WINTER CRUISING

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

As most will know, Karen and i were on Lightning all last week. It was the first time we`ve ever been on the Broads during the winter (well, very late autumn anyway) and i did wonder whether we would enjoy it.  Well, to be brutally honest..............most definitely YES.  It was a real mixed bag of weather, though windy every day, sometimes VERY windy, but we did have some nice weather, and remarkably warm at night at times too.  We stayed on the mooring at Brooms yard for the saturday night, and would decide what to do on Sunday morning.   Sunday morning came, and it was cold and very windy, so we opted to drive around, and ended up doing some Christmas shopping at Lathams, then onto Wroxham, and did some more Christmas shopping in Roys. By the time we got back to the boat, it was getting very dim, but we`d already decided on staying another night at our home mooring, and decided ti wait and see what the weather had in store for Monday.  Monday morning came, and the forecast was right. Wet and windy, so we opted for another plan b which was more Christmas shopping in Norwich, because Karen has never been into the centre before.  Monday evening was already agreed to stay in Brooms, and Tuesday was a definite run down to Loddon where we were to have a nice Indian in the Raj.  The run down to Loddon was a really peaceful one, with us seeing only one boat the whole trip down, and an empty basin except for a couple unloading a boat ready to sell, which then moved off. As normal now, i examined all the leccy pylons, and found one which had 90p left in one meter, and £1.10 on another, so we hooked up for free again. We walked around to Maffett cruisers to say hello to John and Lynda and have a chat untill they get a call to go and pick up Lyndas dad, so we bid them farewell. We had our planned Indian, which was very enjoyable, especially as we ordered about half of what we normally do, and this time, for the first time, we ate it all. retiring back to the boat, after 5 minutes of our arrival, it rained, but not for long.

 

Wednesday morning, and we`re in our customary breakfast haunt, "Rosie Lea`s" where as usual Caroline is pleased to see us and gives us both a good hug.  We planned dinner aboard tonight, and went to "Webs butchers" right at the top of the village where we bought 2 home cured gammons freshly cut from a large joint. Back aboard, and we set off down the Chet and past Reedham and down the new cut. Our destination was a run into Oulton, or WRC dependant on weather and wind strength. The wind was getting up, and we were against the tide, and with the limited daylight this time of year, Oulton was out, so it was straight to WRC , where we were able to hook up to yet another pylon with 60p left on the meter.  I`m not tight, but if it`s there, take it, because if we did`nt, somebody else would, just like when we left 80p on one last year. We walked up to the office to pay for the night, but was told a chap will collect the moring fee later, but he never did, so by morning, we had free leccy all night, a nice hot shower, and safe secure mooring for nothing.

 

Thursday morning after a shower and breakfast, i wanted to get an early start to head back up to Brundall where we intended to stay the night, and decide what to do on the friday morning. This was by far the best day of the week, as we had bright blue sky, and very little wind most of the day, and we were steering Lightning form the upper steering. We had to drop the upper level screens to go under Somerleyton , but Reedham gave us plenty of height. When passing Cantley, we were earlier than expected, so turned into Langley dyke for a lunch stop.  When leaving Langley dyke, we came out into the Yare behind 3 Squib daysailers, and ran with them all the way to Brundall, but did`nt bother overtaking them because when the wind caught their sails, they were away, and we had plenty of time to cruise to Brundall, so we sat at 5mph all the way, which apart from the run up the Waveney to WRC was the speed we did everywhere.  We reached the outskirts of Brundall, and we could se some very threatening clouds coming in, and as we neared our mooring they were upon us, so we did`nt extend our cruise through Surlingham broad and back to base, but moored up imediately. The rain never came, and the clouds disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived, but we were back at bas, and would decide on Fridays events after seeing what the weather had forecast.  We had dinner aboard that night, which was basically an omlette made out of what`s left in the cupboard and fridge, and very nice it was too.

