Phew. Well after a particularly long evening, the skipper can report his safe return to ‘Corsair’. Miss Jalil & I also managed to spend a pleasant night on relatively dry bunks!
I’m not sure of the details now, writing this 11 years later, but I can see that I’ve changed the crew names for today to “Binky, my faithful Binky, Wiggles & Pol-Pot” – no doubt they were testing my otherwise charming nature.
As it’s the last morning (or meal) – we dined on an ENORMOUS breakfast which for the others was on top of their own feast at the pub last night. But yes, last meal – usually ‘lob in’. Despite the sheltered nature of the staithe – we could tell it was bloody windy, another 3 reefs & storm jib job.
We quanted out, raised sail & blasted across Barton just once to feel the breeze. That dealt with we started on a passage which highlighted just how crap a sailing river the Ant can be! Initially we struggled with the tricks & schemes of the trees at Irstead.
Only then, we got clear of that bloody lot & found ourselves in a long tacking sessions whilst dodging a myriad of hire boats, and getting somewhat (ahem) frustrated in the process. Honestly I’ve never met so many retards.
Tacking the Ant…
Just downstream of How Hill, there followed 10 minutes of the most vicious, horrible sailing. We caught a ‘roger’ from the marshes, which ripped the mainsheet out of my hands. It took both hands & all my strength of the tiller to keep ‘Corsair’ from rounding up into the bank.
We spent then 10 long, scary minutes surfing down the Ant, huddled in the cockpit (it wasn’t safe to go forrad with the way the mast was bending) before luffing into a sheltered spot behind some trees.
n.b; trees are your friend on a day like this, I never say a bad word about them!
Sails lowered in record time, we put the outboard on & motored to Ludham Bridge. At which point… WHOOSH. Biblical rain! Everyone hid in the cabin, except me…
Ludham in the rain.
At this point, cold, fed up & being given the gift of feedback from Wiggles & Pol-Pot, we accepted the inevitable and motored back to Oby Dyke. To all our disbelief, the Land Rover started – so we drew our holiday to a close!
Falling gently asleep to multiple sirens from the emergency services was abit bizarre – seems a motorcyclist decided to leave the Stalham bypass at over 100mph last night…
Truth was, we soon found ourselves in a frenzy of activity ‘HB’ was being returned to her owners – both Jalil & Jacob were returning (reluctantly) to ‘Corsair’ & we needed more provisions…
So a high-speed motor to Stalham saw us victualled at Tesco, before we motored straight back to the Punt Club on Barton Broad, to sign in for 2 races.
That done, there was a little matter of a reunion to attend to, & I honestly can’t say absolutely the last time that 3 Chumley & Hawke clippers were rafted up – but it wasn’t an opportunity to be missed! Chronologically, we managed to get Clipper’s 4, 5 & 6 posed – sadly though no time for a photo!
We flurried back to Barton Turf, picked up Clover (another Jalil) – deposited Jacob & headed for the start line…
It’s clear we’re not going to trouble the ‘big boys’ anytime soon! Highlights included not loosing the rig (topping lift on a Nav post) & cutting inside a competitor at the buoy. We came a definitive last, but we also had fun – I mean you can’t get too competitive can you?
Post – race – we deposited crew at Barton Turf (again) – and headed to Gay’s staithe for some lunch. We carried 1st reef & out big jib – so enjoyed another cracking sail across the Broad. We even managed some screams from the feminine contingent (both Jalils).
On-route, we managed to bowl a fresh onion to ‘HB’ to save their dinner plans (this is no mean feat at 6 knots & a good angle of heel!) Also – pictured above are some typical scenes from Barton regatta – it forms a water-borne city for the weekend, through which we threaded (at speed) searching for a motor boat to deliver an onion. Madness.
I’m proud (pissed?) to say that in time-honoured fashion, we then found ourselves in a pub, and is often the way with Broads sailing we subsequently missed out start at 4pm & ended up staggering back to the boat quite ‘merry’…
After a whistlestop lesson in how to operate the Tilley lamp, I left to maintain a dinner engagement leaving them all ‘to it’. Christ knows what I’ll come back to…
A reasonably dry night surprised us all at Coltishall, 4 drips overall we reckon can be considered reasonably dry!
