What a lovely weekend! The weather was amazing for the time of year and we had 10 boats, 9 in the Yacht Station and 1 moored outside the hotel. Quite a few members chose to stay in the hotel.

We, Sandra and I, arrived on Friday afternoon to find Terry & Judy, John & Linda, Dave & Dawn, Bill & Sandra and of course Tim & Dee moored. John and Delia arrived about 4.30pm and Bim and Jackie eventually arrived in the dark at 9pm after being stuck in the mud at their mooring at Brundall and nearly hitting the old bridge pillar at Aldeby!

We awoke on Saturday to a lovely sunny morning and it stayed warm all day. Hilda and Ivan arrived at the Yacht Station in the afternoon and Chris and Rose got moored up outside the hotel.

The mini-bus arrived on the dot at 6.45pm as we waited on the quay and did two shuttles up to the hotel. (Thanks to Tim for organising and to Goldline Taxis)

On arrival, pre-dinner drinks were enjoyed in the Waveney Suite bar until we were called into dinner. The function room was nicely laid out with eight tables neatly arranged to comfortably accommodate the sixty of us. The band had set up and, thanks to Steve and Angela, the trophy and raffle tables were laid out.

We sat down at about 7.45 and Commodore Bob provided the welcoming speech followed by an excellent three course meal which was served promptly by the very efficient staff overseen by the functions manager Charlotte.

While coffee was served, Bob once again took up the microphone for the presentations.

He welcomed new members Bill and Sandra who joined us at the Bramerton meet in June and have attended every event since.

He also thanked Steve and Angela for their part in organising the evening.

John and Delia were then called out and Sandra presented them with a bouquet of flowers to congratulate them on their recent marriage.

Bob then continued with the trophy presentations:

‘The Paul Hodgson Trophy’ went to ‘The Old Crocks’ – Colin and Pip, Ray and Margaret and Dee for winning the Funday games.

‘The Commodores Cup’ went to ‘The Albion’ – Ron and Joan, Ivan and Hilda, Sandra and I being the winning team at the Quiz Night. Ron was visiting family in Australia so unable to attend.

‘The Challenge Trophy’ was awarded to Tony (Freeway) and Roger (Tantalus IV) for their prompt action in pulling Pam from the water after she slipped while getting on her boat at Oulton Broad on August Bank Holiday Monday. As neither were present, Steve accepted the trophy on their behalf.

Finally, ‘The Broken Oar Trophy’ went to Ken and Jen for not going to the aid of Arthur and Barbara who had broken down in the reeds on The Waveney on their way to Beccles for the Funday weekend on ‘Painted Lady’. Barbara was waving frantically and Ken, who was on the phone at the time, simply waved back and disappeared up the river thinking they were just moored up on the bank. John (Lady Jolyn) accepted the trophy on their behalf as sadly Ken and Jen were unable to attend due to Ken’s hip op the week before. John and Linda kindly delivered the trophy on Monday along with the Speedy Recovery card everyone signed during the evening. See photos.

I had the pleasure of introducing my old band now called ‘JT and Accent 3’ the music began and the dancing soon got underway.

Dawn and Jackie went around selling raffle tickets and the draw was carried out by Bob, Steve and Angela during the band break. Thanks to all who donated prizes and special thanks to Hilda for once again donating a weeks holiday in ‘Rainbows End’ riverside cottage which was won by John and Linda.

The band returned after the raffle and played until midnight to a crowded dance floor. I joined my old band mates on stage for the last few numbers.

Sadly, the evening had come to an end, goodbyes were said, mini buses were waiting and we departed back to boats, up to rooms in the hotel or home by car.

From the comments we received, everyone seemed to agree that the evening was a great success.

Special thanks to Charlotte and her staff for helping the function to go so smoothly.

As always, the committee would like to hear members views on these events so we can try and make them as enjoyable as possible for all. (Thank you to Ray and Jo for your email message saying how much you enjoyed the evening)  

Hope to see you all at The Yare PH on 4th March 2018 for lunch after the committee meeting. John - 18/10/17