Keeping Up in 2011

[Keeping Up]

This year's cruise will take us to Boston & the WND's, then across to the Anderton Lift for the Manchester Ship Canal and finally down to Gloucester and the Droitwich Canals.

 

With this fantastic weather we're already ahead of ourselves by miles. We're at Newark now, which is where we were planning to be in 2¹/₂ days time.

 

We always enjoy meeting CWDF members on our travels so if you see us give a wave or make a "let's stop for a beer" signal. You can track us on Water Explorer this year, or contact us by phone

[canaldrifter]

Could you please clarify the 'lets stop for a beer' signal, as it can be confused with the 'fancy a cup of tea' signal, which is not quite the same.

 

Maybe a bit of reeling about when you make the signal?

 

tone

[Graham Davis]

Beer - right fist raised towards mouth, with a tilting motion.

Tea - right hand with sticky-out pinky raised to mouth.

 

Didn't you know that??

[RLWP]

Could you please clarify the 'lets stop for a beer' signal, as it can be confused with the 'fancy a cup of tea' signal, which is not quite the same.

 

Maybe a bit of reeling about when you make the signal?

 

tone

 

Doesn't make any difference. If you get it wrong you just end up having a cup of tea before your beer

 

Richard

[Tim]

How long are you out for? I'm off at the beginning of June, Birmingham, Gloucester, Bristol, Reading, London, Oxford, Leicester, Burton (for the National) and return to Ventnor Farm, should be 2 Months or so, I'll keep a look out for the (as yet undefined) beer signal!!

[canaldrifter]

 

Tea - right hand with sticky-out pinky raised to mouth.

 

Didn't you know that??

 

But that could also mean it's Pimms o'clock.

 

Tone

[Nightwatch]

1, Beer - right fist raised towards mouth, with a tilting motion.

2, Tea - right hand with sticky-out pinky raised to mouth.

 

Do '1' above and tap wrist watch with forefinger.

 

This is getting complicated.

 

 

Just shout "BEER!!!!!!. It will all make sense.

[Keeping Up]

We're travelling until 1st September when we're booked in for blacking at Braunston (I mean the boat is ...).

 

The 'lets stop for a beer' signal is basically any signal that isn't obviously something else. In case of doubt, stop for a beer (or tea or Pimms or whatever else you fancy) followed by beer.

[stagedamager]

have a great trip, we had many happy years down the witham and the drains, i seem to remember the pub at chapel hill did a great pint, as did the one at Bunkers hill if you get there!

Regards

Dan

[Keeping Up]

Yes Bunker's Hill is on our list of places to go. What we're really wondering is can we get round the junctions at each end of Sandy Bank Drain, and can we possibly sink low enough to get under No Man's Friend bridge (in theory we're 2 inches too high but with all this dry weather we just might be OK) because if not we've got one heck of a lot of reversing to do !!!

[stagedamager]

we managed to get Small Woolwich butty Meteor up there, granted she was de-rigged, but i can't remember if we got onto sandy bank or not, i'm sure my dad would remember, i'll check with him, i think it may have been just a bit too tight!!!!

Regards

Dan

[Keeping Up]

It was a stunning trip down the Trent Tideway in the blazing sunshine yesterday. Cromwell was packed, the lock-keeper reckoned he got 19 boats in to lock down together. I'll post a picture when I've got a faster internet connection. There didn't seem to be much help from the tide though, it was still pretty high when we reached Torksey and there hadn't been much flow pushing us along.

 

The pontoons below Torksey were absolutely jam-packed with cruisers, so we locked straight up on to the Fossdyke. That was fun too, we were the last of 5 narrow-boats with the other 4 in front of us all being 60ft or more, and the lock-keeper knew he could get us all in the lock together somehow. We had to twist over one way while he shut one of the bottom gates, then swing across to lie diagonally for him to shut the gate and fill the lock. It was certainly a bit of a tight fit.

