Looking for Windy Miller

They weren't quite so common as the thatched roofs, but we did see plenty of them, and very beautiful and characterful they were too. What else could we be talking about but the Broads windmills?

There weren't too many times in our week when we couldn't see a windmill. It probably wasn't that there were loads of windmills, more that the land is so flat that the windmills that are there, can be seen for miles around. Here's a typical one on the River Ant ...


We did think it was a shame that they were no longer working. What a waste we thought, as it wasn't as if there was no wind. There was plenty of wind, which is why it is such a popular sailing area.

The windmills came in all shapes and sizes. Only a mile or two further along the river we came along this one, which seemed to be more functional that aesthetically pleasing...


... this could be why he had been allowed to fall into a bit of a state of disrepair. We decided we would like to adopt and restore this windmill as we could ask the B.U. engineers to convert it to an electricity generator, which would allow us to have a nice, quiet electric boat on the river. We thought we'd like that, and it would be great for wildlife spotting.

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Leander xxx

A Fine Hairdo

With a successful lowering and raising of the mast, and a low bridge, under our belt we felt a lot more relaxed and ready to enjoy all the sights that the Norfolk Broads had to offer.

There were many of them, and we hope you enjoy our choices for sharing with you.

We soon concluded that there are very few Broads vistas that don't include reeds gently waving in the foreground. While most of the reeds we saw were growing naturally, we did spot quite a few stooks of harvested reeds.


We didn't have to wonder what happened to all those reeds for long, as we soon noticed that just about every building we saw from the river was thatched with the very same Norfolk reed. It got simply everywhere and even the boat houses were thatched, as you'll see in my next picture.


The thatch gave the buildings great character and made them so distinctive and different from the houses in the area of our own bear cave, that we felt we must have travelled much further from home than we had.

We bet they're nice and cosy in the winter.

Back soon,

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx

Passing for a Pilot

The bridge we needed to pass under was the Potter Heigham bridge. It is a beautiful bridge, but it has narrow arches and is incredibly low (just 2.03 m). This is so low, that hire cruisers are not allowed to pass through without a pilot. As a sailing boat though, we were expected to pass through without a pilot. This made me feel incredibly important, but also quite nervous.

We spent a long time, while we had our lunch, eyeing it up and deciding on the best line of approach, bearing in mind the currents that swirl round the foot of arches.

We were very lucky to have a small engine on Leander so we could crank it started (literally) and drive through, rather than having to rely on a quant pole to push her through, which is what non-powered boats have to do.

As we approached I kept a steady paw and a clear head. I posted my crew at strategic look out points so they could tell me if I got too close to any stonework.


As we sailed under we could see lots of gouges in the stonework which told a chilling tale of boats that hadn't made it through unscathed.


After making it through successfully, my happy face returned, and the task of getting the mast and sails up again didn't seem half as daunting, as it had been earlier.


In no time at all we were proceeding at full sail along the river, ready for the next chapter in this exciting adventure.

Lots of love Skipper Eddie & crew xxx

Low Bridge Ahead!

Now, the Norfolk Broads and their rivers extend over quite a large patch of Norfolk, and, while it is an unspoilt area of great beauty, people do live there, and they don't all have boats, so they need cars and roads to get around.

So, from time to time, our peaceful sail was interrupted by the looming presence of a road bridge. It is a feature of Broads bridges that they are very low and everything has to be lowered, first and foremost the mast, to get through.

Getting the mast down for the first time was quite scary and definitely challenging, but, as you can see from our next picture, we did manange it (after 2 attempts!). If I'm looking a bit exhausted on the roof, I was; a fresh wind certainly didn't help.


The key to it all is the metal plates which act as counterweights. Due to the rather irregular sizes of some of our plates, getting the mast to swing in and out of the trap door affair cut into the foredeck, was quite a feat, as it was an extremely tight fit. If you look at my next picture, you'll see what I mean about the metal counterweights (or perhaps you won't as I seem to be blocking the view of the plates!)


In the background you'll see the bridge we wanted to pass under. In our next post we'll get a lot closer and you'll see what a tight fit it was.

Lots of love Eddie & crew of Leander xxx

It Takes a Team Effort

While getting Leander ready to sail had its challenges, there were still more challenges to face once we were under sail. Trying to help the cabin cruisers dodge round us while we were tacking was one (clear paw signals were definitely required); trying to stop Leander sliding into the reeds when the wind dropped and she lost way was another; but, at a more general level, there was also the absence of some modern sailing accessories, which I tend to take for granted, to contend with.

I'm principally thinking here of the lack of cleats and winches for pulling in, and holding, the sheets for the sails. Fighting the wind, which was trying to rip the sheets out of our paws, was hard work at times and led to some cramped and sore paws, even with sailing gloves on.


This is where I was very lucky to have such a good crew. They don't all appear together on one photo, as someone was always busy with a task, so you'll need to look at both pictures, either side of this text, to see the dedicated crew who supported me very faithfully, and of whom I am very proud.


