17 boats, great company, superb sailing, wonderful location. Not a bad recipe for a successful Drascombe Rally. On Friday 17th September, 17 boats attacked the quiet village of Hickling, taking over the staithe adjacent to the Pleasureboat Inn. As well as Coaster Daisy II, our fleet consisted of Coasters Mudskipper, Espiritu, Gadfly, Liberty Jane, Longboat Cruisers Moonstone and Kitt O Shea, Longboat Jenny Morgan, Luggers Peewit of Parkgate, Draggletail, Demelza, Lady Woodmouse, Fiddler's Green, Jimbo and Pelican, Dabber Teal and Driver Mantra. I read, in Practical Boat Owner, a comment about our 'Armada'-sized rallies. This certainly fitted the bill! A particular highlight for me was to see the wonderfully restored wooden lugger Peewit of Parkgate, lovingly restored by its owner David Wray.
Saturday saw westerly winds touching F2/3 in the morning, and then slackening during the day. We spent the first hour or two exploring Hickling Broad. Several boats made a circumnavigation of the enticingly named Pleasure Island, a few getting stuck in the reeds! Depths on Hickling Broad rarely exceed 1.5m under a Drascombe Hull. In fact, the carefully marked out 'deepwater' channel is not much deeper than any other part of the Broad.
Leaving Hickling Broad behind, we worked our way down Deep-Go Dyke, and left into Meadow Dyke which leads on to Horsey Mere, which marks the far north-eastern corner of the Norfolk Broads. A delightful lunch at Horsey Mill was only marginally marred by a moody mooring attendant who had us booked in overnight, presumably confusing us with other cruising parties, and was aghast when we all left...
Most boats then returned to Hickling where we had a splendid evening meal in the pub. The landlord, Paul Thurston and his employees looked after us well!
Sunday morning marked fresher winds, certainly F3-4 in the morning. Most boats went for a morning sail on Hickling Broad, a few ventured further towards Potter Heigham. Then departing captains and crew helped each other take their boats out using the crooked but manageable slipway at Whispering Reeds Boatyard; a few boats remained for extended stays and one returned by water to its base on Oulton Broad.
Drascombe rallies are certainly a pleasant way of enjoying our boats in the company of like-minded fellow sailors. Always to be recommended.
I have posted more pictures on the Drascombe website, and will provide a link as and when they go live. In the mean time, the following snaps give a flavour.
Saturday saw westerly winds touching F2/3 in the morning, and then slackening during the day. We spent the first hour or two exploring Hickling Broad. Several boats made a circumnavigation of the enticingly named Pleasure Island, a few getting stuck in the reeds! Depths on Hickling Broad rarely exceed 1.5m under a Drascombe Hull. In fact, the carefully marked out 'deepwater' channel is not much deeper than any other part of the Broad.
Leaving Hickling Broad behind, we worked our way down Deep-Go Dyke, and left into Meadow Dyke which leads on to Horsey Mere, which marks the far north-eastern corner of the Norfolk Broads. A delightful lunch at Horsey Mill was only marginally marred by a moody mooring attendant who had us booked in overnight, presumably confusing us with other cruising parties, and was aghast when we all left...
Most boats then returned to Hickling where we had a splendid evening meal in the pub. The landlord, Paul Thurston and his employees looked after us well!
Sunday morning marked fresher winds, certainly F3-4 in the morning. Most boats went for a morning sail on Hickling Broad, a few ventured further towards Potter Heigham. Then departing captains and crew helped each other take their boats out using the crooked but manageable slipway at Whispering Reeds Boatyard; a few boats remained for extended stays and one returned by water to its base on Oulton Broad.
Drascombe rallies are certainly a pleasant way of enjoying our boats in the company of like-minded fellow sailors. Always to be recommended.
I have posted more pictures on the Drascombe website, and will provide a link as and when they go live. In the mean time, the following snaps give a flavour.
 |
| Gadfly, Hickling Broad |
 |
| Horsey Mill moorings |
 |
| Hickling Broad manoeuvres |
 |
| Daisy II, Hickling Broad |
 |
| GPS track - red, Saturday; green, Sunday |
Total distance - 20.4nm. Season's total distance travelled: 363.1nm. Back to the Orwell, next week...
No comments:
Post a Comment