Sailing on the Broads

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Penton Hooker

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For whatever reason folk who sail at sea often don't seem to realize that there is a whole world of inland waterways sailing out there. This week is the annual Oulton Broad Regatta, so far pretty mundane weather but sailing is sailing. Snaps of this year's event here:
http://www.the-norfolk-broads.co.uk/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=28&Topic=28290
Just scroll down the pages. Not quite Cowes Week, but us Broads folk like it!
 
all part of the mix

Habebty said:
Lived up here for 29 years and only sailed on the broads twice. Still prefer the sea. Broads sailing is very skilful but not for me.
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I think in the winter, when the mobos are in dock, it can be amazing

choose your time in the summer and it can be pretty good

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/sa...roads/ktl-75-the-best-inland-sail-in-britain/

I once tried to get the Broads Authority to commission a film from me about winter sailing on this most wonderful place

they gave me a fairly short answer

Dylan
 
Had 4 consecutive years family holidays there back in the late 60's. My first taste of sailing on a clinker built dinghy. Magical place. Can even remember the name of one of the boats (Bombardier). Tucked up in the forepeak reading Swallows and Amazons. Great memories.Have not returned since but am told it can be horrible in the summer.
Chris
 
out of season

blackdogsailing said:
Had 4 consecutive years family holidays there back in the late 60's. My first taste of sailing on a clinker built dinghy. Magical place. Can even remember the name of one of the boats (Bombardier). Tucked up in the forepeak reading Swallows and Amazons. Great memories.Have not returned since but am told it can be horrible in the summer.
Chris
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borrow, beg or hire a boat out of season

dirt cheap and you might hit lucky with the weather

even if you just go out in a dinghy in winter

one of those bright sparkling winter days

the nights were cold - two sleeping bags

wooly hat

frozen mornings

sailed through ice once

thick enough to support a duck but too thin for a swan

magical noise

astonishing experience

but I only took stills

proper video cameras were too expensive at the time

I could do it now
 
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My family have a yacht and race most weekends on The Broads. No doubt about it the sailing is fun, fast, action packed and skilful.

It certainly encourages me to tack more rather than use the iron top sail when sailing in and out of the south coast harbours when the wind is on the nose.

Of course sticking the bows in the reeds to drop the sails is a no no as is lowering the most as I havn't a counter balance !
 
the Broads

If your sail handling is not up to scratch then the Broads will soon make a fool of you

there is a lot of expensive floating real estate around. hard banks and overhanging trees

it makes sailing on the see seem like a cake-walk



Dylan
 
This was posted in 2007 by a forum member called 'CliveShep' in the Book Club. He's talking about 'The Art of Coarse Sailing' by Michael Green.

'.... on our next trip to the Broads we kept a holiday log just to see if any of the funny things he wrote about actually happen. Here's a sample and ALL true

Day 1 night - ebb tide top of Breydon whilst moored at the Berney Arms - drunken 14st woman walked into the river, we had to recover her.
Day 2 - went on the full tide down Breydon, saw Freeman moored to signs warning of obstructions at low water, (5.30 am) Saw hire cruiser aground at Yarmouth, went and got Tugmaster but too late. (tide going out!). Assisted removing Carribean Hire boat stuck across river. Back up Breydon, Freeman now impaled on exposed stakes. On river en-route Oulton Broad, moored for lunch, rammed by lady driver of 40ft steel hire boat, made repairs.
Day 4 - AM. accosted by Harbour master to tow off stranded cruiser - no probs. Day 4 pm - moored Barton Broad, towed off Bermuda hire boat driven 1/4 mile outside channel onto mud. Day 5 (ish) Wroxham Broad - cat went ashore, didn't come back 'till day 7. Day 7 - cat locked in cabin, all overnight mooring now by anchor in middle to keep cat aboard. Day 9 - crossing Breydon from Yarmouth in Storm winds against ebb tide. Cruiser in front overheated & stopped in fairway in front of oncoming Queen of the Broads (passenger vessel ex minesweeper) Towed clear (just). On way home - cat jumped out of car window but recovered intact after causing single track road holdup for over an hour!
All happened during a 10 day cruise although the day1-? timescale bit might not be totally accurate, we covered the whole lot in our 25kt trailed cruiser.'

Made me laugh more than anything else I've ever seen on the forums.
 
Sailed a 36 foot (plus bowsprit and boom) gaffer called Palace on the broads a few years back. Was a windy week, and in many places the boom would overhang the bank on one side when near the other side, so had to sheet in tight on run to avoid mobos going other way.

Was both great fun, and the scariest week of sailing ever :D. (including nearly being taken out by a determined and well known sailing wherry at closing speed of 12+ knots with us on starboard and them on port, visible coming round bend for half a mile or more, but rather than them alter course 20 feet they just shouted and swore at us telling us to get the ..... out of their way

Great experience, other than the wherry
 
Broads

First in caps THE BROADS AUTHORITY DO NOT LIKE SAILING. They are all green loonies who spend fortunes on protecting the rarely spotted hammer-bill, but rarely dredge.
When my children were small and we had a house at St Olaves, we cruised and raced a very fast old sloop with grossly over-canvassed spread.
Kids loved it, learned to know boats from age three. Our pet keeshond was super, always went to the high side. If in need of a pee, would leap ashore from the counter stern on one tack, relieve himself, run along the rond and leap back aboard next tack.
I learned more about handling yachts in close quarters than i would ever have done as a sea-sailor,whcich we became when the kids grew up.
30 feet overall and 550 sq fet sail including jackyard topsail.
Think of starting a race for a dozen such boats in a river only a hundred feet wide.
 
binch said:
Story about the pleasure boat mentioned.
Originally called "Gay Crusader" the owners decided that it cause too much ribaldry.
So they changed the name to "Queen of the Broads."
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Herbert Woods used to hire out a class called "Gay Lady". I hired one for a week with my wife in about 1970 and remember stuffing towels into the cracks in the clever panelled lifting-roof to keep the wind out. You quickly learn to be self-reliant there, especially if you haven't got a motor and if you don't learn, you either get nowhere or hit things.
 
dylanwinter said:
borrow, beg or hire a boat out of season

dirt cheap and you might hit lucky with the weather

even if you just go out in a dinghy in winter

one of those bright sparkling winter days

the nights were cold - two sleeping bags

wooly hat

frozen mornings

sailed through ice once

thick enough to support a duck but too thin for a swan

magical noise

astonishing experience

but I only took stills

proper video cameras were too expensive at the time

I could do it now
Click to expand...

Jumpers for goalposts..?
 
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