Joshua

One could always try to escape the ‘madness’ of a given society in the company of likeminded people?

Of course! https://www.dropbox.com/sc/n3t2ch8suqx8ndg/abLzYDeqfT

You would probably enjoy reading about the life of Moitessier, his friend Jean-Michel Barrault wrote a very good book about him. Anyone in their fifties will remember Bernard Moitessier as the man who, within a couple of days of Plymouth and certain victory in the first Golden Globe solo non-stop sailing race around the world, sent a message to say that he was not stopping but continuing on indefinitely. In doing so, he gave up the £5,000 prize money despite being near penniless and handed the victory to Robin Knox-Johnston who was rewarded with a knighthood.

Alas, probably not, we are going to sea before we go to seed! We collect our newly purchased, 1931 boat next weekend then, after (hopefully) a short refit and a bit of time learning how to sail again, we will probably head off to Copenhagen. We are going to try and worm our way into the select group of boats moored at Nyhavn in the centre of Copenhagen and from where, we can explore the coasts of Scandinavia and the Baltic sea for a couple of summers or more. Nyhavn is reserved for historic wooden tall ships and as our new boat was built in Denmark, we think we might be in with a shout, we will see, much to do before then! There is at least one Scandinavian based CWDF member so maybe we will organise a banter over there?

We had a similar experience at Bidford bridge. That’s a tough bridge (down stream), even when one is through the arch, a good manoeuvre is needed to avoid running up the river bank! I think the solution demands a balance of timing, judgement and a bit of nerve. There is a ‘point of no return’ when it is no longer possible to come to a controlled stop before hitting the object, once past that point you sometimes need a bit of nerve to ‘go on’ rather than to try and stop (like entering a lock or harbour where one has to pass across counter currents). Judgement is needed to determine whether to pull out, re-gather and try again or to push on. Judgement also in deciding when reverse thrust will be more effective than forward. Whenever I find myself with a bit of time and enough water where I can freely manoeuvre, I take the opportunity to experiment with the effects of my boats controls. I have even found the odd lock big enough to do this in while waiting for them to fill. I have discovered some fascinating and very unexpected results. I discovered that when steering in reverse, my boat is much more responsive at very low revs than at high, so although it is counter intuitive, I need to resist the temptation to apply too much power when I need to make big adjustments to direction. I have also discovered the most effective amount of rudder in various circumstances when reversing. My observations suggest that many people give these issues very little thought, I often see ‘helmsmen’ whilst reversing, moving the tiller from side to side more in hope than knowledge. The most common reaction seems to be to try one direction then the other if the first doesn’t have the desired effect, then back again and so forth, often ending with an unconvincing and unconvinced centre position. I think all boats behave differently and the only real solution is to take every opportunity to get to know your own boat. P.S. On our journey down the Avon 3 or 4 weeks ago, we passed your boat (you were in the bow dusting I think), apologies for not calling a greeting, we were past you before my brain registered and identified a familiar CWDF name and then I was not quick witted enough to bring our boat to a stop before we were carried away on the flow.

Having just cruised down the Avon from there, if you are doing the same and like us, are not familiar with the river, I would offer 2 tips. First, don’t underestimate the locks, they look enormous but some are quite short, I nearly lost Oak on a cill because I took my eye off the ball! Second, the downstream entrance to Evesham lock is seriously hampered by the undertow from an unseen hydroelectric plant that unexpectedly and unpredictably, pulls ones boat past the entrance just as one is turning into it. I leisurely turned in with plenty of space from the left and got pulled so far past that I actually ended up turning in from the right with the hydro pull still snapping at our heels. I mentioned this to the lockie and he and his wife sympathised, confessing that they too have problems with their own boat. There is a steel pier (to your right as you enter) that has been erected to try and help boats funnel into the lock but in my view the pier makes it worse because the end is in the perfect place to T bone any boat dragged side ways by the hydro below the lock, we narrowly missed it but only because I resisted the temptation to come off the power as we were sucked towards it. It is all made worse by the fact that above the lock is an enormous weir and one assumes that the pull will be towards that rather than the unseen danger below the lock. I know that like us you are relatively deep draughted, in our case it makes us more prone to these undercurrents. Having said all that, there was a huge amount of debris (trees and things) stuck on the weir rails just before the lock which, to avoid, we were forced into mid stream and from where the down stream tow was probably much worse, if this has now been removed it may not be nearly so bad? Other than that we really enjoyed the trip down to the Severn, good moorings at Tewkesbury (a lovely town) and a very helpful lock keeper to aid the timing of any passage out onto the Severn.

