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Hunter’s Yard lives in the heart of the Norfolk broads and has a fleet of 14 traditional cabin yachts. Five CUYC members – Alex, Zhou, Lidia, Joe, and Claudia – were lucky enough to experience sailing on one of their Lullaby Class yachts. Here is the summary of their adventures along the Norfolk broads, their attempts to sail a gaff sloop, and sticking to a ‘British’ themed weekend (since Joe the skipper and only Brit on board wanted to share the beauty of his country’s traditions and cuisine).

Saturday 29th March 2025

Arrival at Hunter’s Yard

As soon as we arrived at Hunter’s Yard, we were mesmerised by the boatyard containing old wooden boat spares and overlooking the fleet of old traditional boats.

Dan warmly welcomed us and instantly took us to see Lucent, our boat for the weekend, and settle in. We knew what we had signed up to, but it wasn’t until we set foot on the boat that it sunk in. We were actually going to live and sail on a wooden traditional craft for the next three days! Incredible! Lucent is a 29ft Lullaby Class gaff sloop, with two cabins, four beds (yes Joe slept on the floor), one small toilet & cockpit that was also the galley. After settling in, Esra briefed us - turns out sailing these crafts was not as straightforward as we expected, simple manoeuvres such as hoisting up the sails or setting anchor (or mud weights as they call them) are very different, let alone new manoeuvres such as putting down the mast or quanting (which is basically like punting on steroids, though thankfully we did have an engine as well!). After about 1.5hrs they trusted us with their precious boat (soon they’d question their decisions).

Setting Sail (or at least our best attempts to do so)

We managed to get the boat out of the marina, with some interesting pushing and pulling and first attempts at trying to quant. I must admit it was looking promising at this point, though we were soon to be humbled. We moored up at the end of the marina, where they suggested we should hoist the sails. First step: jib hoist - success, second step: main hoist - success (a bit more faffing but success nonetheless), third step: quant off - disaster! The quant got stuck under the boat at which point we were sailing over it and BOOM! Our bow went straight onto the pontoon, causing one of the planks to jolt up. Thankfully Lucent was fine! Pontoon 0 – Lucent 1. Oopsies – not the best start! Joe went off to get Esra and yep, they had seen and heard it all - at least we provided them with some entertainment! Esra helped us regain our quart and set sail. He did not question us once or make fun of us, don’t know where their confidence in us came from but it was much appreciated! Must have been quite painful watching five incompetent students unsuccessfully setting sail on their precious Lucent. As soon as we deployed Esra back on land, bang again, we hit the mud bank - thankfully this was a softer crash and could just push off. After what was a bit of a bumpy start, we turned onto River Thurne and had some lovely downwind sailing in perfect conditions – sunny day, blue sky, gentle breeze. Crossing the famous Potter Heigham bridge Soon enough we’d be tested again. We were approaching the famous Potter Heigham bridge, where we would have to get the sails down and lower the mast. Left ample time to do so, since confidence was not something we had to spare. Step numero uno: sails down – success, step numero dos: mast down – a bit more of a struggle with some ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ but eventually, much to our surprise, success as well! As we approached the bridge, we could see all the motorboats that had previously overtaken us, turn around, giving us a hesitant little smile and thumbs up as they passed us on their way back. People on land started taking their phones out and filming us. Joe headed for a straight run towards the centre of the bridge, but to our eyes it seemed more like a hard bricked wall with the tiniest opening. Our hearts were pumping fast, our heads were tucked, we braced ourselves, and voilà – we survived! No bamb this time! What a relief! Wish Esra could have seen this, instead of our incompetency a couple of hours before.

Arriving at Hickling broad

Mast and sails came back up and off we went again, some more lovely downwind sailing followed by some exciting upwind tacking towards the Hickling broad. At the far end of Hickling Broad, we decided to try this interesting-looking mud weight thing - splash, yep it works. Sails down, mud weight back up, and moored next to The Pleasure Boat Inn pub. Put the cover back on, which made it seem like a tent, very cozy! Had some tea & biscuits, followed by beers, which eventually led us to the pub. What a day! So far so good! Boat still in one piece, no catapulted Lidia yet, and smiles still on faces.

