REEDHAM TO YARMOUTH.
[Picture: Decorative drop capital] The next morning we were up betimes to
take the last of the ebb down to Yarmouth, and catch the tide up the
Bure. As there was a fresh breeze from the east, we had to tack nearly
the whole of the way.
At Reedham there is a swing bridge, over which the railway passes, and if
the wind is foul it is always a difficult matter to sail through,
particularly if the tide be against you. On the present occasion we had
the tide with us; therefore, on reaching the opening of the bridge, we
could shoot the yacht up into the wind, and carry her way on until
through, when her head was paid off on the proper tack.
"I tell you what, these Norfolk waters are capital places to learn to
steer in. An inch either way, and we should have torn our sail against
the bridge."
"Yes, and what with getting the utmost on every tack, without going
ashore, shaving wherries by a yard or two, and watching for every puff as
it comes over the grasses on the marsh, so as to make the most of it,
there is more fun in sailing here than on more open waters."
Just below the bridge is the _New Cut_, a perfectly straight canal, three
miles long, connecting the Yare with the Waveney, and so saving a round
of some eighteen miles, which would otherwise be necessary to get from
the one river to the other, as a reference to the map will show.
Now came a steady beat for several miles, until we reached the Berney
Arms (on the right is the mouth of the river Waveney), when Breydon water
opened out before us, with Yarmouth in the distance. When the tide is
in, this is a remarkable sheet of water, four and a-half miles long by a
mile broad. There are mud flats on either side of the wide channel,
where herons and sea-fowl greatly congregate. The strong wind against
the tide raises a respectable sea, and the tacks being longer we made
rapid progress, and the motion was exhilarating. A sail across Breydon
in a strong wind, is a thing I always consider a great treat. The
channel is marked out by stout posts at intervals of two hundred yards or
thereabouts, but it is not safe to sail too close to all these posts
unless the tide be high, as the shoals stretch out beyond them, and, in
default of local knowledge, it is best to give them a wide berth.
[Picture: The Quay, Great Yarmouth]
The spires of Yarmouth grow more distinct, and at last we arrived at its
quays, just as the tide was on the turn. We made fast alongside a wherry
moored to the quay, and while our man, with the assistance of one of the
loiterers on the quay, lowered the mast, and quanted the yacht up the
narrow mouth of the Bure and under two bridges, we took a stroll about
the quays, the quaint "rows" and streets of the old part of the town, and
had a peep at the splendid church.
The ebb tide runs very strongly, and, to avoid being carried against the
bridge which spans the contracted harbour, it is prudent for the stranger
to have an anchor in readiness. The public quays are on the north side
next the town, and a berth alongside a wherry or other yacht can be
chosen. There are private moorings laid down alongside the south shore
off "Cobholm Island," and it is customary, in case of need, to bring up
to one of these, if vacant; but a yacht must not be moored there, or
alongside another yacht there, without permission. If the visitor is
nervous or inexperienced, he can avail himself of the services of one of
the watermen loafing about the quays, to help him through the fixed
bridges which block the entrance to the river Bure, which here enters the
harbour.
[Picture: Bream] The river bends to the south at an acute angle with its
former course, and for about three miles runs very close to, and almost
parallel with the sea. It is interesting to row past the wharves and
quays, where many quaint and picturesque bits present themselves, but on
account of the rapid flow of the tide, it is not a part of the river much
frequented by the river yachts.
[Picture: A "row", Great Yarmouth]
As Yarmouth has guide-books all to itself, it is not necessary here to
expatiate upon its attractions.
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