Southern Rivers Cruise 2024

Saturday 29th June to Saturday 6^th July

 

 Photo Above: The Fleet at Beccles Yacht Station, by Roger Everett

 

After what felt like the wettest start to a year ever, June offered a glimpse of what summer should be like, and the week before the Southern Rivers Cruise was warm and sunny so hopes were high for a week of good weather down south. However, this was not to be the case!

Friday

The cruise normally starts on a Saturday, but an advance party headed across Breydon on Friday in anticipation of meeting up with the remainder of the fleet on Saturday, so Moondream, Pippinjack, Elisabeth and Evergreen moored at Loddon Friday evening. Meanwhile, the remainder of the fleet were packing and loading up their boats with supplies (and wet weather gear), and they made their way to various mooring locations and meeting points on the River Bure ready for an early start on Saturday, which included a group meal at Hermitage Inn in Acle for some of the crews.

 Photo Left:  Advance Party, by Dr Tom Moore

 

 Photo Right: Crews at Hermitage Inn, by Jimmy James

Saturday 

Saturday started bright and sunny and the fleet began their journey down the River Bure, aiming to hit Great Yarmouth at about half past ten and then across Breydon. Once through the bridges masts were raised and sails hoisted, and a light westerly wind meant the fleet had to beat across Breydon making slow progress before turning up the River Yare and heading to Langley Dyke for the night.

Photo Below: Crews crossing Breydon, by Di Seeney

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Above Left: Starshell crossing Breydon, by Julia Neate

Photo Above Right: SG2 on the River Yare, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Langley Dyke had been pre-booked for EACC, so as the fleet arrived
crews moored up side-by-side and then sat on chairs on the grass with a drink catching up on the season so far. The day was rounded off with a gloriously sunny evening, and crews spent the night catching up with each other over dinner and drinks.

 

 

 

Photo Above: Tesco delivery to Ranger3, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Photo Left: Fleet at Langley Dyke, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

 

Sunday
Sunday started overcast and damp, and no crews were in a hurry to depart the moorings. Ranger3 had arranged for a Tesco delivery to come to the moorings with the ingredients for the Pimms party that afternoon, and so some of the other crews took advantage of the delivery opportunity placing orders for bread and ice (Cara), rock salt (Rosie), beer and cider (Snowbird) and cannellini beans (Mischief). Thankfully there was no shortage of cannellini beans in Tesco and Mischief were able to enjoy their meal of meatballs and bean traybake that evening!

As so often happens on the SRC when rain is imminent, a range of weather forecasts are shared between the crews via WhatsApp, and with forecasts varying from no rain expected to torrential rain crews sat out the current wet weather and played the waiting game until there was break in the weather. With a brief spell of dry weather mid-morning, most crews removed their covers and started to make their way onto the River Yare, with Lily amongst others raising their sails and headed up river.

Moondream, Bewitched and Ranger3 swiftly made their way to Rockland Short Dyke to occupy the moorings for the Pimms party, and were soon joined by Elisabeth, Moss Rose, Lily and Rosie. Windrift and Snowbird headed down into Rockland Basin and reported that it was completely empty, so after a quick discussion on the dyke it was decided to move the party down to the basin, and so everyone untied and headed into the basin to moor up. The fleet was soon joined by Evergreen and Pippinjack, with Moon Daisy and Starshell not far behind.

A few crews opted for lunch at Coldham Hall, so Mischief, Windrift, Snowbird and Cara had a Sunday roast lunch in the pub before heading back to Rockland basin to moor up, while many of the Rockland fleet crews headed down to the Portuguese café for a coffee and a piece of cake.

 

 Photo Left:  Crews at the Portuguese Café, by Jimmy James

 

Meanwhile, Ceres had to set off a day later than the rest of the fleet, so after crossing Breydon they headed for the basin to join the remainder of the fleet.

With England playing in the Euros semi-finals during the early evening, Mischief took a party of faithful England supporters to the White Heron in Brundall to watch the game.

 

Photo Right: Faithful England supporters, by Jo Edye

Following two years of SRC Gin & Tonic gatherings, this year it was time for a Pimms party, hosted by Ranger3. Following the successful Tesco delivery earlier in the day there was an abundance of ice, garnish, lemonade and Pimms, and so numerous jugs of the drink were made and poured out to the crews that sat on the quay heading enjoying the late afternoon sun.

