Green Wyvern Yachting Club
Cruising is at the heart of the Green Wyvern. It is how we all learned to sail, where we developed our love of the rivers, and where the "fellowship" which is the Green Wyvern, was forged. Tony Tomkins had very definite views regarding the ideal Green Wyvern Cruise.
Readers of this magazine will not be unaware of my views on the kind of G.W. cruise that consists of a spirited dash from the Waveney Hotel to Cantley and back, usually against the tide, preferably with engines. So eyebrows will be raised and sniggers only just suppressed when it emerges that this year I deliberately devised a cruise (July 26th - August 2nd) that never ventured north of the new Breydon Bridge. 'Is the old boy breaking up?' I hear it asked; concern in some cases mingled with hope.
In general terms, the answer may well be 'Yes', but my specific excuse was that a week’s cruise from St.Olaves to Thorpe did not give much scope for ventures very far north. Yet the problem remained; there is not really enough of the Southern Broads to keen one occupied for a week, without gimmicks. About 60 miles of waterway . . .
10 miles of new water per day . . . poor stuff. True enough, toing and froing can bump up the daily average, but, unless purposefu, can be a bore, especially to newcomers. Even with a dinghy to play with, boys tend to lose interest when they keep passing, or, worse, staying at, the same places.
But an element of challenge could be injected, I thought, if skippers were set the task of taking their yachts into every, or nearly every, navigable public waterway south of Yarmouth. These are: the Yare from Trowse Mill to Haven Bridge; the Waveney from somewhere beyond Geldeston Lock to Burgh Castle; the Wensum from New Mills Yard to Trowse Eye; Geldeston Dyke; Oulton Dyke and Broad; The Cut; the Chet; Hardley Dyke; Rockland Broad (both dykes); Surlingham Broad; and the New Cut (at Thorpe). I think one yacht could do all this comfortably in one week, but for a fleet the targets had to be slightly modified. I therefore decided (a) not to touch the Wensum, (b) to assume that the navigable Yare stopped at Trowse Bridge at one end and the New Breydon Bridge at the other, (c) to assume that the navigable Waveney stopped at Geldeston Lock.
This was the route selected: Saturday, St.Olaves - Lower Waveney - Breydon - Berney Arms - Cantley; Sunday, Reedham - Cut - Oulton; Monday, Geldeston Village - Geldeston Lock - Beccles; Tuesday, Waveney Hotel - Cut - Loddon; Wednesday, somewhere - Rockland; Thursday, Trowse - Thorpe. One fitted in Hardley Dyke and Surlingham Broad as convenient:
Stella did the former on Sunday, the latter on Wednesday (lunching at Coldham Hall); Modwena, Hardley Dyke on Wednesday (a bit of it!), Surlingham on Thursday. Sad to relate, all but Modwena fell, to varying degrees, by the wayside, but all credit to WM for driving his yacht and crew up to Trowse Bridge on the last day, nobly sacrificing the chance of last orders at Thorpe. If they and I are ever in the same place again, they must claim the Tomkins Award for effort (on the Last day, when they should have got it, I could only just afford the Commodorial Pint).
Apart from an incident at Rockland, where some kind of tribal warfare nearly resulted in middle order members having their heads kicked in (a situation soothed admirably by PN), this seemed to me to be a pleasant week. I had the inestimable company of IS (at any rate from late morning on). it was a joy to watch the controlled exuberance with which WM and RP set about enabling the breweries to break even; and, as ever, it was a delight to be sometimes followed, more often led, by White Violet.
Both Sparklet and Wisp suffered torn sails . . . accidents which, though surmounted ingeniously, account for their limited performances in the Week’s Challenge. All other damage was put right within hours by BH, who, to our immense benefit, has converted himself and Tingha into a Green Wyvern A.A. Relay Service
. . . all, that is, except for Modwena’s crutches, which I here proclaim, in case there is anybody who hasn’t heard it, WM made all by himself (and he doesn’t care who knows it).
On the Sunday, we tacked The Cut from Reedham to St.Olaves; on the Tuesday, we tacked it from St.Olaves to Reedham. This must be some sort of record. It may also be rebuke from on high for staying South.
Next year, I propose to try a similar thing on the Northern Broads. Coltishall to Yarmouth; Honing to Ant Mouth; West Somerton to Thurne Mouth; Acle Bridge; Wroxham, Salhouse, Hoveton Little, Ranworth and South Walsham Broads; Dilham, Stalham, Sutton, Barton Turf, Neatishcad; Hickling Broad, Catfield Common, Horsey Mere. It should be quite a week. No flowers, by request.
ART
1985