Sunlit Horizon 2 - 'Lads Week' 2012 - Day eight

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this day with you for although nothing much of any substance seemed to happen, I did go a bit loopy just before the junction with the River Bure as you come up the Thurne.

It had been a relaxed morning waiting for the day to brighten a bit and took time making myself a scrumptious breakfast.  I left the moorings on Womack Dyke and knew only one thing that around 4pm my mother would be arriving at Wroxham to join me so I needed to be either their or at Horning so she could easily get to the boat.  Between now and then however I could do whatever I wished.

As I say just as I approached the River Bure things went a bit mad as I began commentating as if some tour guide to the camera – this went on for a while off camera I confess and then I spied the top of a boat I am familiar with – Broad Ambition which could mean only one thing: The Lad’s Week was approaching. 
 It was quiet a thing to be on the river and see them pass by, Broad Ambition giving a ‘horn salute’ and with that ‘Mad World’ came up on my playlist – and I suddenly decided an impromptu music video would be the order of the day.  I hope you have a laugh as much as I did making it at the time.

Once I had returned back to normality, if I can ever be thought of as being normal – it was time to head up the River Ant to Ludham Bridge for a water top up.  The water levels still high, and having come through the bridge and turned I came into moor and pleased it went well as I had left the camera rolling.  At this point the boat to my stern departed, I thought I will then walk the boat back on the ropes.  Just then two boats came into view – one moored where the Nancy Oldfield Trust boat would be if it was not currently cruising the rivers, and the other took the mooring for the water point.  I had then had to walk the boat back forward and tie both stern and bow ropes to a single post (as the bank here is devoid of posts where it dips to a lower level).
The two boats then took on water, and I patiently waited.  The boat moored at the water point moorings then disembarked and walked off the one behind it then left leaving the moorings for the Nancy Oldfield Trust boat free.  Am I too sensitive I wonder, but if I was going to go off and leave the boat I had just topped up with water I would move it before so doing to allow others to get water!  I then had to uncoil all of the hose to reach and just made the whole process more convoluted than it ever had to be.  Anyway moan over it was time to depart and head off back under Ludham Bridge destination Ranworth Staithe.

As I came down the dyke and on to Malthouse Broad I could see there was spaces at the staithe – and yes I could have gone there for water but I prefer the Ludham Bridge hose on a real system.  Having moored it began to rain, only a little but it then got ever harder and after getting a drink and a book from the gift shop it was back on board for a bit of lunch and read.  I could tell the rain was only getting heavier and seemed set for the day, I logged on to the webcams in Wroxham provided by Norfolk Live and noticed that Barnes Brinkcraft and the moorings outside the Hotel Wroxham were full – nothing was getting under Wroxham Bridge because of the river levels, so it was going to have be Horning.

I left Ranworth and took an easy cruise along the Bure to Horning and then into Le Boat.  I have moored here before and find it to be a very nice boatyard to moor in only a stone throw from the Ferry Inn yet very quiet over night.  It was however absolutely chocker with their boats.  About turn and back to the main river.  The Ferry Inn was devoid of boats and with the rain thought it would be best to moor here and nab the best spot and this I did.

I cleaned up the boat making it presentable for my mother to come later and over the next couple of hours boat after boat arrived and took up the moorings outside the pub.  Not long after that the cab pulled up and I help my mum onboard – which was really odd yet nice to have her come to my ‘floating home’.  We had a good chat and just put the kettle on, it was dusk and I heard a lot of ‘water noise’ then revving engines all three Dawn Horizon boats were coming along the river flat out in a sort of ‘arrow’ formation, I knew we were going to get an awful lot of wash hit us and it was so much I was actually very close to calling up either the boatyard to report this or Broads Control – almost dark, through horning at that speed and with three boats it was so selfish and dangerous.  As it happened I let things be, little did I know that would not be the last of this group of men I would have dealings with.

Later we went into the Ferry Inn for a meal and thankfully got seated away from the bar – now tell me this why do you have so many waiting staff, a decent restaurant area and yet one must order the food at the bar? So off to the crush of men around the bar, and then I see they are the group off the Dawn Horizon boats that had sped past earlier – a large Stag group in various costumes and already very much the worse for wear. I order the food and paid and what arrived was actually very good, decently cooked and good portions for a reasonable price. As we left things were getting very loud at the Stag do end of the bar and so we went back to the boat.
It must have been about shortly before 11:00pm when a Police car arrived at the pub and not long after the Stag do came out shouting and making a terrible racket – I can’t say if the two events are connected but having spent time with guys and with three other boats and a lot of pub activity, we did not cause trouble for others on shore or on the water and it is a shame that other groups of men can’t behave better – it is why the Ferry at Stokesby no longer allow ‘groups of lads’.  

Ahh well once everyone left the pub it was a quiet mooring but I imagine in the summer not the best of places to stop if you want an early night.  It has been a break of three halves so far, to begin with a group of really decent and fun chaps, then to have some time for myself and now to have my mum their I just felt this was so ‘right’ and very content with the fact I had been able to take the time and come away when I had.  Shame it would shortly be all over but for the moment I was loving it.