Posted by Jock on December 06, 2005 at 12:37:20 from 84.64.131.122 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: Exploring the Broads with Ransome posted by andyb on December 06, 2005 at 10:38:24:
Although hiring an engineless boat on the Broads is an excellent way to polish up one's sailing, taking an engineless boat through Yarmouth is not for the inexperienced.
The Broads are a wonderful place to learn to sail. You will do more tacking and manouvering in a week than many sea-going sailors do in a lifetime. This is where AR taught many of his young friends and also where Nelson learnt to sail! Avoid the summer holiday season, when the Broads can be very crowded and you will have a great time.
However, Yarmouth is a different kettle of fish. The waters there are fiercely tidal and can only be safely navigated by an engineless boat within a very narrow tide window. The Bure bridges involve lowering your mast, but much of the water is too deep for a quant. The Bure has silted up a little since AR's day making the operation a trifle easier, however this is offset by the need to avoid drifting on to the continuous line of moored cruisers. Yarmouth is the only place on the Broads where my crew, all competent swimmers, wear lifejackets.
You will find pictures of the Yarmouth bridges (but without the cruisers) on the excellent Shorebase online guide here.
"Hamilton's Guide" used to give very detailed instructions for taking an engineless yacht through Yarmouth. Nowadays, the Guide recommends that you get a tow which, if my memory serves me well, is how AR himself tackled the problem. The Admiral was right to be cautious about tackling Yarmouth.