Our September week on Broadland Mercury

[deebee29]

After our week back in April on the top of the range Silver Elegance (Tales from the South Side) we hired from the opposite end of the scale and booked what is probably one of the cheapest 7 birth boats on the Broads, Broadland Mercury from Richardsons.  And what a great boat it is.

We chose the boat not on the price but on the layout that suited us.

We like centre cockpit or dual steer boats, I like to see over the reeds and be out in the fresh air as much as possible.  Also mum who is 84 can’t stand to be in too much draught and the Mercury has great seating in the back with great views as well as a great sheltered seating area in the centre cockpit area. We needn’t have worried too much as the weather was great & mum spent a lot of time out in the open this time which was great.

This boat may be around 40 years old and the paint looked understandably a bit worn. The inside was spotlessly clean with 3 separate cabins & 2 toilet/ showers and had a great quiet Nani engine which never missed a beat. The handling is great going exactly where you want it to go……. I loved this boat

It also has a great thermostatically controlled heating system that actually works.

The week cost us less than £500.00 including the fuel for the car……(we got 78 pounds back out of our fuel deposit)…… not bad for a 7 birth boat.

 

After an uneventful journey we arrived at Richardsons jus after 12pm and were told the boat was ready and we could get straight on, we had our instruction on the boat but didn’t need a trial run then it was off to Tesco for our supplies.

We left the yard just after 3pm and took a leisurely cruise down to Ludham Bridge and managed to get one of the last 24hr moorings.

The weather was lovely and looked promising for the forthcoming  week. So after a meal onboard my brother & I headed up to the Dog for a couple of pints before returning to the boat.

It had been a long day and we were all ready to turn in by 10 o clock

 

More to follow

[deebee29]

Sunday

 

I awoke early to a fine ‘Real’ Broadland morning with the mist hanging over the fields, I love being out early….. you get the most stunning views all to yourself.

After breakfast we set off at just over tick over (why rush things), our destination today was to be Salhouse Broad. We had a great cruise seeing an otter on the way….. the day was turning out to be lovely and the boat was handling like a dream. We found a mooring at Salhouse, made a salad for lunch and spent the afternoon in the centre cockpit area with the roof back just enjoying the day with a beer. The Icecream boat soon made an appearance so we waved him over to buy some, he seemed to be doing a roaring trade in the sunshine.

 

 

 

 

Later on we had a wander up to the Fur & Feathers where we had a couple of pints of Woodfords Nog (thinking of our own Norfolk Nog Howard as we drank them ) before retiring again at around 10 pm……. All this relaxing is Exhausting

 

More tomorrow

[BroadScot]

Yet again Dave, your pics are absolutely stunning! 

 

Iain

[Gracie]

Just lovely Dave and like Iain said stunning pics as usual, we looked at Broadland Mercury and Major Gem 2 (very similar) opted for Major Gem in the end and have to agree with you for what you pay and how old they are, they really are cracking Boats. Great write up as usual

Grace

p.s About time by the way, been waiting all weekend for this, so could you please hurry with the next instalment

[deebee29]

Thanks Iain & Grace for your kind comments.

Sorry Grace but it took me a while to process the photos (I shoot in RAW and have to convert them to post) then sort out which ones to show you....as well as write it up

more to follow later

 

[deebee29]

Monday

The day dawned with another fine morning and another promising outlook.

Our plan for the day (and this was the only day we had a plan for other than the fact we were staying North this time ) was to head up to Coltishall.

After breakfast I called the pilot who told us to come straight up and was waiting for us at the pickup point.

We just pulled alongside and he jumped aboard and took us up to the moorings. We decided to spend an hour or so in Wroxham before heading up to Coltishall.

I do love this part of the broads and motored up to the moorings at just over tick over and spent the rest of the day in the sun watching an otter and doing a spot of fishing, or I should say casting practice as the otter had chased the fish away but it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

We were treated in the evening to a lovely sunset

And an amazing moonrise ….but I didn’t have my camera with me for this.