Sunday 30th March 2025

Sunday morning fry up on Lucent

Woke up to lovely sunshine and a pleasant breeze. Started the Sunday right with a British fly-up (continuation of Joe’s attempt to make it a very British weekend) - music in the background, bacon frying away, eggs boiling, mushrooms cooking (we later realised we had completely forgotten about the fry-up staple - canned beans!). After filling out tummies with fry up, emptying our bladders on land, huge smiles on our faces, and slight shaky knees because of the 30kt gusts of wind - we proceeded to prepare the sails to reef three. It took us several attempts at reefing the luff end of the sail but eventually managed (must admit we need to brush up on our knots).

Teatime at Horsey mere (with a dragging mud weight)

Set sail and much to our surprise the reefing worked! Despite the gusty winds, had some lovely downwind sailing back out the Hickling Broad. The sailing upwind towards the Horsey Mere became a bit more of a challenge. Almost collided twice against the bank - emphasis on the almost! (the engine saved us both times). Came out onto the Horsey Mere for teatime. ‘Mud weight away’ and all set for our teas & scones. Isn’t sailing mainly about eating & drinking with a bit of sailing in between? It wasn’t until about half an hour in that we realised we were dragging, oopsies! Thankfully no land or boats were near us. The beach conquered by seals We continued our day by sailing towards the Horsey Windpump and mooring up. Went for a pleasant stroll by Horsey Beach. We were hoping to see one maybe two seals, but as soon as we walked over the dyke hundreds of seals were covering it!

The sail back down River Thurne and stressy bridge again! Our way back down the River Thrune was idyllic, with perfect sailing conditions – lighter winds, calm water, and blue skies. It felt surreal sailing in between the reeds, like a scene out of a film. Soon enough we’d approach the stressy low-lying bridge, we’d have to take the sails down and lower the mast. Since we had a bit more practice at this point, we decided to time it. No accidents or injuries or ‘bambs’ happened, though the whole manoeuvre did take us 6 minutes 45 seconds – slightly longer than the 30 seconds Esra said he manages during races. As we approached the Potter Heigham bridge the second time around, the same concerns and questions emerged as the day before. Are we sure we can get under? Does it seem lower or higher than yesterday? Heads down! And before we knew it, we were through! No one decapitated! Kudos to us! Let’s try timing bringing everything back up again! We were starting to get the hang of it by this point and getting slicker at the manoeuvres. Only slight forestay entanglement, but all in all 5 minutes and 30 seconds – getting better!

Third and final adrenaline rush

With the winds dying down, our guards also dropped, allowing for collision numero tres of the weekend to occur. As the wind direction shifted, it took us by surprise and pushed us against the bank. This wasn’t a nice soft mud bank, but rather a hard wooden bank. In the attempt to save the beautiful Lucent, Zhuo tried to push off with his leg against the bank but failed, instantly dropping down. Thankfully only his left leg took a dip in the water and quickly managed to get on board before the boat hit the bank again! Phew quick save! We quickly scandalised the main, brought both sails down, and were in safe grounds again. Proceeded to slowly and safely motored down the river. That’s enough adrenaline for the day! We all got to enjoy a beautiful, relaxing sunset and all to ourselves! Not another soul to be seen. Dinner under the stars Moored up and chopped and cooked away as the sun disappeared and the stars filled the sky. Thousands of stars appeared in the clear sky, mesmerising us as if they’d engulf us. Made a classic sausage & mash – continuing the British-themed weekend. We somehow managed to eat 1.5kg of potatoes & 20 sausages – maybe sailing is a high-endurance sport after all.

Monday 31st March 2025

The finale

All stories come to an end, and this one is no different. Woke up, had breakfast and quanted our way back to Hunter’s Yard. Martin was here to receive us and ask us about our weekend. We could not be more grateful!

Thank you, Martin and Hunter’s Yard, for giving us this opportunity!