 

Above Torksey we found a Tupperware party, ie lots of cruisers one of which was Naughty Cal so Hi to Phylis as we all sat on the grass and consumed a quantity of beer (I'd bought some wonderful draught mild from the Real Ale shop in Newark).

 

And now we're at Saxilby, outside the Bridge Inn which is indeed closed (as someone reported here a few weeks ago). The main moorings at Saxilby are packed and it's much more peaceful here, we've just got to hope that some big security guard doesn't come along and tell us we can't moor because the pub is closed. It looks like the Marie-Celeste of pubs, the tables are all fully set for dinner etc, but we discovered that if you go and look in through the windows it sets off an alarm.

 

Finally a note of Congratulations to Stuart, for the way Water Explorer performed on the Tidal Trent. I was seriously impressed when we approached Normanton Island, that well-known hazard to navigation, and Navvygator popped up a note to tell me not only of its location, but also telling me the correct way to navigate safely past it. Nice one, Stuart!

[Grebe]

Keep an eye out for the Retford and Worksop Boat Club flotilla. They are reviving their club cruise in company and are heading into Lincolnshire. They were planning 10 boats in company, leaving Stockwith 1000ish today. Saxilby planned for fish and chips.

 

An assault on Billinghay Skirth is scheduled for Monday along with a revisit to Timberland Delph.

 

After assorted dabbles at the Witham, Drains and the South Forty Foot they are making for South Kyme for the rally next weekend. Cobblers Lock will probably be missed because of low water levels.

 

John Lower of Richlow is acting as group leader on his trsty Madeley Wood. They are operating VHF on CH 6 for group stuff.

[Keeping Up]

There are 6 of them moored almost opposite us at Saxilby tonight.

 

I guess we'll see them all up at South Kyme next weekend

[Barry]

And me - and me!

[Keeping Up]

Looking forward to it.

 

Now I've found a fast connection here are a couple of pictures:

 

In Cromwell Lock, with three rows of 4 cruisers in front of us

 

 

P1040535 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

... and one row of 4 narrowboats behind us

 

 

P1040539 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

Then finally squeezing into Torksey with 4 narrowboats ahead of us.

 

 

P1040544 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

[Keeping Up]

Well we've made it up to South Kyme, 3 days ahead of ourselves, and now we'll be here for a week until after the festival.

 

Went up to Cobblers Lock with Sam (Purple Fairie) and Smudge on their boat this afternoon to wind, and decided it's going to be very difficult to wind Keeping Up there so we'll get them to tow us backwards to the bottom lock where it will be easier.

[Keeping Up]

After a marvellous week at South Kyme, and exactly according to plan, we were towed back to Bottom Lock where we winded (an appropriate name for the manoeuvre, given the weather conditions) and came down in the lock.

 

The lock currently has no cill marker, and the cill is very long. At 67 ft we couldn't get the bottom gate open without either letting the rudder drift on to the cill which it gently scraped over, or going diagonally. It could be a problem if there were two full-length boats in the lock.

 

We went out by car to look at some of the further-flung parts of the WND's last night. We have reduced our air draught as much as we can sensibly manage, to about 5ft 6in at the front and 5ft 4¹/₂ at the back, and thought we'd better check on the accuracy of last year's IWA survey of the Drains. There was one drain which I was keen to attempt, known as Sandy Bank Drain, which has a bridge half way along it that is marked as 5ft 6in on the map, and I really wanted to find out if we could fit under it because failure would at least result on a very long reverse down a narrow, shallow, weedy drain or at worst, it could see us totally wedged under the bridge. Well after half an hour of ever-decreasing circles in the car we eventually found the path to the bridge, and set off to measure it. It is a flat bridge resting on some I-beam girders, and the first corner we checked was exactly 5ft 6in above the water; I was feeling confident that with just a little bit of extra weight added to the bows we could get ourselves under it, but the other side of the bridge measured at 5ft 4in which was worrying. Moving to the other side of the path, the corresponding corners of the bridge showed up as 5ft 4in and 5ft 3in, and reluctantly I decided that it was too risky to attempt passage underneath it - particularly as the farmer who owns the bridge was determinedly set against boats using that Drain, and I didn't relish the thought of the conversation we would have if we got stuck underneath his bridge. How appropriate that it is named "No Mans Friend" bridge.

