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Category: 2015

Published: 12 May 2015

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This section describes the cruises down the coast  of East Anglia and across the Thames Estuary well offshore to join the Dunkirk Little Ships and their escort ships in Ramsgate Harbour.  Then hoping to join them in time for the passage across the Channel to the French Port and escorting and helping as necessary before joining their crews and our French hosts in the festivities and commemorations of the noble evacuation of the British Expeditionary Forces from France in 1941. Then making our way back to the home ports of Norfolk later in  May 2015

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Category: 2015

Published: 06 May 2015

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Thursday 14th May Ref: 2015/X  (planned but aborted after being threatened by fresh to strong breezes)

These are the details of our planned cruise for the 14th May 2015 from Great Yarmouth to Wells-next-the-Sea, which involved cruising around the North Norfolk Coast into this lovely picturesque port. This had been planned to be undertaken with a group of Broom Boats from the Owners Club, a passage of around 7 hours at 8-10 knots through the water, with two of those hours manoeuvring in rivers and estuaries. The sea passage would have started with the benefit of the north-going ebb tide off of Yarmouth and we had hoped that the prevailing breeze would be from from the south-west and so trusted that both of these factors of wind and tide would have been with us,  the 2 knot tide speeding us to our destination. Then we would have been be negotiating the difficult shifting sandbanks and channel into Wells harbour, which are never to be taken too lightly. It is hoped to resume these plans with better weather and more daylight in June

This passage would have taken us around a couple of hours and around 12 nautical miles down the Yare from Brundall, under the Reedham Swing Bridge until we then joined the rest of the fleet at Berney Arms. Once assembled there, and briefed, the fleet will cruise across Breydon Water for some 45mins before we pass under the Breydon and Haven bridges (that will lift for us by prior arrangement) before we then steam along the inner harbour and beyond the piers into the Yarmouth Road to enter the sea proper around 11.30am Local Time. At this point two boats would have been arriving offshore from Hull

The passage waypoints I had planned would have taken Lady Martina through the 'Cockle Gateway' north of the Scroby sands  and around the North Norfolk coast, keeping a couple of miles offshore and thus avoiding both the 'overfalls' or bumpy water that is characteristic of strong tides passing over shallows further inshore.  This offshore route also had the advantage of avoiding the many and varied fishing marks and crab pots for which the shelf off of Cromer is understandably very well known!

The open sea passage would have been some 52 miles and was itself planned to take around 4hrs 45mins, arriving at the Wells Harbour bar (the sand bank outside the Well Harbour Channel) at around High Water at 3.15pm Local Time and, preferably, a little before, when we would have then skirted west of the Wells leading buoy and then steered between the red Port and green Starboard buoys that line the recently altered channel. 

We would then have finally have tied up at the splendid new pontoons that make mooring in Wells so easy these days and a very different experience to that I had some ten years ago, when I last visited Wells in my former vessel, the Paxton Princess, when i had to trade half a bottle of whisky to borrow a ladder for shore access from the skipper of The Walrus dredger :-) . If all went well, I wouldl then have taken the bus to Carrow Road on Saturday to see Norwich City complete their play-off semifinal against Ipswich Town as we planned to stay in port until Sunday 18th May, before our return. I also had a hire car booked from Crmer and buses linked for its collection and return. Ugghh!

The Weather was eventually forecast for 8 degC→10 DegC ; RH tba→tba%; 1017→1009 mb falling  rapidly ; We were hoping for smooth/slight seas; good visibility; and light breezes, but the detail shown in the Cruise Data box to the right gives latest predictions (as at morning Tuesday 12/5/2015) of fresh F4/5 16-18 knot breezes from the E and NE and moderate seas) was aborted by mutual consent for now. This forecast also had fresh to strong breezes later in the planned weekend trip would also make exit from Wells even more difficult too.

It is hoped to resume plans for such a trip in June with better weather and more daylight so watch this space and the BOC website.

