Song of Freedom - Day Three


An early start today - I was up around 6:15am doing the usual engine checks, making sure there was water in the header tank and how was the oil doing etc - these being all the more important on these old BMC's who always like to drink a little water and burn a little oil.

By about 6:50am I was casting off from the quay and heading off over a still Oulton Broad who was just beginning to wake up - and finally, there was calmness and no wind so with canopy lowered it was destination Beccles.

I should note that last night at Oulton Broad we had a very peculiar fault - start the engine, turn on heater - heater starts turn off engine once was running and within 5 minutes the heater would be off and the LED blinking.  Try as we might the heater would simply not stay on longer than a few minutes - yet we had ample power.  Another job for Andy, so I called him later an arranged to meet later that evening at our final destination - Loddon.  I am sure his eyes rolled, his head was scratched thinking what on earth was wrong - fear not, it was just the Rascal's luck had turned once again...

All the way along Oulton Dyke and then to the sharp left hand turn onto the Waveney, not a single boat was seen - but what was a little unnerving to begin was the shotgun being fired off our port side a little way down the Waveney  - where I wondered were our cannons and balls to fire back with haha.   It was the most delightful morning and one of the few times in our journey where we were neither going with or against the tide - the river was calm and we were making good progress.

It was not too long into the journey I passed a trio of fine craft, Job Done, Secret Lady and Happy Jax III but their crews seemingly all below decks.  Carrying on the first of several hire craft coming towards us all from the northern rivers - clearly having had an early start and making their way to Breydon to get back to the northern rivers - and then it was still once more and the landscape really begins to change.

It was along this stretch that the BMC rolled over 15,000 hours of use 
- say what you like about them, but with care and a few new bits here and there these classic engines go on and on!

Reeds begin to give way to a mixture of trees and beyond you see marshes and cattle - the bird song began and the further towards Beccles we got the changes continued - less and less reed fringed banks, more and more tree lined, then the countryside seemed to change too - the flat ground giving way to small hills reminiscent of that you find at Salhouse, this was beautiful cruising country.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach the outskirts of Beccles and we had booked a mooring at the yacht station just in case - previously saying we would be there around lunchtime (this having changed since we now wanted to overnight in Loddon) so arrived earlier around 9:45am.

On behalf of all sons out there, can fathers please take note.  If your son is at the helm let him decide where to moor and don't become a 'stern end driver' as my dad did.  I filled up with water over night at Oulton Broad, but my dad was insisting we needed water - furthermore where he was instructing me to moor I could not because of the lines of the boat already there strung over from their midship cleat to the shore as well as their stern cleats.  Try number two - this time one mooring down we again faced a problem with getting in the spot where my dad thought we could fit.  I was now getting a frustrated, and having made two attempts, our engine being revved began to create quite a scene - the chap from the Yacht Station had now come along, owners of boats popped up ready to issue guidance and protect their pride and joys from what appeared to be a pair of confused men bickering at each other and incapable of deciding what mooring they should opt for.

Finally, third time around - we got in to a space I felt was adequate - and would mean we still could get water the hose simply having to be unravelled a little more.  Later, the reason for the need of water become clear - if you pay to moor and its included my dad said, then we shall use it - and so we did taking all over 5 minutes to top up the tank.  

I then prepared breakfast, washed up and we went into town - by now the sun was really making its presence felt and things were warming up nicely - so much so just a t-shirt was needed.  Beccles is a lovely place, and I am sure has many delightful nooks and crannies I have missed, but for us it was the basics - cash point, QD stores, Boots for more paracetamol  and throat 'sweets' - a cheeky nip into the new Wetherspoons for a quick half and use their loos and before we knew it was time to head back to the boat - I wanted to depart around 12:30pm, in the end we left about 15 minutes later than planned.

Beccles needs more time spent on it in future I thought, as too a trip down to Geldeston Locks and the Inn - later in the year no doubt that will be done.  For now it was back the way we came, and I found this stretch of river to be very pretty - a little more busy now but none the less a great deal less busy than the northern rivers would be over the Easter weekend I am sure.

