Mystic Horizon - Day Five

So it was an early rise around 6:00am at Reedham and I witnessed something rather special.  It had been a worry that I was directly behind a lovely kept Princess 45 boat at Reedham - thinking when I come to depart in the morning with the tide running I would have to be very on the ball not to drift into her stern.

As it happened just as the dawn began to break she started one of her engines - but you certainly knew all about it a deep throaty growl and with navigation and deck lights on certainly looked something.  You know someone is serious about boating when they have two revolving radar antenna on the 'radar arch'.  Once out into the main river she held station and within a few minutes the swing bridge had began to swing and off into the murky morning light she slipped.  

That was good to see I thought and now I had bags of room when it came to leaving the mooring too.  It was just before 7:00am I slipped the moorings and would be non-stop to Acle where I would stop for a water fill up and stretch of the legs.

I was pleased the tide was ebbing so strongly because at little over tick over I was doing 5 MPH over the ground and by the time I was on Breydon Water itself was making very good time - perhaps a little too good because I knew only too well if you are being helped so much in one direction the moment you turn the yellow post and come through the bridges at Yarmouth the tide is going to be against you.  I put that thought out of my mind and enjoyed the 'crossing'.  

Ok so Breydon Water is not that large, it does not take that long to cross from one end to the other but in Norfolk terms it is pretty special and with flat calm mirror like water it was beautiful and as I came under Breydon Bridge I realised how lucky I was to be here and enjoying the moment as the rush hour traffic above crossed.  As I turned at the yellow post the tide was indeed against me,  but not too much and I was in no rush so eased back the revs and made for a steady 4 MPH up the Bure towards Acle.

After taking in the rivers of the Southern Broads the Bure felt more closed in and you could see right away the difference e in the Landscape.  I think I past just 2 boats heading down river  and it did not seem quite the drag I had feared the sun was out, it was now getting very warm and by the time I reached Acle it felt a lot more alive with things going on and other boats about etc. Quick mooring and a fill of water (now happy too I had mastered 'my way' of doing a Clove Hitch knot) it was time to depart.

Not long after passing Upon Dyke I did an about turn thinking I have not been down here, and why not since this was 'a Broads explorer' Blog go down the dyke and film.  Blimey, people talk about it being a tight basin but it ain't half narrow!  With boats moored all along the one bank I thought what might you do if met another boat coming the other way.  Once I reached the basin it was mostly full with yachts from Hunters Yard at Ludham (at least I believe this was where they were from) for here is the yard of Eastwood Whelpton and a short walk from the moorings is the community owned White Horse pub.  It was a fleeting visit so I turned the boat under power though I could tell onlookers were putting on a calm way about their actions but ready to leap into action almost should this 'wayward' hirer come too close to a lovely woody.  being only 29ft long it was not complicated but had been longer would certainly advise stopping and turning the boat on the ropes. 

Just as I was about to leave and had gone a few feet down the dyke I spotted another boat coming down from the main river a 38ft x 12ft centre cockpit.  
Good luck to turning that I thought, and patiently waited for it to arrive having reversed back.  I hoped there would be nothing else coming and fortunately there was not.  

Back on the main river it was time to head to the River Thurne and on to Potter Heigham where I could pop into Lathams and have a look at the boats for sale at Waterside Marine Sales.  The moorings on the river were full so into Herbert Woods it was - I could see several free moorings and then found a 44ft centre cockpit boat  'Serenade' stern on and 'blocking' my path to the free moorings.  I could have squeeze between her bow and the other boats opposite but went for the mooring in a 'cut in'.  Little bit of fuss to get in as the shape of the quay heading and tight space made things tricky but once alongside took time to tidy the boat and the off with the rubbish to bins in the boatyard and on to Lathams.

Bits got in Lathams it was time to see the boats for sale at Waterside Marine Sales, some nice and some looking like needing at least the price they were for sale to bring up to scratch.  I am puzzled why some people seem to paint the decks of their boats with something clearly not up to the job that then peels off in large chunks. Time to go back to the boat.  I had not had anything to eat yet and was feeling rather tired having been on the go so many hours.  I did not want to stay in the boatyard so opted to leave for Womack Dyke where I can have a nice 'wild mooring' get some food and then have a nap.

I could have left the mooring far easier than I ended up doing but we all get things wrong at times and this was a classic where a bow thrusters would have been handy and I went about the most cockeyed approach to departing - forward, back, forward, back finally facing the right way could leave.    Once on the main river I perked up a little and thought of a question posed to me some time ago 'can you film how you moor when it's  a wild mooring' - hmm why not give it a go I thought.

So life jacket on, Rhonde Anchors at the ready I came in and did the process of mooring talking through how I do it - compared to some  where a cross wind is pushing the boat away from the bank it went well with no problems, apart from me almost tripping up over a rope once I was moored talking to the camera.   So it was I could 'put my feet up' have lunch, feed the ducks, crack open a couple of cans and sit in the aft well doing nothing watching the odd boat pass by and being surprised how within about half an hour two other boats had come taking moorings just around the bend.  For me this was the end of the day, and tomorrow would be the last day since I was needing to take the boat back a day early as on the Saturday I was going to be in Hampshire.  I had no idea what I would do or where I would go but now back on the more compact Northern Broads I could take my time.