The Stracey Arms wind-pump
The Stracey Arms wind-pump

After surviving a milder night at Yarmouth on very tight warps during an exceptionally low tide, we enjoyed the following nice and sunny day and a nice lunch at the Arches Café and then took the girls to play a while in The Bosun's Playdeck on the pier and watched RNLI inshore lifeboat and the RAF rescue helicopter practice together offshore.

Then to cast off and cruise to the Stracey Arms to enjoy a fine tea of cockles and shrimps and then on back to Heronshaw to arrive in the dark using our steaming light. There to find good news about structural calculations for my new boat but poorer news of the RHDRA needing a new Chairman, apparently me!

Problems overnight as the exceptionally low tide found out the tightness of the mooring warps. I thought that I had given them enough give but they were jammed tight with the fender burst and the boat creaking when Diana woke me up to have a look. I attended to them and was soon back to bed thankful that the weather was much milder than of late. We were slow to get up this morning and then went shopping together, regretting that the library was not open this Easter Saturday. Then The Arches Cafe for a nice lunch before taking the girls to play a while in The Bosun's Playdeck on the pier. It was nice and sunny as Di and I sat on a bench and watched the RNLI inshore lifeboat and the RAF rescue helicopter practice together offshore.

** "Read More" BELOW for the complete story **

Then we went and did some more shopping before I was first back to the boat and struggled with re-stowing the inflatable on the davits as a winch jammed. We packed up and set off and cruised at a fair speed up the Bure until stopping at the Stracey Arms and having tea. Mine was a half pint each of cockles and shrimps and apple pie and ice cream to follow which made me quite full. I then opted to get back to Heronshaw by cruising beyond dusk with our navigation lights on until it was completely dark when we arrived and moored. Post at Heronshaw included my invitation to the Ropes Hill Residents Association and, more importantly, the structural calculations from my consulting engineer which, whilst being difficult to understand, seemed to give the new boat-shed design a clear bill of health. Soon time for bed in the relative quiet and calm of Ropes Hill Dyke thinking about the problems of the residents association. Mrs Doris Vincent wants to stand down as chairman and secretary and wants me to take over but I do not want to take up another responsibility having just arranged to discard that of being a councillor.