CRIME ON THE BROADS
Aquiet January cruise on the Norfolk Broads turns into an unexpected crime drama for PBO contributor Will Renilson
Winter… Nothing happens in the winter. How wrong could we be! We own a Jersey 36 motorboat which we keep on the Norfolk Broads. She is a very seaworthy, sturdy vessel, fully equipped for use at sea, and we often cruise along the coast. So far, we’ve travelled as far as St Katharine Docks, London, but we also enjoy using her all over the Broads.
The Norfolk Broads is an amazingly friendly National Park with more than 200km of waterways to explore. In the summer it’s perfect for gentle trips with the family where we enjoy canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding and rowing, along with sailing our elderly Mirror dinghy. Yes, the Broads are lovely, but in the summer we also have copious amounts of visiting boats and hire craft which come with their own challenges. So, one of my favourite times of the year for the Broads is winter.
Winter idyll
The weather may be a tad inclement, but there are no hire craft around and you are never fighting for a mooring spot. You often get the rivers to yourself.
It’s perfect for seeing the myriad of wildlife–being home to more than a quarter of the rarest wildlife in the UK. And you can also use the many electric posts provided by the Broads Authority to help keep you warm at night.
So it was that in January 2023 we set off for an eight-day trip on the Southern Broads. After four days of meandering from St Olaves up to Norwich, we returned to our moorings for a night before heading off for Oulton Broad and Beccles.
The Broads area is covered by various social media sites and there had been reports of a 35ft Bourne Cruiser being stolen and towed away. There had been several sightings of it on the River Yare, The Chet and even Langley Dyke. We didn’t think too much about it other than that we’d keep an eye out.
When we eventually left our moorings in St Olaves, we had already covered the ‘search area’ and were intent on just slowly enjoying our trip up to Beccles. We had a blustery day gusting 30 knots, but again this does not bother us, so off we went.
We had the river to ourselves (perfect) and surprised the bridge keeper at Somerleyton Swing Bridge, as he didn’t expect to have to open on
