Thursday 23rd April to Friday 24th April Ref: 2015/2
A good two-day trip and coastal cruise in very calm weather from Brundall to Great Yarmouth and then on the next day to Lowestoft to moor for an evening dinner at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club. The fine weather was beckoning for us to cruise further to avoid the poorer weather forecast for the days to come, but, with the cruise in company itinerary and arrangements already made, we moored in Lowestoft and enjoyed time with our Broom Owners friends. A very good training run for new crew member, Kathleen, who handled the ropes and fenders well and was drawing compliments from colleagues whilst she was also learning about the boat instrumentation so as to be able to take log readings on the bridge.
Thursday 23rd April 2015: The cruise started in absolutely magical weather from Brundall as we were joined by Andrew and his crew in Broom boat, Yorkshire Belle, and then cruised steadily downstream together, passing Strumpshaw Fen nature reserve, The Beauchamp Arms and Hardely Mill. It was noticeable how high the water had been with much of the bank-side vegetation under water and dried mud on the surface of the quay as we swung round to moor against the tide at The Berney Arms. We found Misty Isle already moored and then were soon joined by Moonbow to make a Broom Owners fleet of four. This was a great location to walk our very active GSP dog, Max, and he enjoyed the countryside just a day or two after the swallows had arrived for the summer. Some drinks aboard Misty Isle, courtesy of the owners, and then to eat and early to bed ready for the sea trip the next day. All three GPS sets had been uploaded with the course from my laptop which was running v12 of the MaxSea navigation software.
Friday 24th April 2015: an early start in good time to cross Breydon Water and with time to spare to undergo a few speed runs on Lady Martina peaking at 19 knots over the ground at 2500 revs with no problems experienced with either over-heating, vibration or fuel supply. Lady Martina took the lead and made the necessary calls as Andrew on Yorkshire Belle was having VHF problems. We were able to cruise steadily as a compact fleet passing under the Breydon and Haven Bridges, which both lifted for us. A blissful trip down the coast on a smooth sea and we felt some disappointment that we could not carry on cruising as the weather had been so fine; but we stayed with the fleet and then and tied up at the RNSYC in Lowestoft, washed the boat free of the salt and then took Max for his walk. This, before planning the following day's cruise, doing some shopping and then attending our evening club dinner in the clubhouse.
25→28→20degC ; RH 47→33→44%; 1021→1009mb falling ; smooth seas; good/mod visibility; light breeze and sunny weather
