An early morning sail with Debbie on Wroxham Broad in The Blue Peter until the boat movements made the moorings uncomfortable and then back under Wroxham Bridge to moor and then walk to Wroxham Barns to see the craftsmen and have some lunch before the long walk back, just avoiding the arrival of more rain. We then moved further up the Bure to moor at The Anchor House, Coltishall, for the evening where I took Di to The Kings Head for dinner. The Gulf tankers are on the move with questionable levels of protection from the mines and the UK leads a diplomatic initiative to isolate Iran whilst Iranians demonstrate in London about the Mecca deaths and further bombings take place in Ulster.
The boat movements died down in late evening, but there were still some boats moving late into the evening with navigation lights. There were plenty of insects trapped in the cabins and so Di used insecticide to clear them away. Slept well enough and was the first to awake at 7.00am, getting up and dressed first thing before Diana stirred. Debbie was next awake and, after I had spent half hour fishing unsuccessfully, I took her onto the Blue Peter and for a session of sailing on Wroxham Broad. We rowed out and then set sail, but the breeze was very light from 7.30am to 8.00am. We still managed to get across the broad and back and saw the converted wherry, ‘Solstice’, moored to a buoy, before returning. Besides ‘The Albion’ wherry at Ludham Dyke, that seems in original condition, there appears to be a few converted ones around with their ‘telegraph pole’ masts and straight flags.
A mast from an old wherry adorns the river bank at Horning as a flag pole, which seems a shame. Once back to The Lady we have breakfast and then Daniel took the dinghy for a sail. A working session then followed, with Daniel cleaning both boats waterlines, then the dinghy, whilst I first took the mast and sails off of the dinghy and then had my wash and shave. By now the boat movements were back to their daytime level. Often 8/9 boats passing at once and many of them making such waves that the boats were tossed about. We soon left and put the windscreens & flagpole down and the cockpit roof back to get under Wroxham Bridge. Moored at the public mooring front below, with Daniel’s boat alongside, whilst we first bought milk and bread and then walked off to Wroxham Barns. These are a craft complex nearly 2 miles away from Hoveton, with a range of craftsmen making and selling their wares. They also had a cafe at which we ate and refreshed ourselves, after quite a tiring walk from the village. It was a nice trip and we particularly enjoyed a party of hand bell ringers, who played a variety of tunes and then a peal of bells whilst collecting donations for the repair of the belfry at a local church. Then the walk back as the rain started to spot after what had been a fine, if dull, morning. We just got back to the boats before the rain fell in earnest and opted to take off upstream in the direction of Coltishall. Passed the much more tranquil moorings of Old Wroxham village, in sight of the church, then on past Belaugh, before we moored up at The Anchor House in Coltishall. To our surprise this is no longer a public house as it became a private house in 1985, but we paid £2.50 fee to moor and the girls donned waterproofs and played on the swings etc in the pouring rain. Soon the children’s tea was ready and then, once they had been bathed, storied and put to bed, Di and I set off on foot in search of a pub that still remained to ply its trade. The Kings Head fitted the bill, but the normal Broads drunken louts spoilt it somewhat. News tonight, on our return, is of rising tension in the Gulf, as the latest convoy sets off with less than perfect mine protection. There is a ‘traffic jam’ of tankers outside the Gulf, waiting to get in. Britain’s Foreign Office sent telexes to a number of overseas governments, calling for diplomatic isolation of Iran and, in London, an Iranian demonstration took place over the Mecca deaths. On the 16th anniversary of internment without trial in Ulster, there were two bombings and an arson attack on an old lady’s farm. Nigel Mansell was forced to retire from today’s Grand Prix with a wheel problem and a wheel nut shed, letting in teammate Nelson Piquet to win, again. After today’s rain, this evening was fine with a clear sky and tomorrow is forecast to be warmer and brighter, with lots of sunshine.