Nb 'ELEMIAH' the 2010 Grand Cruise

[TeeELL]

Dear reader, I can only apologise for my delay in starting this year’s cruise diary. A lapse in motivation is the pathetic reason. But enough, this is not the story you wish to read. This year we found ourselves with just 5 weeks available for the 2010 ‘Grand Cruise’. We had considered going east and doing a run to Cambridge but a combination of dry weather and negative reports caused us to review and thus change our plan.

 

The cruise sort of started the week prior to departure - we loaded the car with all the clothes, linen, drink and non perishable food and headed north to ‘ELEMIAH’. What a difference to be able to load the boat, fix all the jobs and have time to reflect on what else we needed to do, buy, fix etc for the following week. The most important jobs were the replacement of rotted marine ply decking with phenol clad ply and some noise proofing to try and make the engine quieter. In addition I had made storage boxes for the front cratch area.

 

So moving swiftly on, we roll forward a week and once again lay some rubber down on the M5. We drove up on the Sat 21st and found we still had a car load – having stored everything away we decided to wash the boat…….. Now if you have followed previous cruise diaries you will recall that ‘ELEMIAH’ is based on the Daw End branch of the ‘Curly Wyrley’ at the top of the Rushall locks very handy for boat washing, painting etc and a very quiet stretch of canal. Imagine our surprise then, when looking down the canal, in the distance was not one but 2 boats making their way towards us!! So it was another hour before we were able to wash all the bird droppings off the boat by which time we decided to delay our departure until Sunday.

[Athy]

I look forwrd to the next instalment. Just one thing: as a Gardner owner, I do not understand your wish to make the engine quieter. Let it throb!

Edited August 31, 2010 by Athy

[TeeELL]

I know, I know, I know – I am nearly 2 weeks behind myself and I realise that you have been waiting for the next enthralling instalment. Well, dear reader I left you at the Brindley Place mooring right next door to the Sea Life Centre.

 

24 Aug. We decided to avail ourselves of the proximity of the Sea Life Centre and pay a visit (pay is the operative word, a pricey venue!). To be honest it is quite amazing and was well worth the visit and if truth be known, well worth the cost. Thus we started our days cruise at 12.55 – not a long cruise initially as we went to the far end of Gas Street Basin to take on water and undertake other essential tasks. So it was that 40 mins later (very slow tap) we set off for our destination – Alvechurch. I still don’t know how two chocoholics do it but once again we cruised past Cadbury mecca – the dogs nose twitching (and ours to be fair). An aside, fellow chocoholic – have you tried Giant Buttons recently? We have and they taste different somehow, not ‘Hershy bar’ different but not good old milk chocolate flavour either!!

We were meeting old friends at Alvechurch but they came out and joined us on the boat at Hopwood for the cruise into Alvechurch. To our surprise moorings were readily available and we turned off the engine at 17.45. The planned ‘quick visit’ turned unsurprisingly into a bit of a session and we returned to the boat at some time later.

 

25 Aug. Despite the late night we were up and about quite early and in fact set off from Alvechurch at 08.30, reaching the top of Tardebigge just over an hour later. I have to say that, although we were in fairly good order (all things considered), we were obliged to stop for a coffee break at lock 49. In fact we had been gradually catching the boat ahead, despite having to fill the locks. So our 15min break allowed us to get back into the swing of things and again we gradually caught up with the boat. We decided, an hour later, to have a lunch break as we were now in the lock immediately behind the boat ahead. This break was for 35 mins and we started again at 13.05. We reached Tardebigge bottom lock at 14.00 taking 4hrs and 10 mins (with 50 mins stopped) to descend. Those of you familiar with this canal will know that there are still a lot of locks to go! In fact, we only travelled as far as Stoke Top lock were we met friends on their boat, so we stopped engine at 14.10 and prepared for another heavy night.

 

Athy, there is a world of difference between A Gardiner, RN, Lister etc and the Japanese generator engine fitted to 'ELEMIAH' - there is nothing 'cool' about the din of a 4 cylinder Yanmar/Barrus Shire

[TeeELL]

Dear reader, I thank you for your patience but yet, I am still 2 weeks behind myself – how can I possibly catch up? I will do my best, fortunately some parts of my journey can be glossed over.

 

26 Aug. It is a Thursday, just about sums things up – not really the week and not really the weekend. To cap it all it is a miserable day and it has taken us until nine thirty to muster the enthusiasm to cast off and continue on our journey. We still have a fair few miles to do and another 21 locks!! I’ll not bore you with a blow by blow account of times at locks etc. Nonetheless I peer at each lock/bridge combination in the hope of recognising the photo I took on my first ever canal boat holiday (horse drawn) back in 1960! We pass the entrance to the Droitwich canal and can only wonder how long, this already over-long, project will be before completion. A good friend – boat owner for goodness knows how many years – has had to retire off his boat having not witnessed the reopening of this link to the Severn. I wonder if I will have the chance to take him, on ‘ELEMIAH’, through the route?

17.00 and we arrive in Diglis basin, to our surprise crews of hire boats are winding to make a return journey up the W&B – it seems the Severn is under threat of flood from the previous few days of rain! We hadn’t factored THAT into our itinerary!! Ho hum, we find a mooring, having done the water and ‘other’ stuff and decide to see what will be in the morning ‘que sera, sera’.

 

 

27 Aug. TGIF, we rise with the Chris Evans show on Radio 2 and have a leisurely breakfast, after-all there is no rush ‘cos the river Severn is going to be burstin’ its banks and we are going to be revising our plans.

