, and probably in previous years also, the WCOA cruising calendar has included to the Norfolk Broads. This year’s cruise saw both a change in venue and organiser. Following on from the success of Anne Kell’s 1996 Oaby Dyke cruise and Margaret Dye’s Hickling Broad cruise of last year came the equally enjoyable weekend organised by John Ferguson {W1018, Hickling SC}.

The cruise was scheduled for the weekend of June 6^th and 7^th and attracted some 14 Wanderers, 1 Gull Spirit and their 29 occupants to the Eastwood Whelpton Yacht Station at the end of Upton Dyke. These numbers indicate the popularity of this fine sailing area with the WCOA membership. The location is off of the south bank of the River Bure just up river from Acle and below Thurne. The Yacht Station has a beautiful CL {Certified Location} Camping Club site adjacent to the dyke and facilities with fabulous views of the renown Norfolk sunsets - these were not to disappoint! The dyke was very peaceful in the evenings and made for pleasant strolls checking over the classic Broads sailing vessels moored up here. The Eastwood Whelpton station has specialised in the hire of Broad’s sailing craft for the last 38 years choosing not to get involved with those noisy, smelly diesel cruisers!

John, and his wife Christine, had set up camp here and were welcoming members from Friday afternoon with a generous invite to their caravan for tea and a briefing - an offer most welcome to those of us with lengthy journeys! Some were to erect tents here also while others opted for one of the abundant B&Bs in the vicinity. I must say that I think those of us who decided to join John and Christine and camp at this delightful spot got the better deal. All the boats could be left in safety at the yacht station and many Wanderers were rigged during Friday afternoon and evening. One or two were even launched and moored in the dyke for a quick get away on Saturday. Others were dropped off by those seeking B&B. The local hostelry but a short walk from the campsite proved an excellent venue for an evening meal.

Wanderers were progressively edging into the dyke from the wooden slip way from about 10:00 hrs following a short briefing which included the need to match those with outboards to those without due to the relative length of the dyke, wind direction and the possible need for a tow. However within about half an hour all 15 boats had emerged out onto the river Bure and after some sail hoisting and regrouping the fleet set off, in light winds and fine weather, upriver.

for a lunch stop was to be Ranworth Broad reached by proceeding upriver turning to port soon after passing Thurne and turning once more to port into the dyke that links this beautiful broad with the river. The light winds and the variable direction made for some interesting sailing - some of us did resort to the assistance of outboards for short durations. Eventually all arrived and moored in the staithe reserved for small craft in front of the information centre, our fleet entirely filling this delightful haven. There are facilities here {shop, pub, toilets and Info Centre etc.} and a very handy low wall on which 29 Wanderer sailors perched to consume both view and lunch.

After the lunch stop and having extracted all boats from their very tight squeeze of a mooring there was time for a short sail around the Broad before regrouping and sailing back out onto the river. The direction was that of our base at Upton due to the time and recent change of tide, however some of our party wished to attempt access into the next Broad along that being the smaller but very pretty South Walsham Broad. This had to be accomplished by 15:00 hrs in order to stand a reasonable chance of sailing back out and some of the fleet did manage this leg of the journey too. We, and some others, however found the light winds and short tacking at close quarters within the dyke connecting to South Walsham just a little frustrating and opted instead for a very enjoyable and leisurely sail back to the yacht station travelling somewhat further down river before retracing our tracks and entering Upton Dyke - sails down and motor on!

The group gathered for drinks and an excellent meal at the local pub where the dining room had been set aside especially for our party. John’s proposal to provide menu selections at the time of booking the cruise paid off with a reasonably speedy turn around on the food orders. More socialising and discussions on the day’s activities ensued before departures to campsite and B&Bs.

The Sunday dawned much brighter with warm sun but also a stronger gusty wind. This caused some of our party a little trouble exiting the dyke and one or two had to extract themselves from the reed beds along the river bank! Sunday’s plan was for the fleet to split, should they wish, into two or three smaller groups and for these subgroups to visit different locations. Some managed to get as far as Potter Heigham and beyond eventually reaching Hickling SC for lunch. Others, we included, explored river and broad closer to hand with the lovely Womack Water eventually enticing us to take a respite from the wind and enjoy lunch while moored within the boat yard which is home to the famous Hunter Fleet of classic Broads sail cruisers. We were even provided with the electric lock code giving us welcome access to their facilities having been first sworn to absolute security!

After lunch and a pleasant chat, with those fellow Wanderer sailors sharing these facilities, we ventured back out from this relatively tranquil backwater back into the full force of a F4/5 and under reefed main proceeded to beat all the way back to Upton Dyke. On route we overtook two large hulking Wherry barges, the Broad’s packhorses from a former age, these slowly plodded their way down river seemingly oblivious to the wind, spray and fear on the faces of we dinghy sailors as we tentatively eased our way past trying to anticipate when and where the ‘wind shadow’ might strike! I’ll always remember the helmsman of the Wherry as he calmly bought the vast vessel, with more canvas area than all the tents erected in our campsite, head to wind and sat there sipping his tea as he waved us through before sluggishly pushing the tiller over and gradually resuming his course.

returned safely from their various destinations with a variety of stories to tell. Boats were derigged and made ready for the return journey home, tents were ‘depegged’ and stowed. Goodbyes were exchanged and we watched it all in the knowledge that we still had a further three days to enjoy this lovely area in which we would sail once more and cycle in the delightfully flat countryside and enjoy two more splendid sun sets.

Many thanks to John Ferguson for his faultless organisation of this super cruise weekend and for those of you keen to return of perhaps try this venue for the first time please note the additional Norfolk Broads cruise based on the same location and scheduled for the weekend of October 3^rd/4^th 1998 - details elsewhere within this Newsletter.