Early Birds

[cereal tiller]

What annoys me more than anything is that the 7'oclock brigade are usually moored up before lunch - often in the most prime spots, and only set off at that time to be able to manage just that.

 

I would mind if they were still going strong 12 hours later mind, as I usually am after an early start...

 

like arthur,i prefer to be underway around 6.30 a.m.

 

this means that the boat can be moored up by midday on a prime spot.

 

the whole afternoon can then be spent watching fellow boaters go by,presumably headed for a waterside clinic where a new cure for "lock fever" can be administered?

[blackrose]

Last week we had a personal record for the earliest boat passing - TWENTY PAST FOUR IN THE MORNING - pitch dark of course. It was going at tickover but passing a lot of moored boats at Fradley. Perhaps some emergency required it, but it must be quite hard to pass lines of boats at that time knowing that every person on every boat you pass will be woken up. Or maybe not!

 

Is this a record?

 

I don't think so - boats like any most other vehicles are not restricted according to the times they can travel. I was up once in the early hours watching TV because I couldn't sleep and I heard a boat coming along. As it came close I looked out of the window and got a bit of a shock to see the bow of a big Dutch barge looming up out of the blackness! They were obviously moving at night because the reduced traffic made it easier.

 

Basically, if people are moored up on the towpath and have a problem with passing boats (at any time of day or night), then I think they're probably in the wrong place. It's a bit like a caravaner or truck driver parking in a lay-by and moaning about the traffic noise.

Edited September 25, 2011 by blackrose

[Naughty Cal]

Interesting. We were always led to believe when we were hiring that night cruising was absolutely forbidden for insurance purposes. Nowadays we'd love to do it one day but only have a rather crappy tunnel light so won't be for a while - though on a good moonlit night maybe - hmmm...

 

Couldn't imagine doing locks at night though - I'm far too clumsy!

 

We often cruise and work locks during the night. We find it quite relaxing. We dont use a spot light, it is suprising how quickly your eyes adjust to the dark. This video was taken a month or so ago and the Witham. You can just catch a glimpse of the boat ahead every now and again or their lights anyway and our nav lights catch the rails every now and again.

 

[jelunga]

Personally, I am not an early riser but can do so if necessary. However I do like boats going by when I am in bed, its sort of comforting. Or is that a bit weird?

 

Regards

Ditchdabbler

Yes, it confirms you are still alive I suppose

[blackrose]

We often cruise and work locks during the night. We find it quite relaxing. We dont use a spot light, it is suprising how quickly your eyes adjust to the dark. This video was taken a month or so ago and the Witham. You can just catch a glimpse of the boat ahead every now and again or their lights anyway and our nav lights catch the rails every now and again.

 

 

Well, that was 47 seconds of my life that I won't get back!

 

I haven't done much cruising at night - I've done a little on the GU and the Thames. To me it seems a lot easier on the canals where the banks aren't far away and can be seen, but on dark stretches of the Thames sometimes I couldn't tell which side of the river the black silhouettes of the trees were on, and you get this awful feeling you're steering into the bank. Your eyes can take 20 mins to adjust and will need to re-adjust everytime they're exposed to bright lights from houses, streetlights, etc. In the end when I stopped at a lock I set my tunnel light to point onto the starboard bank. Once you can see the bank it's reassuring and you don't need the tunnel light on constantly - just flick it on occasionally on the dark stretches.

 

The tidal Thames is more or less lit by the city all the way from Limehouse to Brentford, but from Brentford to Teddington it gets a bit darker and one's visual perception of some of the bridge approaches can be disorientating until you get quite close.

[Doorman]

Well, that was 47 seconds of my life that I won't get back!

 

Only 47 seconds!

 

I've been trying to get the full reel event on my Marconi computer for the last two hours

 

 

Mike