We motored in the rain (surprise!) downstream to Wroxham, taking the shortcut through Bridge Broad. This is a stretch of the navigation which can be overlooked – did you know there’s an Alpine landscape next to the river?
At Wroxham, some replacement waterproof trousers were needed (don’t ask) – an unfortunately due to a stocking issue, the entire crew of ‘Corsair’ can now wear these poxy trousers at the same time!!
Given the now torrential rain, we all clambered aboard ‘HB’ & found ourselves moved quite briskly downriver to Horning, ready to make sail again (after all, this is a sailing boat – Skipper’s grumble).
Maybe it was an omen, but we found ourselves in the sunshine (for the 2nd time that week, AND with a favourable breeze it felt like maybe it could be an actual holiday! This was Jacob’s 1st venture into yachting, so typically we launched ourselves straight into the path of an oncoming wherry (Albion)!
At the mouth of the Ant, we cut short our yachting & joined the procession of jolly sailor types heading from Barton Open Regatta. En-route we passed the film crew of ‘Jam Today’ again – and by How Hill we’d set 1st reef & middle jib for some more yachting.
Out on Barton we were glad of the reef – storming about adjacent to ‘HB’ – causing chaos in the cabin,
Energetic sailing doesn’t pay!
although we did get some spectacular photo’s of the old girl. Our antics were carefully watched by ‘Jenny’ – a fully reefed hire boat from Martham who disapproved.
Eventually, ‘HB’ towed us to Sutton Staithe, where we moored in the rain (how familiar) & spent the evening BBQ’ing… after all we are on holiday!
We survived. A bland & mediocre offering but nonetheless sufficient. Much like rationing.
It is strange to start a day’s log talking about events that happened yesterday however some things are worthy of note… as ‘Vintage Broadsman’ appeared on Salhouse Broad last night, blasting out a cheesy disco soundtrack, it was promptly drowned out by the Mozart from HB’s sound-system. How proper.
We can also report that the ‘Fur & Feathers’ is still a fine establishment serving much tasty ale… In fact the only fly in the ointment is that there was a troupe of Morris dancers outside who asked for requests; apparently ‘piss off’ wasn’t the correct answer. So we left swiftly after clearing that misunderstanding up!
Evening at Salhouse
Besides ensuring that we stayed until we had used all of our £6 mooring fee, there was little available to keep us at Salhouse so we headed for Wroxham amid more rain (lovely!) – in fact it was so unpleasant that we lowered the mast & motored the whole way as quickly as possible.
Wroxham itself had a variety of temptation to offer us, mostly fish & chips, some overly large waterproof trousers and an exceedingly flamboyant umbrella for the skipper. Also, there was a whistle-stop tour of Roy’s food department.
The world’s largest trousers…
And, for no reason at all, its worth nothing that when you throw the mudweight overboard, ALWAYS check if it is on a short line, and whether or not it’s only on a small cleat with short screws… I mention this for no reason.
Post fish & chips, we departed the moorings & motored under Hoveton viaduct toward Belaugh. Despite HB taking a shortcut through bridge broad – ‘Corsair’ maintained the lead.
It was the 1st time ‘Corsair’ had been to Coltishall in my ownership & despite the weather (torrential rain) the navigation was very pretty. I saw a Kingfisher & several shoals of fish in the very clear water.
I might add, those weren’t the only highlights of the trip. ‘HB’ had the sliding roof open going through Wroxham bridge, soaking the Judas aboard… Sadly it was nothing to the sogginess of ‘Corsair’ – the awning was laid over the cabin, the umbrella was up… not a jot of bloody difference it made!
We spotted the ‘Death & Glory’ and ‘Troutbridge’ moored at Belaugh. No loveable Lesley however.
Much later, we found ourselves at Coltishall with the Tilley lamp valiantly drying out the contents of our cabin, with our new crew member languishing aboard ‘HB’ in the saloon. Weakness of character if you ask me!
Today we started lazily if I’m honest, the Skipper began with attempting to steal a TE20 tractor from the boatyard & in a fit of benevolance we offered the crew of a ‘Leander’ to moor alongside us so they could access the freshwater hose.
