In May and June, I made two visits to Titchmarsh Marina in order to sail around the Walton Backwaters. The first was a reconnaissance trip to prepare for the second which was a Drascombe Association rally I organised.
Such is the way of things, I decided it would be good to do a first 'overnighter' with my English Springer Spaniel, Kizzy aboard.
The weather being generally inclement and regular access ashore imperative, the Norfolk Broads was the only sensible option. So, we headed over to Oulton Broad to use the public slipway at the Sports Centre.
Having rigged and launched, and it being fairly late in the afternoon, we motored along the River Waveney to some official moorings and set up the tent.
Kizzy waiting for permission to eat her food!
The tent is a bespoke affair, created by the previous owner, and which extends the existing sprayhood, creating a sort of dome, which is just about big enough for two people to lie down. The boat has cabin cushions aplenty, although it would be challenging to keep these dry if it were to rain! And, I have created a platform which extends the deck for ease of sleeping aboard. It is best described as 'functional', although I'll look to invest in the standard extended tent supplied by Anglia Yacht Brokerage if it looks like any more serious overnighting is in the offing, since it offers much more space and is a better all round design.
The next morning, we motored up to Beccles for elevenses. Winds were quite gusty and from the SW but, as usual, the reeds and trees on the shoreline provided a substantial filter. So, we set sail back to Oulton Broad and had no further use for the outboard.
I recorded some footage which is included in the following clip:
It was a great pleasure to return to this favourite corner of the Norfolk Broads and, once again, as a part of a Drascombe Rally. Moreover, it presented a first opportunity to test out my theory that the Deben Lugger would go well on the Broads - and indeed, Daisy IV did…. The copious quantities of weed, by and large, slid under the hull/rudder as expected and the sail shape was sufficient to catch the wind over the reeds when navigating channels.
This video captures a flavour of the spirit of the weekend:
On Saturday, I had company in the form of crew plus Kizzy, the Springer Spaniel. On Sunday I was single handing with a single reefed main in a slightly stiffer breeze.
10.5nm
7.3nm
Finally, a fellow sailor put together this rather enjoyable summary of the weekend…!
This trip was a part of the Drascombe Association Ullswater rally. We took the opportunity to travel up earlier which gave us time for more sailing and more walking.
Conditions were very placid and hot for the first four days. Then, the weather broke on the Sunday and we made a mad dash for the shoreline and that was the sailing done.
Here’s a video blog of the four sailing days…
The most exciting part of the sail was having crew in the form of Mrs M, first mate, and Kizzy, ship's dog!
The wind didn’t really get going throughout, so we were somewhat limited in terms of the sailing we could manage and it was helpful sometimes to have the outboard to power us back to base when required. - although this only happened twice.
One of the key benefits of a Drascombe rally is that people take pictures of boats; pleasingly, a number were taken of Daisy IV.
I've done this trip once before, in Daisy II. This year seemed a good opportunity for a reprise. The video pretty much tells the story of the trip.
Arrival at Lydney on Friday 1st. Overnight in the car. Launched first thing on Saturday morning. Left sails and mast back at base since there's little sailing to be done. Up the tidal River Severn at ridiculous speeds with the spring tide, along with various pieces of flotsam and jetsam. Over the weir at Maisemore, into Gloucester docks. Back down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at a more leisurely pace. Supper at Sharpness - where the above photo was taken, looking from the canal back across the Severn to the 'other side'. Then into Sharpness lock, where we were let out into the Severn at HW slack and back across in the dark to Lydney. Boats out, trail back home to arrive at 0400.
All in all, a slightly mad but hugely enjoyable experience…
This is a blog of sailing activities aboard Daisy IV, a Deben Lugger built in 2012 and purchased in 2023.
Previous boats were Devon Lugger, Daisy (2005-6), Drascombe Coaster, Daisy II (2006-2019) and BayCruiser 20 Daisy III (2019-2024). During the years of boat ownership, I have covered well over 6000nm around the UK, most of which are documented in my various blogs. Sailing grounds are based around the east coast, mainly the Harwich area. Over the years, making use of a versatile roller coaster trailer, I have also covered the east coast from North Kent to Whitby, and various other locations around the south coast, Severn Estuary, Cumbria, inland reservoirs, and the Norfolk Broads.
Annual logs
2023: 155.9nm
2024: 137.2nm
2025: 339.3nm. (Up to 27th September)
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