As you can see, the usual suspects of George & Yorkie were there as they wouldn't miss a holiday and needed to write the Norfolk Broads chapter for the Friendly Planet Guide. They were joined by Ellie and Billy the elephants, Gerry who was experiencing his first B.U. adventure, and lastly Randolph, who had a dual role of crew member and of keeping his minder warm at night. As you can imagine he worked especially hard.

I may have been the skipper, but I would never have untied from the river bank without my trusty crew.

More sights and tales coming soon.

Lots of love Eddie & crew xxx

Rising to the Challenges

While Leander was a joy to look at and was beautifully crafted in wood, I found her quite a challenging boat to sail, and I was glad that our male minder - who has taught me most of what I know about sailing - was on hand to give me some help and advice. Here he is helping me work out what does what ...


.. from the incredible array of shrouds, ropes and shackles round the mast; it took some time to get familiar with them all, as they were there for purposes such as raising and lowering the roof and mast, as well as for raising and lowering the sails and holding up the mast.

Then I had to get used to a gaff rig, which was new to me. As I hauled up the gaff, I had to judge the correct angle between the main mast and the gaff. I knew when I'd got it wrong as the sail had wrinkles in it. When I got it right, Leander looked just like a traditional Wherry, and we are all very familiar with the sail shape we were aiming for, as a Wherry is used for the logo for our favourite beer, Woodforde's Wherry (yes it is brewed on the Broads).


In this picture you see the sail after I had put two reefs in. This was necessary on our second morning when we woke up to a howling gale. As the reef had to be tied in by threading a rope in and out of all the holes along the bottom of the sail, it took quite some time to put in.

All the effort was well worth it though, and it is so much fun to do it all yourself and be responsible for your own progress; much more satisfying that turning a key and starting the engine of a plastic pig (as we call the Broads cruisers).


Even so it was nice to relax on the boat when all the jobs had been done.

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx

We Are In Residence

As I'm sure many readers will appreciate, one of my first tasks, after taking over the command of Leander, was to raise the bear flag.


I take this duty very seriously - after all once it is flying I am duty bound to sail Leander well, as if I don't, the bear flag will tell the world that it is me putting up such a poor show.

As for positioning, first of all I got it a bit low, so I climbed up the cradle that holds the boom when we're not sailing, to get it a bit higher.


This did the trick, and, as you can see from the picture, the wind caught the flag immediately and it began to fly proudly, to indicate B.U. bears in residence.

I can't resist showing you my favourite shot of the bear flag flying. It was caught on camera by Yorkie a couple of days later. Here it is ...


... a lovely Broads sunset, shining through the bear flag - simply magical!

Lots of love Eddie & Crew xxx

My New Girlfriend

I want to introduce you properly to the new lady in my life, the good ship Leander. We spent a lot of time together, sailing all day, then settling down inside her cosy cabin at night.

Sadly I haven't got any pictures of her sailing, as I was always on board when she was under way, but we did take some pictures from the shore while she was still moored.


She was a lovely traditional boat and had maintained her looks well, even though she was quite a venerable lady, compared to me. On the morning of the photo, we could put the sails up, with her still moored at the stern, as the wind was very light. On windy days it was not quite so straightforward.

While our first picture shows Leander with the cabin roof down, ready for sailing, with the roof up, and her night-time cover on, she looked quite different ...


Of course we were very lucky to have such beautiful moorings and surrounds for her to pose in.

Back soon with more sailing talk,

Lots of love Eddie & crew xxx

P.S. To the kind enquirer (Aunty G?) I am also very excited about my new acquisition of Tarka who is waiting at Blakeney for her first sail. It could even be tomorrow!

We Go Green

Today we're going to do something different; we're going to report on our latest adventure just after it's happened. As regular readers will know, our adventures have come so thick and fast in the past, that we've often had trouble keeping up and we've ended up talking about events some time after they've happened.

This adventure is different as it ended just a week ago so has a real contemporary feel to it and is very much fresh in our minds.

The main narrator is going to me, Eddie, so that should give you a clue that it is going to be aquatic in nature.


Look carefully at this picture and you will glean a couple of extra bits of important information.

The easy one is the sail and, yes, we were sailing, but the patches of reed should tell you that we hadn't taken to the high seas. What you are looking at is, infact, finest Norfolk reed, so the place we were sailing was the Norfolk Broads.

We'd decided to go green for this holiday, and arranged it long before the Icelandic volcano errupted, but as we departed for this adventure, driving for just over an hour across Norfolk, we were mighty glad we had, as the weekend of our departure co-incided with the middle of the flight ban.

We were therefore especially happy with our choice of hoiday, and that was before it had even started. As you will find out in the course of the next few posts, we got even happier as some wonderful days passed. We can't wait to tell you all about it.

Lots of love Eddie and crew xxx