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Scholar Gypsy

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Posts posted by Scholar Gypsy

  1. Here's my (rear) tunnel light in action, a small headlight on a pole. No flash used in this photograph.

    As @magnetman described above, I turn the light to point to the right when passing another boat (or to have a look down the side adits in Blisworth tunnel). 

    dsc_9316.jpg

    • Greenie 1
  2. 1 minute ago, Lady M said:

    It is vital to have a light on the front of the boat in wide tunnels so that boats coming towards you know where the front of your boat is.  If you just have a light on the back, they are likely to move over too late.

    Yes, I do have that too. But it is very low power (be seen rather than to see). 

    • Greenie 1
  3. 23 hours ago, Sean Austin said:

    Pretty much all the domestic connecters in my boat were those screw type blocks - even for the horn, tunnel light and bilge pump. The screws in a lot of them were just lumps of rust.

     

    Going off on another tangent: Is the purpose of tunnel lamps (1)to be seen by other boats,(2) to see where you are going, or (3) a bit of both?

    I am asking because there was a thread on the brightness of led lamps dazzling oncoming boaters, so if it is just to be seen by other boaters, would something like a low powered bicycle or work lamp be sufficient (assuming that is the only time that the light will be used.) I try to switch all the interior lights on and also place a bicycle light on the roof facing upwards so that I can see the edges of the tunnel better.

     

    I have found that modern lamps are daylight balanced so I have mistaken an oncoming boat in the distance for daylight at the other side of the tunnel.

     

     


    I'd agree on tunnel lights - interior lights and a light at the stern that illuminates the roof are very helpful. You don't need a bright searchlight  as you know what is 100m or 1000m ahead of you, tunnels are pretty straight things (unlike winding country roads).

  4. 1 minute ago, monkeyhanger said:

     

    I'm considering a Wash crossing sometime in August. Last time I did it (Boston to Denver sluice, which I'd like to repeat), I crossed the Middle Level, entering at Salter's Lode. I believe that this way is now impassible. I'd like to have a look at the Great Ouse, but not sure of the route back to Peterborough to access the Nene. Any recommendations for maps and recommended routes, please?


    The Middle Level is certainly navigable (well it will be in April, after a stoppage), and connects the Great Ouse at Denver/Salters Lode to the Nene at Peterborough.  I would recommend the Imrays guides, and this website gives quite a lot of information for people visiting the Great Ouse system. I moor my boat at  Ely, happy to answer any questions.  PS If you can, explore the Middle level system, there is a lot that is off the main transit route.

    https://goba.org.uk/a-guide-for-visitors-to-the-east/

  5. 3 hours ago, Alway Swilby said:

    Isn't there a rule on the Middle Level Navigation that you are not allowed to break ice with your boat? This is because it is used for skating by locals when it freezes over.


    That's certainly the case on Well Creek. I can't find any formal reference to this in the new Byelaws. The prohibition on navigating on Sunday afternoons also seems to have disappeared ....

  6. 54 minutes ago, PaulJ said:

    I saw a great comment on this somewhere on Facebook from someone who wasnt local asking 'How comes there are so many people  there? Do all East Anglians had a set of ice skates in the cupboard?' 😀

    I do like the wonky electricity poles. Sadly the most extreme example (a few miles to the north) were replaced a year or two ago.

  7. 17 minutes ago, MIKE P said:

    I think this post has been hi-jacked


    OK here's a photo of some frozen water - Ouse Washes, Upware near Ely (where I keep my boat - it had all thawed yesterday). You can just see some EA moorings on extreme right in the distance

    473062228_1273646334224381_830162762118012857_n.jpg.527abd95dcc597fa042ecabb98b7f5b8.jpg
     

    • Greenie 1
    • Love 1
  8. 21 minutes ago, Momac said:

    I hope people are considering tide times and daylight hours when planning dates.

    Bear in mind Boston Grand Sluice lock only operates when the tide makes a level with the river which is very restrictive.

