Norfolk Broads : Can you usually get through the Potter Heigham bridge ? !

[Naughty Cal]

It looks like he/she was going to slip through backwards facing the current which surely is quite a good way to do it, in the end i think he/she realises the boat is too big.

I personally don't think they were aiming for the bridge at all. The markings on the bow show that she is a Richardsons hire boat which have to use the bridge pilot.

 

I think that they have ignored the no turning beyond this point sign and have been caught out by the flow by the bridge. If you watch at the beginning of the video there is a fair flow as the swans are heading backwards at a rate of knots when they stop swimming and start preening.

 

They were lucky not to clout the bridge.

[bizzard]

Swans could be trained to patrol near the bridge, swanning around keeping a beady eye out for boats that try to pass through without permission, when they spy one they board it and break the naughty steerers arms with their wings.

[ditchcrawler]

when they spy one they board it and break the naughty steerers arms with their wings.

Cause they do that.

[NickF]

I personally don't think they were aiming for the bridge at all. The markings on the bow show that she is a Richardsons hire boat which have to use the bridge pilot.

 

I think that they have ignored the no turning beyond this point sign and have been caught out by the flow by the bridge. If you watch at the beginning of the video there is a fair flow as the swans are heading backwards at a rate of knots when they stop swimming and start preening.

 

They were lucky not to clout the bridge.

Looking again I think you are right Rachael.

[Keeping Up]

We used to hire their biggest sailing boats from Herbert Woods every year. The highlight of the trip was always if there was a good wind blowing, to attempt to "shoot" Potter Heigham Bridge by sailing towards it as hard as possible and dropping the mast at the last second so that our speed carried us through, hoisting sail again as soon as we were through. Going with the current was easier, as long as it didn't swing you around (that happened once and we were wedged broadside across the bridge for half an hour); in fact only once did I manage it against the current because you have to get well past the bridge before attempting to raise the mast in case you drift backwards and break it!

 

ETA there are a few photos here, scroll down towards the bottom of the page. Not many, it wasn't easy taking pictures at the same time!

http://www.keeping-up.co.uk/Canals/1960s/1960home.htm

Edited December 14, 2016 by Keeping Up

[Phil Ambrose]

During the 3 Rivers Race PH bridge was always the most popular spot to watch the efforts of competitors shooting the bridge.

Cheers and applause were always given for successful sailors, and raucous laughter for failures,

Phil

[ditchcrawler]

I worked on a Rowan drilling rig and that had a notice screwed on the bridge saying " This vessel requires a pilot to pass through Potter Heigham Bridge" or words to that effect, obviously nicked from a hire boat.

[Justin Smith]

On ‎03‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 17:38, Justin Smith said:

We`re having to hire broad beam cruisers* at the moment and since The Thames is so expensive it`s been The Broads for the last two years. We`ve done most of the Broads now so want to go north of the Potter Heigham bridge. However, it`s been implied to us (and even says quiet clearly on this webpage) that hardly any cruisers - as opposed to day boats - get through the bridge these days. Is that true ? If we hired a Connoisseur from Herbert Woods would that fit under ? We`d be going early May.

We`ve just returned from our boating trip, having hired Amethyst Light (a Connoisseur boat) to try and get through the bridge. Unfortunately the water was too high and it was a no go. I really would like to know what percentage of the time boats of about 6ft 6in height can get under, I think I`m right in saying most hire cruisers (particularly the larger ones) are about that height or more. One has to feel a bit sorry for the bridge pilots who can`t be making much money from piloting ! That said, I think they work at a boat yard (Phoenix fleet) specialising in day boats so on balance they`re probably all right, can`t get through the bridge ? Hire a dayboat ! It was pointed out to me by someone there`s a bit of a conflict of interest there though !

I did hear of a hirer who got a cruiser from Herbert Woods and, when it was unable to get under the PH bridge, they swapped it for a day for a day boat. I have just E Mailed them to see if they would commit to this if we tried again in the future. I`d have thought it was reasonable to expect them to do this, so long as the fleet of dayboats weren't all booked out, the opportunity cost of loaning out a dayboat to a cruiser hirer can`t be that significant. I suppose it`s down to how keen are they to please their customers.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Justin Smith

[Traveller]

I live in Potter and not much gets under the bridge these days - even those hire cruisers designed so to do can be a very tight fit and the slighted abnormality in tide and wind can make passage impossible. Boats sometimes get through and cannot get back. There was once a hire fleet on Hickling Broad (which is the wrong side of the bridge) and that had purpose built boats for navigating the bridge. They sold the hire fleet off sometime ago now as passage was unreliable at best. An option is to moor up at Potter and then hire a day boat to explore further - the bridge pilot hire day boats for sure.

That all said, Martham Boats hire out lovely old wooden broads cruisers and some of those get through and they are also the wrong side of the bridge. How many get through and how frequently I do not know. Their boats are fun but basic by todays standards and there I think lies the problem - people want hire boats with all the trimmings these days. It is all about electricity, microwaves and x-boxes and less about the fun of wild boating :-)

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Traveller

[Justin Smith]

On ‎07‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 08:53, Justin Smith said:

We`ve just returned from our boating trip, having hired Amethyst Light (a Connoisseur boat) to try and get through the bridge. Unfortunately the water was too high and it was a no go. I really would like to know what percentage of the time boats of about 6ft 6in height can get under, I think I`m right in saying most hire cruisers (particularly the larger ones) are about that height or more. One has to feel a bit sorry for the bridge pilots who can`t be making much money from piloting ! That said, I think they work at a boat yard (Phoenix fleet) specialising in day boats so on balance they`re probably all right, can`t get through the bridge ? Hire a dayboat ! It was pointed out to me by someone there`s a bit of a conflict of interest there though !