We decide to go take a look at the swollen torrent that we had planned to navigate……….. Hmmm? Looks OK to us professionals of the Thames and Trent. We meet a BW chap on our walk back to the boat and seek his advise ‘Oh, it’s about normal should be fine’ – pity those poor hirers making their way back up Tardebigge!! So it is back to ‘ELE’ and down through the locks, in the company of another boat and on to the Severn. A left turn towards Gloucester and we are in plain sight of the new bridge across the river and the first ‘river lock’. The Severn is a strange combination of river and navigation – we are flowing towards the mouth of the river but it is often quite ‘intimate’ with banks in relatively close proximity. Sometimes reminiscent of the Thames (but NEVER the Trent, thank goodness) we leave the other boat behind and cruise, alone for many miles before, finally another boat – a Tupperware job – finally catches us up and passes.

It is with some consternation that we see a large ‘tupperware job’ appear from nowhere, at a great rate of knots, in front and across us. Fortunately, with James Bond at the wheel, the boat heaves round to head up-river as we realise we are passing the entrance to the Avon. Shortly afterwards I spot ‘nipple’ hill, usually used when I am navigating an aircraft (a hill with unique clump of trees on the summit a 10 miles to the east of Gloucester) so we are closing on our destination.

We pass the lock and are now on what can be ‘Tidal Severn’ – constantly on the lookout for the ‘Severn Bore’ we press on, giving Gloucester Docks a call to advise of our arrival. With a group of other boats we enter Gloucester locks and spot a very long term friend waiting our arrival (he works in an office overlooking the docks).

15.50 and we tie up at the end of the ‘herring bone’ moorings. My mate and his missus will join us later and we will eat at a hostelry in the local area. For now, a shower and brush-up is the order of the day and a quick look around Gloucester.

[TeeELL]

28 Aug. Today we have a relatively ‘easy day’ – we are going only as far as Saul Junction to meet with friends we made during the BCNS Explorer Cruise back in June. So it is a very leisurely 12.00 when we move from the dosks a few hundred yards down to Sainsbury’s for supplies. (We have run out of Limes – scurvy is a worry, or is it Lemons for our G&T? No matter ‘tis one or the other!)

Can you believe it (yes you can) it is past 2 PM before we escape the clutches of the supermarket. Nothing to do now until we reach Saul Junction – the bridges are opened by the bridge keepers and all we have to do is obey the lights! It is strange to be passing under bridges/roads that, not many years ago, I was travelling to work over. The new bridge on the by-pass was nearing completion when I left Gloucester, the canal having been diverted slightly. I confess to being rather surprised that the ‘bit of canal’ on the east side of the bridge wasn’t full of continuous moorers or ‘bridge hoppers’, after all it is one heck of a bridge!

To our surprise, mooring at Saul Junction was very straight forward. Gone was the rope/fender maker boat and butty and the other ‘permanent residents’ around the junction. Mind you, since we last visited there as ‘support staff’ for a Cotswold Canal Trust/Saul Junction ‘festival’ they have built a massive marina. (In this Marina were our friends, and finding then proved quite a challenge, as indeed was getting back having sampled some fine single malts!!)

[TeeELL]

Dear reader, there is something that completely slipped my mind but something that is fairly unusual. We were diverted, back on the 24th coming south out of Birmingham, yes diverted! There is a stretch, about 100 yards long of newly cut canal bypassing the original stretch which is being rebuilt due to development work. After that piece of incredulous information it will be difficult for me to get back to reporting ‘normality’.

 

29 Aug. A fairly slick start to the day as we planned to cruise down to Sharpness for a look-see. We stopped at a rather strange little place to pick up a full tank of fuel – the staff seemed more than slightly bewildered at working out the fuel costs (surely there must be a way of producing a programme for a ‘mathematical’ calculator to number crunch the price?). We arrived at Sharpness in blustery conditions, wound and moored a few hundred yards west of the site of the old Severn railway crossing. We spent the rest of the day pottering about and I made a few bits and pieces for the boat.

 

30th Aug. We woke to a beautiful morning, and a phone call advising us to make our way to the lock. We set off at 0925, wound once more and waited for the bridge to open allowing us to enter the Sharpness lock. Yes dear reader, we were off to the Kennet & Avon via the Severn Estuary!!!!

With engine vents blocked and front deck drains likewise we entered the lock at 09.45, we had a 30 min wait for the tide to be right and finally at 10.15 the gates shut and, hanging on to our ropes, the paddles were opened and we descended. The lock – massive – as you would expect given that the Gloucester and Sharpness is a ship canal.

At 10.35 we exited the lock and moved a short distance to the floating pontoon to await our pilot (as required by our insurance – and us for that matter!!) Carl the pilot arrived a short while later and suggested a further wait of 10 minutes for ideal conditions. A SLUg was also making the journey independently of us but left only moments before us – we set forth at 11.05. Entering the Severn we immediately went almost nowhere!! Our progress with 2200 RPM was only beaten by the snails that were overtaking us. Further out the SLUg was making some headway – impressing our pilot!!

Initially we hugged the northern bank, with our speed gradually increasing as the tide abated, in due course we we crossed the estuary to the northern side in preparation for passing under the ‘old’ bridge, shooting the turmoil of water between the bridges and then the ‘new’ bridge. Between the bridges the water is disturbed by a huge ‘deep’ which causes the water to ‘boil’, creates whirlpools, areas of torn water and also areas of incredible calm, difficult to describe, and I daresay visualise.

We passed under the old crossing at 13.00 with the boat describing an unusual rolling motion (for any aviators – not unlike Dutch rolling), and just 25 mins later we passed under the second bridge going sideways (well sort of anyway). We passed Avonmouth at 13.55 with Carl giving me a thorough brief on what to use to navigate the following morning – what to use, what to avoid and importently – where Not to go.

