BCN Challenge

[Nobber]

My tummy hurts reely bad

 

 

 

 

 

Paaaaaarp

 

 

 

 

My tummy doesnt hurt anymore but its not very nice in this sleepin bag now

 

 

 

 

 

 

hehehehehehehehe

[RLWP]

Tawny Owl now has all windows and doors open. Nobber is banished to the front cockpit

 

We gave up on The Cat half way up Riders Green. Having emptied all the chambers for him, opened the bottom gates and relocked the anti-vandal gear, short of carrying the damn boat there wasn't much else we could do

 

Richard

[Tim Lewis]

Team Tawny Owl now enjoying the sunny Tame Valley

 

Richard

 

 

Tawny Owl struggles to do the tight turn off the Tame Valley :-)

 

 

Tim

Edited May 30, 2011 by Tim Lewis

[RLWP]

Cheek! We didn't hit anything (that time)

 

Richard

 

 

Thanks Tim, great picture

[Nine of Hearts]

Being really nice and resetting for The Cat That Walks By Himself behind us.

 

Sue

 

Thank 'ee kindly for that. Went up a damn sight faster than we came down as a result. Even so, I didn't have a dry stitch on by the time we got to the top. After all that crawling up the Walsall it was nice to give it the beans down the Mainline so we could get home in time for some of Odana's chicken soup. Yum.

[Odana]

The weekend's weedhaul. Do we win a prize?

 

 

And, just to prove it's not over till the fat lady shrieks, Odana collected her final trophy just as she tried to make the turn into home at Hockley Port. I had already got changed out of my soggygrubby boating kit and opened a celebratory cider and everything. Was a very fitting and entertaining end to a fabulous weekend.

 

Suede jacket, slightly distressed, anyone?

Edited May 30, 2011 by Odana

[RLWP]

We've got a nice purple top to go with that green sari material

 

Tawny Owl safely tied up near Hockley Heath. We've done 110 miles since Friday morning

 

Richard

 

I may change out of the clothes I've been wearing since Friday.

[RLWP]

A single picture from the industrial wastelands of the BCN:

 

 

It appears that Dave the Geek is a bit good with a camera. I'm glad I promoted him from ship's cat now

 

Richard

[Odana]

A single picture from the industrial wastelands of the BCN:

 

It appears that Dave the Geek is a bit good with a camera. I'm glad I promoted him from ship's cat now

 

Richard

 

 

That's fabulous! Well done Dave. I've been trying for the perfect heron pic for years without success.

 

The industrial wastelands of the BCN are good, aren't they?

[Nine of Hearts]

That's fabulous! Well done Dave. I've been trying for the perfect heron pic for years without success.

 

I will happily bring you a dead one for you to draw, paint, sketch, whatever. Goldfish murdering bastards. Oh, Caspar, how I miss you...

[FadeToScarlet]

Putting our route into TCWWBH's planner, we came up at 310 points, or 330 if we'd not done a bit of the GU by mistake Plus whatever questions we got right.

 

We were seriously slowed down by weed on the Walsall canal, and because of time limits weren't able to do the full 360-point plan and go all the way down the Curly Wyrley and back to Walsall via Dudley.

 

Oh well, there's always next year!

[RLWP]

Out of interest, where did people go? We did:

 

Titford pumphouse

Langley Forge

Titford pumphouse

The Crow

Old main line

Gower branch

New main line

Netherton tunnel

Hawne Basin

Netherton tunnel

New main line

Factory locks

Wolverhampton level

Bradley workshops

Horsely Fields Junction

W&E

Cannock Extension

W&E

Ogley junction

W&E

Rushall canal

Tame Valley

Walsall canal

Walsall town arm

 

1'10" draft, 70' boat, nine crew including Nobber

 

Richard

[Odana]

Putting our route into TCWWBH's planner, we came up at 310 points, or 330 if we'd not done a bit of the GU by mistake Plus whatever questions we got right.

 

We were seriously slowed down by weed on the Walsall canal, and because of time limits weren't able to do the full 360-point plan and go all the way down the Curly Wyrley and back to Walsall via Dudley.

 

Oh well, there's always next year!

 

 

Shall we lobby for the inclusion of that li'l bit of the GU to be included for next year? Garrison locks are nice and clean now after the spring clean up and need all the traffic they can get! Would make a change from Aston.

 

 

356 points for us according to the Catplanner (missing red lines were the full loop round Smethwick - bad call, which prevented a Hawne Basin excursion). Plus questions. Much more respectable than last year but already planning next year....

Edited May 31, 2011 by Odana

[FadeToScarlet]

71'6" boat, 2'11" draught- more when going along!

