SOLACE, the only remaining private sailing wherry in Broadland was taken down the Bure to Great Yarmouth for a lift out, inspection and maintenance work. Built in the Edwardian zenith of ship building, she is still kept in fine fettle, with several coats of varnish carefully applied to the oak timber sides and decks each year. Roger was Mate and I performed as professional (very lame) engineer for the day, which entailed brewing tea and coffee and manning the motor launch, pushing the wherry from astern.
Nigel (Master) helmed with SOLACE'S chunky but graceful tiller, standing alfresco in the cockpit ~ wherryfolk are a rarified and hardy breed. Waves of showers and sunshine punctuated the journey, but our enthusiasm wasn't dampened and there was plenty to discuss, from stories of old time local wherries and the incredibly colourful characters involved with them, as well as topics of the good, bad and plain ugly things that occur in Broadland and our quirky British Isles.
Like many timber craft, pleasure wherry SOLACE is hauled out every 3 years in order to be cleaned underneath, checked and any necessary repairs made. Soon it will be time for our houseboat to be lifted out of the water, while she is looked over and fresh coats of paint applied.
A boat journey can be greatly therapeutic. As we motored down river, the scenery rolled by ~ wooded bogs, resembling at times tropical jungle, gave way to open marshland and waving reed beds; before suddenly turning into raw muddy shelved banks, with busy wading birds seeking lunch. The confluence of rivers meet at the peninsula port of Yarmouth, diverging like spokes of a wheel at the precious hub of Breydon, guarded at the sea entrance by a grand lifting draw bridge. It was noticeable how tragically under~used the vast resource of Breydon Water is at present. Only recently had the last houseboats disappeared from the fringes of Breydon; ship building on the shoreline is a distant memory and wildfowling punts rarely slip up the numerable creeks ~ as had been their habit for centuries.
We mused upon fresh potential for bare Breydon ~ what about a thoughtfully designed pavillion with smart facilities, located on the edge of water... This could house a stylish restaurant, with outreach services and secure bird watching viewing areas, attracting the public all year to see the glories of Broadlands central basin. Resources for such a project are oft said to be scarce nowadays. Perhaps funding could be raised by pragmatic 21st century merchants and public grants. Local people, who often struggle to find work 'out of season' could be employed with every aspect of the pavilion. Once more Breydon could be a wonderous place, accessible to all.
Chris, Diane
There is less danger in fearing too much than too little.
Francis Walsingham
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