It was quite strange really to compare the 2, considering that ‘Corsair’ came from the same yard – they really are completely different!
Our C&H ‘sister’; freshly re-watered.
(This was years before I understood the role A.L. Braithwaite had with the clippers – versus the reality of Alfred Yaxley from Belaugh, the postwar foreman of Chumley&Hawke who did however build ‘Corsair’ with Tim Whelpton, albeit with an extra plank)
Anyway, in a strange reversal of our now familiar daily routine, we took all reefs out – bunged the big jib on (!) & set full rig after 4 days!! We soon departed & headed for a wild-mooring opposite St. Benet’s abbey to perform housework. (Binky cleaned the cabin windows)
Enjoying full-rig, we set off again & navigated onto South Walsham Broad where we sailed well into the inner broad, circumnavigated the island & spotted RCC S/N70 ‘Don’ at mudweight. Coming out of Fleet Dyke, we engaged in some informal racing with a Devon yawl, with Mr Jalil proving himself quite competitive (surprising)
S/N70 ‘Don’ & assembled fleet!
HB was spotted on the St Benet’s moorings, where Theo promptly (and quite literally) jumped ship. The prospect of a warm & dry berth proving too tempting for his weak-willed traitorous ways!
Despite this treachery Binky & I enjoyed the gentle tack upto Ranworth, where to be fair ‘HB’ did tow us onto Malthouse broad, where we mudweighted close to the wherry ‘Albion’ where we then all unwisely leapt into a tiny dinghy for the passage to the Maltsers P.H.
The tack to Ranworth.
(At this point, a certain Judas displayed all the grace of a baby rhino on acid to get in/out of the said dinghy, nearly tipping us all in!)
After a reasonably boozy lunch, we motored upriver to the surprisingly expensive Salhouse Broad for the night. D is cooking, only tomorrow will tell if we survive…
Dear readers… this morning we managed to wake slowly, with no hysterics from Jalil… our temporary waterproofing HAS WORKED!
Despite the sheltered nature of the staithe – it was apparent that it was bloomin’ windy, something we discovered when we ventured onto Barton Broad. We set the ever familiar 2 reefs & middle jib, before storming across the Broad enjoying ourselves, and ignoring the chaos in the cabin (!)
Whilst thundering around the Broad, we allowed ourselves a giggle at a hire-yacht branded with ‘TRY SAILING’ -which at times seemed a good suggestion for the helmsman to follow. (!)
This was said through gritted teeth!
Fun over, we decided that a tack down the Ant would be impossible – so we became tourist-esque. We motored to Stalham to wander around. It was at this point I bought a Tilley lamp, which turned out to be a complete lemon! (I think we were desperately trying to find ways of drying out the boat)
Sadly even the charms of Stalham weren’t enough to keep us there, despite a ‘en masse’ decision for hot showers at Richardson’s boatyard (behave! Not like that) So freshly laundered, we gave into the inevitable and motored downriver to Ludham Bridge, where we moored in half a bloody gale… holiday’s afloat eh?
The crew at this point abandoned me – choosing to sit in the cabin rather than endure another cold & wet slog into the rain. Can’t blame them! (but I will)
‘Enjoying’ ourselves in the summer weather.
The weather did moderate a little, which enabled us to stop at ‘How Hill’ (more tourism) – walking around & inspecting both Toad Hole cottage & Boardman’s pump. Boardman’s pump is a trestle open frame mill, complete with its turbine pump (dating from 1897) – it’s amazing what you’ll read on an information board when you’re soaked through & fed up!
Sensibly at this point, we sought refuge in the ‘Dog Inn’ for the evening. Highlights (or not) was how we ended up in conversation with a film crew who were filming a short film called ‘Jam Today’ – for the UK independent film council. The weather meant these lads were stuck on a boat with beautiful young women. Bastards.
Today started with a sense of deja vu… Although without such a vibrant soundtrack, Mr Jalil was nontheless forced to vacate his bunk in search of drier sanctuary in the cockpit…
(At the time, we ended up duct-taping bin bans to the cabin side & routing them behind the bunk-shelf – diverting water mostly away from the mattress and sleeping crewmate)
This was to prove a persistant issue – and it wasn’t until 2016 I was in a position to attempt a permanent repair.
