Brilliant, hot & sunny weather for the whole weekend. A very good turnout as usual,  -  26 boats + 1 car.  

7 teams ( each of 4 to 6 persons) took part in the games, and over 60 members and guests attended over the weekend. Later, we all crowded inside the double-gazebo for some nice songs from Bob and John.

Nearly all of us arrived by the Friday afternoon, 24 in all, hurrying to come through Somerleyton at low tide – the bridge not opening due to the heat. Only “Tight Lines” Tony was stuck the wrong side, and he had to wait until 7pm for the bridge to cool & swing, but he made it to Beccles quay just before dark. We made our introductions to new members Malcolm & Angela, they have a Hardy Seawings “Jukes”, and all made them very welcome.

The  committee meeting was held on the Friday afternoon, out on the grass in the lovely weather, and ending just after 5pm. Meeting was again successful, agreeing on venues and dates for next year’s events. After the meeting, members gathered along the (new) quay heading and on the adjacent grass areas, continuing with a few drinks and a chat before time for dinner – fish ‘n chips being the preferred option!

Saturday was another lovely sunny day. A few went off up town for breakfast and some shopping. Bim & Jackie (“Frances Mary”) and Chris & Rosemary (“Grey Goose”) arrived in the morning, and quickly settled in. Bim was still suffering from his knee operation of only 2 weeks before, but he hobbled around well on his single crutch – comically adding that he couldn’t get much of a tune from it as he tried to play it like a flute?

Steve then came around all the boats at 11am to cajole members to help out with the erecting of the twin gazebos, the usual escapade with much fun and playful errors. Nearly all helped, ably supervised by poorly, squeaky-voiced, Dawn (due to a sore throat), with Dave also having to help her. Took us over an hour, but the back-to-back gazebos looked fine when completed, all decked out in our flags. Roll out the new pop-up gazebos next year, can’t come soon enough we all thought! The flagpole was also set up and the club flag flew proudly over the moorings for the rest of the weekend.

More of us then escaped up to the town, with others sitting outside the gazebos with drinks in hand.

Then it was time for the actual fun & games, which started at 3pm., the roped-off arena surrounded by a large family audience – including our new President and his Lady. I adjudicated and kept the scores, accurately noted of course – but not necessarily in the right order? Bob umpired and did a stirring job, as usual. The 7 teams quickly fought their way through Bob’s Boules; Ball balancing; Hoop-la; and Dawn’s cards, with me providing a small quiz at the end to round things off. Many of the teams had youngsters in them, grandchildren of our members, which made it a nice family event. All over by 5pm, leaving me to tot up the final scores and declare the winning team – “The Newcomers” ( Malcolm, Angela, Ivan and Hilda) A big well done to them, and to all others who took part.

BBQ’s were then fired up adjacent to the boats, being careful in the tinder-dry conditions of the prolonged hot spell this summer, and eating/drinking all done by 7pm or so.

Time to get ready for the evening entertainment, provided by Bob and John in the gazebos – starting around 8.30pm. It was a chilly evening, so we all moved our chairs and tables into the “big tent”. A bit of a blip early on in the evening was the news that our Lady president, Joan, was missing – and a general search was instigated. Luckily, she was found nearby by Sandra T. – a little worse for wear after suffering a fall, but with only minor injuries. We all breathed a sigh of relief and our evening’s music, singing and dancing continued on a high note! It finished around 11pm and we soon were back to our boats and bed, it had been a tiring day. Well done to Bob and John, and to Bim, who did manage to join in a little with his kazoo.

Most of us had to leave early on the Sunday morning, going downriver on the ebb tide so as to pass under that dodgy Somerleyton  bridge at low tide – although surprisingly the bridge did manage to swing as we approached, around 12 noon. This meant we had to leave the dismantling of the gazebos and site clearance to Dave and the few others who were left – sorry about that – we’ll do it next time?

Thanks to harbourmaster Tim for looking after us all and again making it a great Fun weekend.

See you all at Oulton Broad for the Bank holiday Gala weekend

Regards, Ken

August 2018