 

Another great day

[deebee29]

Tuesday

Another Broadland autumn mist….. it doesn’t get any better than this

We had no set plan for today so after breakfast set off towards Wroxham, mooring at the viaduct moorings for a quick visit to Roys for fresh supplies before moving across to the water point opposite the moorings from where I called the pilot.

we thought about calling at Horning but all the moorings were taken and the rivers did seem exceptionally busy for this time in the year.

We decided to head to Malthouse Broad and mudweight for lunch which as Eric said in his blog is so peaceful.

From Ranworth we decided we would overnight on the moorings heading down to South Walsham Broad where we were met by a very friendly private boat owner ready to take our ropes.

We again spent the rest of the day enjoying the great weather.

This week was turning out to be just perfect, mum was able to spend a lot of time out in the fresh air and is looking great for it

I have to comment on how friendly we found the private owners this week, always ready to wave and pass the time of day.

We also thought that a lot of hirers didn’t seem as friendly this time, a lot  keeping their heads down instead of waving.…………we met lot of very friendly people as well of course.

[SwanR]

Enjoying your write up. And what lovely photos. May I ask what kind of camera you have? I keep thinking about changing mine but I'm a point and shoot girl rather than messing around with technicalities so I don't know whether it's worth it.

[deebee29]

Thank you Jean

My camera is a Canon 650D SLR with a Sigma 18 - 250mm telephoto lense

I do use the manual settings but it does have a full auto point and shoot modes that produce some great results so is great for someone like yourself who takes good photos and maybe wants to move to the next level.

I also shoot in what they call Raw mode and then process in a program called Adobe Lightroom to correct the black & white points and reduce the size so i can post them here but you can also shoot direct to jpeg files.

hope this makes sense

[BroadScot]

Thank you Jean

My camera is a Canon 650D SLR with a Sigma 18 - 250mm telephoto lense

I do use the manual settings but it does have a full auto point and shoot modes that produce some great results so is great for someone like yourself who takes good photos and maybe wants to move to the next level.

I also shoot in what they call Raw mode 

Oh errr Dave, you a Natural Photographer then??? In the RAW indeed  Only kidding, you are awfy guid at taking photies!

Iain.

[Gracie]

Oooo, I say, taking photos in the raw indeed, that's something I wouldn't mind seeing  Just kidding, the photos took my breath away, you capture what the Broads is all about brilliantly, any newbie  thinking of giving the Broads a go, surely this would make up their minds for them

Nice to hear your Mum got out in the fresh air and is better for it, bless her, but please keep your clothes on when taking pics, you don't want to give her a shock lol

Grace

[deebee29]

Thanks again Grace & Iain for your very kind comments, mind I was expecting the bit about taking in the raw yesterday 

[JawsOrca]

Lovely pictures as always David.. Really enjoy it when you go away lol.. I think you should go away more. Hopefully I'll be back in mood to take some pictures soon. The broads are just the best place to take pictures. Keep your posts coming David  Cheers 

[Hockham Admiral]

Can't agree more with all the comments, Dave, and we're looking forward to the rest of the blog!   

[BroadScot]

Can't agree more with all the comments, Dave, and we're looking forward to the rest of the blog!   

Aye hurry up Dave, or I will be there before you have finished your blog!

BTW how are the roadworks at Leaming Bar area please?

 

Iain

[deebee29]

Iain we had no hold ups on the way south but we were early. Coming back on Saturday we were held up but there seemed to have been a bump.

the traffic was fairly heavy but was moving.......... We were home just after 1 (left shortly after 8 with just 1 short comfort break)

I should get the rest of the tale finished today

[BroadScot]

Thank for roadworks update, Dave. Much appreciated.

Iain

[deebee29]

 

Wednesday

I got up to another bright & sunny morning without a ripple on the water apart from the occasional fish rising and the moon reflecting on the surface

.

 

After breakfast our first task was to take on water so it was off to Russell Marine on South Walsham Broad. We decided to get a pump out while we were there and were greeted with the usual friendly service and a thorough job with blue being added at £15.00 for 2 toilets wasn’t too bad.

We decided to head up to Potter for the customary look around Lathams before lunch then head down to Womack Dyke.

