Meeting a Friend of Aesop

George & Yorkie love swimming, so even though they'd just swum off the ferry slides, they were keen to come with me to the official swimming beach. As it was the other side of the 'town' to the harbour, it gave us a chance to have a decent stretch of the paws, and size up the tavernas, before selecting one for our evening meal.

Just before the swimming beach we had a real treat. We came up to a small white washed church which was rather sweet in its own right. But our attention quickly shifted to the grounds of the church when we saw who was out for a post siesta stroll.

What a simply gorgeous tortoise, and what a shame it is that you don't see them very often nowadays. A veteran bear such as Ungi, can remember going over to his minder's grandma's house when his minder was a small girl and seeing a tortoise wandering in the garden. That was many years ago though, and George, Yorkie and I had never seen one before, so we were completely enthralled by the sight. 

Eventually we tore ourselves away to walk the final few yards to the swimming beach , and what a fine beach it was.

We blend in rather well with the rock but hopefully you've spotted us. It was great for drying of our fur. The water was so clear and quite warm so we didn't need our snorkels to see what was underneath us.

What with sailing, swimming and walking, we were getting quite hungry. We saw a pig being spit roasted on our return journey and decided that was the place for us to eat - but first things first, it was beer o'clock! 

Lots of love, Eddie, George & Yorkie xxx 

A Pot Pourri to Finish

Sorry for the long silence, all due to another exciting adventure taking place. In consequence, I'm now being politely encouraged by George and Yorkie to finish my posts on our Broads sailing holiday, so they can kick off telling you what they've been up to (no, this turn of phrase doesn't mean they went to South Africa to see the World Cup).

I therefore need to condense as much as I can into this post so if it's a bit bitty, then you'll know why. The extra length will hopefully make up for the lack of recent postings.

Last time, we were talking about a special mooring. It was not only was a delightful spot to moor and rest, it also had all the things I needed to complete my daily boating chores. These included:


refilling the water tank, emptying the rubbish (I've spared you a picture of the bins) and ...


pulling on and lacing up the cover at night. Bear in mind that this adventure took place in April, when the evenings were cool enough for us to really appreciate being able to turn the cockpit area into a cosy room using the cover. It worked like this ...


As the cooker was in the cockpit, under one of the seats, having the ability to enclose the cockpit was very useful.

After eating and washing up, we could retreat into the main cabin and be even more cosy.


I'm sitting on the bunk that I slept on with the rest of the crew tucked in at the side. We always got a great night's sleep. There's nothing quite like the gentle lap of water against the hull.

Our favourite staithe, Gay's Staithe, that we've been talking about, also had another interesting feature. It was home to a solar powered boat, which the public can take a trip on.

Sadly it wasn't moored up the night we were there, so all we could do was read about it.


When we got home we looked it up on the internet, and it is quite an unconventional looking boat ...


We will definitely have to go back and take a trip.

While Gay's Staithe was a special mooring for an overnight stay, we found another lovely mooring which could either be for a lunch stop or going to church.


As we were not there at a service time, for us it was a lovely lunch stop. We did think the church looked lovely, and what a great property was next to it - sadly now a former vicarage, rather than the splendid home of the present Vicar.


There's lots more I could say, but you've probably read enough for one day. I'll therefore close with a picture of the bear flag flying and a proud sailor, Randolph, standing to attention beside it. It seems a fitting way to close this nautical adventure.


I hope you've enjoyed reading, and I'll now hand the reins over to George, Yorkie and Patrick.

Lots of love, Eddie and the crew of Leander xxx

Marvellous Mooring

As I said last time, the beautiful sight of Leander sailing, was not a familiar one to us, but we did get quite familiar with her moored profile and I would spend quite a lot of our shore time, admiring her fine lines from the river bank.


I particularly liked this mooring as there was a handy seat for me to rest on as I looked at Leander and thought how beautiful she looked. In fact, not only was Leander beautiful, the situation of this mooring was also very beautiful. We were at Gay's Staithe which is a delightful and peaceful a mooring as you can get. This is how it looked, as we left the next morning after everyone else had gone.


We were all very contented. Not only had we had a peaceful night in this idyllic spot, we'd also found a good pub a pleasant mile's stroll down the road, where we'd had a lovely time chatting with 2 fellow boaters and their 2 canine friends. They (the human half of the quartet) were kind enough to decide they couldn't eat all of their huge bowl of chips, and kindly donated most of them to us.

What lucky bears were are.

Lots of love, Eddie and crew xxx

Stop Press: How Amazing!

Dear readers, I'm interrupting my posts, which as you know relate to our April holiday, with a story from yesterday, which as you will soon see, has an incredible link to our holiday.

