A Broads Paddle...11/02/08

Yesterday we went down to Nicholas Everitt Park in Olton Broad with some friends so the kids could run about. The water was flat calm, air temperature was nice and clarity was good. Liam, a long-time kayaker, had today off so we hatched a plan to get on the water today. Initially planning for an early-morning sea paddle on our own we altered this to a morning paddle with his two eldest which allowed his wife some space to get some stuff done at home and my wife some free time with my eldest to do some sewing/crafts while the youngest was at nursery. Cunning eh? We were doing the ladies a favour…..

9am and we were all set to go. What a beautiful morning:



I went down the slipway, whereas Liam chose to slip down to the pontoon. I was hoping for a nice action shot but he managed to stop in time:



We even had a couple of visitors while getting him and the children afloat;



I wandered back to my yak – I took the Prowler 15 for a spin today – and paddled out to meet them, two rods out with lures on. They sat and waited for me to join them.



The water was low, the sun was climbing and the mists were slowly burning off.



We paddled along the side of the reedbeds that border the southern side of the broad and go onto Carlton Marshes. This is a nature reserve or something and the water is quite shallow here. When it’s a bit higher the jacks hang around here but nothing was doing as we headed past the beds and down onto the Dyke.



Being a bit uneventful for children, the sarnies were depleted by 10:10am!



Then, low on the horizon, swooping down around the bend in the river came what at first appeared to be a pair of Heinkel 111’s on a low-level torpedo run on our little arctic convoy. Of course not having eaten any yak-cake I soon identified the inbound intruders as swans and they, satisfied we weren’t up to no-good, climbed and headed elsewhere.



Hmm, was I seeing double? I know it’s a double kayak but all kids are a handful without being duplicated!



We soon reached the Waveney and after investigating a hippopotamus that turned out to be a floating piece of old and decayed wood (that filled my tankwell on its way back to a new life in an aquarium) we stopped for a run about. Well, for the children to run about that is – I had a smoke. I then admired a piece of sculpture I knew about but had yet to see – wouldn’t mind catching one this size!





After making use of the facilities and taking a good look at some hire-canoes (Mad River Aventure 16's - Liam is getting an open canoe for the family this year) we headed back to the broad passing a couple of chaps first-testing the 1930’s designed sailing canoes they’d built over the winter – Liam doubtful but I thought they were quite nice looking things. Bet I’d leave them standing with my PA sail!



I helped the one chap while he adjusted his rudder and he asked if I was the guy who went off Lowestoft in a yellow yak as he’d seen me a few times.

Tracing a route down the centre and then northern side of the broad I headed down towards the lock and then swung back up and landed at the launch point again. I’d had no fish, only a couple of snags and an absolutely cracking paddle on a beautiful spring morning. From 3-10 degrees in the space of a few hours, peaceful with very few other water-users and in absolutely top conditions it wasn’t really important whether or not I’d caught – it was just enough to have been out. And the beer and grub back at Liam’s house went down a treat!