Boating in Norfolk - Part 4

We had a transit van we used for deliveries from our grocery store/bakery and this was great for bringing all the gear to the boat. We took the inflatable tender and engine home, and also a large fuel can which we filled on the way to the boat each time - once back in Africa we had run out of fuel on the Zambezi so took no chances now!

Our transit van, and in front my Honda 650 bike.

The bike, in the photo, was only used when we had more than three of us heading to the boat - 3-person bench seat in the front of the transit.
So the following weekend everything was in place for our first proper fishing adventure - the boat was in good nick, fuel filled, bait collected (we drove past a tackle shop on the way where we could buy lug-worms, the favoured bait along this stretch of coast), and my nephew dosed with anti-seasickness pills. The weather forecast was for good conditions so we were looking forwards to our trip.
Sunday morning was clear with no mist, and little wind so we motored across Breydon Water, through Great Yarmouth harbour, and out into the North Sea again! Bearing in mind how our first trip had finished with engine problems we decided that we wouldn't go very  far this time, so dropped our anchor a hundred metres or so away from the shipping lane, and soon had our lines in. I had traded our beach-casting gear in at the tackle shop for boat fishing tackle, and Dad and I had identical Shakespeare rods, with Penn multiplier reels and 35 pound test line, with lighter tackle for Paulo, who was about 12 at the time.
Soon I was catching Flounder, some nice ones to about 3 pounds, and Dad and Paulo, on the opposite side of the boat were catching ... nothing! Dad and I even swapped places and though he did manage to catch one, I still ended up with 9 to his one! Identical tackle, identical bait, and line dropped no more than 3 metres apart!
While we were fishing we noticed some commotion in the harbour entrance about half a mile away, and a couple of tugs and rig support vessels appeared towing an oil rig out of the harbour. We were well off the shipping lane, but they seemed to be slowly heading straight towards us, giving us cause for concern. It appeared that they may simply be manoeuvring to turn the rig, though they were edging closer and closer to us, and some other small boats fishing the area, but had not yet made any signal to us of their intentions. Eventually we decided to use our discretion and raised the anchor to move further South out of the way, but, unfortunately, the fish stopped biting in the new spot so we headed home. The journey home was uneventful and back home Mum cooked us the Flounder for dinner!
That actually turned out to be our last North Sea fishing trip! We tried again on several occasions, but the mist was too thick most of the time - on one day we could not even start across Breydon Water as we couldn't see the navigation marker posts - and on another occasion we reached the harbour mouth and a large swell was coming in. We decided that once past the opening it might be OK so made a run at it, but the waves were much taller than the boat and did not seem to be much better beyond. The problem then was how to turn round and get back in!! The wave frequency was short, and we knew that we had to turn in the trough between waves, and get our prow headed back into the harbour in that short space, since being hit broadside by a wave would possibly have swamped us! Dad trusted me with the helm and we continued meeting the waves head on while waiting and hoping that we would see an opportunity to spin round - we had the power and speed, but needed enough room to make the manoeuvre. It took about 10 waves before we decided to make a run for it, and as soon as we crested one wave I revved the engine and put us in a tight turn - it worked!! We were "surfing" down a wave back towards the harbour entrance keeping our speed just right so we didn't "catch" the preceding wave, and using throttle and rudder to keep ourselves straight, when Dad said "don't look back", which, of course, I did! The wave was almost breaking over the stern of the boat! However I had learnt enough by then not to panic, but to keep my speed and direction, and soon we entered the calmer waters of the harbour. It was an incredible experience, gave us a lot of confidence in both our ability, and, especially, that of the Petite Promesse, but we decided that we didn't want to repeat that particular experiment again.
The day I used the bike (as well as Dad driving the Transit van) my girlfriend, later to be my wife, had been staying with us, so the three of them (Dad, Paulo and Ali) had travelled in the van, and I followed on the bike. When we arrived at the marina Dad discovered he had left the gate keys, which also had the ignition key!) back at home, so I turned round and raced back to collect them. Now I am not normally a speedy rider, but Sunday morning and a desire to get out on the water (we were supposed to be back home for lunch which Mum was preparing) meant I did go somewhat faster than usual and the normal 40 minute journey in the van, took me less than 40 minutes - there and back! They had the boat ready for action by the time I got back and we went and pottered around Breydon Water for a while, before mooring up again. I mentioned before that we moored stern on to the pontoon, so had to pull the boat back, using the stretch of the nylon rope, to get close enough to step onto the pontoon. Ali wanted to get ashore so Paulo pulled the rope to get the stern close, and she started stepping across, but paused halfway - one foot in the boat the other on the pontoon, and Paulo could not hold the boat for long! The inevitable happened! Splash! Ali was in the water! The boat had a short ladder at the rear and she started climbing up, but the weight of wet clothing made this difficult - and I am afraid that both Dad and I were unable to help - we were in hysterics! Eventually we did manage to get her out, but had no dry clothing for her, though I did have a lightweight cagoule and over-trousers for my bike, so she put these on and wasn't too cold. Ali was not happy at us all laughing instead of helping, and said that Mum would be more sympathetic, though we told he it was unlikely, so I followed the van home and waited for Ali to knock on the door (we didn't take house keys with us) first - Mum opened the door, took one look at the bedraggled Ali, and burst out laughing too!! It didn't do any harm to our relationship, though, and we did eventually get married!
We kept the boat for a few months after that, and did some boating on Breydon Water, but the weather prevented us from venturing out to sea again, and shortly after that pressure of work and family meant we decided to sell the boat. It had been great fun while it lasted.