We arrived at Portishead at 14.10 and spent 25 mins ‘stemming the tide’ (note posh nautical expression) until the tide/lock was ready to accept us. We entered the Portishead lock at 14.35 but it was an hour before we exited and made our way to out designated mooring. Once moored we paid off the pilot and I settled our mooring fee with the harbourmaster. I also purchased a card for the shore-line.

 

Dear reader this was quite a day and I will leave my conclusion until my next report.

[matty40s]

Thanks Tony,

both yourself and Cotswoldman have whetted my appetite for some serious river cruises. I am covered by insurance to the Thames Barrier, however, am going to enquire as to the extensions available., I'd love to go up Barking Creek, ...and I am sure my Gardiner ! will love the depths of water to show what it's made of.

[TeeELL]

Fingers crossed I will be able to post the next installments whilst on the boat. Going to get Vodafone to check my Nokia to see why it is now reluctant to play the 'modem' game.

[TeeELL]

31st Aug. We are up bright and early as we have booked passage on the first ‘lock of the day’. Promptly on the designated time the lock gates open and we enter at 07.50 and now we have to wait, with us a couple of fishing boats – the SLUg having already left catching yesterday evenings tide for a night passage up to Bristol!!

At 08.20 we are spat out of the lock in the wake of hastily departing fishing boats ‘watch the mud bank and aim for the right hand wind turbine’. The instructions from the pilot are spinning around in my head, but all is going weel because it is another clear blue day with little wind. But no, oh no disaster looms on the horizon – out of Avonmouth dosk’s lock comes an 8000 ton freighter picking up speed as she makes her way into the estuary. Whilst we will miss the ship there is no way to avoid the wake – so I turn into the waves and we encounter the ‘roughest’ part of our journey. I’m so glad I didn’t decide to remove the various blanks. Turning into the mouth of the Avon we start our cruise up to Bristol – the Portishead lockie having phoned ahead (although I had also phoned the previous evening). We had been ‘all at sea’ for 20 minutes.

Dear reader, our experience of travelling from Sharpness to the Avon belies some of the comments made by others on this forum (ie Don’t do it). In some respects the whole event was a bit of an anticlimax but that is because we were fortunate in having probably the most ideal conditions imaginable. The tidal Trent last year put up greater waves than the Severn Estuary and, to be honest, the wake from the freighter was not anything to cause concern. So, if you are undecided – go for it, when all is said and done the pilot WILL NOT put you or your boat (and his life) at risk.

 

Anyway back to the Avon – by now we have passed under the M5 bridge and we are cruising up towards Avon gorge and the Bristol suspension bridge. It takes 45 mins to reach that bridge and it is but 10 minutes later that the ‘Entrance lock’ looms. We have to wait 25 mins, with nowhere to moor, until the tide is suitable for the lock to be opened and the outbound boats released. We enter and tie on to massive loops suspended from chains at 10.05, there are 2 other boats scheduled for this ‘lock’. 10.25 and we are all aboard, the gates close and we take a little less than 5 mins to rise to the upper water level. To our delight the massive swing bridge is opened (admittedly not for us – but what the heck, we can pretend).

 

We make slow progress through Bristol (we are ahead of the other boats ‘cos we could go under the next swing bridge whilst they had to wait). Looked at the various boats/ships therein, particularly SS GREAT BRITAIN. We progressed along the Avon towards Bath, stopped at a less than sanitary sanitation station accessed by a floating pontoon.

 

On the approach to Bath we determined that it was time to moor for the night – we find that we generally have to make the decision an hour prior to tying up! This was to be no exception and the visitor moorings we did see (quite by accident) were totally overgrown and unusable – indeed the signs were barely visible. So we continued into Bath, passing the Sainsburys and close to the city center. Now, if TESCO had built the supermarket I would all but guarantee that mooring would have been created to allow boaters a shopping experience. We finally moored near the city centre – using the railings as mooring posts. There were no access points in the fencing, so a bit disappointing all in all. It was getting dark so time for a sherry and something to eat.

[TeeELL]

1 Sep 2010. Accompanied by a family friend we spent the morning looking round Bath, I hadn’t visited since the 60’s and Mo the 80’s so things had changed. I bought what must have been the most expensive sausages in the country!! (Mind you they weren’t bad). What surprised me was the imposing entrance to the baths (imposing to a 15 year old) was anything but.

 

We left our mooring at one PM and cruised the short distance to Bath bottom lock which, at 19’ 4”, is a close second to Tuel tunnel lock, but without the need for a lockie to work it. However, we had a long wait as BW had to sort a problem at both top and bottom gates. The removal of a discarded compressor sorted the top gate problem and, ironically, the use of a compressor sorted the bottom gates – we had lunch! At 14.20 we finally entered the lock but had to wait as the pound above had been drained. Thirty minutes later and we ascend the lock; in the company of a hire boat (with an experienced crew) we continue our ascent reaching the top of the flight at 15.20. We stopped for water little realising that is would take 50 mins to fill the tank due to the poor water pressure.

 

Due to the time we decided to apply our ‘time to find moorings’ criteria and, true to form a little under an hour later we found a mooring adjacent to bridge 183 near Bathampton.

 

 

2 Sep 2010. The morning was sunny as we left our mooring at 09.45 reaching Dundas wharf at 11.10, we continued our cruise and moored in Bradford-on-Avon at 12.25. We spent two and a half hours looking around B-on-A leaving our mooring at 14.15 and reaching the bottom B-on-A lock, with 2 boats ahead of us. We passed through Hilperton and stopped at The Boat Yard where I uploaded diesel at 61.9 ppl (basic price). Such a happy bloke there as well, he explained that he had specified the tank/pump unit and because of the capacity could order fuel in a cheaper bulk band. (What a change from the rip-off prices we had seen previously and would end up having to pay subsequently!!).