 

Friday morning, and although it was a bit nippy, it was bright sunshine, but the forecast was foul weather, so we planned to go out in the car, and drove to Beccles. It`s a good job we did, because the weather later changed, with pouring rain and gale force winds. We had a couple of hours in Beccles, and had a really nice lunch in a tea shop behind a discount store. We did`nt want anything big because we were going to the Kings Head in Blofield after Johns (HA) recommendations, of which you can read my post in places to eat. We left Beccles and drove through St Olaves to GY, and along to Acle, and then to Thurne, where we agreed to meet up with Liz from Ramblers gift shop to buy yet more prezzies.  Back to the boat, and we get a head start on the packing and cleaning Lightning ready for her next crew who were due to arrive the next day. We had our meal at the Kings head,and were definitely NOT disappointed, (well done John)  so take note peeps and go there.  Back on board and more packing, then settle down to a DVD as the tv reception is unusually bad.

 

Saturday morning, VERY early, and Karen wakes me up. I parked my car on the gravel quay beside Lightning so it`s easier to load up with walking a long way with heavy luggage, but when Karen wakes me up about 1am, my car in sitting in water, as the tide was so high, it was over the quay. Luckily, it was only up to its tyres, and i realised the tide is on the turn, so go back to bed  We`re up early, and getting the car loaded, and finshing of what little packing is left, then get the requierd pump out and tank refill, along with water refill for the next crew. done.  Because the weather is so bad, i could`nt give the outside a thourough clean up, but did give the decks a quick mop down, and then set about cleaning the inside. It`s at times like these, with a syndicate boat, you are responsible for the cleaning of the boat, and realise how hard the boatyard staff work to get hireboats turned round and ready for you.  With the handover report written, and the boat vacumed and cleaned, it`s time to go home.

 

 

This was our first out of season cruise, and to be honest, i get it.  After reding many threads on this forum from Howard (N Nog) Trevor Deisel falcon, John (H Admiral), and numerous others, too numerous to mention, we went with high expectations, and were we disappointed?,  NOT AT ALL.  If you ever get the chance to do a late Autumn / Winter cruise on the Broads, just get on and do it. Herbert Woods and i believe a couple of other yards hire round the year (possibly with some cruicing limits?). We saw only one other boat when we ran down to Loddon, two on the run down to WRC and the three Sqibs on the way back to Brundall.   For next year, we already have a week in Spring booked to go back to Lincolnshire, Lightning for two weeks in late June / early July, and we still have 2 weeks holiday left to take from work, so our allocated week next November will be a definite yes.

 

 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

I`ve just realised i`ve posted this in Broads related chat, if the mods feel it would be better in holiday tales, please feel free to re post as nessecary?.

Edited November 15, 2015 by BroadScot
Moved for you Neil as requested :-)

[Oddfellow]

Technically, Autumn starts on 23rd Sept and ends on 21st December. This is mid autumn - not very late!

This weekend, we sent our our camping boat (pod) for an overnight fishing trip (photos here). It's a stonking time to be on the river. There are so few boats out there and the peace and quiet is fantastic. Sure, the weather can be off-putting, but prepare for it and you're fine.

It really is a great time to be on the river, but you probably need to be a boaty person to get it and enjoy it. It is not for the first timer unless they're very used to the outdoor lifestyle. 

Officially, we have stopped hiring cruisers now, but our winterisation programme is uncertain this year, so if a boat has not been decomissioned and we have the staff to cover it, we will offer hires. Those definitely out of action until next year are Rambling, Spirit and Sweet currently. 

Our boats filter back into operation in February and we definitely will not fire over Christmas or New Year. 

I believe the only yards to hire all year are Herbert Woods and Faircraft. If you want a boat from Freedom, call us. 

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

We all hear comments in the media saying our seasons are changing, so maybe in the not too distant future, there might be a few more yards stretching out their seasons to cover November. However, if we do get a cold autumn, then as you say Andy, prepare for it.

[BroadScot]

1 hour ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

We all hear comments in the media saying our seasons are changing, so maybe in the not too distant future, there might be a few more yards stretching out their seasons to cover November. However, if we do get a cold autumn, then as you say Andy, prepare for it.

Having seen the forecast tonight,...WINTER begins next week! Oh and not just oop North!

Hot water bottle when I am out on SCOOT methinks.

Iain.

[Gracie]

Winter begun in my neck of the woods yesterday, been battered by strong wind and rain and a tad chilly, I expect our gusts are just a breeze compared to what you've had in Bonnie Scotland, Iain

Thank you for your holiday tale, Neil, really enjoyed it  A winter (late Autumn) cruise is most definitely on my to do list, the latest in the year we've been is October and absolutely loved it

Grace

[NorfolkNog]

Very interested in this one as it is a subject very close to my heart.