After such inclemency, the weather did improve somewhat. However before I divule such metrological bumphf I should mention the nice lay who sold us eggs… It’s all in aid of ex-battery hens & extensive testing of the said eggs (with bacon & fried bread) revealed that they are DELICIOUS!
Tacking out of Hickling – note the small rig (Day 3 of double reef / No. 2 jib!)
Despite this usual ‘slog’ – we bravely carried on! (I suspect heads may have been sore after the Greyhound P.H) and began a long tack into Potter. There’s little which can be said about tacking against the tie, however if you add a narrow river, moored boats, bungalows and trees… suddenly it becomes a more ‘entertaining’ scene. One small piece of Willow was our only trophy for our endeavours!
Mooring at Potter Heigham proved to be quite eventful… The Hunter’s yacht ‘Luna’ who after several abortive attempts made a down-tide mooring which saw our harassed bowsprit bending most alarmingly. Full credit to the skipper who performed a leap worthy of a gymnast which Theo was dragged along the bank trying to tether same yacht with its bow-line. Still… it’s only varnish!
Such excitement behind us, we motored slowly out down the Thurne, before tacking up the Bure toward St. Benets, this 2nd bout of tacking proved to be the only sunny interlude of the day – something which we remembered fondly later on…
I can’t speak much for our trip up the Ant, except that I was busy repairing No. 1 jib (three repairs) and en-route we selected Neatishead as our destination for the evening.
Mooring & navigating to Neatishead requires care at the best of times, you dodge trees, motor-boats & other obstacles all the way up the dyke. So we went slowly…
… our unusual caution meant us getting caught in a viscous downpour which soaked us all to the skin. In such circumstances, we moored & ‘awned’ in record time. With both burners going on in the galley – we recreated a sauna whilst re-waterproofing Theo’s bunk with more bin bags.
Last night there was rain, not your average ‘oh dear it’ll do the garden good’ rain… but biblical, bouncing off the cabin roof deluge.
Still – could be worse!
Truthfully my first conscious memory of the day was to see Mr Jalil storming indignantly out of the cabin (whilst still in his sleeping bag) muttering something about “Mr Farrow & his so called waterproof boat” (!)
Needless to say, he slept the rest of the evening in the cockpit – a miserable experience. ‘Corsair’s’ benches are just under 6ft long, and work ideally as seats – but not beds!
Sated with a cooked breakfast (these engineers are so very tempremental) we decided to keep our cut-down rig and sedately proceeded upriver to Potter Heigham, where with ice cream & burgers we lunched with CD & co.
The calming breakfast…
Having quanted through both bridges – we were treated at this juncture to the sight of several Hunter’s yachts scattering themselves across the river.
Evidently trying to ‘shoot’ the bridges, some had masts down, some halfway up, some just were a tangle of legs, string & quants… We noted all of them were ‘uptide’ of the new bridge (how brave!)
The Hunter fleet at Potter – with an interesting yacht below the bridge
Eventually, we set sail upriver toward Hickling, sliding along as we tacked through the bungalows to Kendal Dyke.
Here we were treated to a bit of champagne sailing, the wind had filled in to a steady sea breeze and ‘Corsair’ stormed across Hickling, narrowly beating local YBOD ‘Monarch’
By now we felt truly ‘on holiday’ – Jalil managed to dry his bunk mattress in the evening sunshine, and as we were moored in the aforementioned sun, we sipped at Cab. Sauv. whilst writing this.
Afterwards in the wake of a spectacular sun-set we ventured ‘up the road’ to the Grayhound P.H. The skies were fantastic, purple even!
For those of you who’re familiar, each year the reality of having an old wooden boat meant I also holidayed… aboard my old wooden boat. 2010 was no different!
Day 1
Today, as ever was quite hectic (this stands true now – no matter how prepared I think I am – I still end up pulling a superhuman effort to leave the house on time with all the gear I need for a sailing trip)
The precious/vital items you’ve forgotten, the last minute jobs etc. This year it was further compounded by ‘Boris’ a truculent 30yr old Land Rover;
The L/R
You get 2 choices at Oby – make several time-consuming trips, OR make one lung bursting, eyeball popping legs-bowed trudge – thinking stoic thoughts about pack mules. The path itself was also uneven, often muddy & with livestock to contend with…. Character building!