     

     

    image.png.de052400849bd33dc86c26a10b291188.png


    Indeed so!  When I did Denver to Boston the key timings were

    HW Kings Lynn 1030 BST

    Depart Denver 1040 (about 60 minutes before local high water)

    Kings Lynn bypass bridge 1240

    End of Kings Lynn cut 1345 (buoys 27 and 28)

    Enter Freeman channel 1720

    Tabs Head 1910

    Boston Grand sluice 2030

    Lock opens 2130

     

    So you would be looking for high tides at Kings Lynn between 0700 and 1000, I reckon.  The other option available now, with permission from the lock keeper, is to lock out at Denver the previous afternoon, and then  spend the night on the nice new pontoon between Denver and Salters.   I have a better photo somewhere, but this will do.  That would open up any high tide before 1000, though that might mean an early start for Daryl and/or cruising in the dark ....

    ben-dg.jpg

    As promised, a photo taken standing on the said pontoon, looking downriver. Unlike the previous one, I think this floats at all states of the tide. 

    dsc_3371.jpg

  9. 1 hour ago, magnetman said:

    Privatisation always was a crappy idea.

     

     

    Regarding Cookham lock. 

     

    I spend quite a lot of time around there and know the whole site intimately. 

     

    I could not find any traces of the old Boat rollers or railways and wondered if the Stanley Spencer painting was real or artistic licence. 

     

    It was real. 

     

    IMG_20250116_084954.jpg.a27fabc30459cc1078efc4205dfcb7c3.jpg

     

     

     


    When I suggested to the crew that we drag the boat up the rollers, there was a small mutiny.  (Cambridge, sadly there are low bridges that would stop you getting to Granchester...)

    dsc_6957.jpg

    • Greenie 1
  10. 1 hour ago, Jess-- said:

    Container lifting machine, saw them used a lot around DIRFT when I lived locally, they were being used to lift shipping containers off trains and onto lorries (or stack them), spreaders went from 20 to 40 feet and the head had adjustment to still clamp onto containers that were off level and a little bit of rotation for where the machine couldn't approach perfectly from the side.


    Yes indeed, you can see the mechanism that adjusts spread and rotation here. The adjustable length trailer was rather fun as well.

    dsc_7752.jpg

     

     

    Put the brakes on on the trailer wheels, and then drive the tractor forwards to stretch the trailer..

     

    dsc_7763.jpg

    • Greenie 1
  11. 15 minutes ago, Alway Swilby said:

    Is there actually a navigation authority for the River Hull? Is it covered by ABP who are in charge of the Humber? Who will pay to get this fixed? Maybe Hull City Council. So many questions!!

     

    We are vaguely planning a trip this year down the Humber, either from Keadby or Goole, then up the Hull to Beverley and maybe beyond. Not sure when, maybe May / June time when the days are long.

    Hull City Council within the city boundary.  But surely this wall is owned by the landowner, so not the responsibility of the navigation authority. 

    • Greenie 1
  12. 1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:


    @Scholar Gypsy wrote an excellent overview of their travels up there, and passed some barges. Im not sure there’s much traffic of any sort though even here in Hull, there is the Driffield navigation and Beverley Beck further up. Beverley has a number of mostly leisure boats moored there.
     

    The difficulty is you need to use the Humber to get anywhere. Busy tidal and not ideal for narrowboats. There are many large commercial ships a few trawlers and ferries on the Humber but going to jetties and ports on or just off the Humber including Immingham Grimsby and the port of Hull which is a bit downstream to the River Hull. 
     

     

     

     

    Thank you.  We did think about mooring there for a bit ...  I think traffic has reduced since I was there in 2021

     

    https://scholargypsy.org.uk/2021/06/17/rivers-trent-humber-and-hull-2-old-harbour-to-beverley-beck/

  13. 49 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

    Maybe this is well known, but it has completely passed us by until I stumbled upon it today - Channel 4 (on demand) series “Narrow Escapes” about general goings-on on the cut. Comfort TV for the depths of winter.

    I make a brief cameo appearance in episode 15, which includes a boat going on of St Pancras Cruising Club's tideway cruises!

