was quickly in water and floating fine!  

 

Thankfully before we got much further our friends, who initially gave us the boat arrived, as they now live in norfolk.  They haven't seen the boat since we moved it to the yacht club a year ago and haven't been able to follow it on the forum. But they both seemed very impressed which was good considering Ricky is a professional and has very high standards! Ricky stayed aboard as the engine was switched on and we gently slipped the mooring lines and I reversed her out of her mooring. This is the first time I had been aboard with it floating and the first time driving a outdrive, it was strange to have steerage in reverse!! she handled well, although it's clear at present she has a lot of power and she is very light so I had a steep learning curve! We made it into our mooring for the first time without too many problems. Tying up quickly our friends gave us some pointers (as he had an outdrive boat!); including turn the idle down which we managed to kinda do and headed off but promising to see us again in a few weeks! (and call next time and he will help set up the controls!)

 

Once some checks completed we again slipped our moorings and headed out the marina onto the River Waveney for the first time, the bridge was closed so we down some turns in the river before my parents (whom had brought Sweet kingfisher up from Loddon as a tow boat if needed) had the guts to try and get under the bridge. Although my Dad called me on the radio asking for our height (and sounding surprised when I say "Pass") they squeezed under the bridge and guessing we was lower I gently approached. With hand signals from Mum just in front and Dave peering over the hardtop, we got through which about a foot clear but unfortunately we guess Orca has an airdraft of about 8.3, although we need to ballast and hopefully bring this below 8 feet (Otherwise we may have issues at Beccles which is one big reason for us being South).

 

As we followed my parents it was very strange to believe we were finally on the broads and to be honest I think it will take a few more trips for it to register! it was also clear that orca can not do the 4kts that my parents were doing as she was easily catching up at 1000 revs! but it saves on fuel I guess! 

 

We arrived at the Waveney River Centre (ok this is where the time bit will stop as I don't look at clocks and thankfully my phone was long flat!) I wanted to see if the loo pump out system that we installed ourselves was up to the job so my first mooring was there, all good I gently moored starboard on (my blind side) and thankfully the pump out all worked so the loo could now be used! (Anyone thinking of using; Note, the valve on there isn't inline when it's pumping out despite the instructions so if it's not working put it at 90degress).  Unfortunately as we pumped out another boat moored close beside my parents boat and I wanted plenty of space and mooring beside them (as this outdrive is very different from a normal shaft and I'm still learning!!) but as far as I remember I moored beside my parents without too much hassle!!.

 

Quick drink in the pub to relax! It was clearly a long stressful day so I had a nap before returning to the boat for 7pm for dinner. Back to the boat after dark for the first night aboard, heating on and thankfully she warmed up within moments. In my traditional fashion I read the broadcaster before retiring for the evening.

 

Sunday 19th April

 

I slept really well , the boat is much warmer than the steel houseboat! and no need for heating this morning! Mum and dad wanted to make a quick exit and they wanted fuel first so they headed over for fuel whilst I wandered over to the shop. Although the pub is a bit modern for me, I do like the WRC and I think it will be a frequent overnight stop for us.  Back to the boat I wandered around taking pictures, my Dad mentioned there was no fuel but we wanted to take on water so back to the boat, Dave tried starting the engine although she didn't quite start first time but second time she quickly started (Dave noticed the fuel filter which the BSC guy make us play around with has sprung a small leak (He needs something to play with next time we go up!!) ). I motored  the boat over to the water point, noticing Dad didn't bring his boat all the way forward leaving me with a 30 foot gap! but I got I turned Orca around and came in tight like a fighter pilot and even remembered to go opposite lock in reverse to bring her stern in! (Mum called me a "Smart ass"!).  We topped up with water she looked better trimmed now and all the Deep Vee was finally in the water!! 

 

I said to Dad it would be good to have a trip to Oulton broad on the way back and thankfully they agreed. We left the moorings and I quickly overtook them but keeping to about 4.5kts over the ground. We've not been to Oulton for some time so it as we motored down there it was starting to register were we are! (and I felt less stressed this morning). Dad called up on the Vhf saying he was heading for Topcraft for fuel but they was shut today so no fuel so we did a quick couple of turns around the broad before heading back to Somerleyton. The bridge was open so no worries! I called Dad and said "Thanks for being about this weekend and helping" and turned into the marina. A bit of wind made mooring a bit "challenging" but no there's not many boats in the marina and once I reminded myself to keep it slow (remembering again the boat doesn't like slow) we moored up easily (ish!). Changing the mooring lines to docklines we packed up the boat and left her at her new home!

 

Thankfully the feeling of going home and leaving the boat wasn't there knowing we will soon back to continue the adventure!

[ExSurveyor]

well done both of you, you are rightly chuffed. Now time to enjoy the beautiful south.

[riyadhcrew]

Alan and Dave,

 

That is the culmination of all the hard work you have done and is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. Enjoy as much as you can.

[BroadScot]

Well Alan, you have lots of brilliant times ahead of you. Get that gearing MODERATED  Can't have you bombing all over Broadland now, can we?

 

Happy Boating sounds good does it not? Beats all the days, months etc refitting Orca out!

 

 

Iain.

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Well done lads, you should be proud of yourselves.

 

I have to say, she does sit, and look nice on the water.

 

Now all you`ve got to do is iron out any slight teething troubles, and plan an extended cruise.

 

Looking forward to seeing you on the rivers some time, hopefully at the end of May, beginning of June if you`re around?.

