Friday

We left our moorings in Brundall late Friday afternoon and had a sunny cruise down to The Berney Arms passing Steve and Angela moored at Hardley Mill. We got moored up at Berney Arms at 7.30, quite a few boats were there but none from the club. We went to the pub and were greeted by Joe the new landlord. Only three other customers in the pub, surprising considering number of boats moored. We just got a pint in, when the door burst open and in came The Reedham Crowd. John and Lin, Tony and Sue and Ray had cruised down with Andy and Amy on ‘Halcyon’ for a drink. We all chatted over a few bevies before they left to return to Reedham and we watched as ‘Halcyon’s’ new transom LED coloured lights disappeared into the dusk. We had a good meal, cooked and served by Mandy, and after we were introduced to Jambo the dog! A pleasant evening and altogether a much nicer experience than when we went last year, we hope they do well.

Saturday

We got underway and headed across Breydon in warm sunshine, timing it just right for slack water through Yarmouth. We arrived at Stracey about 2.30pm to find Robin and Jane waiting to take our ropes. We moored in front of ‘Jade’ near the Embrujo restaurant. Dee and Barbara on ‘Maytime’ were also moored up with their dog and parrot in company. Colin and Pip arrived on ‘Prince Albert’ late afternoon and moored in front of us. We set up camp on the quay and were soon joined by Ron and Joan followed by Sylvia who came by car. Although it was sunny, there was quite a cool breeze and Ron, who is always well prepared, set up his windbreak and a certain person hid under a space blanket. Wines and beers were enjoyed before we wandered up to The Mill at about 6.30.

After we’d rearranged the tables in the café a few times, Sue and Tony did us proud again with a choice of Cod or Scampi and chips. Ice creams were the sweet of the day, enjoyed as we strolled back to camp. Bottles of various substances magically appeared as we sat on the quay chatting. Ron entertained us relating some of his sailing experiences before he and Joan left at about 9.30. Colin gave Sylvia an insight into the wonders of iPads and mobile phones as we watched the sun go down. We called it a night about 10.30, went back to our boats and Sylvia went home.

Just settling down for a night cap when Colin called out for some help, he’d got his knob caught on the quay! (Best explained in the photos) ‘Prince Albert’ was sitting at a bit of an angle. Colin tried to back the boat off under power but it wouldn’t budge. We ended up using two heavy duty guy rope rods that Colin happened to have on board and we eventually managed to lever the bow off the quay.

So with ‘Prince Albert’ back on even keel we finally retired for the night after another really enjoyable club meet.

Sunday

We awoke to an overcast morning but the sun eventually broke through. After a tour of one another’s boats, Pip played her new accordion for a while. Chris and Pam cruised past on 'The JB' but couldn't stop as they were meeting a friend at Potter Heigham. Robin and Jane were first to get underway about midday followed soon after by Lee and Barbara. Pip and Colin left early afternoon and we stayed another night before embarking on a two week cruise around the Northerns, meeting up with Dave and Dawn at Sutton Staithe on the first Thursday.

Look forward to seeing you all at Pyes Mill on the 19th July.

Happy Boating

Sandra and John