A Yankee Neo's Flog

[CruisingRobin]

We are west-coast American relative neophytes currently on our second narrowboat holiday on the 4CR.  Seems to me a forum log is a flog.  Forth day into our fortnight cruise anti-clockwise starting from Great Haywood, I decided to start flogging so as to display my wonder and head-scratches at the litte boating things that you all know very well, illicit comments about what to do and how to do it, and to say stupid things as they come to me.

 

Example, this handover we discovered mooring hooks.  Didn't have those on our first week on the L&L last September.  Wonderful things.  The only thing I came to hate about narrowboating was pounding stakes.  Would gladly drop a fiver to have some ruddy-cheeked youth do it for me.

 

Anyway, spent the night just past bridge 106 in southern Stoke on Trent.  We regret not spending another night in Stone. Lovely town.  Stoke seems like an industrial town worth cruising through without stopping.  We don't think there's much for us in the way of amenities near the canal for the next day or three.  We'll catch as catch can for groceries at the nearby convenience store to stock up before Harecastle Tunnel tomorrow morning. Better ideas for food stores along the way are welcome. Thinking of mooring up at Westport Lake for tonight.

[system 4-50]

The next thing to discover are the benefits of floating wheels when mooring - but this is going a bit far when just hiring.

[BilgePump]

31 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

The next thing to discover are the benefits of floating wheels when mooring - but this is going a bit far when just hiring.

Certainly would be a bit of a faff to bring them over on a transatlantic flight. On the other hand a few planes have lost one recently so you can always tell them that you've brought along a couple of spares1

[Victor Vectis]

You might soon discover that 'goat chains' are better than 'nappy pins' as they don't make an 'orrible clanking sound on the armco when boats go past.

[Tracy D'arth]

After doing Harecastle tunnel and the junction with the Macclesfield canal, moor up after the first lock down and Tesco Supermarket is on the right next to the canal. Better than shopping between Stoke and the tunnel.

[Victor Vectis]

Isn't there an Aldilidl there too now?

[Tracy D'arth]

Just now, Victor Vectis said:

Isn't there an Aldilidl there too now?

Yes there is a Lidl.  Tesco is a bit further away from the canal but will a Yankee understand Lidl's single till working policy? 

[Ken X]

We often overnight at Westport Lake. Pleasant walking in the evening but an abundance of goose poo. 

 

Looking forward to seeing your report on the Harecastle Tunnel.

 

One thing which caught us out on our first transit. We were the only boat going through and having entered the tunnel, the doors were closed behind us and the fans fired up. Result was instant fog. It soon cleared but made for a nervous minute or two. Enjoy and watch out for the varying roof profile.

[system 4-50]

Isn't the Harecastle tunnel the one where there are a couple of points where the "bank" has a projection to catch the unwary?  Or am I thinking of some other tunnel?

[Tracy D'arth]

1 minute ago, system 4-50 said:

Isn't the Harecastle tunnel the one where there are a couple of points where the "bank" has a projection to catch the unwary?  Or am I thinking of some other tunnel?

Yep, there are 2 places where there are lumps of possibly the old tow path sticking out. They are painted white so that you can't miss them! They are only gunwale height so you need to look down the side to see them........usually too late!

Beware of Boggart the ghost, listen hard when in the middle and you can hear him over the fans.

[Tam & Di]

42 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

They are painted white so that you can't miss them!

 An odd turn of phrase that. Logically if you can't miss them it must mean you are going to hit them, and they've been painted white so you can hit them more easily.  😄

[CruisingRobin]

4 hours ago, Ken X said:

Looking forward to seeing your report on the Harecastle Tunnel.

We're looking forward to the Harecastle with healthy trepidation.  I hope there's other boats going our way.  Somehow seems more secure to have tunnelmates.

 

We'll moor up at Westport lake, as you suggest.  We'd often take walks around Lake Merrit where we live which is rife with Canada Geese.  Tiptoe through the goose sausages is a normal dance for us.

 

Rats.  The Holy Inadequate doesn't open till 4.  I might have to miss that one.  We've had unlucky timing for some things being open so far, but my wife reminds me we are not here for doing things, but to cruise and relax, and she is so right. 

[Rob-M]

The advantage is when you get back to Great Haywood anything you miss will likely be no more than an hour away by car so you can always visit by road if you have transport and the time.

[MtB]

5 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

You might soon discover that 'goat chains' are better than 'nappy pins' as they don't make an 'orrible clanking sound on the armco when boats go past.

 

Nor do passing scroats find it amusing to un-hook them and give the boat a little push out....

[Ken X]

1 hour ago, CruisingRobin said:

We're looking forward to the Harecastle with healthy trepidation.  I hope there's other boats going our way.  Somehow seems more secure to have tunnelmates.

I'm sure it'll be fine. Loads of hirers do it for the first time every year without incident.  We turn on all the boat interior lights to show the side walls and close the rear doors to keep from blinding the helm.  A torch at the helm can be handy to spot low parts of the roof after they have passed the tunnel light.  Don't be tempted to sit on the taff rail or similar perches.  Standing enables you to duck or move around quickly if required.  It has been the cause of accidents.  Reasonable speed rather than crawling helps keep the boat central.,probably due to the reflected wake.  A central TV aerial at the front can act as a sight but tunnels are rarely perfectly straight.

Most importantly, enjoy the experience and spare a thought for how it was constructed as you go through.