We moored at 18.05.

[TeeELL]

Friday 3rd Sept.

Dear reader today started overcast and misty and we didn’t set off until 09.15. You are possibly surprised that I didn’t know where we moored last night well, to correct things, after 5 mins cruising we passed Bridge 163. I must admit that I have completely forgotten to use Water Explorer to update our position although my internet connectivity is rubbish this year.

 

There is no denying that the K&A is an iconic waterway and we are cruising through the part that is recognised as being the prettiest part. We were surprised at how few continuous moorers/residential boats slowed down our progress – I had been under the impression that this end of the K&A was marred by such boats. But we are in no hurry anyway and prefer to enjoy the scenery.

 

10.25 Our troubles started as I undertook the docking manoeuvre before swing-bridge 156, having slowed the boat down I attempted the final flourish to bring the stern into the mooring point so Mo could disembark – nothing!! The Morse moved but the engine didn’t respond, we were stuck out of gear. Fortunately we were close enough to the mooring to be able to pull the boat in and investigate. It transpired that the split-pin holding the end of the cable into the Morse quadrant had failed (worn through perhaps?). A rummage around the boat found a number of options – none of which worked! But, a few hundred yards away was a farm (of sorts) and so I set off in the hope they might have something I could use – why is it that a boat toolkit is capable of having everything but not something you need. My adventure was successful and, clutching 2 split pins I returned to the boat. In the meantime Mo had been at the bridge to open it for any boats – after all we had temporarily hijacked a bridge mooring.

It took a little while to persuade the split pin to fit, let’s face it working in the confined space of a cupboard where one can only get one arm and work by feel is always an ‘interesting’ game. However, at 11.25 I was finally able to start the engine and prove my work – success. At that point a very strange vessel approached – an 18ft rectangular margarine tub crewed by 2 Americans so we proceeded with them behind.

With Seend locks and a plastic tub to contend with, life was a challenge as I had to rope ELEMIAH to prevent us crushing the little tub. However we managed and moored for lunch at bridge 150. The Americans had only arrived late the previous night and had yet to provision their boat, so we fed them. Lunch finished we continued towards Devises and ‘the Caen Hill Flight’

Half an hour’s cruise saw us at Lower Foxhangers Lock and having negotiated the preamble locks we reached the bottom of the impressive Caen Hill flight at 4PM. Steeling ourselves we started the climb. I had phoned a friend who lived nearby in the hope he and his wife would come and assist – he came, but in a Slingsby Firefly aircraft!! I’ll not go into detail over the ascent other than it was relatively painless and we had a fairly good system going although I couldn’t assist as much as I would like because of the plastic boat. We reached the top of the impressive bit (lock 44) after 3 hours, which included a tea break while we waited for a descending boat to negotiate 2 locks that were ‘in their favour’.

It was just after 8PM when we moored above lock 50. (Please note – there is a nearby petrol station with a small store and the Americans went there to buy some essentials)

[TeeELL]

Sat 4 Sep. Well dear reader, I made light of yesterday’s incident with the throttle but, cast your mind back just a couple of days and imagine, if you will, that situation occurring whilst we were on the Severn Estuary ……….. ‘ELEMIAH’ ~ The Angel of Inward Journeys and Protector of Water Bourne Travellers, makes you wonder?

 

A very short report today, we spent a few hours in Devises, in particular I wanted to track down some suitable R clips to replace the split pin (got an assortment box of the blessed things – at home of course). Clutching another assortment box the split pin was replaced and we left our mooring at 12.45, stopping for water a short while later.

 

My notes are woefully short of information, I guess partly because I have reported this journey in the past and partly because I forgot to note any events!! All things considered it has been quite quiet on the K&A. It was about 7PM when we finally moored near Br 110.

 

Sun 5 Sep. Today we will be aiming to visit some people who befriended us on our ‘Chemo’ cruise. 09.55 and we finally set off , again an even more blank sheet means I am clutching at events – to no avail!! We arrived at Crofton Pump House at 14.20 and decided to walk into Wilton for something to eat at the Pub.

 

Excellent beer and excellent food, we finally finished and I enquired of the people who had befriended us n- ‘they have moved to Devizes’ we were told. However, by coincidence Mo had met someone who happened to live next door to the people who had moved so we called in there for 15 mins before returning to the boat.

[TeeELL]

Mon 6th Sep. We awoke to a pleasant morning and had a leisurely breakfast. At about 09.10 Mo went to set the lock, the crew of a boat moored ahead of us had, in fact, already done it so Mo enquired as to whether the other boat moored ahead of us was also moving off – ‘No – not for about 10 minutes’ was the reply. Thus we continued preparing to cast off.

 

09.25 we cast off and started off towards the lock – suddenly pandemonium broke out in the boat ahead – the engine was started, ropes untied and as we passed them they applied full power to race off the mooring. ‘Where are you going?’ was shouted across to me ‘dunno wherever get to’ was my reply. ‘Are you going into the lock?’ (this was rather a dumb question I thought) ‘Yes’ – ‘We are with them’ came back across the rapidly reducing gap. Well I can smell ‘bull sh!t’ a mile off and the air was heavy with it – however, I had better things to do than argue so I backed off, we moored again and had a cup of tea. Funny old thing, in their haste, they forgot to check the paddles and left one up – amateurs.

 

We reached lock 63 at 10.15, now you are probably a bit surprised as I have not been giving a blow by blow account of our times at locks. BUT this one was different, why? Because the extra reduction gear was missing – and do you know what, raising the paddle was both quick and easy, an absolute joy. Of course it can’t be all plain sailing – having opened only one gate to enter the other swung open – not just a little bit but fully!!