I did hear of a hirer who got a cruiser from Herbert Woods and, when it was unable to get under the PH bridge, they swapped it for a day for a day boat. I have just E Mailed them to see if they would commit to this if we tried again in the future. I`d have thought it was reasonable to expect them to do this, so long as the fleet of dayboats weren't all booked out, the opportunity cost of loaning out a dayboat to a cruiser hirer can`t be that significant. I suppose it`s down to how keen are they to please their customers.

I have had a reply back from Herbert Woods who said if we were to book again and not be able to get under the bridge they`d be more than happy to lend us a day boat. Whether that offer would only be for to hirers, like us, re booking is a little unclear, so I`d suggest contacting them before choosing a boat / boatyard to see if such an offer would be open to others.

[Justin Smith]

On ‎13‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 08:47, Justin Smith said:

I have had a reply back from Herbert Woods who said if we were to book again and not be able to get under the bridge they`d be more than happy to lend us a day boat. Whether that offer would only be for to hirers, like us, re booking is a little unclear, so I`d suggest contacting them before choosing a boat / boatyard to see if such an offer would be open to others.

 

As we stated on an alternative thread, the charge for Amethyst Light during the school holidays was astronomical, so we rented a cottage in Norfolk * and hired a day boat from Herbert Woods. It cost £107 ("high season"...…), we picked it up at just before 10.00AM and returned it at 5.00PM. We did about 18 miles and got to West Somerton, the end of the Martham Ferry stub, Hickling and the (ex) Brograve wind pump along the Waxham cut. I was a bit disappointed we didn`t make the end of navigation on the Waxham cut but we ran out of time...…. Though isn`t Brograve wind pump the destination for the IWA silver propeller challenge ? ! ? Not that we own a boat to put it on anyway !

 

* A three bedroom / two bathroom cottage for £700 a week. As far as I remember Amethyst Light was £1000 for 4 nights or £1500 for a week (for the same week) !

Edited May 31, 2018 by Justin Smith

[zenataomm]

OOPSY

[Tony Brooks]

On 04/12/2016 at 09:51, Nightwatch said:

Ever so slightly off topic,off topic.

 

Looking through some photos of the sixties and seventies of family on the Thames. Hired the old woodies, they weren't then! one was Gay Monica! Means different now I guess. Anyway, what lovely boats they were.

 

Dad must have been only fortyish but why do people of that era look a lot older. I have exceeded his age by eight years so far, but I reckon I still look younge than he looked.

I may well have been the foreman engineer on that fleet then. Rumour had it that the boats were named after the boss's family and then women who were significant to him. Good days.

 

I understand that class of boat plus Gay Roberta were built some where along the Dorset/Devon cost.

 

Did it have the air cooled SL4 in it or had we changed it to a BMC 2.2 by the time you hired?

 

All got sold off or scrapped when Rank Leisure (Richardsons) bought the company.

[Nightwatch]

Tony, thanks for responding. Sadly, I think sadly, I didn't go on these holidays with then, I was cruising in big grey things with guns. I have loads of pictures and super 8 films f the holidays. They're all my sons loft. I think there was a Gay Margaret that they hired. Would this have been from Bushnalls? Maidenhead? 

[Tony Brooks]

18 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Tony, thanks for responding. Sadly, I think sadly, I didn't go on these holidays with then, I was cruising in big grey things with guns. I have loads of pictures and super 8 films f the holidays. They're all my sons loft. I think there was a Gay Margaret that they hired. Would this have been from Bushnalls? Maidenhead? 

Yes, Bushnells. Gay Margaret - named after the boss's wife, a centre cockpit Seamaster 28 (may be27) with twin BMC 2.2s connected to B type gearboxes.

 

The little grey things with pretend guns used as recruiting aids around that time scared the daylights out of me.  Sorting a breakdown in Romney lock cut rather later at night that I would have preferred with all quiet and the mist rising and I hear noise. Out of the mist came a destroyer, aircraft carrier and black submarine maned by naval uniforms and flying the white ensign. Having never even heard of this RN fleet before I thought I was hallucinating. Great Days.

[Naughty Cal]

On 13/05/2017 at 08:47, Justin Smith said:

I have had a reply back from Herbert Woods who said if we were to book again and not be able to get under the bridge they`d be more than happy to lend us a day boat. Whether that offer would only be for to hirers, like us, re booking is a little unclear, so I`d suggest contacting them before choosing a boat / boatyard to see if such an offer would be open to others.

As we will have more time to play with on the Broads this year we are going to have a go at threading Naughty-Cal through Potter Heigham Bridge.

 

It's the only bridge we have not done yet on the Broads so we have to have a go.

[Nightwatch]

34 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Yes, Bushnells. Gay Margaret - named after the boss's wife, a centre cockpit Seamaster 28 (may be27) with twin BMC 2.2s connected to B type gearboxes.

 

The little grey things with pretend guns used as recruiting aids around that time scared the daylights out of me.  Sorting a breakdown in Romney lock cut rather later at night that I would have preferred with all quiet and the mist rising and I hear noise. Out of the mist came a destroyer, aircraft carrier and black submarine maned by naval uniforms and flying the white ensign. Having never even heard of this RN fleet before I thought I was hallucinating. Great Days.

A perfect draft for some. 

[Justin Smith]

On ‎01‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 09:34, Nightwatch said:

A perfect draft for some. 

Would that submarine get through Potter Heigham bridge......

[Nightwatch]

37 minutes ago, Justin Smith said:

Would that submarine get through Potter Heigham bridge......

It submerged a little to reduce its airdraft.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Nightwatch