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Category: 2015

Published: 26 April 2015

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Sunday 26th April Ref: 2015/4

A very peaceful and placid cruise in mainly dull but quiet and thendry weather past the Harwich Container terminal, turning up the River Orwell and following the buoyed channel at just over the 5kn speed limit spotting the countless sailing clubs and swinging moorings that line this route. Much of the time training my crew Kathleen to operate the auto-pilot, recognise the buoys and plot our position on paper charts using the Yeoman navigator plotting table. Then passing under the towering Orwell flyover bridge before locking through into Ipswich Dock and mooring at The Ipswich Haven Marina for the evening

The cruise plan was to stay in Shotley Marina for a further day, but the weather was cold and damp making the morning dog walk something of a trial and so further excursions were not a very appealing thought. The quest for some facilities and a more reliable Internet connection therefore took us through the marina lock and off up the Orwell where the Ipswich Haven Marina promised these things. The BOC members cruise was scheduled to join us there tomorrow anyway and we were offered the same discounted terms for arriving a day early. 

After a nice farewell light lunch aboard Misty Isle, we gave Max a last walk in the light rain, stowed his dog ramp aboard and, after radioing the lock on ch 80, set off to find it set for us and space to descend alongside the floating pontoons. Setting the fenders low, we tied up and followed a sailing vessel outward bound, with Lady Martina keeping to the channel and, unlike them, not being swept to starboard by the flood tide. The next hour was given over to training for my crew Kathleen, in log-taking, manual chart plotting and generally understanding and using the bridge equipment. Then a chance for her to take the helm for her first time in a buoyed channel until I took over the helm for the lock into Ipswich Dock

By our 1700 LT arrival the Marina staff had gone home and, with there being no answer from either the VHF or marina telephone, we found our own moorings, acquired the gate and facilities code from other boat crews and then settled down to walk the dog and view the town. And, yes, the Wifi was perfect; being fast and reliable to the point that these log entries were uploaded this Sunday evening  

20degC steady on the bridge, 15degC outside ; RH 53→46%; 1008→1007mb steady ; smooth seas; good/visibility; light breeze and showers at first.

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Category: 2015

Published: 26 April 2015

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Friday 1st May Ref: 2015/5 

These are the actual details of our cruise on 1st May 2015 from Ipswich to Great Yarmouth, which then was extended to complete the cruise up the River Yare to Brundall, where we moored once again at Broom Boats. This was undertaken early in the morning until late in the afternoon, a sea passage of over 10 hours at 6-8 knots through the water, with three of those  hours manoeuvring in rivers and estuaries . It was started firstly against the flood tide off of Harwich as the breeze was from the north-east as expected at that time and so, even though both of these factors of wind and tide were against us,  the two acting in concert  minimised the waves to about 0.8m, which were 'smooth' seas. Later on the 2 knot tide will be with us but against the wind and waves rose to near 1m in seas still considered to be 'slight to moderate' in nautical parlance. 

This complete passage took us around 72 nautical miles down the Orwell, past Harwich and then follows the coast of Suffolk and Norfolk, preferring the deeper water and avoiding the sandbanks until we enter the inshore waters of Lowestoft and then Great Yarmouth before cruising up the Port of Yarmouth to catch a pre-booked rise of the Haven Bridge at 4pm LT, after which we crossed Breydon Water and first stopped at Berney Arms to walk our patient dog Max and then carried on up to Brundall. 

This cruise was due to be undertaken with fellow Broom Owners' Boats Moonbow and Escape II, with whom we had already cruised through Ipswich Dock lock and down the Orwell to moor up at Woolverstone for the night. Then, from 8.30am onwards we will continue with additional Brooms expected to join the convoy after a later start from Ipswich. However, Moonbow had family problems and had to leave Woolverstone in the night and Escape II was plagued with engine problems on one side which restricted their speed to 8 knots (days later, they discovered an eel had lodged itself in the inlet manifold!!) 

The remainder of the cruise steamed on towards Lowestoft on an inshore passage and pulled well ahead of us but were troubled with the lobster and crab pots that populated that choice of route and kept their attention focussed on getting back in a 'bumpy' sea. We were happier in an offshore route via The Sledway and so were left to supervise Escape II safely back through Yarmouth and up to Reedham. 

Weather 17degC→28degC→18degC ; RH 45→27→34%; 1010→1011mb steady ; smooth/slight/mod seas; good/visibility; light breeze fresh at times