That Sinking Feeling...23.12.10

Well I began my day by taking a look at the sea on the way back from Asda. It was filthy! Good waves, 4ft+ but not much gap between them and they were tripping over a bit early but it looked rideable and they were fast and so following breakfast (I cooked for 9) I got kitted up and wandered down to the beach. I chatted to a couple of the local surfers who were watching from their van then launched. The wind was very strong and head on as I paddled out and I just couldn’t make headway against that and the constant foam. Managing to get halfway to my chosen jumping off point I turned to take a good one that was coming in where I was and rode it all the way in, jumped off, picked my Yakboard up and went home to fry some other fish.

I say fish but I mean christening my new ride. I brought home a new yak yesterday which has taken some saving for and which I’ve wanted for a good few months – a Necky Chatham 17 in ‘Advanced Composite’. White with a yellow top side she looks lovely and the reviews are all good. I figured I’d have a quick blast around Oulton Broad and then go and dish up a nice lunch of Muntjac Stew that I had bubbling away. It's all Carpyken's fault. He inspired me a year ago.

Oulton Broad was iced over. With the sea off limits the only remaining option was Lake Lothing. Parking up at Harbour Road I carried the Chatham on my shoulder down to the ‘beach’, floated her and hopped in through the cockpit.





It was very windy and blowing straight down towards me. I stuck my Nordkapp in and off I went. The acceleration was so much more than I’m used to and I was cruising at a good speed in moments. I didn’t feel unstable and it was as though she ignored both the wind and the incoming tide. Off I went up towards the harbour mouth.



I passed YH89 Lydia Eva which summers at South Quay in Great Yarmouth but returns to Lowestoft for winter maintenance. Built in Kings Lynn in 1930 she is the last surviving steam-powered herring drifter.



I turned at the CEFAS Endeavour, opposite Asda, and paddled back again with the wind and current behind me this time. It made no odds – I never felt any difference in speed or effort, nor did I when the river changed course and I went across the wind. I played about with the skeg a bit and got an idea of how it affected things (having never used one before) and carried on past my launch point to go and look at the historic vessels at the marina end.



First up was a tarp-covered LT472 Excelsior, a restored fishing smack built in 1921 and the last surviving sailing trawler.



Next I went off towards the wreck of the Probe, MMS 1086, last used as a survey ship operating from Lowestoft in the 1960’s. She was and was sold for scrap in March 1969 after searching for oil and gas reserves in the North Sea when the company went bankrupt and their fleet disposed of.



Next up was the wreck of the MFV Yellowtail, LT326. The water was really high now, higher than It’s ever been when I’ve paddled down here and I was able to paddle onto the wreck and have a nosey at the inside.





Across the water and further down I went over to MTB 102. Launched in 1937 she was the first Motor Torpedo Boat of the modern era and crossed the English Channel eight times to rescue stranded servicemen from the beaches around Dunkirk and later carried Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower on their review of the D-Day fleet prior to the Allied return to Occupied Europe.



Not a bad christening for a new boat and my first SINK. A good few miles in strong wind and hail with plenty to see. Now to persuade my wife that I can paddle the ten miles to my parents for Christmas lunch and she can pick me up with the car!



Sorry about the picture quality – my camera was set to 1600 iso.