Plain sailing

A favourite with well-heeled holidaymakers, Brancaster has a historic harbour that’s a hive of activity in summer. Ensuring safety and harmony among those on the water is all in a day’s work for Harbour Master Mike Parker…

Brancaster Harbour – a busy cargo port until trade declined in the 1800s – is home to a small but thriving fishing fleet that shares its tidal waters with recreational pleasure craft. It’s part of the wider Brancaster Estate which, famous for its wide expanse of golden sands, is one of North Norfolk’s coastal holiday hot spots.

In summer the harbour, Mow, Norton Creek, its navigation buoys and the bay between Brancaster Golf Club and Scolt Head Island are all in the care of Mike Parker, the peak-season Harbour Master here. An RYA Powerboat and Senior Dinghy Instructor and a keen canoe and SUP paddler, he’s a member of a sailing club in Derbyshire, which is home from November to March each year. “The rest of the year I am based in Brancaster, where my caravan is a holiday home,” he explains. “My partner Monique and I have been in Brancaster in the summer for six years now, both of us working for Holkham Hall first, then I joined the National Trust as Harbour Master three years ago. We really enjoy being in North Norfolk – this is just such a beautiful part of the coast with a large range of wildlife on the doorstep.” along Harbour Way, and there’s a bosun store by the end of the road where the hard starts. Mike (above) can usually be found there, on the slipway or out on the water when on duty – his working hours are based around the tide and usually include the two hours either side of high water in the daylight hours.

“I have a 5m RIB which is used for maintenance and to maintain a profile during busy periods, ensuring boaters are following our conditions of launch and providing advice and guidance on the water. We occasionally tow boats back into the hard if they have had an issue and provide support in incidents involving the coastguard or other emergency services,” Mike says.

In summer’s busiest weeks there can be more than 200 craft on the water at any one time here, with users including Brancaster’s busy sailing club, a small fishing fleet, ski boat club, sailing boats, kayaks, paddleboarders and swimmers. “I engage with all these groups to ensure that we do not have any incidents or conflicts, and also so that everyone enjoys their time on the water,” says Mike. “We try to keep paddle craft away from the main sailing and skiing areas at busy times by offering advice to follow the tide up the creek and return when it is on the ebb.”

Brancaster beach played a vital role in the Second World War: Combined Operations Assault Pilotage Parties (COPP) discovered that the sand here was almost identical to that on the proposed landing beaches, so the 79th Armoured Brigade came to Brancaster to practise – successfully demonstrating that tanks could be deployed on D-Day. The area around Brancaster was also used as a practise bombing range for the RAF and one of the targets can still be seen from the beach today: the wreck of SS Vina, a cargo ship that operated on the Baltic trade routes before being requisitioned for the war. She was later dragged to a sand bank at the entrance to Brancaster Staithe Harbour where, full of shell holes, she sank. Each year the RNLI is called out to rescue people who are stranded after crossing the deep, fast-flowing channel of water in an attempt to reach the vessel’s centre pole.

A typical day sees Mike arrive by bike –parking is at a premium! – and start work by checking on the sailing club’s plan for the day. “Then it’s a case of preparing my briefing board down at the slipway,” he explains. “I’ll check in with the paddleboard and kayak hire business, get the RIB kit ready, then I’ll then be based near the slipway letting the powerboat users know where the sailing club will be and engaging with new visitors to ensure they know where they are safe. Hopefully I’ll get out onto the water and moor up, just to be a presence and so I can engage with any boats that aren’t following the rules.”

It’s essential that everyone on the water at Brancaster Harbour understands the tidal window – to avoid what Mike calls ‘the walk of shame’ that anyone caught out by it might have to make! – along with the local weather conditions and the suggested course of action should anything go wrong.

“It is really helpful to know where the channel is in and out of the creek so we recommend people walk it at low tide first,” he says. And, of course, safety is paramount. “I am still amazed that some users will not wear personal safety equipment and during launching I’ll be reminding people to wear their kill cord and put their buoyancy aid on,” Mike says. “We work with the local RNLI team to promote water safety and we suggest phone cases for all users.”

When he’s not at Brancaster Harbour, Mike is a volunteer with the Wheelyboat based at nearby Blakeney Quay, working as a Skipper and Chief Instructor. Launched last year, Poppy (above) is Norfolk’s first wheelchair-accessible powerboat, allowing people with disabilities to enjoy an area that comprises part of two National Nature Reserves and is famous for being home to one of the country’s most important seal colonies. The product of a collaboration between the Royal British Legion’s Blakeney, Cley and District branch, the Norfolk Charitable Trust and the Wheelyboat Trust, Poppy is powered by electricity and petrol.

“We take various groups and individuals that would not normally be able to enjoy a boat trip out into the harbour,” explains Mike. “The craft has a drop front that allows wheelchair access and also aids those that have some mobility issues. It is amazing the response you get when you take folk out and I love to see the enjoyment that they get from being on the water –something that we, perhaps, take for granted.”

Passengers can be accompanied by carers, friends and family on board Poppy, which is one of more than 20 Coulam V20 boats built for projects across the UK since 2014. Trips usually last around 1.5 hours and their timings are governed by the tides at Blakeney Quay; 14 days’ notice is required for a booking and trips are currently free of charge, with donations towards running costs gratefully accepted.

•www.wheelyboatpoppy.org

RYA-certified Brancaster Staithe Sailing Club, first formed in 1933, overlooks the harbour and has a busy racing schedule, with events held 2-3 hours either side of high tide. Marquee events include a Junior Sail Training Week in late July and a Regatta Week in August. There’s also a full programme of social sailing, training and development and the club’s own ‘Round the Island’ race which takes competitors around Scolt Head and past Burnham Overy Staithe.

•bssc.net