The Virgins Adventure... Rockland Broad trip
Published: August 2009 | Written by: Paul Jones
To be honest, looking around the group who arrived at the clubhouse on a glorious sunny Saturday morning, there weren't many virgins amongst us. However, for most of us this was our first trip and for many, the first paddle away from the delightful river Waveney.
With kayaks and canoes safely loaded onto various cars and vans, we set off in convoy for Rockland Broad, attracting many admiring glances as we weaved our way through the harvest-raped countryside, arriving safely at our destination which was blessed with Mediterranean-like weather all day. After spotting that the water was at a low level, with the possibility of an early (but warm!) bath if we had attempted to seal-launch from the side, discretion became the better part of valour and we were all happy to launch from the slipway.
Graham, our gallant leader, led the way round the Broad, highlighting points of interest: birds (of the feathered variety), red and green posts and moveable objects (such as river cruisers and gin palaces). Gavin, Linda and Tigger had enough supplies onboard to feed us all and we were in no danger of losing him in his fluorescent hat!
We headed up a cut to where the big boys play, the River Yare which had lots more traffic including water skiiers, motor cruisers and sailing boats. We took a lunch break (and for some a nature break) on the side of the cut. Refreshed and relieved, we set off again. Twitchers were watching the grebes, cormorants and various other birds from a hide on the side of the Broad - we decided to play ball in front of them as we thought they might enjoy watching us instead. The flaps slammed shut - obviously not! But we enjoyed catching, throwing and avoiding the bouncing bomb of a ball.
We then moved on to "play chicken" in the superhighway that was the boat channel in and out of the Broad. Team relay races were the order of the day. The first race was a close run thing, with one person taking a shortcut to gain an advantage with Graham sadly unable to make up the ground on the last leg. So a second race, which involved backwards turning and paddling was undertaken. Alan had decided to show off and bring the biggest boat ever seen on Rockland Broad, rivalling in length some of the river cruisers, so turning was a problem. To make up for this disadvantage, one of his team decided to hold onto one of the opposition. However, this pulled him into contact with a sunken tree - now, remember children - cheats never prosper! Gracefully, his kayak turned over, dunking him in the water. Rescued and none the worse for wear, but with the race over, a draw was declared.
We decided that it was time to leave the water and enjoy the other delights of Rockland - the watering hole opposite the slipway. Suitably refreshed we headed back to base to unload.
A fantastic day we will all remember. Big thanks go to Graham, Alan and Gavin for organising it. Having lost our virginity, we are all looking forward to the next time!!!!