 

Late morning we stopped at Great Bedwyn for water, we are adopting a policy of keeping the tank full this trip, for no particular reason. Off again and we arrived at lock 65 taking 10 mins to pass through. Now, for some reason I have a list of locks and times – I’ll not pad out my tale with those details. However, we finally moored early (15.10) above Hungerford lock.

[TeeELL]

Tue 7 Sep. We have made the classic error – ‘drinking on a forecast’ !! Last night we over indulged because today was supposed to be dreadful – in fact it is anything but and we have to face more locks whilst nursing hangovers.

 

We left the mooring at 09.25, passing through Hungerford lock and reaching Dunmill lock at 10AM. I have a note about the Pill box situated there, clearly designed for a gun of some reasonable calibre, rather different from the ‘run-of-the-mill’ pill boxes along the canal. We decided to stop for lunch by lock 79.

 

An early stop was called for and we moored in Newbury, above the Newbury lock. Have you been down to the adjacent sculpture when the lock is in action?

 

Thur 9th Sep. We had a day off!! Setting off at 08.35 we reached the lock moments later and, accompanied by ‘CELTIC DREAM’ we passed through and on to the boat yard for fuel. This was 85ppl!! I think it worked out significantly more costly on a 60/40 split than going to the nearby Sainsbury and buying white!! I didn’t buy much. They also wanted a quid for water.

 

Again the day was a series of short cruises between locks, so I will jump forward to mid afternoon when we stopped at Aldermarston lock for water and to empty ‘the other thingy’. In due course we set off once again and finally moored at half 5 just beyond Tyle Mill lock.

 

On reflection – what a difference, one yard selling diesel at 62ppl and another at 85ppl, how can they even begin to justify a 23 pence mark-up?

 

Oh, we moored on a clearly un-used ‘permanent mooring’ overnight and I didn’t feel guilty. Just as well really ‘cos as we found tomorrow we would have had to travel a fair distance to find a mooring.

[TeeELL]

10 Sep 2010.

Having survived the night on an unoccupied ‘residential mooring’ – we discovered the sign obscured by undergrowth whilst exercising the dog this morning – we moved across to the water point and topped up. We had used more water than usual as the ‘studio’ washing machine had been in use. Mo having washed her hair was using the hair dryer and, out of casual interest I though I would check the voltage indicated – to my surprise 10.3 volts were registered!! Engine running to boot, when she finished the volts recovered but not as much as expected.

In the end it was 09.40 before we moved off. It will come as no surprise to learn that I kept checking the voltage throughout the day. Those of you familiar with the eastern end of the K&A will know it to be an idiosyncratic canal with its character regularly changing – nothing has changed, rest assured. At 11.30 we had reached Burghfield lock – there was a SLuG ascending, at last I have decided there is a use for them – they can clear the canal – we had travelled down parts barely wide enough for a narrowboat.

At 12.30 we arrived at Fobney Lock – all very black and white, BW was supervising the painting of the lock – and one of the lads, having carefully painted the white bit on the end of the counter arm, picked up has sandwiches and promptly sat down – yes – he sat on the wet paint. As we passed through Reading we decided to go around the back water and have a look, by the ‘Bel and the Dragon’ restaurant and Museum.

We reached Blakes lock at 14.00, it was unmanned so we ventured onto the Thames and moored outside TESCO. Whilst Mo went and bought the provisions I checked the electrics – the inverter had switched off as the batteries had reached the ‘min voltage’. My digital multi-meter registered 13.4 volts across the bank so I was getting a little confused, one source suggested all was OK the other quite the opposite. Well, I then realised there was a battery low warning on the multi-meter – the battery change revealed that the multi-meter now agreed with the battery management system!!

When Mo returned and we put all the provisions away, we discussed our options. We decided that we should phone ‘Bel and the Dragon’ and ask about their shore power points, we were advised that they were serviceable and would be turned on for us (I explained the problem). It was getting towards dusk as we returned through Blakes lock and moored on the moorings at the restaurant. The shore line was plugged in and all became ‘normal’ once again. By coincidence, there was another narrowboat moored the other side of the pontoon and I mentioned our problem – my heartfelt thanks are extended to the crew of ‘GREYFISHER’ who gave me the name and number of an engineer (described as excellent – can fix anything, I was assured).

Text messages crossed the airwaves with an assurance that he would be at the boat at 11.30 the following morning. On time he arrived and started diagnosing the problem – our main alternator had given up the ghost. It would be 2 days before he could obtain a replacement so I asked if the ‘small’ alternator could be wired to charge the whole bank. The engineer went through his spares box, found a suitable length of cable and went on his way to the next job. All for £5.00 what can I say, other than another massive thank you.

With the battery bank fully charged from the mains and the small inverter connected to all 6 batteries, we started off once again. We cast off at 12.45 with minimum electrical power usage. Blakes lock, still unmanned, was negotiated at 12.55 and I was a bit more chilled out about what was happening in the engine bay. Those of you who have travelled on the Thames may know that is well ‘policed’ by the Environment Agency with their blue light motor boats, it is therefore essential to make sure you obtain the temporary licence at the earliest opportunity. Thus we pushed towards Caversham lock where we could pay an astronomical sum for a £15? Day licence. 13.25 and the lockie is at lunch!! 14.00 as we ascend the, now manned, lock I pay my due and receive the temporary licence. We leave the lock and, can you believe it, an EA launch passes us scrutinising our shiny new licence.

