Rather more conflict on board as our Norfolk boating holiday nears its end on a wet start to the day after a hasty departure to navigate the Bure bridges and make our way across Breydon Water and up to the Waveney Leisure Centre. On to Oulton Broad after fixing another fuel pipe junction that led to engine failure on The Lady. No news today as my papers were discarded precipitately!
A good night’s sleep, then awoken by Debbie coming in to see Di at 7.00am. It was then that I checked the tide tables and realised that, if we wanted to leave for Oulton before late afternoon, we should get under way immediately, as it was already 2 hours past low water at Great Yarmouth and the low bridges and strong currents would soon be a problem. With that realisation, I woke up Daniel and cast us both off and we made it under the Yarmouth bridges with 8 ½ ft headroom. Then a two hour (+) journey across Breydon Water, up the Yare and Waveney to the Waveney Leisure Centre, where we moored up ready to swim etc. I had to have breakfast at the helm and then had still to shave once we had stopped.
I had decided to sit, write my journal and read the local papers whilst the others went swimming, but I was brought up short by the fact that Di had already thrown away yesterday’s weekly local papers and so I could not do it. This made me angry, as she had already done this twice before. Di made us a salad lunch in The Lady and we made to fill up with water and set off for Oulton when the engine failed again, as another fuel pipe junction had leaked (!). It took only 40 mins to repair this time and we caught the girls by surprise, who were visiting the local church. Onwards to get to Oulton Broad by 3.15pm and just about got in to the private moorings on a busy day. It seems that next Bank Holiday Monday, plus the occasion of ‘Oulton Week,’ had filled the moorings. There was time for Daniel and I to tour the chandlers and buy some spark plugs for his engine from a motorcycle shop. Then I did some fishing from the boat and caught some roach, roach/bream hybrid and an eel before Di whisked us off for a meal. We ate a poor meal at a hamburger cafe, where the hygiene was questionable. Di sent Daniel to his boat for making comments about her food and figure and I returned to my fishing afterwards. Poor Dan was left starving hungry and I took him out for a chicken & chips later, incurring Di’s wrath in the process. She had an early night. Today started wet, with pouring rain for most of our journey. The rest of the day was warm, with many showers, as a rather poor show. News today was not of much consequence, but honours are just about even in the bicentenary cricket test match.