Our stay in London took in the CA House New Year festivities before a brief home visit to watch Norwich City and collect a car. We returned in time for the London Boat Show where we had been allowed a Broom Owners Club desk on the Broom stand. We were priveledged to be allowed exhibitors access to the Excel centre the day before and could easily deliver our display material via the ramp access to the back of the stands.

We had an excellent turnout for our Owners Club reception with more members than expected crowding onto the Broom stand. A complex rota had been arranged for manning the club desk and we were delighted to recruit 25 new members during the show period - exceeding our expectations thanks to the good efforts of our volunteers stand staff.

We had arranged to stay in Limehouse for the month of January but waved goodbye to the rest of the BOC fleet once the show had finished. It was nice to have a few days to relax after an intensely busy period and we find a little time to enjoy the capital's attractions. An important reason for our stay however was to make use of the CA library facilities, having turned our attention in earnest to our next project - research for our forthcoming cruising guide to the inland waterways of the Netherlands.

By the end of the month home priorities were pressing and we planned a return leg. Oddly enough by leaving at the crack of dawn we could make the trip in one day and we found a day with light winds, reasonable visibility and no snow to cruise back to Norfolk. We were booked into Brooms to have some winter servicing, so after an overnight stop at Goodchild Marine we continued up the Yare to Brundall where we would leave the boat for the next few weeks.

Cruising Statistics

Distance (inland): 6nm

Distance (tidal): 120nm

Total to date: 126 nm

Avg Speed (tidal): 12.6 knots

Duration (tidal): 10 hours

Diesel: 695

Mooring: £10/night

Electricity: Included

Water: Included