With ‘Corsair’ loaded – we then entered our usual underwater ploughing competition to leave the mooring. 3ft 8″ draft. Sigh.
(having just bought a L/R with a 2.6L straight six – I was resigned to sailing without the engine as I couldn’t afford petrol for both. Improves your sailing skills, but watching both quants bend like bananas as we forced ‘Corsair’ through the mud always was unnerving!)
Freed, we set two reefs & middle jib saw us storming up the Bure toward Thurne junction. Despite our efforts at reefing, control soon became marginal (!)
Situation ‘not ideal’
…and it was only the sterling work of Mr Jalil (who I note has been promoted for 2010?) that brought relative calm by scandalising the mainsail.
We ventured up Womack water for the evening, and sliding upriver we spotted ‘Pickin Jack’ looking quite forlorn outside Colin Buttifant’s yard. Evidently he has still yet to complete ‘Seabird’s’ new mast…
(nb ‘Seabird’ had sustained an injury whilst acting as start-boat for Reedham regatta. Colin B. being tasked with a new mast. ‘Seabird’s’ owners been reported as muttering “I wanted a new bloody windscreen not a new bloody mast” to much hilarity.)
Mooring at the staithe proved tricky but we slid into a little spot!! We adopted our usual trick of aiming at the gap – pushing in until the fenders sqweak, keep pushing then adjust the other boats mooring lines to make the space fit ‘Corsair’… works every time – especially with unsuspecting tourists.
In fact, my top-tip for mooring next to holiday-makers. First come alongside, then step aboard… Get a line on the nearest cleat. Then, and only then ask if its okay to moor alongside them. Got it?
(alas boat next door turned out to be noisy swines)
Later that night, we found ourselves in the King’s Arms, which for some inexplicable reason had a DJ and the music… more bloody noise!
Well peeling your eyelids with rusty nails would have been less painful. However later in the evening there was entertainment in the form of Laura (also a pub-goer) who had an issue with her dress zip(!)
(The logbook notes the skipper became all unnecessary at this point & ends abruptly)
‘Corsair’ was kept at South Walsham broad, moored in a private dyke under the ownership of a M.Doleac. I’m uncertain as to whether she was actively for sale, but as is the way with many old Broads yachts, there was someone looking – and ultimately most boats are for sale if you ask very nicely.
The someone being Steve Sanderson, a local boatbuilder from Reedham.
The Sanderson family – 1981; Steve Sanderson far right.
He’d been tasked with finding a Broads yacht for Joe Kilner (from whom I bought ‘Corsair’) – although Steve & his family also deserve a mention…
The Sanderson family bought their boatyard in 1932, the site being known as ‘Hall’s yard’, wherry builders who’d built some absolute beauties.
Hall’s yard – Reedham. At least 2 wherries on the slip.
2 Halls built wherries survive, ‘Hathor’ (with her own rich & varied history) – and ‘Maud’, the last surviving clinker built trading wherry. A grandson of the Hall family worked for the Sanderson’s until the 1950’s.
The Sanderson’s lived aboard a sizeable ex-RAF launch ‘Astral’ for 28years, with brothers Colin & Steve joining the family business as they were able to. So when Steve was asked to source a suitable Broads yacht for Joe K. – he duly pointed him in the direction of ‘Corsair’.
Astral – moored outside Sanderson’s.
(Later I was to learn that ‘Corsair’ had transferred ownership via circuititous routes more than once!)
At this point, it’s very hard not to digress but in the mid-late 1980’s there was a huge resurgence of interest in old Broads yachts, their sailing & racing. The Broads legend (s) Maidie & M.Barnes in 1984 found themselves at Sanderson’s – the beginning of an ownership/story which is still ongoing today; 84_maidieeastored.jpg (600×1463) (broadlandmemories.co.uk).
