This has been moored on the river Wensum near Norwich centre for years and I had always fancied looking in. Reports in the paper said it was going to be scrapped after years of use by the sea cadets and it was deemed no longer viable and not in good condition. But a buyer from a Suffolk boatyard and decided too move it down the coast and restore is as a community cafe. I was down near the boat and saw people working on it and got talking to them. I then thought I would ask if I could take photos and I was invited back the next day. I was given a free run of the ship at my own risk, wish more people were like that. I was pleased they got the electrics working and it was in better nick than described. They were a lovely bunch and there enthusiasm was brilliant. They set sail, or should I say towed by a tug from Felixstowe. It was a bit of a logistical nightmare. Two bridges had to be lifted on the river in Norwich. One had not lifted for years as there is no industry on the river banks now, so bigger boats don't come down there anymore. The bridge was tested a week before and they set off in the middle of the night the day after I photographed it. They got too Great Yarmouth and had problems with the bridge there, so were stuck there for days. They eventually got on there way and made it safely to Suffolk and think it's up and running now. HMS vale was a Swedish fast missile attack craft built in 1979 and finally decommissioned in 1979. Built in Norway it had a crew of eighteen. And was capable of 35 knots.