Also noted Neil’s original post and Andy’s comments with great interest.

The winter is really a magical time to be out. If you are fortunate enough to own your own boat or be part of a syndicate then you can enjoy this time of the year. Sadly as a hirer it is extremely difficult.

Understandably yards need to carry out winter maintenance and so will not have all their fleet available in the winter. However I would think that the tolls and insurance would cover the fleet for 12 moths so it seems a pity that some boats cannot be available at this time coupled with a loss of potential revenue.

Royalls were always the winter specialists and for many years let boats out even over Christmas. However they have now stopped this and hire pretty much in the season.

Herbert Woods hire for 10 months out of 12 but for some inexplicable reason will not hire in December or January. They are a large yard and well staffed so it does seem a shame that they couldn’t have something available which I’m sure could be worked around their maintenance schedule.

It is true that Faircraft Loynes hire selected boats all year round and we have hired from them in the past. Problem is you need extremely deep pockets and the last time we hired from them we had problems with the boat which the duty engineer would not acknowledge and failed to rectify. Swancraft came to rescue and very kindly agreed to hire to us in December which we did for many years. These were some of the best holidays we have ever had.

Crossing Breydon is seen as a no no but having done it numerous times in the winter it really isn’t any different to doing it in summer. It just needs normal caution with the tides and bridge heights. In fact the weather can be quite benign, it’s often worse in the Spring!

I can understand that any yard would not want to be called out on Christmas Day. That is perfectly understandable. But why would they not consider hiring to people that do have some experience and are not going to bother the yard with preventable problems?

Apparently Swancraft had a number of enquires about winter hire purely because of my ramblings on here. Certainly most yards are very suspicious about winter hire which does seem very sad.

I am very fortunate to have had a very kind person working on my behalf so hopefully we will be sorted for this year, fingers crossed!

 

[Gracie]

Good luck with your quest for a winter hire, Howard. I'm sure I'm not the only one on here who would miss your Winter tale ramblings, so for purely selfish reasons on my part, will someone please let our Mr Nog hire a Boat lol

Grace

[diesel falcon]

There was a herbert woods boat out on the river this weekend at reedham and Loddon??

[NorfolkNog]

Hi Trevor, still November so still hiring, but they won't do December 

[quo vadis]

How do you know

[NorfolkNog]

21 minutes ago, Gracie said:

Good luck with your quest for a winter hire, Howard. I'm sure I'm not the only one on here who would miss your Winter tale ramblings, so for purely selfish reasons on my part, will someone please let our Mr Nog hire a Boat lol

Grace

Aw, thanks Grace  we should be sorted thanks, just need to confirm, so stand by for some inane rambling  

[kfurbank]

I was out last week for a few days and was surprised to see a number of hire boats around. I left St Olaves Monday morning and had a pleasant cruise round to Ranworth to find two hire boats, Faircraft Loynes and one private boat. The next day was a cruise to Horning Marine Services and then onto Wroxham Broad before departing for Neatishead. Passed a couple of Horizon craft, Herbert Woods and Faircraft Loynes boats. In fact saw more hire craft than private craft out and about. Nice and easy mooring at Neatishead for the night followed by a few beers and good food in The White Horse. Company for the night was one private boat and one Horizon craft. The next day saw a cruise to Wayford Bridge to visit Meales and then a pint at The Wayford Bridge, before departing for South Walsham. Again passed a few hire boats and one or two private craft. No company at South Walsham Wednesday night. Thursday morning see me depart for the South again and back home.

Was very pleasantly surprised with how mild it was to the point that I never bothered seeking out moorings with electric. Could have plugged in at Ranworth on the first night, but didn't need to. Could even have moored at Horning with absolutely no problems. Magical time of the year and the pubs seem just that little more inviting when the sun goes down and that Autunm chill sets in.

Next outing will be for Christmas shopping, only made bearable by completing the task by boat into Norwich or Thorpe.

 

 

[Oddfellow]

Until three years ago, Freedom hired all year round. 