Almost exactly our experience, same people, same 'welcome'. We wanted to but didn't eat, partly because of the price of the beer but also because of the poor choice of food. As Vegetarians we don't expect the same variety and choice offered to carnivores but surely it isn't unreasonable to expect something a bit more imaginative than the usual vegetarian Lasagne or mushroom Pie. Having grown up on great west country pub food in the 70’s and spent the last 15 years in France, we find current English pub fare generally bland and uninspiring, we invariably leave, certain in the knowledge that we would have dined better at home, consequently we dine out less and less frequently.

We cruised through there a couple of weeks ago when there were also boats moored on the right, It took me a while to work out where the canal actually went. Anglo Welsh must know how ridiculously awkward that end boat makes passing, especially given the need for space to align with the narrow passage of the aqueduct. Its one boat that could easily be moored somewhere else so what are they trying to prove/gain? We had a beer in the Fleur de Leys, £3.65 a pint! And it wasn’t even that good! As to traffic, we spent the last 2 weeks cruising from Burton Upon Trent down to Gloucester (5 canals and 2 major rivers) and saw just 7 boats moving, astonishing!

Actually that wont be possible for a few more hours. We are moored in the Basin in the centre of Stratford and sitting on the bottom! Last night some git opened the paddles on the river gates and drained the basin. I was woken at 4am this morning by a lot of loud gurgling and drawing the curtains, instead of looking out over the park was greeted instead by the slimy green side of the quay wall! The ice cream boat has snapped its mooring lines but the other boats look OK. I closed the paddles at 4am and called CRT. 2 CRT guys have spent all morning refilling the basin and checking that all the boats re-float OK rather than stick in the mud and flood. I expect the long pound above the basin may be a bit low now?

We have just come down the Stratford, I was really impressed with the winding holes, even mentioned it to my partner as we cruised past them because it is not often that I can eye every winding hole on a canal and be confident of turning our 66ft. As canalpubs mentioned, the dredger is working its way down, (we passed it) and what a good job they are doing, together with the off side tree and bush cutting, the journey (at least as far as the dredger) was a delight. We travelled down the north Stratford last year and dragged the bottom all the way, much better now. We have just spent the last 7 days cruising, in glorious weather, from Burton upon Trent, down the T & M, Coventry, Birmingham & Fazeley, through the middle of Birmingham, Birmingham and Worcester and North and south Stratford to Stratford Upon Avon and in all that time we have past only 4, yes ‘Four’, other boats cruising!!!!! The only real difficulty we faced was the pound between Locks 10 and 9 on the B&F (Aston Flight) what a nightmare, I measured the centre channel on the approach to lock 9 at just 2 ft!! Needless to say I had plenty of time to measure it accurately because we were firmly ‘beached’ on it. For anyone else passing that way, the deepest channel is actually half way between the centre and the towpath, the rest is full of bricks. We rode over hardcore that lifted us up 6 times in the short pound before we finally ground to a halt. I complained about it last year, no change. The pounds, being short, can easily get low and we have often had to let water down but on this occasion the level was normal, so watch out if you’re a little deep!