As part of this resurgence, in 1985 a proposal to re-form the Yare Sailing Club was made – which caught the interest of Joe. ‘Corsair’ was purchased, and arrangements made to bring her south to Reedham – to a mooring in Sanderson’s Dyke.
Joe & Julia both lived out of Norfolk at this point, Julia recalls on her 1st trip down, her Mini clubman broke down outside of King’s Lynn, making a long journey to Reedham even longer. Salvation came in the form of a friend couple who drove Julia to their house nearby, enabling the RAC to be called (life before mobile phones!). The car was resurrected & after several hours the Ferry Inn lit up in the headlights, and an indroctrination in Broads sailing started.
(what a beginning!)
Despite the breakdown, the Mini was pressed into service almost immediately – with the mast counterweight being loaded into the back (!), something which I’m certain made the steering a lot lighter!!
After an early start ‘Corsair’ was fastened alongside the motorboat ‘Tinga’, owned by Brian Holden of the GWYC – and towed through Yarmouth. Tidally it’s always worth getting to Breydon at the right time, as wind over tide can create abit of a ‘slop’.
One of ‘Corsair’s’ many quirks came to light at this point… the forrad cabin ports will only close if the roof is raised! And, like all boats being towed alongside in even mild wind over tide conditions – torrents of water begun to fling about – especially as the towing boat bounces to a different ‘sync’ than the towed vessel. Cue lots of water flooding past those open cabin ports!
Julia at this point resorted to crouching in the cabin, holding both panes of glass in an attempt to keep the cabin dry! I’m not sure of the success of this tactic, but a ‘pit stop’ at the Berney Arms Inn restored spirits (or should that read restorative spirits?) for ‘Corsair’ to motor to Reedham & slip into Sanderson’s Dyke.
Joe & Julia’s ownership of ‘Corsair’ brought well-needed stability & care to the boat. When you own a boat for a long time you’re able to properly invest in its future. Joe set about a comprehensive programme of modifications / structural works to ‘Corsair’, which included a new rig. Since 1961, she’d carried a neat gunter rig which Joe replaced with a gaff-topsail set-up from ‘Sabrina’, then in the ownership of another GWYC member, Robin Stewart.
In the early days of Joe’s ownership – ‘Corsair’ had a tendency not to respond to the helm, this was solved with an extension to the rudder, and eventually alterations to the position of the keel. Many, many years later when rebuilding ‘Corsair’ we were able to utilise one of the original floors, which at the time was not fitted with a keelbolt – such was the distance the keel was repositioned!
Joe oversaw the replacement of many planks, fitment of a gas locker & deck hatch in the aft deck, repositioning the winches from the cabin roof onto the deck (their previous location on the roof can still be seen today). Interestingly, although the mast & bowsprit were extended – fittings were added to enable the original ‘small’ rig to be set on the same spars.
Early in their ownership (1988) ‘Corsair’ won the Turkey race, an annual event originally sponsored by Steve Sanderson, 1st prize. Celebrations post-race also included the Reedham Ferry, where interestingly enough, there’s a link to another story…
My favourite recollection of Joe & Julia’s ownership – is one from a very early sail… Whilst running down the Yare – Joe advised Julia not to let the tiller come up, as to avoid a gybe.
This advice duly given – Joe was gathering fenders in on the sidedeck, when a crash gybe flung him (and the fenders) straight into the river Yare! When questioned why she’d tell the tiller ‘up’ Julia calmly responded that it only moved from side to side… (!)
Although another good tale, is the day ‘Corsair’ was in the strops of Sanderson’s big crane;
The infamous ‘big crane’ – seen here in 1984 lifting the Broads racer Maidie S/N52.
This crane has personality… with ‘Corsair’ hanging just above the barrels – it took off slewing with no input at the controls – boat conkers! Although I think the planks & ribs which suffered have now all been replaced thankfully.
Living in Holly Farm Dyke, wintering in Holly Farm barn, Reedham was home for ‘Corair’ the next 20 years, truly becoming a ‘southern rivers’ boat.
Corsair & her friends – Holly Farm Dyke, late 1980’s.
Next time we’ll re-visit 2010’s sailing holiday, and start to unpick the trail of Corsair’s designer, A.L. Braithwaite.
A Broadsman 