Yesterday was our male minder's birthday, so when he had finished working, we drove over to the Norfolk Broads to see something of the 3 Rivers Race which we had heard about while on holiday.

The 3 rivers race is a real monster of a sail. It is a 50 mile course which requires competitors, who start at Horning, to round 4 marks on the rivers Bure, Ant & Thurne, before returning to Horning. It is nearly as far as we travelled in 5 days, and they have just the Saturday, running in to Sunday, to complete the course, and yes, they do sail overnight. It all sounded frightfully exciting which is why we decided it just had to be seen.

We took our bicycles with us so we could ride round some of the course and see the boats at different points on the course.

Our first stop was St Benet's Abbey. When we were still 2 or 3 miles off we could see lots of sails on the river and when we reached the river bank by the Abbey, we could see a traditional sailing boat approaching, and from the numbered board on her side we gathered it was participating in the race. As we watched the boat making the slow progress that tacking into the wind on a river gives you, we were reminded of our holiday, as we had ourselves sailed to Horning then tacked back past the Abbey with lots of short tacks and laborious progress.


I dicussed with my minder the fact that the boat looked as if it could have come from Martham boatyard, which hired us our boat, Leander, as it was very similar. Can you imagine our surprise and delight, when the boat eventually reached us, then tacked away from us, showing us clearly, the name on her stern, that of Leander.

I jumped up and down as I was so excited. Of all the hundreds of boats sailing on the Broads that day, the very first boat we had seen was our very own Leander. What an amazing and wonderful coincidence. You may wonder why we hadn't recognised her sooner, but there were a couple of reasons for this. One we had never seen Leander sailing, as we were always on board seeing the cockpit view, not the external view, and two, the sails looked different, as she had a brown rectangle of cloth which was there to use as a fill in for racing (it fills in the 45% angle between the mast and the gaff rig. My female minder also thought the curtains in the cabin were different!

As we watched Leander sail off towards Potter Heigham, we had another treat. One of the huge Norfolk Wherry Trust wherries, Albion, came up the river from South Walsham Borad and passed in front of us. It wasn't taking part in the race, but it was still a sight worth seeing.


Our next port of call was the low bridge at Potter Heigham (remember my posts about it) which racing boats had to pass under. We had heard that many did the complex operation of lowering sails, and then the mast, in mid river and right at the last moment. Our minds simply boggled as we knew how difficult this had been for us, and it was something we simply had to see.

Here again we were lucky with our timing. We arrived at Potter Heigham bridge just as a steady flow of boats was approaching. You would have to see it yourself to understand what it was like, and just how skillful some of the boat crews were.


Talk about leaving it to the last minute! I had to put my paws to my eyes and peer through my claws, as I could hardly bear to watch, as it kept looking as if a crash was inevitable.


My heart really was in my mouth, but all the boats we saw, just like this one, got the mast down just in the nick of time and made it through.

I think they were helped by the fact that the winds were light at that point so there was little drifting. Quite a few boats did stop to lower sails and masts and I thought they were very sensible!

This wonderful specator sport, and seeing Leander, certainly made it a great day and we were pleased that our minder had enjoyed his birthday so much. We will definitely be making this an annual event.

Next time we'll return to our own adventures on Leander.

Lots of love, Eddie xxx

Binoculars at the Ready

While spotting stationary features of the Broads was fine, there is nothing quite like spotting a bit of moving wildlife, and the Norfolk Broads are a fine place to view wildlife. By being in a sailing boat, we had a distinct advantage over the cruisers, as we could hear all the rustlings in the reeds which told us there was something there to keep a look out for. We made sure to keep our eyes peeled and binoculars to paw.

Top of our top 10 of Broads birdlife was the swan. We saw lots, but the one we remember best was the poor victim we saw being caught by an ineptly driven hire boat, whose skipper was couldn't work out how to overtake a tacking sail boat. Fortunately the swan wasn't hurt, he just had his feathers ruffled.

It was amazing how every time our boat stopped and some food came out, the swans gathered en masse. We're not sure how it worked but clearly there was a very effective Broads telegraph.


It reminded me of some of my canal boating holidays when we've had similar gatherings around our narrow boat. Swans can be a bit persistent in their begging for food, but they are so majestic that I can always forgive them.

One of my favourite sightings was of 2 fine examples of a more domesticated species of fauna. You can see them captured on camera below ...


Sorry guys, only joking, but it was great seeing you come out to light the stove and prepare lunch, as lots of fresh air and sailing certainly gives a bear a big appetite.

Lots of love, Eddie and friends xxx

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

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