If you have read previous journey logs (specifically the ‘Cancer and Chemo Cruise of 2 years ago) you will know that back in 1978ish Mo and I hired a Foxton Boat Services NB called ‘RICHMOND TOO’ and we last saw it on the GU. Well, I can’t be absolutely sure but I think we passed her (now called RICHMOND) near Reading Marine Services. For your future navigation notes Mapledurham lock has lost elsan and pump-out but now has H20 hose (these are 1” bore and fill the water tank in moments unlike some of the sad examples of the BW system). At 17.00 we selected a nesting place in the river bank adjacent to Beale Park. I would have thought that mooring places would have been easy to find given the recent festival, but we had to cut down the undergrowth to make access to the boat easier.

[TeeELL]

12 Sep. Today we have no real plans for a destination, we are going to ‘go with the flow’ so to speak – although, of course we are actually going against it! We are turning into idle slackers and eventually got our act together moving off at nearly 10AM. I have some times for various locks along the way and I know we shared some of them but my notes are sadly lacking in detail. All I can report, therefore, is that we finally moored in Abingdon, by the park.

 

13 Sep. Wow we got up early and were on the move shortly after nine. Again a bit short on detail – we moored by Farmoor reservoir at 5PM

 

14 Sep. We are cracking on a pace here!! Another relatively early start, the ‘little’ alternator is doing it’s very best to cope. We arrived at Lechlade at 5PM. Went home with some washing and excess baggage and both had very long and very hot showers before returning to the boat.

[TeeELL]

15~16th Sep 2010.

Dear reader the report for these 2 days has nothing to do with cruising as we have moored in Lechlade to allow friends to come and visit the boat and me – repair the boat. I telephoned E P Barrus (EPB) and was put in touch with the marine engine department technicians, unfortunately EPB do not sell direct so I was put in touch with one of their ‘outlets’ in Northamptonshire. The call to them was quick and straightforward – I paid them, they e-mailed the order to EPB, I waited an hour or so then drove to EPB at Bicester where my new alternator was waiting at reception.

So that was the easy bit – fitting the blessed thing was an altogether different game. To cut a long story shortish; my original alternator had failed and an ‘aftermarket’ unit fitted in its stead – given the amount of work required to make the ‘botch job’ work (which I am sure I ‘paid for’) I suspect that an OEM alternator would have worked out cheaper!! As an aside, for those of you with Barrus Shire alternators; you should note that no keeper/keyway is employed to prevent the pulley, if the securing nut comes loose, from rotating freely around the alternator spindle.

It took about 3 hours to fiddle and fettle the support plate and alternator into position so that the belt was straight; I was not able to recreate the adjusting unit – a job I might tackle in the future. Tightening the belt and starting the engine (having removed the start battery shunt) showed that all was well so a couple of hundred quid lighter the electrics appeared serviceable once more. It is one way to learn about my boat I guess. I think I heard the engine alternator breath a sigh of relief.

Despite the various promises only one local friend turned up to indulge in some wine etc so I wonder if buying the 15 day Thames licence was such ‘value for money’. The only real advantage was that I had access to my car and time to fit the alternator – I was even able to use my angle grinder (in the garage) to ‘de bodge’ welded parts on the alternator tension bracket.

A few other jobs also got completed – yes I know jobs completed, that is letting the side down. But, fear ye not, there are plenty more to be done and plenty more we haven’t found/thought of yet. My section of the boat (cupboard at rear of boat – tools for the use of and spare cassette storage) remains a disaster – to get to anything I have to move lots of other bits and bobs so it tends to degenerate into a real mess in a surprisingly short period of time. Of course, it is only after I’ve moved the cassette to replace the tool box and then replaced the cassette that I find I’ve left a tool out or need a tool so have to start again.

[TeeELL]

17-18 Sep 2010.

Dear reader on the day of our departure we received a call from friends who wanted to look over the boat and have a short journey. No problem, I took all the bits and pieces I’d used to fix the alternator home – together with the broken alternator. Of course I also had to leave the car at home and walk back to the boat, by this time it was about 13.30 and our visitors had arrived and were enjoying tea and scones. We decided that a short trip to Inglesham (where the Cotswold canal joins the Thames) was in order. Mind you I have forgotten that even that ‘short trip’ is about 30 mins there and back!! I was also surprised at the lack of depth of water when I started winding at Inglesham – it was an altogether more careful manoeuvre than I’ve executed in the past. We dropped our visitors off at the Riverside Pub moorings and, at 15.10, set off for our overnight mooring – we made it to Radcot.

 

Sat 18 Sep. We set off at 08.40 and an hour later passed ‘spin corner’ – situated between Radcott and Rushey, this is the only corner on the Thames with a very substantial lump of concrete on the outside of the corner. The first time we had ventured up the Thames the flow was such that we ‘spun’ here – looking at the water levels and reduced width of the river it is hard to believe it happened. We reached Eynsham at 14.20 and took on 111 ltrs of fuel (ouch!!).

Dukes Cut was reached at 15.35 and, as we passed through the lock immediately before the junction with the Oxford, we noticed a hire boat going backwards and forwards – and backwards and forwards. Turns out they were trying to turn to head back north. We proceeded into the lock – or rather we tried to! Picked up not one but 2 pieces from tyres which very effectively destroyed the propulsive capabilities of the prop. Quickest ‘weed hatch job’ I’ve done in a while and we entered the lock. Whilst waiting for the lock to fill I popped back to the hire boat and explained to them that ‘full power’ fwd/reverse was not the way to turn.

It was about 16.30 when we decided to moor above Kidlington lock opposite the ‘Sheriff of Kidlingtons’ place. As we moored the crew of a boat already moored offered beer!! Now those are the sort of neighbours we like. Needless to say, the evening rather degenerated after rather too many ‘Old Speckled Hens’. That is why it was ‘about’ 16.30 when we moored.

[TeeELL]

19 Sep 2010

The day is overcast – and so are we!! Our neighbours on ‘FELONIOUS MONGOOSE’ proved very hospitable, plus the fact that we took a supply of booze with us – will we ever learn? Probably not!!