What do I think of Josefine? I love her, prettiest ketch on the south coast, probably in the world. But then I am a tiny bit biased, I just bought her! Currently in Birmingham, or will be by this afternoon, we are heading down to Gloucester ready to bring Josefine ‘home’. Irene is currently at Tommi Nielsons in Gloucester and her First Mate (Charlie) is helping me sail Josefine round in April. It’s a small world isn’t it! Hope you haven’t got a hangover, the weather here today is spectacular.

Hi Waterwitch, so nice of you, clearly you have great taste! Off topic but still about nice boats and Oak joinery, in about 5 weeks time I will be sailing a 1931 wooden (Oak on Oak) ketch https://www.dropbox.com/sc/n3t2ch8suqx8ndg/abLzYDeqfT around your coast from Plymouth to Gloucester, don’t know how close to the coast you are, but email me if you are interested in joining us for any of the legs or just want to come and say hello again. Absolutely correct Dominic, great memory you have.

Thanks, I know what you mean, like marmite! Thank you, it was fitted out by professional cabinet-makers, a lot of it is French antique. Although Orion didn’t do the woodwork, I think their boat building is equal to it.

We have a 66ft Orion boat: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/i7tfuzt0k9vp3zt/JFgBw56NB7 It has an offset Gardner 2LW and hydraulic drive. The fit out in solid Oak, was bespoke. 1200 lts in 2 water tanks, large pump out tank, built-in diesel generator and 180 lts fuel tank. I can’t think of anything that you would describe as eccentric except perhaps the off set engine and hydraulic drive? We absolutely love her.

Many thanks for the various suggestions of best routes. I was initially only interested in when passage down the Severn would be open but after posting, it struck me that in fact this would probably be our last canal and it has since taken on a bit more importance, so we have given the route more thought and will be giving the Avon a go. I believe John it is not just a question of water levels, I understand that some of the locks have been damaged or silted up and may not be immediately operational even when the river returns to a safe level.

In normal circumstances I would John, but this may well be the last canal we ever cruise and whilst we have cruised the S&W a few times, we haven’t cruised the lower part of the B&W. Another option would be through Stratford and down the River Avon, also new to us. We don’t mind at all working locks, we both enjoy them and need to work off a lot of winter fat anyway!! So long as we get to Gloucester around about the 8th April, we would prefer to take a route we haven’t done before.

We are on the T&M trying to get to Gloucester and in a few days time will have to choose between the Staff & Worcestershire or the Worcester & Birmingham route to the river Severn. I note that Diglis locks 1 and 2 on the W&B are currently closed due to flooding or flood damage, is there anyone local with up-to-date information on how long these locks are expected to remain closed? Thanks.

Careful what you offer! Heheheh

We are on the other side of that ‘fence’ John, trying to get down the Severn to Gloucester, will look out for you! Our plans for this year have been completely turned on their head, originally we planned to spend the year exploring the southern canals now we will be doing ‘working up manoeuvres’ in the Bristol channel then off to Copenhagen and possibly the Baltic before the winter arrives. Plan B (plan A is more a desire and will almost certainly have to wait until next year!) will be exploring French coastal waters. And I used to imagine that as I got older, life would become more predictable and settled!

