Broads Biodiversity Forum launched to celebrate World Wetlands Day

Conservation partners in the Broads will be celebrating World Wetlands Day on February 2nd by launching the first ever Broads Biodiversity Forum at the Abbey Road Conference Centre, Norwich.

The Broads Authority, RSPB, Environment Agency, Natural England, National Trust, the Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts, BESL (Broadland Environmental Services Ltd.), and Buglife will celebrate their successes and investigate further opportunities for partnerships to enhance and promote the magic of Britain’s largest lowland wetland.

One hundred people from conservation, boating, angling, tourism, farming and recreation backgrounds are expected to attend.

World Wetlands Day marks the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2nd February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, to help raise awareness about the global importance and value of wetlands.

John Packman, Chief Executive of the Broads Authority, will explain how the organisations will work together to respond to new polices and environmental challenges while Andrea Kelly, Senior Ecologist, will discuss the Broads Authority’s priorities and progress.

The RSPB will unveil its new Futurescape for the Broads, a new way of working in partnership with a variety of organisations, farmers, local people, and businesses to create quality habitats, enrich people’s lives, and provide good quality water, carbon storage and access for recreation.

Dr Paul Dolman from the University of East Anglia will explain the findings of the Broads Biodiversity Audit which revealed that the Broads is a habitat for 26% of the UK’s rarest species.

There will also be presentations by Broadland Environmental Services Ltd on biodiversity and flood alleviation, Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts on their Living Landscapes in the Broads and a final inspirational presentation from the Chief Executive of Buglife, the national invertebrate conservation charity.

An opportunity to have your questions answered by a panel of experts will be chaired by Paul Forecast, RSPB Director, East.

He said: “There’s no doubt about it, in the next ten years, we will be facing some of the toughest environmental challenges we’ve ever seen. In order to overcome these, we need to work together to support a joint vision for a world richer in wildlife tomorrow than it is today.

“Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that places like this are safe for future generations and working together with other conservation organisations, water companies, local land owners and tourism providers, we hope to make the Broads an even greater place for people and wildlife.”

Andrea Kelly, Senior Ecologist, Broads Authority said: “The recent results of the Broads Biodiversity Audit prove what an amazing place this is for wildlife and we believe it is vital that we find new funding and additional business partners to continue to address the many challenges that threaten this very special environment.”

If you want to be part of the action on World Wetlands Day on Twitter, follow #Worldwetlandsday

Nauticat 33 Ketch.

Today’s assignment was at Goodchild Marine in Great Yarmouth. Goodchild Marine provide a full range of marina and marine support services to boat owners and boating enthusiasts enjoying leisure time on the eastern Norfolk Broads.

Today’s boat was this Nauticat Ketch. Nauticats are very well made motor sailers, manufactured by Siltala yachts at Turku in Finland. The 33 has been in production since 1966, and there are about 1200 of them worldwide. The name Nauticat comes from the Finnish for nautical quality and they are certainly quality boats.

This NC33 has a solid teak planked deck, screwed & bunged over a solid glass substrate. Since the deck screws don't penetrate through the 5/8" thick fiberglass, if the bungs are ever compromised, or screws loosen, cabin leaks typically will not occur.

Lots of lovely old wooden boats at Goodchilds...think this is an old pilot boat... double diagonal timber built..

 

The fibreglass on all Nauticats from the early 70's, right up to today, is of solid fiberglass. The greatest advantages of solid glass over balsa, or synthetic cored hulls, is hull strength, resistance to impact damage, and water resistance. The 33 displaces 18,000 lbs, but is built extremely tough. In fact, Nauticat Yachts has the undisputed reputation as builder of "the world's best-built motorsailers."



Keel designs do vary with production year. But most keels have a fiberglass encapsulated ballast, which was produced with the tall rig, modified fin keel and skeg-hung rudder option. Nauticats have always been built by the same boat builders in Finland. To learn more you could visit the Nauticat Yachts website - http://www.nauticat.fi/ , click on Yachts, then Traditional Motorsailers, and Nauticat 331, for a description of the current 33 ft model . These new models have undergone several design modifications, but still retain the similar lines and overall concept as the originals.

Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com

Mediterranean 38ft River Cruiser

Today’s assignment was to carry out a Structural Survey on this Mediterranean 38ft River Cruiser. Back in the 1970's this Mediterranean 38 was the ultimate in relaxed luxury cruising. 

Unfortunately last winter a hose fitted to the shower pump froze and burst and she partially sank. She was lifted the next day, the repair carried out and she was refloated. Her structure was still remarkably good in general, and it is considered that she is well worthy of refitting. 