We stopped because, frankly, it makes no real business sense for us. Here's why:

As a small yard, we have limited resources. For the last three years, the boatyard was run by myself and Mark with temporary seasonal staff to cover cleaning and my wife covering all office duties including all bookings. We also wrote the website in house and continue to maintain this along with the growing time burden that is social media. Let me leave you in no doubt that this is bloody hard work. 

With two people on the tools, carrying out winter maintenance was tough. In fact, just managing the fleet in summer was tough; a call out to Beccles or Oulton Broad (which are very common destinations for our customers) eats a minimum of two hours out of the day. 

Now, take those two plus hours out of a short winter day that should be spent on maintenance and all of a sudden, the day has been virtually lost. The factor in the cost of the fuel for the call out and any parts and any profit you might have made on the hire could be vaporised. 

People use more power in the winter (heating and light) and cruising times are reduced so batteries take a real hammering and you expect to see call-outs increase as a result whilst all the time people will be wanting a "cheap" out of season holiday. As you can see, it doesn't stack up well for the business. 

In the last couple of months, we have taken on John who's a real diamond and boating is in his blood. We've now increased our ability to carry out winter maintenance and, possibly, let out the occasional boat in the low season as we have more cover to deal with things. However, Christmas and New Year are no-nos. This is the only time of year generally when I get any time with my family and, having missed a great deal of my children growing up due to the business, I am no longer prepared to sacrifice this. 

We have already begun our winter maintenance whilst also carrying out more private work than in previous years. I would like to encourage you to take a look at our Facebook pages to see what we're up to. In brief, Sweet Freedom is having some new finishes installed, Spirit is to have new headlinings and a nice refresh in the saloon and cockpit and general maintenance throughout. 

• https://www.facebook.com/FreedomCruisers/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/tryflamping/
• https://www.facebook.com/Kingfisher-Boat-Services-1468490843373690/

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

56 minutes ago, diesel falcon said:

There was a herbert woods boat out on the river this weekend at reedham and Loddon??

Was that the old Alpha 32 "Pearl of light" Trev, if so, we saw that coming into Loddon on Wednesday morning, and later on Tursday and friday watering up at Brooms. I spoke to one of the people on board, and she said they only hire this time of year.

[Oddfellow]

Just now, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Was that the old Alpha 32 "Pearl of light" Trev, if so, we saw that coming into Loddon on Wednesday morning, and later on Tursday and friday watering up at Brooms. I spoke to one of the people on board, and she said they only hire this time of year.

She's been past us a lot over the last few days. 

[BroadScot]

Saw Pearl of Light moored side on at Oulton Broad, on the Web Cam, this week.

 

Iain

[diesel falcon]

yes it was pearl of light

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

4 hours ago, FreedomBoatingHols said:

Technically, Autumn starts on 23rd Sept and ends on 21st December. This is mid autumn - not very late!

This weekend, we sent our our camping boat (pod) for an overnight fishing trip (photos here). It's a stonking time to be on the river. There are so few boats out there and the peace and quiet is fantastic. Sure, the weather can be off-putting, but prepare for it and you're fine.

It really is a great time to be on the river, but you probably need to be a boaty person to get it and enjoy it. It is not for the first timer unless they're very used to the outdoor lifestyle. 

Officially, we have stopped hiring cruisers now, but our winterisation programme is uncertain this year, so if a boat has not been decomissioned and we have the staff to cover it, we will offer hires. Those definitely out of action until next year are Rambling, Spirit and Sweet currently. 

Our boats filter back into operation in February and we definitely will not fire over Christmas or New Year. 

I believe the only yards to hire all year are Herbert Woods and Faircraft. If you want a boat from Freedom, call us. 

I certainly think an extra couple of weeks or so into November would be reasonable, but i do understand your concerns Andy.  As a syndicate owner, WE are responsible for the cleanliness and condition of the boat when we leave her at the end of our week. I have to admit, due to bad weather, i was`nt able to clean the outside of Lightning properly, but did give the decks and cabin sides a scrub down with a deck scrubber. Then we had to completely clean the inside, and vacuum up. It was surprisingly hard work to do it in the time available, so i do know first hand how hard it must be for operaters like yourselves having to do 3,4, or more boats in a precious few hours.