[JawsOrca]

Thanks Guys we are very relieved/pleased! It still doesn't seem real and I think it will take sometime to settle in! 

 

It did feel just like our first day on "Silver Melody" some 15 odd years ago though! and I certainly need to learn how to handle this different drive system but I will get the hang of it quickly!

 

Don't worry Iain we will play around with the cables which should make her a bit more responsive although I was getting the hang of it a bit more and was able to control the speed this morning.. I've also got a GPS (which is removed from the boat) so I can see how fast we are going and I will keep below the limits (but we still got overtaken by a hireboater too lol!).  I'm certainly looking forward to once she run in and having a few runs on Breydon.. I think I can get her going pretty good lol!

 

Thanks Neil, I only saw these pictures of her today and under power she does look good.. the bows not as high as I feared! We are hopefully up in may bank holidays for long weekends (and probably most nice weekends in June.. I'll be posting our trips in the NBN calender though!).. Hopefully catch you and you can come out for a spin!

 

[Chelsea14Ian]

As Alan said it all went well,a bit worrying see the boat come off the lorry.All in all a good weekend.It could have been a little warmer,but at least no run.Perhaps one of the last times we were both on the river,was about ten years ago,Alan went back to seat exams in london,Dave was with his mum on a Marthams boat at Oulton waiting for us.which seemed a bit odd,we went  in front only to view the broad covered in sails.Slowly we picked our way through,only one or two sail boats cliped us,which i think was good!

 

 

Ian    

[BroadScot]

Hi Ian,

 

If you wish a clear passage past sailies  , just get Gracie to helm your boat!

 

 

Iain

[ranworthbreeze]

Hi Alan,

 

I bet you are relieved now that Ocra is in its mooring and is ready for those cruises ahead.

Just a tweak here and there and full speed ahead, within the speed limit of course!

 

Regards

Alan

[Gracie]

Orca looks beautiful in the water Alan, the smile on your face in the picture of you standing at the pointy end really says it all  Good luck with this next adventure, now the fun is really going to start for you and Dave, thank you for sharing it with us

 

Grace 

[JawsOrca]

We have Daves mum over from London this weekend so to give her a bit of a surprise we decided to have a little day trip up to the broads. We was going to just have a relaxing weekend, doing the odd job to the other boat but we thought sod it so we quickly decided on Norfolk!

 

We used to do the odd day trip many years ago but it's been a long time since the last one, although we are only a couple of hours away with the driving around up there it makes for a long exhausting day (but it helps to share the driving ).

 

I texted Steve (Steveanddebs), I knew they was heading off today and it would be good to catch up before they had head off for their week afloat, but as we got close it chucked it down and as we left early we thought we'd have a brunch stop.. Following recommendations from fellow members, We headed for the Bridge inn at Acle. Although we just had baguettes and was really pleasantly surprised, the food, view of the River, and service was all brilliant. So we decided we will be back again later in the season.  Next we quickly ran down to the camping store in Blofield, it's a cheaper alternative to chandlers and the same kind of stuff although a bit more space saving ideas..Unfortunatly I wasn't allowed to buy a collapsible bucket and collapsible rubbish bin.. I thought they would perfect but apparently we don't need either and there's plenty of space in the bilge for a pound shop bucket. (I am a nightmare for buying this type of stuff!).

 

As the sun suddenly appeared and the in car thermometer showed heat wave temperatures we headed for horsey beach. It's probably a few years since we been here but it's a firm favourite! Sadly Horsey mill looks very neglected without its sails although it looks like it's being restored so fingers crossed they will be refitted soon. Also sadly the once former quiet/hidden car park at horsey gap now has a huge sign "See the Seals here" and the car park has grown to near Gatwick airport parking proportions. The ice cream van and burger stall and toilet facilities all show the progression of time .. Although it was still nice to sit and watch the seals whilst eating a ice cream.. It really felt like summer.. we will be back again shortly.. Although it's sad to share our secret spot, it really is a good spot to see wild seals (There's even a friends of website.. http://friendsofhorseyseals.co.uk/).

 

After what felt like a couple of hours we headed for Lathams for a bit of Norfolk shopping.. I was allowed to get away with more in Lathams although I still could go nuts, We got a huge non slip black matt for the dashboard (as LondonRascal pointed out) to help stop the glare reflecting back and a few other bits.  Once shopped out we then headed off to Marina to finally check on the boat. It's still strange to see her moored up but nice to see she's all safe and looks to be enjoying her new home. Dave's mum hadn't seen the boat for some time either so it was nice for her to see it. 

 

Unfortunately it was getting close to 5pm now so it was a quick run over Loddon to check my parents boat and try and catch SteveandDebs who had headed there. Unfortunately Steveanddebs weren't around and after a quick call they couldn't find a spot Have a brill time again though guys and we should catch you next weekend!

[BroadScot]

Well then, do I spy ORCA moored at the OBYS? There again I could be wrong!

 

 

 

 

Iain

[LadyPatricia]

Definately looks like Orca to me

[JawsOrca]

Lol good spot. It certainly is. Just having a refreshment in the wherry hotel. Highly recommended

[LadyPatricia]

Alan get off the forum .... You'll be shouted at for being unsociable

[JawsOrca]

Lol I did tons of questions and dave was worried that we can be easily spotted! I'll do a decent write up. But at Beccles now. Iain u can easily get a 40 footer in front of the houseboat but call them to reserve.