 

Farmer's Bridge top lock

Digbeth Branch

GU to Salford Junction (as suggested by Mike Askin- I wonder what you bribed him with, Richard )

Tame Valley,

Rushall Canal,

Daw End branch, up to Ogley Basin,

Curly Wyrley,

Cannock Extention to Norton Canes- Rest stop from 8:50pm, visit the Toby Carvery to refuel, set off at 3:04am, bowhauling so as not to wake up the moorers, take the mickey out of Team Tawny Owl on the way past,

Walsall Canal- having a great deal of trouble with the weed- down to the Walsall Town Arm at 7am,

Wednesbury Old Canal,

New Main Line,

and finish at Smethwick Junction at 2pm- then back to Gas Street via the loops for 4pm.

 

Oh yes, and ten crew, including the forum owner with a Tirfor winch.

[Laurence Hogg]

To all,

It would be really usefull to list specfic points where problems were encountered, ie serious objects in the canal, please discount weed as that is naturally occuring, its the "nastys" we need to know of,

thanks

[RLWP]

To all,

It would be really usefull to list specfic points where problems were encountered, ie serious objects in the canal, please discount weed as that is naturally occuring, its the "nastys" we need to know of,

thanks

 

Unfortunately, we didn't make note of where 'the things' live, the things that heave your boat up from below

 

The Walsall Canal from the M6 north is the worst bit, and makes the finish a bit of a joyless slog

 

Richard

 

Did see three water voles over the weekend though

[FadeToScarlet]

Some photo highlights:

 

 

Team Yeoford (Photo credit Rebekah Fuller)

 

 

Nice fore-end (Rebekah again)

 

 

It's all a bit tiring for Mike! (Rebekah again)

 

 

I could get used to this steering-full-length-boats lark...

 

 

I should have bought shares in Typhoo before we started- it kept us all going!

 

 

Dan came equiped with a Tirfor. Unfortunately, his suitcase couldn't handle the weight...

[RichardN]

Indigo Dream's route:

 

Aldersley Junction

Up the 21 (we had to do the 21 as we had not done it before, mistake as very slow, other boats on the flight, and worse very low on water until I cycled up to the top and let the top paddles run for 5 minutes. Is there something wrong with the bywashes around lock 7 or 8?)

Curly Wurly (grounded in a couple of places, I will see if we recorded where)

Detoured to Grove Colliery Basins

Down Rushall and Perry Parr (bottom lock awkward as obstructed by something which we could only partially remove - that lock is deep even when empty)

Got a chinese takeaway at Cuckoo Wharf, hit the spot very well.

Up Aston, Farmers Bridge and Smethwick (hit something metallic and also scraped/grounded in mid channel on the Old Main Line - possibly due to having a big back deck filled with 5 big people and 4 greyhounds (average weight around 35 kg each, thats the dogs, humans a tiny tiny bit more)

(Failed to do the engine arm as we were there too early)

Up to Titford (total delight, our steering crew reckoned that going up was like being at Alton Towers)then down again

Down Spon, down Ryders Green and into the Walsall Arm (Pudding Green to Ryders seemed shallow, smelly and slow, the Walsall Canal loads and loads better since being spot dredged but still a bit shallow)

 

Did suggest to the team that if we were early we go pop up to Birchalls and back down again to take our lock count to over 100 but that idea did not go down well. :-)

 

We will fall down because we simply did not know the answers to questions without going there unlike some who knew the answers without going there, we just don't have that wonderful encyclopaedic knowledge of the BCN. Some questions were very sneaky eg Greenland and Wulfrun, real Duhhh moment when you work it out.

 

Great weekend. We now only have a few bits of the BCN that we have not done - Engine Arm, the locks above Walsall, Anglesey Basin and the bit of canal off Ryders Green Junction, can't remember the name so have to target those next time. We left the boat in Walsall and as our next destination is Shardlow we may well go up the Walsall Locks next weekend - route still to be decided but will be affected by an almost empty water tank and an almost full toilet tank. Wonder if the triple shot lattes made with 20 (!!!!) pints of milk in 24 hours had something to do with that.

 

We are still collecting sponsorship so if any one is feeling generous please click here: http://www.mycharitypage.com/IndigoDream. Also here is a plug for another boater raising money for Macmillan by doing the Great North Run, I think for the 3rd time: http://www.justgiving.com/Geoff-Wade01

Edited May 31, 2011 by RichardN

[Proper Job]

Sorry, but it was too heavy to lift for my little crew of 2 and it was dark, elf 'n' safety and all that.