    They are in the middle of making a second series.

  14. 3 minutes ago, magnetman said:

    That block of flats is a bit ominous. Its very common for those kinds of developments to cause a lot of problems for people nearby on Boats. 


    Yes, possibly. My son is currently living in the smaller white block on the right, and would be keen to have more boats (I think!).  There is some anti social behaviour on the slipway at present, people park their cars on the foreshore at low tide ....

  15. 14 hours ago, magnetman said:

    ‎ 

    (I did suggest it looked like it was floating then read the post)

     

    Its a nice lee board. Bloody heavy thing.

     

    I suppose this situation is probably someone who 'owns' or leases the riverbed and wants to keep it 'in use' 

     

     

    It's a bit odd. I think the same boat (floating) is in this photo (taken in June), but in a slightly different place.  I know the church are trying to organise some better moorings here. The legalities of all that (and PLA licencing) are quite complex.

    DSC_8672.JPG.34669bd201e48a94dac181e0cda1423d.JPG 

  16. I came across this boat when walking along the Thames at Battersea at low tide on Christmas Day. There was a good stream of water coming out through a hole at the bottom of the boat.  I suppose it fills up (slowly!) when the boat is floating and then empties when the boat sits on the bottom. I couldn't hear any bilge pumps, and the boat did look a bit unoccupied!  You can also see a hefty leeboard sitting on the bed of the river, if anyone wants one. ...

    DSC_0489.JPG.93b9aa00dc55a1696b5d67a3ad057a38.JPG 

  17. 1 hour ago, Gybe Ho said:

     

    The Ely girls have a distinct singing style, it is hesitant and soft unlike the male style down the road in Cambridge. I wonder if the Ely choir masters are too autocratic and whether this affects the delivery.

     

    Whatever the reason it is like the difference between men's and women's tennis, the women's game is more viewable as a spectator event.

     

    Do you have a connection with VOCES8?

     Sadly no connection with Voces8.

     

    This is my favourite lockdown video...

     

     

    https://youtu.be/ZEEaCUR44Fo?si=k8ve9Ygz13uDgioU

    • Greenie 1
  18. 11 hours ago, Gybe Ho said:

     

    That is an idea for next year. Ely has a strong women's choir I think, a nice counterpoint to Cambridge. There is Lincoln and York.

     

    My village church has its own style for christmas carols, the old church organ is past its best so a local with a fancy electric keyboard sets up his gear. I would not expect the Dean of Ely cathedral to dish out free mincepies unlike a village church.

     

    In addition to carol services I was thinking where on the cut gives access to other winter events such as Christmas markets.


    The girl's choir at Ely is, I think, currently better than the boys (I attend fairly regularly, as the boat is moored in Ely).

    https://www.elycathedral.org/music/the-cathedral-choir/cathedral-choir

    I conduct the  carol service at our church in London, a short step from Ladbroke Grove or Little Venice, but would not particularly recommend this .... We did attempt this piece this year, which went quite well.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KLRwDUQGvg  

    I am currently singing in the choir at St Mary Magdalene in Richmond. We had a packed carol service on the 22nd. Mooring is a bit tricky as it is on the tideway, but you could walk from Teddington. 

    https://richmondteamministry.org/st-mary-magdalene/st-mary-magdalene-the-choir-at-st-marys/

     

    • Greenie 1
  19. St Pancras Cruising Club are organising another of their regular Thames tideway trips on the weekend of 27-29 June 2025 (starting with a briefing session at Limehouse on the Friday evening). As well as the core voyage from Limehouse to Teddington, the optional extras will include a voyage through the Thames barrier, and an early morning downstream transit from Teddington to Limehouse.
     
    We particularly welcome those who have not yet done a trip on the tideway.
     
    To register your interest please email tideway25@stpancrascc.co.uk , and we will send you further details. Applications close 28 February.

    photo-2024-06-29-19-48-16.jpg

    dsc_8784-1.jpg?w=1024

    dsc_8799.jpg?w=1024

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