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There are many interesting old news articles within the Broadland Memories archive, mostly courtesy of Ray Walker who kindly loaned me his collection of scrapbooks a couple of years ago. Amongst them was a cutting from c1970/71 which mentions the curious case of the cruiser Santa Caterina which failed to return to the yard (Harvey Eastwood of Brundall) at the end of its fortnight’s hire. Police, coastguards and Interpol were called in and the cruiser was finally found at Brighlingsea in Essex – the hirer claimed that he wasn’t told that he couldn’t take it out to sea!
It wasn’t the first time that a Broads hire cruiser had made a coastal journey though, as a similar incident had happened in May 1957. In the book “The Elanco Story – 75 Years of Landamores” author John Yaxley recounts the tale of Vestella 6. A short while after leaving the yard, the hirer bought several gallons of petrol at a garage in Great Yarmouth which he then stored in the engine room. When the garage owner realised that the cheque used to pay for the fuel was a dud, the police were called and were waiting at the boatyard on the day that the hirer was due to return. When the boat failed to arrive a major search was launched. The news story hit the national press and, as a result, Vestella 6 was finally discovered moored alongside a tug at Ramsgate in Kent. The boat had been superficially camouflaged and renamed “Loup de Mer” and the hirer and his family had apparently been waiting for a change of wind direction before attempting to make their way over to France in it. Vestella 6 was brought back to Norfolk on the back of a lorry and only needed minor repairs and a little paint before it was put back out on hire out again.
One wonders just how both of these hire craft managed to sneak out of the harbour entrance without being noticed! So far, these are the only two confirmed cases of Broads hire cruisers being stolen that I have come across ….. unless you know different ….