 

 

[Matt]

11 minutes ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

I certainly think an extra couple of weeks or so into November would be reasonable, but i do understand your concerns Andy.  As a syndicate owner, WE are responsible for the cleanliness and condition of the boat when we leave her at the end of our week. I have to admit, due to bad weather, i was`nt able to clean the outside of Lightning properly, but did give the decks and cabin sides a scrub down with a deck scrubber. Then we had to completely clean the inside, and vacuum up. It was surprisingly hard work to do it in the time available, so i do know first hand how hard it must be for operaters like yourselves having to do 3,4, or more boats in a precious few hours.

 

 

Do you want the number of the cleaner we have for Thunder ;-)

[Boatingman]

Pearl of light went upstream past Reedham Ferry this morning

there where a few Herbert Woods boats out today but not much else

I had a drive round Ranworth Wroxham Horning

Ray

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

7 minutes ago, Matt said:

Do you want the number of the cleaner we have for Thunder ;-)

Hi Matt,

Thanks but no thanks. It is OUR responsibility to ensure Lightning is clean and tidy, even if cleaned by a commercial cleaner. We did discuss this at our AGM in June, and it was reported that they only clean the inside, but do not clean certain things, which turned out to be quite a lot of things, so if an owner wants to employ a cleaner, they can, but they are still responsible, and MUST ensure the boat is fit for take over by the next owner. You could be paying someone a fair amount to do what can be done in an hour. I seem to remember they did`nt clean cookers, fridges, sinks, toilet compartments, showers, windows (inside or out) and decks. They did however go around with a duster and a can of Mr Sheen (or Sparkle) and vacuum up. I also seem to remember a figure of £35.00 per hour, though i`m not 100% on that one.

 

[quo vadis]

52 minutes ago, diesel falcon said:

yes it was pearl of light

A honeymoon threesome apparently 

[ranworthbreeze]

9 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Hi Matt,

Thanks but no thanks. It is OUR responsibility to ensure Lightning is clean and tidy, even if cleaned by a commercial cleaner. We did discuss this at our AGM in June, and it was reported that they only clean the inside, but do not clean certain things, which turned out to be quite a lot of things, so if an owner wants to employ a cleaner, they can, but they are still responsible, and MUST ensure the boat is fit for take over by the next owner. You could be paying someone a fair amount to do what can be done in an hour. I seem to remember they did`nt clean cookers, fridges, sinks, toilet compartments, showers, windows (inside or out) and decks. They did however go around with a duster and a can of Mr Sheen (or Sparkle) and vacuum up. I also seem to remember a figure of £35.00 per hour, though i`m not 100% on that one.

 

Hi Neil,

I takes me between 3 to 4 hours to clean the outside of Ranworth Breeze especially out of season, the inside you can do in about an hour.

We do get a cleaning service to clean the outside of the boat and many of the other owners use their services, I prefer however to do this myself, that way I can spend time inspecting the gelcoat and clean off any marks that have been missed, it also give us an idea of what gelcoat repairs we may have to include in the winter service.

Out of season weeks aboard the boat can be some of the best times on the Broads, we have seen black swans and large groups of other wildlife on these quieter times on the rivers. We have been sat on the back of the boat in December in sunshine, dressed in tee shirts.

Regards

Alan

[Matt]

10 hours ago, SPEEDTRIPLE said:

Hi Matt,

Thanks but no thanks. It is OUR responsibility to ensure Lightning is clean and tidy, even if cleaned by a commercial cleaner. We did discuss this at our AGM in June, and it was reported that they only clean the inside, but do not clean certain things, which turned out to be quite a lot of things, so if an owner wants to employ a cleaner, they can, but they are still responsible, and MUST ensure the boat is fit for take over by the next owner. You could be paying someone a fair amount to do what can be done in an hour. I seem to remember they did`nt clean cookers, fridges, sinks, toilet compartments, showers, windows (inside or out) and decks. They did however go around with a duster and a can of Mr Sheen (or Sparkle) and vacuum up. I also seem to remember a figure of £35.00 per hour, though i`m not 100% on that one.

 

We have a list that they work through which includes all of the above items. Costs us £40 per clean.

We certainly could not clean Thunder in an hour, but that's probably the joy of having children........