Surveyors Comments:

 The ideal bilge pump arrangement is a small (400 gph) automatic bilge pump mounted in the sump to dispense with rain and shaft-gland leakage, combined with a high capacity pump (2,500 gph) mounted higher to deal with more serious ingress. Stepping the discharge hose from the small pump down to ½” minimises the backflow from the hose when the pump cycles, maintaining a dryer bilge. The large pump can be wired to a float switch if you prefer, but I think a manual switch makes more sense. An added advantage of this bilge pump configuration is that the high-capacity pump sits high and dry, extending its life indefinitely.

Electric bilge pumps cannot be relied upon in emergencies when electrical power may not be available. Always carry a hand operated pump to cover the worst eventuality.

Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com

Broads Authority's pioneering plan to extend commercial reed beds

The Broads Authority has announced a pioneering plan to increase the area of Broads reed beds used for commercial cutting in order to address the decline in this ancient industry.

Currently there are just 19 commercial reed cutters on the Broads. Now the Authority is to survey all Broads reed beds with a view to extending the areas cut and bringing neglected beds back into production.

Andrea Kelly, the Authority’s senior ecologist, said: “We know there are almost 2000 hectares of open fen on the Broads and, with the help of landowners, our aim is to extend commercial reed beds from 15% to 25%.

“We all know the government is expecting society to find other ways to pay for conservation management. This plan will help to put land management on a sustainable footing.”

She said landowners, who would still have a duty to manage protected sites had already been very positive about the initiative and were beginning to employ the local cutters to undertake all sorts of wetland work.

The Broads Authority has already trained new reed cutters through a Heritage Lottery funded scheme and addressed the issue of availability of work by providing them with scrub clearance contracts outside the cutting season.  Efforts will also be made to expand the market by looking for opportunities to sell lower-grade reed for thatching outbuildings.

Gary Elliott, 43, a reed cutter for 20 years, has been appointed to carry out the reed bed survey.  He will be contacting about 60 landowners and visiting sites around the Broads to assess the quantity and quality of reed.

He will be checking the viability of sites for expansion, looking at issues such as access and how easy it would be to remove the reed. On reed beds which have partly turned to scrub, he will be estimating how costly it would be to restore them to a commercial quality.

 Mr Elliott said: “We can see a future for living and working on the Broads now whereas before there did not appear to be any future.”

He said while 75% of reed is currently imported from places as far afield as China and the Ukraine, there is “quality assurance” in the case of reed cut locally.

“There is a link between the cutter, thatcher and householder. Sometimes we might be supplying reed to a house in our village so we are not going to be giving them poor quality reed,” he said.

His optimism is shared by Paul Eldridge, 31, and Rowan Nichols, 29, who represent a new breed of reed cutters having entered the industry five years ago on the Broads Authority’s training scheme.

Mr Eldridge said: “Every thatcher we have supplied was previously having to import reed and they are very excited to have English reed again. Their customers are also delighted to find that the reed has been cut locally.”

Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association chairman Richard Starling, 60, praised the Broads Authority’s new initiative which he saw as a way of “reconnecting conservation with sustainable management again”.

He said: “At the moment, thatchers have little choice but to use imported reed owing to the limited availability of UK reed. Sadly, traditional and sustainable reed bed management ceased on many sites in favour of rotational cutting and burning.
“Other issues impacting on production include access problems, changing water level regimes, the widening of dykes resulting in excessive areas of spoil and scrub encroachment.”

 “There are several thousand hectares of reed beds throughout the UK but I understand that it is only in the Broads where there is a desire to encourage further commercial participation in reed bed management. If other parts of the country followed the Broads Authority’s lead we would be less reliant on imported reed. “

Broom Commander

I was back down at Bells Marine in Brundall today Surveying this Broom Commander River Boat. I think she is one of only three built by Brooms, very rare, and moulded by Bourne Plastics. Fitted out by Brooms Boats in 1975 and powered by a Perkins 4.108 diesel engine.

Bell Boats Ltd is an established family run business (for over 60 years) and offers a wide range of services for the boat owner permanently or temporarily based in Norfolk.

A very comfortable family river cruiser

Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com

The acting Yacht Broker today was Jim Cole of Pedro Boats (UK), based in Norfolk, and he specialises in the sale of new and used Pedro Dutch steel motor cruisers from 30 - 44 ft. He has 40 years marine experience, with Jim Cole being the longest established yacht broker in Norfolk. Pedro Boats (UK), are the UK distributor for the complete Pedro range of luxury dutch steel motor boats and are also able to offer pre-owned and brokerage boats.