Green Wyvern Yachting Club
There has hardly been a summer when Roger has not spent at least one week on a Green Wyvern cruise and his accounts have frequently been published in the Club Newsletter.
There we were . . . at Reedham Ferry; too early! I had arrived at midday, on the hottest day of the year, care of Pearson’s ferry service and Anderson’s transport services, to find the Commodorial vessel Stella not quite ready for boarding. The solution seemed obvious; have a drink.
Eventually things sorted themselves out and off we went on what has been described in the past as a Yare YoYo. Day one saw the fleet heading towards the accurately described head of navigation, Beauchamp Arms, for lunch and then an ebbtide through the manually operated Reedham Bridge, down The Cut to Somerleyton for the night and many a happy pint at Happy Jack’s. Having studied form (i.e. time and tide), I planned a trip to Geldeston for lunch and a rest in Beccles for the night. The fact that it was the Sabbath had completely eluded me; so, we arrived at the Ferry at Geldeston at 1400 hours very thirsty and anxious. There was no need for concern though; six pints of marvellous Adnams were consumed in record time and a very leisurely afternoon was spent water fighting back to Beccles where the Waveney House Hotel was waiting for us with open moorings.
During the night the wind built up and at the prescribed time we departed in a howling gale (who has been 'storm bound' in Beccles before?). Through the bridges we went and up went the mast, only to come down again very quickly due to a hurricane blowing us back onto the bridge. Other vessels less powerful under quant experienced similar difficulties, but all these paled into insignificance when eventually our sails were full: it was Beccles Regatta! And we had to tack! And Boater’s Hill was to windward. North Cove appeared at one o’clock, so we stopped, had a nice walk, a nice drink and a nice lunch, before heading off to Haddiscoe for the night. Certain diplomatic negotiations had to be entered into before we entered the shack, but in the event we nearly all went to The Bell to get a sneak preview of its facilities. However, we escaped mooring fees by a fairly early departure, which resulted in us all towing The Cut and an interesting incident at the Reedham end thereof.
The cognoscenti will recognise the problem well. If Sparklet is the leading boat, being towed along the right hand bank in the direction of Reedham, what happens when the aforementioned vessel runs aground 'several yards from the bank'?
The answer proved to be an ingenious use of the vessel Stella as a pontoon, and a quant and Jesus line as a gangplank. Four very relieved towmen boarded their respective boats and we proceeded through the again manually operated Reedham Bridge. The five minute sign is very confusing to one who is used to trains crossing the bridge which used to open immediately thereafter. Anyway, we then proceeded to explore the delights of the Upper Yare via various ports of call including Brundall for lunch, Rockland (where we spent a peaceful night), Bramerton Woods End, next day, for an expensive lunch-time, (except for Puck which was delegated to go shopping in Norwich), and an even more expensive evening stop at Surlingham Ferry (£1 .57 a pint for Ruddles County).
The final day dawned late and we struggled to Langley for a quick lunch-time drink. Ruddles County followed by a 'few pints' of Adnams seemed to affect my Commodorial judgement in terms of (a) the height of the boat relative to the bank and (b) how far the boat was from the bank.The result proved to be wet and painful as Dr. Campbell will confirm. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all those who offered help especially Joe Kilner, whose first aid training came in handy, and also to warn others of taking great care when boarding vessels at all times. That, you may think, was that.
Under instruction from the owner of Stella to secure her at Somerleyton, I negotiated with the AA to tow her alongside the vessel Meli which had served not only as a personal sanctuary during the week . . . Brian Holden’s generosity (and patience) seems boundless . . . but also as sleeping accommodation for Straker
T & J who joined us during the week. Off we went to sample the delights of being towed down The Cut, into Somerleyton Dyke at lowish water and more beer at Happy Jack’s.
That really was the end of the third Green Wyvern week. What followed was a new experience for me.
A 'family week' of eight yachts Commodored by J. Winterton Esq., saw us wending our way by sail and motor to Horstead and back to St. Olaves in time for the Round the Island Race. The weather for the first week was fine but, for the family week, it was varied to say the least. More detail will be published in an article by Will Armour, entitled ‘The Great Cider Trek”, sub-titled the 'Crock’s Cruise', which will include reference to the imaginary game of dice, the crossing of Breydon and other incidents. Hopefully, we will all be present next year to sail to head of the River Thurne.
The climax of my eighteen days on the river was the Round the Island Race on Godwit. We came ninth out of twelve finishers and enjoyed the experience, especially the buffet which Gordon had spent many a long hour organising during the months preceding the race. The whole function was much improved by the new venue, although mooring proved to be a bit of a problem due to bylaws etc.
What more do you want from a 'holiday'?
RP 1990