From nixonm@Xsurfaid.org Sat May 1 00:27:49 1999 Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 14:45:14 GMT From: Malcolm Nixon Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: Trip report - River Ore on an MFV Trip Report - River Alde in Suffolk. Just a short report on a slightly different boat trip. This week I had a most pleasant trip on an old Admiralty Motor Fishing Vessel ( MFV ) along the River Alde from Orford, on the Suffolk coast. This is located on the Suffolk coast just to the south of Aldeburgh. I have seen this stretch of water countless times when flying back into Britain from the continent. It clearly stands out as the river almost reaches the sea at Aldeburgh, then flows down a channel for about another ten miles before flowing into the sea at Orford Haven The trip was a "Team building" event with colleagues at work, or perhaps just another jolly !. The trips are operated on a commercial basis on board the Lady Florence which started life with the Royal Navy - having been built as an MFV in 1944. She is 50 feet long about 15 feet beam and weighs 35 tons ( registered ). She has a 120 h.p. Foden six cylinder diesel engine, which was turning over at less than 1,000 for most if the time. We boarded "Lady Flo'" at noon, and after a briefing and a welcome glass of mulled wine - we cast off and set off up the river. One of the great attractions of the estuary is the bird life. It is a haunt of the Avocet, the bird which has been used as the emblem of the RSPB. Not being an ornithologist - I won't embarrass myself with trying to describe all the different types of bird's seen, - they are very well described by the crew in their commentary if you too go along for a ride, and the RSPB we site at www.rspb.co.uk has more information. Once we reached Aldeburgh, we turned inland for a mile or so, before the falling tide meant our six foot draught meant we were a little too close to the bottom on a falling tide. We turned and before we had even reached Aldeburgh again, the gong rang telling us lunch was ready. This process took long enough to reach our starting point of Orford again, but we continued down the river until we reached the point where the river flows into the sea. This must be one of the most tricky estuaries as the shingle is continually shifting, By now it was low tide and we could see the river flowing over the beach - with just a small channel running parallel to the beach until finally turning into the sea. Not for the timid sailor or boater, but the skipper ably took us through these waters. On the return trip - we again went past Havergate Island, the RSPB's Island bird sanctuary. We were fortunate with the weather, which whilst needing a warm coat, enabled us to stand on deck for much of the time, just returning occasionally to warm ourselves in the cabin heated by a wonderful bottle coal stove. The rain stayed away and the visibility was excellent. Regrettably, the four hour trip ended all too soon, and we were back at Orford Quay. Although in a remote part of Britain for many, it is well worth remembering if you go to Suffolk and thoroughly recommended, a good boat trip with a helpful crew - with a very nice meal into the bargain. And did I have a turn at the wheel - ??. Well no I just watched and enjoyed the trip being content to let someone else do the work, but one or two of my questions might have given the skipper a clue I knew just a little about boats. http://www.lady-florence.co.uk/brunch.htm http://www.orford.org.uk/ Havergate Island http://www.rspb.co.uk/nature_res/view_res.asp?fld_nat_resv_id=103 -- Malcolm, -remove the X to reply Steam narrowboat President's website - last updated 25/1/99 http://www.users.surfaid.org/~nixonm/president/p_home.html