We left Russell Marine and headed back up the dyke it was another lovely morning. I spotted a boat with an NBN burgee heading towards South Walsham, I think the boat could have been Princess but not 100% sure, I waved & got a wave back ….. so hello if you read this.

As we approached the main river we noticed a sailie going past at a fair lick, the dyke is really sheltered so we hadn’t noticed how strong the breeze was but once we turned right it hit us, mum retired to the rear cabin at this point, she doesn’t like the wind at all.

The boat didn’t have any problems and just cut through the chop…… I love these ‘proper’ boats

We didn’t catch up to the sailie until we got to the junction with the Thurne where we parted company but did encounter quite a few more others on the way up to Potter Higham (enough to send Grace to the safety of the shoe closet).

We moored at the 24 hr. mooring which was a bit tricky with the wind but we got in ok and there was another boater ready to take our ropes which was a great help.

We looked around Lathams then had a look at some of the boats in Herbert Woods marina before heading down to Womack Dyke.

The dyke looked pretty full but there was room right at the end so we moored there. We always prefer these moorings to the staithe as we find it more peaceful.

I needed some fishing tackle so had a walk up to the shop at the staithe and called into Calder Designs while we were there. I had a chat with the guy who said they were preparing the merchandise for Status Quo’s 50^th Anniversary tour.

I spent a bit of time fishing until it got too cold (must be getting soft in my old age) and the light was starting to go. We were treated to another amazing Norfolk sunset before walking up to the pub. It’s a bit of a stretch but you feel as though you deserve your pint.

 

I wonder where tomorrow will lead us.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2015 by deebee29
remove duplicate photo

[BroadScot]

Hi Dave,

I think Lori is on a Princess. If you look on the web cam site, there is a pic.

 

Iain

[deebee29]

Thursday

It was still dark when I woke up this morning and decided to get up and see the sunrise and lucky for me I did, the scene was just stunning I watched the sunrise all the way from a feint glow to full daylight the colours were simply breath-taking……. And people ask why we keep coming back to the Broads.

 

We decided to head up to Wayford Bridge today and depending on the clearance possibly up to Dilham.

there was still a bit of a breeze blowing this morning but not as strong as yesterday. Barton Broad was quite choppy but good fun. It was more sheltered on the way up to Wayford, we met a couple of boats coming the other way so were hopeful of a mooring and as we approached the 24 hour ones before the bridge could see there was only one small boat moored so decided to moor up & check the bridge clearance. Our boat was 7ft and the bridge showed 7ft so we decided we would not attempt it. (we got up to Dilham last year so weren’t disappointed)

 

We helped a couple coming in to moor with their ropes and they were really grateful. We had a good chat once they were sorted out and they said they had sadly met some unfriendly boaters in the week and had struggled a couple of times.

We again had some great skies as the sun went down. We had been so lucky this week

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do hope I'm not over doing it with these photos...... Mods. if they are taking too much space feel free to delete them

[Gracie]

Take no notice of Dave, Mods, the photos are absolutely stunning, I am lost for words (most unusual) lol, well, ok, maybe not, Dave you have made me a very happy bunny today, the places you  have pictured are some of my favourite  don't want this to end 

Grace

[Jonathan]

debee29,

Wednesday: " ... I spotted a boat with an NBN burgee heading towards South Walsham, I think the boat could have been Princess but not 100% sure, I waved & got a wave back ….. so hello if you read this. ..." ...

Did it look like this?  If so: Hello!

[ranworthbreeze]

Take no notice of Dave, Mods, the photos are absolutely stunning, I am lost for words (most unusual) lol, well, ok, maybe not, Dave you have made me a very happy bunny today, the places you  have pictured are some of my favourite  don't want this to end 

Grace

Hi Grace,

I know what you mean.

Honest, you are allowed to get them fuddled

Dave great pictures and I certainly don't have a problem with the quantity, we have always liked pictures on the forum.

Regards

Alan

[BroadScot]

Hear Hear,  Alan 

 

Iain.

[JawsOrca]

I'm just flicking through these blogs and my goodness there are stunning pictures on all of the current ones.. have you all met up together somewhere and undertaken a private photo competition?.. I'm really missing my boat now 

Edited October 7, 2015 by JawsOrca