Step Back In Time On a Zero Energy Holiday
Aboard a traditional 1932 Broads sailing cruiser, Bob Goddard re-lives one of the famous author's classic stories.
Arthur Ransome has a lot to answer for. When he wasn't spying in Bolshevik Russia, he was writing books which drove countless youngsters to take to the water in small boats.
Best known for Swallows & Amazons , Ransome's tales of childhood adventure included Coot Club and The Big Six , which were both set on the Norfolk Broads. Although seventy years have passed since these books first set young minds adrift on a sea of imagination, one of the principal characters is still alive and well and living in Ludham.
Her name is Lullaby, but Ransome fans will know her as Teasel, the classic wooden sailing cruiser at the centre of the TV film of Coot Club . Built in 1932, Lullaby and her 17 sister ships are meticulously maintained at Hunter's Yard so that lovers of traditional sailing craft can recapture a time gone by.
For my brother John and me, a five-day charter aboard this gaff-rigged, varnished mahogany beauty was the perfect way to re-live one of our favourite childhood stories. In Coot Club , Teasel had ample crew with Dick and Dot, Port and Starboard, Tom Dudgeon, owner Mrs Barrable and her pet pug-dog William. How well two greying brothers would cope with her hefty sails and lack of engine remained to be seen…
One of the Hunter's Yard staff gave a brief demonstration of lowering the mast, raising the sails and using the quant – a 20-foot pole for pushing the boat along when the wind drops – then we were off down Womack Water to follow in the wake of Ransome's storybook heroes.
The first thing that struck us as we turned downwind and gently gathered speed, was the silence. The 28 foot, 4-berth cruiser has no motor to disturb the peace, so the only sounds were an occasional creak from the rigging, the swish of the long boom brushing the tops of the reeds and the chatter of buntings and warblers hidden in the forest of stems.
Turning right to follow the wider River Thurne downstream, Lullaby's huge cream mainsail bellied with the breeze and we sped past the picture-postcard windmill at Thurne Staithe to join the River Bure. Here we headed upstream to find the spot where Teasel was moored when the story began and Malthouse Broad (called Ranworth Broad in the book) where Dick and Dot had their first sailing lessons.
We were busy learning how to get the best from this majestic pre-war sailing vessel. Lullaby made it clear she didn't like to be hurried when changing direction. A gentle hand on the tiller made for graceful turns and careful sail trimming kept her galloping up the wide curves of the Bure like a thoroughbred.
Soon we had passed the remains of St Benet's Abbey and on the outside of a left hand bend in the river, was the very spot where Teasel had been moored when Coot Club's Tom Dudgeon used her to hide after casting adrift the Hullabaloos. His actions gave rise to a Broads-wide chase using sailing skills and cunning to outwit the bad-tempered hooligans in their high-powered motor cruiser.
As we turned into Ranworth Dike the wind was almost completely stopped by a high and impenetrable forest, so we drifted the last half-mile down to Malthouse Broad while we boiled the kettle on the cockpit cooker and enjoyed a well-earned brew, sipped from the period Willow-pattern tea service provided.
In a quiet corner of the broad, anchored by a hefty mudweight and with Lullaby's sails lashed down for the evening, we stepped into the dinghy to emulate Dick and Dot's first sailing lessons and to reach the shore. Ranworth Staithe has a couple of shops and a pub - The Maltsters - where we enjoyed a bar meal and a pint of Norfolk's finest ale before returning for a very peaceful night afloat.
Unchanged from her original specification, Lullaby has no electricity on board, using paraffin lamps for lighting, but her two cabins provide four good-sized single beds and plenty of stowage space. Between the two cabins is a loo and a ladder to a sliding side hatch. The cabin top hinges up to provide extra headroom and a canvas awning extends the living space and makes the boat cosy and rainproof.
By morning the forecast force 7 was howling in the rigging so we set off with two reefs in the mainsail, but found we needed the quant to get us back up Ranworth Dike. Handling this 20 foot pole is a bit of an art. Lose your footing on a slippery sidedeck, and you could end up like Dick - in the drink! The trick is to settle the wooden cap against your shoulder, lean on it and walk. Then, before you run out of deck, give a firm tug and a twist to unstick it from the glutinous mud so it doesn't get left behind with you hanging on it!