Now at this stage I think I 'lost the plot' because when we reached the Waveney River Centre I turned to my tide tables and river distance guides and figured from this location we would have more than 4 hours still to cruise.  It was obvious, but I had seemingly forgotten this and perhaps it was the fact I had already done over 4 hours at the helm going to and from Beccles from Oulton Broad the prospect of another 4 or more hours - some against the tide - did not fill me with joy.  It soon passed but so too did the sunshine, the sky began to turn ever more grey and the temperature dropped - first a long sleeved top then a coat needed to be donned and then on the approach to St, Olaves the canopy needing to be raised as the heavens opened.  

Going against the tide, in the rain, feeling a bit chilly and having the noise of the BMC under my feet all conspired to make the going - shall we say, fraught.  I was checking our speed over ground with the time and our ETA at Loddon far from being between 5:00pm to 5:30pm seemed more likely to be after 6:00pm - maybe closer to 6:30pm - I had told Andy I would be at Loddon around five, and we had booked the table at the Swan in Loddon for 7:00pm so there would not be much time for fault finding/fixing out heater issue and getting to the Pub for dinner at this rate.

We were doing just about 4 MPH and I could not do much more about that, at 2,100 RPM the engine was certainly not flat out but was now pushing past 90 degrees Celsius - she would run hot as it was, but I was not going to push things past 95 degrees and so this became our top speed like it or not.  Well slowly but surely the entrance to the New Cut arrived, and so the rain stopped for a bit, canopy down head out - rain back - canopy up then the rain did ease but was spitting.  The dead straight length of water that makes up the Haddiscoe New Cut is not the most interesting places and the grey sky, rain drops on the screen and canopy up meaning the engine noise was kept in all the more added to the bleak feeling of just wanting to get to Reedham end.

As we reached the Reedham end of the New Cut, something seemed to have changed - firstly our speed over ground began to increase and this very much changed as we turned left and headed towards Reedham swing bridge - the tide was helping us, I eased back on the revs to around 1,700 RPM and we settled down nicely - by the time the Reedham Ferry was in view things were very much looking good, we could well be at Loddon just after 5:00pm after all.

As we turned on to the Chet I was expecting the daunting jounry of this very narrow twisting river hoping not to meet another boat at a tricky corner - but far from daunting since my last visit in October 2013, the river had been 'Environment Agencied' - the banks on the port side devoid of greenery or reed, the 45 degree perfect angle to waterline the classic 'square top' yep, them diggers had been about and while it will grow back, the river will not have some of the charm and character it used to prior to the works, it is much more now akin to the Ant narrow yes, but not as twisty or narrow as once was.

We did not pass another boat, just a couple of chaps in canoes - and by 5:00pm we were passing Maffet Cruisers and I knew the Staithe at Loddon was just a few minutes away - and as it came into sight, there was plenty of space to choose from.  Once we were tied up, I called Andy and he was on his way - I then got talking to a couple of first time hirers on a boat from Alpha Craft - they loved the Broads but found the boat a little too big for a first timer.  They plan to return on something smaller and perhaps on the northern rivers next time but it is always good to meet fellow boaters and have a chat.

Before long Andy was at the boat and so we fired up the heater.  Minutes passed.  It was working - but he had not done anything, maybe I said it was the much longer run we had today - no as he unplugged a battery, ran it off just one and noted that it was not drawing excessively any amps - so why was it working fine now but had not last night?  Suddenly it stopped - the LED blinked ah ha! But the battery was fine so it was not power related - but the heater had just been working perfectly fine, hot air, no smoking...

There is me on the web getting fault codes for the heater, Andy taking more of the boat internal panels up and trying to figure out what was going on.  Ah, 10 flashes its overheating and cutting out. Now all the pipe work is being taken of the air inlet side of the heater which required ever more contortionist work to get at, but there was the problem - an inline filter had a lot of friendly four legged hairs caught in it - at sometime someone's best friend laid down on the cockpit floor under the helm, right by the intake pipe had sucked in some of its fur and chosen now to restrict the air floor just enough to stop the heater.  Within minutes it was all cleaned, put back together and what seemed like a job without end or a fault without clear reason was sorted.  

Those of you who read and watch my Blogs know over the years I have got to know engineers rather well on boats, things go wrong no matter the boat or boatyard but figuring it out, putting it right and being friendly and having a laugh along the way can make these issues non-issues as this was, and so it was time to pack up, lock up and head off to the Swan in Loddon for our evening meal and drinks.

It had been a long old day one way and the other, from just after 7:00am I had been at the helm with a break in Beccles - then another 6 or so hours to Loddon I was looking forward to a refreshing pint and some good food.  

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