[Tracy D'arth]

3 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

 An odd turn of phrase that. Logically if you can't miss them it must mean you are going to hit them, and they've been painted white so you can hit them more easily.  😄

Eggzactly!  Its almost impossible to miss them!  You got the meaning bang on.

[Ronaldo47]

I guess the expression is a long-established contraction of "you can't miss seeing them".  It's a bit like  "a near miss", which if you consider it logically, should mean there was a hit, and which is a corruption of "an air miss".  Isn't English wonderful?. 

Edited May 7 by Ronaldo47
near miss added

[CruisingRobin]

A glorious evening at Westport Lake.

 

I've been asked a couple of times if we brought the sudden turn of good weather with us from California.  In fact the answer is yes.  I brought my magic rain parka.

 

Okay, it's not exactly magic.  It weighs a stone.  If I were to pack it for checked luggage it would require a small steamer trunk.  Whatever it's insulated with must have been salvaged from a nuclear sub.

 

It operates on a principle adjacent to Murphy's law.  It absorbs the energy from the human exertion, discomfort, and embarrassment of schlepping the ungainly thing through airports, planes, rail stations, busses and whatnot, and generates an atmospheric high pressure bubble that pushes away any chance of precipitation and most cloud cover, ensuring that there was never a reason to go through the pain of carrying the abomination in the first place.  Remember that gawdawful heat wave in the UK last September?  That was me.  You're welcome.

 

I field tested the method in my favorite US city of Seattle, famous for it's near eternal soggy weather, for years.  I would venture that few people have experienced as many sunny days in Seattle as have.

 

I keep waiting for its batteries to run out.  Perhaps this trip.

So, concerning "Heartbreak Hill" and the locks through Red Bull and Church Lawton and such, if we encounter "Rob the Lock", and he helps us (I've been given the impression that we must accept this), how much is appropriate to tip him?  PM me if you like.

[system 4-50]

This is Britain.  We don't tip.

[MrsM]

Keep a hat or raincoat handy for the Harecastle drips. If not too late (I suspect it is) the Middleport pottery is a really nice historic place to pull in for some lunch or coffee and a look around. 

[LadyG]

10 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Yes there is a Lidl.  Tesco is a bit further away from the canal but will a Yankee understand Lidl's single till working policy? 

Local Lidl have three customer self checkouts today, but any queries and you are sent to the till where a lady of a certain age will sort it.

PS got a set of tweezers for my boat modelling there today, super quality.

Also a bottle of Greek wine, graded 87 points,  white, very quaffable.

 

 

Edited May 7 by LadyG

[CruisingRobin]

9 hours ago, MrsM said:

If not too late (I suspect it is) the Middleport pottery is a really nice historic place to pull in for some lunch or coffee and a look around. 

Indeed and alas, in our streak of bad timing, Middleport was closed by the time we came through. We'll likely catch some attraction, somewhere, sometime during this holiday. 

 

Lovely skies this morning at Westport Lake.

[robtheplod]

9 hours ago, LadyG said:

Local Lidl have three customer self checkouts today, but any queries and you are sent to the till where a lady of a certain age will sort it.

PS got a set of tweezers for my boat modelling there today, super quality.

Also a bottle of Greek wine, graded 87 points,  white, very quaffable.

 

 

dont hear that word enough... thanks for that!!! 

[CruisingRobin]

18 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Beware of Boggart the ghost, listen hard when in the middle and you can hear him over the fans.

Oh yes, and we've heard the stories of 'Orrible Murder in the tunnel, murder in a canal tunnel being the 'orriblest kind.

 

21 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

...but will a Yankee understand Lidl's single till working policy? 

Oh, yes, commonly experienced in the US.  Squeezing down staffing is as American as a bar brawl.  How are investors supposed to get filthy rich if companies hand their money over to... yeesh... employees?! Some who even have the nerve to expect some kind of living wage!  It's tantamount to redistribution, socialism I tell you!  

 

And even in supermarkets that have more than one checkout station, since COVID customers are expected to stand in a single line, filling up a shopping isle and creating a neo-soviet shopping experience.

 

Back in the USSR, you don't know how lucky you are, boys.

[cuthound]

15 hours ago, CruisingRobin said:

A glorious evening at Westport Lake.

 

I've been asked a couple of times if we brought the sudden turn of good weather with us from California.  In fact the answer is yes.  I brought my magic rain parka.

 

Okay, it's not exactly magic.  It weighs a stone.  If I were to pack it for checked luggage it would require a small steamer trunk.  Whatever it's insulated with must have been salvaged from a nuclear sub.

 

It operates on a principle adjacent to Murphy's law.  It absorbs the energy from the human exertion, discomfort, and embarrassment of schlepping the ungainly thing through airports, planes, rail stations, busses and whatnot, and generates an atmospheric high pressure bubble that pushes away any chance of precipitation and most cloud cover, ensuring that there was never a reason to go through the pain of carrying the abomination in the first place.  Remember that gawdawful heat wave in the UK last September?  That was me.  You're welcome.

 

I field tested the method in my favorite US city of Seattle, famous for it's near eternal soggy weather, for years.  I would venture that few people have experienced as many sunny days in Seattle as have.

 

I keep waiting for its batteries to run out.  Perhaps this trip.

So, concerning "Heartbreak Hill" and the locks through Red Bull and Church Lawton and such, if we encounter "Rob the Lock", and he helps us (I've been given the impression that we must accept this), how much is appropriate to tip him?  PM me if you like.

 

I wonder if the magic rain parka can stop the drips (sometimes deluges) from the tunnel roof?