Song of Freedom - Day Two
I had
planned to leave Rockland Staithe early before the tide turned, this
would mean we would be heading down the Yare at slack water and by the
time we reached the Reedham the tide would be coming in - but we would
not have much time going against it as we would be taking the Haddiscoe
New Cut and upon reaching the end turning right and going with the
incoming tide. Well, that was the plan anyway...
However we had found it most strange that despite spending much of the evening in the New Inn upon return to the boat the lights seemed dim, and the heating would literally only kick in for a few moments before switching off. Something was not happy electrically somewhere, only there was a rather odd anomaly going on that the 240v side of things was working just fine so we had television and I could use my laptop but the 12v side was decidedly flat.
This morning a call was made to Freedom and Andy was as puzzled as I (batteries had been checked prior to departure) and why was the engine and 240v side batteries all charged but the 12v domestic side not - well with Andy on the phone and me looking to see if anything silly had happened like a battery isolator being urm isolated the problem soon was apparent, the negative wire was not on one of the batteries - a simply error to have made when testing the batteries at the yard before we took over the boat. Andy was most apologetic but it was all fine I just wished I had brought my tools I usually do for I could have connected it and tightened up the terminal clamp without bother.
Well true to his word, Andy was there within an hour with new batteries just in case, and once all the wires were put in place and double checked we had power and could be off on our way. The only downside to our later departure was the fact that we would not have as long cruising before the incoming tide began to slow us down before we reached Reedham. Our destination today was Oulton Broad Yacht Station where we had previously called and booked a berth thinking over Easter things may be a bit busy down there.
Once we were on the Yare you really felt like you were getting along and this is where southern river travel is so much different to the northern rivers - you do go on and on for hours but at the same time I enjoy the fact you can settle in to a sort of rhythm and mark off the places you pass on the map and in a very rough fashion feel as if you are navigating - seeing how far you have to go, what the time is - is the tide turning, checking to see how strong the tide is and what effect it is having on your speed and thus your time of arrival etc. You can therefore if you want, pass the time doing such calculations. If you're not a nerd just enjoy the view lol.
The tide did indeed begin to turn and things began to slow down, but worse was to come for the rain - which had been forecast finally began to fall. This meant having the canopy up the first time we had needed this to be raised whilst underway and it soon became apparent that a BMC engine's sound can be rather tiring on the nerves - the sound bouncing off all the hard surfaces in the cockpit with no escape. The engine however never missed a beat, started first time every time be it cold or warm and had a silky smooth gearbox paired to it.
The rain soon stopped and by the time we reached the New Cut we could lower the canopy once again - there was a stiff side wind coming from the direction of Breydon but it meant that when we reached the St. Olaves end and headed up the Waveney we were now going with the tide and what a difference this made - but the wind changed direction and was on our bow and before long a good few waves had got going and we were rolling up and down through them. It really felt you were boating and Song of Freedom did not put a foot wrong.
However we had found it most strange that despite spending much of the evening in the New Inn upon return to the boat the lights seemed dim, and the heating would literally only kick in for a few moments before switching off. Something was not happy electrically somewhere, only there was a rather odd anomaly going on that the 240v side of things was working just fine so we had television and I could use my laptop but the 12v side was decidedly flat.
This morning a call was made to Freedom and Andy was as puzzled as I (batteries had been checked prior to departure) and why was the engine and 240v side batteries all charged but the 12v domestic side not - well with Andy on the phone and me looking to see if anything silly had happened like a battery isolator being urm isolated the problem soon was apparent, the negative wire was not on one of the batteries - a simply error to have made when testing the batteries at the yard before we took over the boat. Andy was most apologetic but it was all fine I just wished I had brought my tools I usually do for I could have connected it and tightened up the terminal clamp without bother.
Well true to his word, Andy was there within an hour with new batteries just in case, and once all the wires were put in place and double checked we had power and could be off on our way. The only downside to our later departure was the fact that we would not have as long cruising before the incoming tide began to slow us down before we reached Reedham. Our destination today was Oulton Broad Yacht Station where we had previously called and booked a berth thinking over Easter things may be a bit busy down there.
Once we were on the Yare you really felt like you were getting along and this is where southern river travel is so much different to the northern rivers - you do go on and on for hours but at the same time I enjoy the fact you can settle in to a sort of rhythm and mark off the places you pass on the map and in a very rough fashion feel as if you are navigating - seeing how far you have to go, what the time is - is the tide turning, checking to see how strong the tide is and what effect it is having on your speed and thus your time of arrival etc. You can therefore if you want, pass the time doing such calculations. If you're not a nerd just enjoy the view lol.
The tide did indeed begin to turn and things began to slow down, but worse was to come for the rain - which had been forecast finally began to fall. This meant having the canopy up the first time we had needed this to be raised whilst underway and it soon became apparent that a BMC engine's sound can be rather tiring on the nerves - the sound bouncing off all the hard surfaces in the cockpit with no escape. The engine however never missed a beat, started first time every time be it cold or warm and had a silky smooth gearbox paired to it.
The rain soon stopped and by the time we reached the New Cut we could lower the canopy once again - there was a stiff side wind coming from the direction of Breydon but it meant that when we reached the St. Olaves end and headed up the Waveney we were now going with the tide and what a difference this made - but the wind changed direction and was on our bow and before long a good few waves had got going and we were rolling up and down through them. It really felt you were boating and Song of Freedom did not put a foot wrong.
It must have taken some time, but it did not feel it before we were heading along Oulton Dyke and soon turning a sharp left and entering Oulton Broad. We were a little later than we had planned but none the less still had a lot of time to spend ashore once we reached the Yacht Station - we were asked if we wanted a Pontoon berth of side on - we opted for side on, something later I wished I had not because I was forever adjusting fenders and ropes and the tide went out - and seemed to carry on going out we dropped certainly over a metre and then I was worried the concrete quay would 'hold up' the rubbing strake on the side of the boat - more adjusting ropes and fenders around 9:30 in the evening to ensure we would have a good night sleep and stay horizontal in our berths.
I can recommend the Spar down the road from the Yacht Station, we did not venture into the local pubs however and I cooked onboard instead, it was not that noisy but of course this was not a Friday or Saturday night so things may be different then but a good place to moor overall.
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