Half nine and we finally set off, what was really disappointing was no visit from ‘The Sheriff’ I wonder if he has moved? We are off to meet ‘Maffi’ and have lunch at The Jolly Boatman. Arriving at the pub at 10.50 we met Maffi shortly afterwards and spent the next five hours ‘catching up’ with the news since our last rendezvous 2 years ago.

We departed at 16.00, onto the River Cherwell a little over an hour later and finally moored just above Bakers lock. As an aside, since leaving The Jolly Boatman the dog has been behaving rather strangely. We will have to see if he is any better on the morrow.

Sorry folks – a bit short and sweet. I bid you farewell until tomorrow

[TeeELL]

20 Sep 2010.

Not a good start to the day, the dog is unwell, symptoms remain from yesterday and Mo (who is a Sports Massage Therapist) is very concerned. We cast off at 0905 keeping a careful eye on the mutt. The decision is made that we will stop at the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ pub, and a phone call to Maffi identifies a suitable vets and the availability of Maffi and car to assist. Whilst Mo is off at the vitnaries I get on with some jobs around the boat – the Pub landlord approaches and wants to know what is going on – I explain and he is happy; however, the reason for his enquiry turns out that earlier in the season another boat had moored on the ‘pub moorings’ and the crew disappeared for 2 weeks!!

A somewhat sedated dog returns and we set off once again (11.20), not a long cruise to Pigeons lock (11.45) but we are surprised to find 3 boats waiting ahead of us and by the time we enter (12.25) there are a further 2 boats behind us – quite the busiest bit of our journey to date.

At 14.40 we moored at Lower Heyford, we have alternator problems once again this time with over-volting!! So, getting pretty slick at this sort of thing by now, I converted us back to single alternator ops before all the light bulbs blew!! I had everything sorted in less than an hour and we resumed our homeward journey. We moored just 45 minutes later above Somerton Deep lock. Tomorrow I will call Barrus to find out what is amiss.

[TeeELL]

21 Sep 2010.

It is one of those autumnal mornings, fog is shrouding the countryside. Mystery is surrounding the alternator, but a quick call to E P Barrus reveals the source of my problem – a minor wiring error. It takes but moments to correct the error and a little bit longer to delve into the battery box to remove the jumper lead. At a quarter after 10 we set off with the fog lifting and the day warming up.

We reached Neil Br lock and, once again, found a small queue of boats; it was some 50 mins before we negotiated the lock leaving it at 12.20. Clearly the remainder of the day was uneventful as the next recorded occurrence is mooring for the night just above Slat Mill Br at 18.45.

At least the alternator problem now appears to be finally resolved as voltages etc appeared correct. I must find out how the adjustment bracket is fitted and works – I have at least part of the ‘mechanism’.

[TeeELL]

22 Sep 2010

 

Dear reader once again I do apologise most profusely for the paucity of detail I have been including in my recent reports. I can only say that; this part of our journey home bound is a repetition of past trips and therefore I find it more difficult to create motivational or interesting prose. With the shorter annual cruise this year the homeward leg has hit us harder than might otherwise be expected and we realise that we under a little bit of pressure now to make Longwood on schedule.

08.45 we set off with the promise of a hot day, we have been succumbing to Mo’s infamous breakfast baps although not quite so overstuffed as usual, just sausages, bacon and egg. It is proving a challenge to get them done today as our first lock is not too far away. Indeed it is just 30 mins later that we arrive at Cropredy lock and another 30 mins later we reach Broadmoor lock. It was here that we purchased some fenders a couple of years ago – I’ll say nothing other than we had to purchase replacements earlier this year!! (and we had strung that expense out longer than we should have)

10.45 saw us reach Claydon bottom lock and it took us just under an hour before we exited Claydon Top lock. Quite what happened over the next few hours is now a mystery as my next recorded event is Napton Top lock 16.15 with a run of 2hrs and 10 mins to exit the bottom lock. We decided to continue cruising for another hour but ended up mooring near Br 110 at 7.15PM

[TeeELL]

Thur 23rd Sep.

 

Dear reader, my sincerest apologies where has the time gone? We have entered a new year since my last post and already we are booked on to the BCNS 24hr Challenge, the BCNS Explorer Cruise and the Rally at Pelsall Common. Add to that a cruise round to Caggies Yard for a bit of bottom blacking and maybe the fitting of an Axiom Prop and the diary for 2011 is filling up. Add to that the planned 2011 Grand Cruise …..

Oh yes whilst one can NEVER assume to be absolutely clear of cancer, my most recent blood test results show no sign of recurrence and all my liver functions etc have, finally, returned to normal levels. Ill just keep my fingers crossed!!

 

I left you at Br 110 with a short distance to run to Napton Jn. Well after setting off at 08.30 we arrived at the Jn just 20 mins later and were on to the Calcutt flight just moments later. Again my note book is bereft of information and time has very effectively blanked my memory. Suffice to say that we exited the bottom of Calcutt after 25 mins and the next great event recorded is leaving Radford bottom lock at 14.50. I guess we must have eaten on the hoof.

 

15.00 and we passed Nb EPIPHANY, no one around (if I remember correctly) so we didnt stop. Besides we could here the distant call of a Tescos. We arrived at the Warwick Tesco at 16.45 and I note we were on the move again just 30 mins later that HAS to be some kind of a record. We moored adjacent to Kate Boats as we were getting a little low on fuel.

 

Fri 24th Sep.

 

A bit of a late start today for some reason (perhaps based on the opening time of KBs, cruised over only to find that they were completely out of diesel!! It is going to be a cautious days cruising then (wish Id known, I would have picked up 25ltrs of white from TESCO, almost certainly cheaper that 60/40 prices for red).