Yes that mattress does look familiar

 

It took a while to realise that it wouldn't come out through the weed hatch so we had to resort to the 'hang on to the mattress and drag the boat away method', while yours truly cut it away from the prop

 

A great weekend. I wish I could have stayed in the pub a bit longer, but commitments on Monday meant we had to shoot off.

 

It will be interesting to see who's strategy comes up with the points.

 

Muskrats 'water skiing' strategy looked to be going well when they passed us

 

Can we do it again next year Unki Richard

[john6767]

To all,

It would be really usefull to list specfic points where problems were encountered, ie serious objects in the canal, please discount weed as that is naturally occuring, its the "nastys" we need to know of,

thanks

 

The Walsall was really the only part that was bad. Plenty of water (well enough), but the amount of debris in there made it a struggle to the finish going from Tame Valley Junction to Walsall, with Tawny Owl hot on my heals (1 fast weed hatch trip).

 

On the way home yesterday, it took 3 trips to the weed hatch to get from Walsall to Pudding Green Junction. In contrast from there to Lapworth not been near the weed hatch at all.

 

Below the bottom lock at Ryders Green is a bit of a mess, not really sure that is water you are floating in.

 

As a Walsall canal virgin, it has reset my opinion of what bad is, it is such a shame, but I would do it again....

 

 

 

[Nine of Hearts]

... We now only have a few bits of the BCN that we have not done - Engine Arm, the locks above Walsall, Anglesey Basin and the bit of canal off Ryders Green Junction, can't remember the name so have to target those next time...

 

That bit is a "never do", I'm afraid. Apparently it's badly polluted up there, so it's out of bounds and I can't see it getting cleaned up in time for 2012. Team Tawny Owl went up there in 2009 (IIRC), and look what happened to them...

[RLWP]

That bit is a "never do", I'm afraid. Apparently it's badly polluted up there, so it's out of bounds and I can't see it getting cleaned up in time for 2012. Team Tawny Owl went up there in 2009 (IIRC), and look what happened to them...

 

Are you going to declare your route then, including how many hours and pints in the Manor Arms?

 

Richard

[Black Ibis]

To all,

It would be really usefull to list specfic points where problems were encountered, ie serious objects in the canal, please discount weed as that is naturally occuring, its the "nastys" we need to know of,

thanks

 

Yeoford really struggled with what we think was a pile of bricks just between the first bridge on the Soho loop and the old Winson Green arm. We nearly got the Tirfor out but managed to get over it in the end.

 

Blog posts about our BCN Marathon so far:

 

Part 1: http://nbluckyduck.blogspot.com/2011/05/bcn-24-hour-marathon-challenge-2011.html

 

Part 2: http://nbluckyduck.blogspot.com/2011/05/bcn-24-hour-marathon-challenge-2011_31.html

 

Shall we lobby for the inclusion of that li'l bit of the GU to be included for next year? Garrison locks are nice and clean now after the spring clean up and need all the traffic they can get! Would make a change from Aston.

 

Agreed. Digbeth - Garrison is quite an interesting route with the old FMC warehouse and othe bits and pieces. Nice bit of canal.

[Nine of Hearts]

Are you going to declare your route then, including how many hours and pints in the Manor Arms?

 

Richard

 

We like to think of the BCN Challenge as an opportunity to support local businesses. Besides, you were all doing such a sterling job of haring around the network, we didn't want to get in your way.

 

While you were making sure all the bits of the BCN were OK, we were establishing that all the real ales on offer (and they had a fair few) in the manor were up to standard. They were, and I'm sure I wrote that somewhere on me log. *hic*

[john6767]

As we were a crew of 2 the strategy was not to do too many locks (we did 21), and to do as many of the sections with high multipliers.

 

50ft boat, draft 20 in, finished before the 2:00pm deadline.

 

This is the route that we took;

 

Titford Pumphouse

Navigation Winding hole

Titford Pumphouse

Oldbury Locks

Oldbury Junction

Spon Lane Junction

Spon Lane Locks

Bromford Junction

Pudding Green Junction

Albion Junction

Brades Locks

Brades Hall Junction

Tipton Junction

Factory Junction

Deepfields Junction

Bradley Workshops

Deepfields Junction

Horseley Fields Junction

Broad Street Basin

Horseley Fields Junction

Birchills Junction

Pelsall Junction

Cannock Extension

Pelsall Junction

Catshill Junction

Ogley Junction

Catshill Junction

Newton Junction

Tame Valley Junction

Walsall Junction

Walsall Town Arm

 

By my calculation that gives a total points of 388. Plus what we get for the questions, which I think was 7 questions (6 for 5 points and 1 for 10 I think) so another 40points. So I am guessing 428 total.