Norfolk Broads

We recently did a long weekend boating on the Norfolk Broads. As I understand it, Norfolk was a not easily habitable area, covered extensively by bogs and marshlands. The people (mainly men) here lived very solitary lives and were involved in peat mining. As the peat ran out and the mines got closer to the sea, the sea started to flow in. The mines eventually filled up with water and these created channels. These channels were called broads and became a waterway and were used to transport goods. Over time trade died out and the broads are mainly used for leisure activities. Mainly boating.
We arrived at Potter Heigham just after lunch. We had booked a 9 berth boat from a company called Herbert Woods ( http://www.waterwaysholidays.com). We were assigned a boat named Malibu Light. The boat was unfortunately very disappointing. Externally it looked fine. Internally it was tired looking. However, it was clean. The beds were freshly made, clean sheets and the floor was spotless. We loaded up the boat. One of the employees of the company came over talked us through the boat. Then he took the boat out of the yard for a little spin. He showed us what to do, gave us a map of the broads. He got off and rather gingerly we were away.
We sailed for about 3 and half hours and then found a spot to moor for the night. We moored at Salhouse Broads (fee £6 for the night). We took a short walk and then commenced cooking. We ate on the boat that night. We hunkered down for the night. The beds were reasonably comfortable. The size of the boat being what it is the beds were however very tiny and cramped but we all managed a good night’s sleep. We were all up early and shortly after 8:00 we were on the move. We picked up some friends at How Hill. We went further up the river. Due to the height of the rushes and the foliage we felt like we were in a tropical country someplace. It was very quiet and serene. We moored for lunch at Gay’s Staithe , a very beautiful location. After lunch we set sail again. However, not before we had a small mishap. Whilst checking the weed filter we managed to drop the cap into the engine compartment which was filled with water and diesel. After a futile search we called the boat engineer. He was with us within 20 minutes. He leant over the engine, fished around in the compartment and within a minute had found the cap and pot it back on. We felt sheepish! The afternoon sailing was fun. We dropped our friends off at How Hill (Fee free) again that evening. We went for a walk and then went looking for a pub. The nearest pub was about a 40 minute walk away. We decided to cook dinner on the boat again. After dinner we realised that we had run out of water on the boat. Completely! No problem surely. We were at a mooring place. However, we discovered that there was no water at this mooring place!
Next morning we woke up at the crack of dawn (6:30) we set off looking for water. Fortunately for us about half an hour down river was a place called Ludham Bridge. We moored and filled up water. It took almost an hour and a half to fill water. After breakfast we were back on the move again. We sailed down to the Southern Broads. We kept going till we were almost at Great Yarmouth from where it would have been open sea. We then turned around and late afternoon decided to moor at a pub and have lunch. After a leisurely lunch we headed back to Potter Heigham. We got there about 6:30. We unloaded the boat, packed the cars and were on the move. This was quite painless. We did not speak to or see anyone from the company. It was a bit like returning a rental car. Someone from the company checked it over later and the only addition was the cost of the fuel.
In conclusion, it was a great weekend. Great fun. I would certainly do it again but with a much better boat and somewhere different.