By Mrs Joyce Chesney, Stockton on Tees
In the early days of our Broads Boating holidays an incident happened which showed us that we had a great deal to learn about boating, safety and the Broads.
Summer 1970, our week began on a boat from Reedham. My husband had not been well that year and indeed was due to enter hospital the month following our return from holiday. [We did not know it then, but he was to spend nearly 2 months in hospital and eventually parted with a kidney]. Oulton Broad was our destination for the first night, it was our first visit there and I am not sure why we did not moor at the Yacht Station but it was decided to drop the mud weight in the Broad and swing there for the night. We had a rowing dinghy to get ashore so were able to visit the Commodore for a drink in the evening and row back to the boat.
We had listened to the weather forecast and were told there would be storms in the Bristol area, with this information we turned in for the night and after the long journey down, we were tired and went out like a light!
About 3am I heard my husband moving around and asked what was wrong. Not sure, he said, but we are not where we were a few hours ago. I could hear the wind roaring outside and thought - that storm had moved from Bristol pretty quickly!
Oulton Broad was very different in 1970 to the way it is now and the boat had somehow been blown onto the remains of an old slipway and was heeling over and we were on a falling tide!. It became pretty uncomfortable as the boat tipped further and further over and we made the decision to Abandon Ship?! We managed to attach a rope to the slipway.
Thank goodness for the dinghy! I managed to get some clothes on but my husband was still in his Pjs. We climbed into the dinghy with difficulty and he started to row us towards the nearest landing place. This turned out to be a boatyard called Norfolk Knights, which, we found out later, had closed for business some days earlier. Although we got ashore we could not go anywhere as we were faced with very high walls. Dont Panic! Too late, I already had. I had a sick husband who was desperately trying to row against extremely strong winds with rain lashing in our faces. Eventually we found a landing place, I think it was close to the Wherry hotel, and tied up the dinghy. Well of course at that time in the morning, everywhere was deserted; then we saw a man on a bike. He directed us to a Police Telephone - no not the Tardis - one in a hole in a wall and we used this telephone to ask for help.
Within a very short space of time, which seemed like forever, a pale blue Morris Minor Police Car pulled up and a lovely policeman took us to the Yacht Station where the Harbour Master, having been contacted by the Policeman, opened up for us. I think his name was Solomons and he really looked after us, making us tea, even though there was no milk! He called the boatyard owners who were not at all happy, and who could blame them? As the tide rose the boat righted itself and they were able to go out and retrieve it. There was no damage to the boat, and we were safe but would never again drop the mud weight to spend the night except at Salhouse or Ranworth and only when there was no wind!
Last Christmas, my husband surprised me with a model Morris Minor, pale blue police car - a tiny reminder of a pretty horrendous night nearly forty years ago.
Joyce Chesney 2009