We were iced in for 3 weeks in the centre of Stoke-on-Trent last winter, great place to moor. I have never visited an urban area so well serviced with moorings. There are, as already mentioned, the pleasant moorings opposite the museum at the beginning of the Caldon (overlooked by the handsome statue of James Brindley himself, no less), between there and the Harecastle tunnel, there are masses of good moorings, most alongside concrete quays with rings everywhere. There are moorings immediately alongside the Toby Carvery you mention and also right outside Etruria marina where there are service moorings; they were quite happy for us to overnight there so long as we left space for anyone needing to refuel etc. Mooring alongside the marina, unlike alongside the museum, has the advantage that this section of the towpath is almost totally unused by locals. The moorings alongside the nature reserve (West Port Lake) just before Harecastle tunnel are also excellent (ideal for a romantic evening with a bottle of wine while watching the birds on the lake) but maybe too far out of your way. You can wind at the Caldon junction itself or just after the museum, you can also wind opposite the Toby Carvery and marina and you can wind at the south portal of Harecastle tunnel (at 66ft we had to remove both buttons and drag her round with bow and stern ropes because of the grass that has been allowed to encroach but we managed). As a slight aside: If you like fine English bone china or drinking your tea from a proper cup, there is an outstanding Wedgwood and Royal Doulton outlet store about 10 minutes walk from the Etruria marina. Sadly, although you will be visiting the heartland of great English bone china, most of the Wedgwood lines we looked at seemed to be made in, you guessed it, China!!! But it gets more bizarre, I went in search of a nice tea set for my afternoon tea ceremonies and was delighted to find that the Wedgwood design I fell in love with was (unusually), made there in Stoke (the Wedgwood factory is south of Stoke, alongside the canal and they do visitor tours) however, it was not actually for sale in England but for Japanese export only!!! Fortunately, there is a happy ending, the Japanese are apparently so fussy (they examine their Wedgwood with a magnifying glass before buying it), you CAN buy the china they reject!!!!!!! I can find no blemishes in the set I bought (but I didn’t use a magnifying glass) and paid a fraction of the price the Japanese pay for it!

Me too, I was brought up on a diet of old car, bike and house restorations. Our narrowboat has a lot of genuinely old wood used in its fit out and we have continued the theme by bringing in genuinely old furniture ( https://www.dropbox.com/sc/lyrhaec57rrvhi2/uQvLhwfHs9 https://www.dropbox.com/sc/lx1l4mlvutbgt3c/1nnPxqZbqb ). We have just bought a 1931 wooden Ketch to continue our CCing off shore (we are sick to death of CaRTs obsessive tinkering with moorings on the inland waters) but first it needs its fit-out modified to our style. Our plan is to use the appropriate parts of old/antique ‘furniture’ to fit her out, for example the door and façade of an old wardrobe makes a great wall panel and old ‘brown’ furniture is not only ridiculously cheap but the quality of the wood is way beyond anything you can buy from a wood merchant nowadays. Most antique shops and auction rooms have shed loads of incomplete furniture like table tops, odd legs and cupboard panels that they don’t know what to do with. This way you can easily fit-out to whatever style you want with very little carpentry skills.

Thanks, she was built in1931 at Gilleleje, Denmark. By the by, I joined photobucket to store the picture I posted here but then took it down because I couldn’t stand the hard sell rubbish I had to wade through on their site or the loss of rights over my photos. Can anyone advise a better site to host photos? I used to put stuff on CWDF but you can’t then delete them at a later date without bothering admin.

She should be OK, she has a full keel and dries out quiet nicely (see the photo link in my earlier post) but I will bear in mind what you say when looking at potential moorings. Many thanks. Thanks, I’ll PM when my travel plans are sorted, maybe we could meet for a drink. Link updated. http://s145.photobucket.com/user/go4mph/media/Josefine0002_zps77bf4c7f.jpg.html Didn’t know you were on the G&S, will see you soon then!

7ft ( Photo )

I have just bought a new sailing boat and want to moor my narrowboat alongside the new boat while we fit her out to our needs. Both boats are 66ft. I had in mind the G&S. I probably wont need the moorings for longer than 18 months. I will need to take the sail boat out into the Bristol Channel from time to time so near the sharpness end would be good, but access to Gloucester and Tommi Nielsons would also be an advantage. The new boat (66ft x 14ft4 x 7ft) is currently in Plymouth and I am trapped on the T&M near Burton, by the winter stoppages. I can’t cruise south until the 3rd March, so will have to hire a car to visit the G&S to make arrangements for the new boats arrival. Any forward planning would be helpful, I know there are some CWDF members with boats on the G&S and I would appreciate some leads. Any alternative ideas for good places where both boats can coexist for a while, would also be gratefully received. Thanks.