   Photo Left: Pimms party, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Photo Right: Pimms party at Rockland Basin, by Colin Chett

Photo Left: Fleet at Rockland Bason, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

England were making hard work of trying to beat Slovakia, and the crews in Rockland were treated to a thoroughly entertaining expert running commentary from Nick (Snowbird) who was watching the game on his phone, although his video link was a minute behind the TV in Elisabeth so we knew England scored before he did!

Photo Right: Entertaining commentary from Nick, by Roger Everett

A triumphant and rather noisy group of England supporters later returned on Mischief to the basin after the game, jubilant in that England made it through to the semi-finals!

Photo Above: Post Pimms drinks, by Frankie Little

Monday

Crews woke to another overcast morning on Monday, and with only a short hop planned to Coldham Hall or Surlingham Ferry for the night many crews headed back down the River Yare to take advantage of the wind and a relaxing sail, with some enjoying a lunch drink at either Reedham Ferry or the Reedcutter, before heading back upstream for the overnight mooring.

Both Hiawatha and May were able to join the fleet today, however unfortunately Hiawatha was only able to join for the night as the General Election on Thursday meant they were unable to stay for the week, and Starshell had to head home on Tuesday, so this meant the cruise peaked on Monday evening at 20 boats across the two fleets.

SG2 had experienced some water leaking issues in her stern whilst at Rockland basin, so took the opportunity at Surlingham Ferry to load up the bow with plenty of willing crewmates to try and counter balance the stern out of the water in order to try and fill the gap with sealant, much to the entertainment of others on the mooring!

Photo Left: Does my bum look big in this, by Jimmy James                 

Photo Right: Counter balancing the stern out the water,
by Soozie Hopwood

Fleets in both Surlingham Ferry and Coldham Hall enjoyed evening meals in the respective pubs, followed by a few drinks before turning in.

Tuesday 

Tuesday was another grey and dull day, but this didn’t deter some of the crews at Surlingham Ferry having their annual fried breakfast in the pub before heading down river towards Somerleyton, while May, Moss Rose and Ranger3 walked to the Portuguese café from Coldham Hall for coffee.

Photo Left: Grey morning at Coldham Hall, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Unfortunately SG2 was now experiencing engine problems following their leaky stern, and needed to be towed to Marine Power by Sandpiper due to engine cooling issues. 

Many crews sailed down the River Yare towards Reedham, choosing to either drop their sails before the railway bridge or sailed through the bridge and then dropped them the other side, and then headed down the new cut and dipped their masts before heading to Herringfleet or Somerleyton.

Crews on Pippinjack, May, Lily and Sandpiper opted for Herringfleet for the night, with the remainder of the fleet choosing to moor at Somerleyton and headed to The Dukes Head for a very pleasant meal in the pub. After a rather grey day, the crews were treated to a stunning sunset in the evening.

Photo Below: Sunset at Somerleyton, by Julia Bellamy

Photo Above: Sunset at Somerleyton, by John Thornicroft

Wednesday

Wednesday started with yet another grey and dull morning with a few spots of rain in the air, so crews made their way to Beccles either under sail (with waterproofs on standby) or by motor, with some stopping en-route at North Cove for lunch.

Photo Right: Ceres sailing to Beccles, by Julia Neate

Photo Left: Mischief sailing to Beccles, by Julia Neate 

The moorings had been reserved for EACC by the Harbour Master in Beccles, and so the fleet was able to moor side by side along the quay heading with 18 boats in a row – quite the sight for anyone passing by!

Whilst the fleet were sailing on the Southern Waters, the remainder of the country was preparing for a general election on Thursday, so the crews participated in an EACC mock general election by completing a voting slip which were posted into the ballot bag on Lily ready for an independent count on Ranger3, with the results to be announced on Thursday morning.

A group evening meal had been arranged in the Bear & Bells, so crews made their way into town and met for drinks in the pub before sitting down to dinner. Following dinner the crews returned to the moorings for post dinner chats on the quay heading or on board, and were treated to another dramatic skyline.

Photo Right: Post dinner chats on the quay at Beccles,
by Bob Neate

Photo Left: Sunset at Beccles, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Thursday

Thursday, or indecision day as I have renamed it, began with a number of crews trying to decide when to cross Breydon following the deteriorating weather forecast for the weekend. Whilst Geldeston was the original plan, those not heading for RN&S on Saturday were debating whether to head home today, or head to Loddon or Geldeston and head home on Friday, or wait it out and head home Saturday or Sunday. Crew plans changed a number of times as people debated the options, but eventually Pippinjack, Moondream, Sandpiper, Cara and Windrift decided to head home, with the remainder of the fleet heading to either Geldeston or North Cove, whilst SG2 remained in Beccles for another night.