Now I have to confess that the next stretch of our journey doesnt fill us with glee the Hatton flight is such a challenge. Fortunately, of course, we have the Cape locks to ease us into our stride. 09.45 10.00 and 20 mins later we are at the bottom lock of Hatton Flight.

We ascended Hatton in 3 hrs and 5 mins stopping for water at the top. We paused for about 15 mins for a tea break and another 15 mins for a lunch break during the ascent so our effective time was just over 2.5 hours.

13.55 we set off and started the most uncanny part of our journey. Now we had passed a couple of boats descending Hatton but nothing passed us between the top of Hatton and the bottom of Knowle locks 3 hours later indeed we then only saw 2 boats before mooring near Br 72 at 17.50

Edited February 10, 2011 by TeeELL

[TeeELL]

Sat 25th Sep

 

We awoke to a bright, clear but cold morning and finally got out act together for an 09.00 start. A short hop to, fingers crossed, a fuel stop. Just 35 mins of travelling and we reached Copt Heath Wharf, I note that we uplifted just 60 ltrs of fuel – I suspect that the 60/40 price was rather steep – so we picked up enough to ‘see us through’.

 

A 3 hour cruise later and we reached the top of Camp Hill Locks – I find this area difficult to get my head around – I first experienced this area back in the early 80’s and the area beyond the railway line was all bulldozed flat – including a hospital site. I recall that the hire boat had run out of fuel and I had to trek across the desolation to an isolated petrol Station for a gallon of diesel.

 

Anyway – back to 2010, 12.30 we commenced the descent exiting the bottom lock in just an hour. Only 15 mins break and we reached the top of the Garrison flight, now I have to say that, despite their location, these feel terribly isolated locks. They are bordered on one side (sort of) by railway and on the other by all but derelict buildings – lots of litter add to a slight sense of unease. (Mind you dear reader, if you have read previous years reports, we have spent a not inconsiderable period stuck in this flight). My notes suggest that we fair flew through these locks in just 10 mins.

 

The run down to Salford Jn (E) took about an hour and a half – it is fairly straight and passes Star City – which has secure moorings, although I’ve never seen a boat moored there. A few fishermen were trying their luck, but the water is horrible. From Salford Jn the cruise to the bottom of the Perry Bar flight is a mere 15 mins – hardly time enough to brace ones self for this quite demanding flight (it surprises me that there is no ‘canal plaque’ for this flight).

 

To our delight the climb was uneventful although the raw sewage leaking into the bottom of lock 11 was unpleasant. We completed the flight in 2 hrs 25 mins (one day I might look back at our ‘previous times’ to see what sort of average we are achieving). We moored immediately above the top lock i) because we were tired, ii) because it was getting dark and iii) because we figured no-one would be looking to use the locks.

 

We got our comeuppance!! At 02.10 we were woken buy ‘things’ hitting the boat – BUT there was no drunken laughter or the sounds of running when the boat lights switched on. When I investigated there was no-one to be seen in any direction. We discovered the bags of rubbish belonged to one of the lock cottages. To be honest we often overnight in this area and have never experienced any problems before. I would say that the accumulated rubbish/leaves/debris that gathered above the lock is most unsightly.

 

Sun 26th

 

Well dear reader, we are coming to the end of the cruise. Leaving our mooring at 09.10 we gently cruised the final section to the Ganzi 7 flight – a flight that has more than it’s fair share of attention from the local yoof. The anti vandal mechanisms get targeted, the broken bottles make for careful treading when locking. However, once again we had no significant trouble with this flight – 1hr 15 mins to complete. The fair distance to the bottom of Mosses’ locks gave us time for a cuppa.

 

12.35 saw us exit the Mosses’ top lock (or Top lock of the Rushall 9 if you prefer). We moored outside the sanitation point to fill the water tank and complete other ‘stuff’ and then moved along the mooring to unload before easing ‘ELEMIAH’ back into her mooring.

 

At this time, we little realised that various planned boating events in Dec and Jan would be non-starters due to the freezing temperatures.

 

To conclude – this was a great cruise with some interesting challenges en-route. We caught up with friends from the 2010 BCNS ‘Explorer’ cruise and other long standing friends. We challenged ourselves on the Severn Estuary with our ‘solo’ run from Portishead to Bristol perhaps being even more challenging. I had enough mechanical problems to ‘keep me amused’. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the spiralling cost of fuel – to be paying more per litre for 60/40 ‘red’ than forecourt ‘white’ is not acceptable. I have mentioned places to fuel where the prices are sensible (and where the prices are NOT) – how do we ‘fix’ this, I guess boycotting the expensive places – unfortunately that isn’t always possible.

 

Finally, for the next cruise, I will do my best to keep better notes, although I may not return to my previous policy of writing up the cruise diary every evening, because it takes such a long time. Even Mo seems to have stopped writing her journal, a shame because that puts an entirely different slant on each day – indeed, if you had access to both you might be forgiven for thinking we were on different boats!!

 

THE END

 

'Till next year (well later this year)

[TeeELL]

OK, back from 2 weeks of Carribean sunshine, I am sat here with a 'body warmer' on over my sweatshirt etc!! So the BIG question is: How can I persuade the Cuban government that they need to built a network of canals - to the original BCN standard of course. Then I can combine 2 favourite passtimes.

 

Off up to the boat on Saturday, bits and pieces to do both to the boat and the Club 'display board' ready for the BCNS Rally at Pelsall. Longwood Boat Club is the only boat Club on the BCN and we are one of the associated 'hosts' for the Rally. If any of you are on the 'BCNS Explorer Cruise' then we will see you on that.