Back in the main river, we headed downstream and were soon flying along with angry clouds scudding overhead. Turning once more into the Thurne, we had a boisterous sail up the narrowing river and arrived flustered and breathless at Potter Heigham Bridge, which we hoped to pass under to follow the course of the Teasel on our Coot Club quest.
Under ideal conditions Potter Heigham Bridge is tricky to negotiate, being very low and narrow with fierce tidal currents. To add to our concerns, rain had raised the water level by more than a foot and the near-gale was sending motor cruisers careering sideways. With our sails and mast lowered, we had only the quant to push us forwards. It would be hopeless in this vicious crosswind.
Then we remembered that in the book Tom had rowed his dinghy, the Titmouse, to tow Teasel through the bridge. We had a dingy with a 2hp motor and found we could use it like a tugboat to push Lullaby fast enough to maintain control… and slipped under the bridge with two inches to spare!
With mast and sails up again we planned to spend the night at West Somerton, where the river ends abruptly at the B1159, but stopping the boat was a nightmare. The final quarter mile was downwind and much too narrow to turn around in. Lullaby flew between the steel-reinforced banks as if hell-bent on destruction, like a runaway train charging at the buffers. At the last second a tiny opening in the bank appeared behind the stern of a moored cruiser, and we just managed to spin around in a flurry of foam, missing the staithe's piling and the stern of the cruiser by less than a foot. Phew! Moored safely to the bank, with sails stowed, awning up and light fading fast, it was time to check out the village pub, The Lion. We'd earned a pint!
Next morning we awoke to a blue sky polished clean by the wind and bright orange sunshine. The water around us was clear as gin and full of tiny fishes darting amongst weeds that looked more like the Barrier Reef than the Broads.
The wind was lighter as we left West Somerton, so after sailing past the reedy wilderness of Martham Broad we headed for Horsey Mere where the wind filled Lullaby's sails and we left a foamy wake across the open water. Dick and Dot had done much the same here to prepare them for crewing Teasel to Great Yarmouth and Beccles.
Intrigued by a channel called Waxham New Cut we set out to investigate, but the banks closed in and by the time we passed a noticeboard announcing ‘Narrow channel, turning difficult' it was already too late - the water disappeared as reeds brushed the cabin on both sides at once! This was seriously narrow and I was beginning to wonder if we'd made a major mistake, when we passed two chaps loading reeds onto a trailer. Maybe they knew?
“Yar'll be oroight boy. Haff a moile on thar's an ole mill an' thass a bit woider. Yull git ‘er tarned around.”
Sure enough, a few more minutes of swishing through the reeds brought us to the ruined mill where an indent in the bank was just ‘woide' enough for us to tack and head back along the lonely finger of water.
After a night at Hickling staithe we made an early start to catch low tide at Potter Heigham Bridge where we squeezed through with one inch to spare. Following a lively sail back to the Bure, we turned upstream and upwind to trace the Teasel's path to Horning. We made good speed at first, but as the ebb picked up and the wind fell light, made worse by trees and buildings, our progress became ever more leisurely. With the occasional dab of quant to assist in tacking, we inched past Horning Ferry and then The Swan and continued past the last of the riverside bungalows to reach Hoveton Little Broad by 6pm.
Inside this Broad we found a haven of peace, with only one other boat sharing the tree-ringed expanse of water for the night. We made full use of the cooker in the cockpit to rustle up a sailor's supper, dining in the dusk and sipping our cocoa under the stars as the first owl began to hoot.
Our final morning saw us head for Horning to match the start of Teasel's major voyage. The Coot Club crew had sailed down to Great Yarmouth and Beccles before the final showdown with the Hullabaloos on Breydon Water. But our five days were up and our re-enactment of a childhood fantasy had to end as we left the Teasel's track and headed back for Womack Water and Hunter's Yard.
For experienced sailors, handling a classic vessel like this isn't difficult, once you get the hang it. For anyone wishing to sail an original 1930s Broads yacht and willing to give up a few luxuries, I'd recommend one of these historic yachts. Lullaby is available for hire from Hunter's Yard from £410 per week, the two-berth Hustler class boats are £95 less. Hiring a sailing dinghy costs £45 a week extra (2005 prices). Contact Hunter's Yard, Horsefen Road, Ludham, Norfolk NR29 5QG, tel/fax 01692 678263 or visit their website at: www.huntersyard.co.uk
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