 

Still, never mind, there are plenty of other Drains open to us this weekend, some of which are quite challenging so we should be able to have fun with them. Meanwhile we're enjoying the delights of Boston. After a couple of pints of Batemans XB and a superb plate of fish and chips for lunch, all is right with the world!

[Bones]

 

I joined the clan for a fantastic weekend of boating on the drains... the great excitment of today was fitting through this tube... we thought we wouldn't fit in as we approached it, then decided it would be very tight, but then half way through our standards changed and we decided there was LOADS of room (mm seemed HUGE) for Keeping Up but they had 2 inches more clearance than Fairies wear boots who were behind us!

Edited May 8, 2011 by Bones

[Hairy-Neil]

Cobblers Lock will probably be missed because of low water levels.

 

 

Made it up to Cobblers Lock yesterday with 'Ding', drawing 2ft 9in. Use it or loose it.....

[Keeping Up]

I joined the clan for a fantastic weekend of boating on the drains... the great excitment of today was fitting through this tube... we thought we wouldn't fit in as we approached it, then decided it would be very tight, but then half way through our standards changed and we decided there was LOADS of room (mm seemed HUGE) for Keeping Up but they had 2 inches more clearance than Fairies wear boots who were behind us!

 

It was most certainly a fabulous weekend, with some very interesting boating.

 

It answered the question "If the signpost says you are 20% of the way from New York to Boston, where are you?". The answer is not, as you might have thought, Bridgeport Connecticut, but is actually Bunkers Hill in Lincolnshire - as evidenced here (Photo taken by Bones, who has written an excellent account of the weekend, with more pictures, in her latest Blog entry):

 

 

DSC09398 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

I'll put up a few more photos later, but meanwhile here is a picture of someone who had run down from the road to tell us that you couldn't fit a boat through the culvert under the road - but we were already halfway into it !!!

 

 

P1040773 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

[Naughty Cal]

Looks like you had a good time on the drains.

 

Unfortunately our exploration of the drains is going to be limited to taking the dinghy. NC is just far too deep drafted and has too high an air draft to consider taking her down them. Still im sure we will all have fun in the dinghies on the drains

[paddy r]

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The Jones on the move

[Keeping Up]

We're here on the Black Sluice Navigation (aka South 40ft Drain), after a great weekend. There were two fabulous nights in the pubs down here, and a magnificent boaters' buffet that was laid on by the EA. This morning we made it to the current end of navigation at Donington Bridge, and now we're the only narrowboat on the Drain because the others have all gone back upstream - which we will be doing tomorrow afternoon instead.

 

The journey through Boston was simply magical. It's the first time I have ever steered Keeping Up through a fishing fleet!

 

P1040879 by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

A very kind gentleman (from "Boston in Colour") took some excellent pictures and gave us all a copy. Here are some examples:

 

The fleet leaves Boston Grand Sluice (for those who don't know, the lock is much too short for a narrowboat so we all had to rush through at once during the few minutes when the tide made a level with the river).

 

 

Leaving the Grand Sluice by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

 

Keeping Up makes the wide turn off the tideway into the Black Sluice Lock.

 

 

Turning into the Black Sluice Lock by Keeping Up, on Flickr

 

 

The exit from the lock takes you under the London Road bridge and on to the Black Sluice Navigation.

 

 

Down on to the Black Sluice by Keeping Up, on Flickr

[Keeping Up]

We had a fantastic weekend on the Black Sluice. Both the pubs on that waterway are VERY highly recommended indeed.

 

Finally we made the mad dash up with the tide from Black Sluice Lock to the Boston Grand Sluice, to get there in time to pass though on a level. After a last evening of drinks with the Fairies - and wishing them many many thanks for all their help in making the last 3 weeks absolutely magical - it was time to set off on our travels again and head back inland.

 

So long Boston, and thanks for all the fish.