Whilst the crews were deciding on their sailing plans, the results were announced for the mock general election which sparked a few interesting debates between crews!

Elisabeth had been experiencing engine issues all week, so after another visit by the engineer they headed to Oulton Broad Yacht Station to meet up with Evergreen with plans to watch the powerboat racing that evening on the broad.

Geldeston locks were empty, so Moon Daisy, Rosie, May, Ceres, Bewitched, Ranger3, Snowbird, Moss Rose and Mischief took up all the moorings and enjoyed an afternoon drink in the pub before cooking dinners on board, and were treated to a colourful sunset.

Photo Left: Drinks at Geldeston Locks, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Photo Right: Sunset at Geldeston, by Amanda Wiggins

 

Photo Left: Flags flying at Geldeston, by Jamie Martin-Bennett

Friday 

Friday was another dull and overcast day, but with a poor weather forecast for Saturday Ranger3, Moss Rose, Rosie and Snowbird decided to head home a day early, whilst the remainder of the fleet made their way to OBYS or Dutch Tea Gardens in readiness for their trip through the locks to RN&S.

More engine problems for Elisabeth in the morning meant they had to head to Brundall to book her in for more engine works, so they departed OBYS with their fingers crossed that they would make it to Brundall.

Light winds meant little sailing today, however SG2 raised their sails and made a very slow and peaceful journey from Beccles heading towards to OBYS single handed ready to meet their absent crew later in the day.

A calm and flat Breydon meant the fleet heading back up north had an easy journey home, with Ranger3 and Snowbird pushing on to try and beat the approaching wet weather. Unfortunately the heavens opened as they reached their moorings, so Moss Rose and Rosie who were behind them had a rather wet and unpleasant journey up the Thurne to their moorings.

Photo Right: Fleet at OBYS, by Kevin Rhead

 

The fleet at OBYS headed into town for dinner and drinks in The Commodore, whilst Lily and Bewitched enjoyed cakes on the mooring at Dutch Tea Gardens before their dinner.

 

 

 

Photo Left: Sunset at WOBYS, by Soozie Hopwood

 

Saturday

Saturday was again another overcast day, with rain forecast for most of the day, however this didn’t stop the excitement for the fleet that were heading through Mutford Lock and down to RN&S Yacht Station. The fleet heading to RN&S were Bewitched, Ceres, SG2, Moon Daisy, Lily and Evergreen, and despite the inclement weather the journey through the locks and past the gull-bridge to RN&S was smooth and successful. Once moored up, the crews headed in to the sailing club for an afternoon drink, before returning to their boats to change and dress for dinner in the clubhouse.

 

Photo Right: En route to RN&S, by Roger Everett

Photo Above: SG2 & Bewitched waiting for the locks, by Di Seeney

Photo Left: Fleet heading to RN&S, by Di Seeney

Photo Above: Passing the big ships, by Liz Chett

Photo Right: Going through the gull-wing bridge, by Liz Chett

Photo Above: Fleet on approach to RN&S, by Liz Chett

Meanwhile, May opted to head back up north but the weather forecast came true and the crew and boat arrived home rather wet and soggy, while Mischief opted for the night at Burgh Castle before heading home on Sunday.

Photo Left: Crews moored at RN&S, by Jimmy James

Photo Right: Dinner in the sailing club, by Jimmy James

Sunday

Sunday started sunny and bright, and the crews made their way from RN&S back through Lowestoft and the locks heading for Oulton Broad and then home across Breydon. The dry weather didn’t last long though, and a heavy downpour in the afternoon and reports of thunder and lightning meant crews faced a wet crossing before making their way up the River Bure. SG2 and Ceres opted for a night at the Great Yarmouth Yacht Station, while the remainder pushed on up the River Bure stopping at various locations overnight before finishing their journey home on Monday.

 

Photo Right: Heading back to Oulton Broad, by Liz Chett

Photo Left: Rainbow over Great Yarmouth, by Jo Edye

 

Another fantastic cruise this year enjoyed by all, my thanks to everyone that participated in the week and their acknowledgement and appreciation of the amount of planning that goes into the cruise, which is always worth it when you see the fleet gathered each night and crews relaxing over a drink or two!

Participating boats over the week were:

Betwitched, Cara, Ceres, Elisabeth, Evergreen, Hiawatha, Lily, May, Mischief, Moon Daisy, Moondream, Moss Rose, Pippinjack, Ranger3, Rosie, Sandpiper, Snowbird, Starshell, Sun Glory 2, Windrift

Report by Jamie Martin-Bennett