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Down the southern Grand Union (a new route for us)


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23 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

9 hours ago, pete harrison said:

 

 

 

23 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

By Stowe Hill you will just have passed them - both have home moorings just before then.

We were planning to be there tomorrow, but now will not be, I think.

 

Dammit! I completely forgot about this until I stopped at Stowe Hill. 

 

9 hours ago, pete harrison said:

From your calculation is that 26 minutes and 25 seconds or 26 minutes and 15 seconds as I am not sure what 26.25 minutes means, as obviously every second counts :captain:

26 point 25 minutes, therefore 26 minutes and 15 seconds. It would not do to be out by 10 seconds, that could make the difference between setting a legal record or being disqualified.

 

23 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

9 hours ago, pete harrison said:

 

 

 

23 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

 

 

9 hours ago, pete harrison said:

 

 

Well that post went well!

Edited by Lily Rose
Duplication and other cock-ups
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22 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

 

Dammit! I completely forgot about this until I stopped at Stowe Hill. 

 

If I've correctly read this post, think our bows might cross tomorrow, we're heading for Stowe Hill from Norton. ?‍♀️

 

edited to say☹️ Norton Norton..... 

Edited by Jennifer McM
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A nice easy two and a half hour lock-free day today before the Buckby flight tomorrow.

 

We met very few boats coming the other way but I have it on very good authority that this was because virtually all boats were heading the same way as us today - about 30 past Stowe Hill this morning. I just hope they're not all leaving Buckby locks until tomorrow like us.

 

We stopped for lunch at Stowe Hill and I was able to properly meet and chat, not just a quick "Hello etc etc" as we went past, with that well known star of this forum, none other than Matty40s himself. It is even possible that Matt and Lily Rose will both be appearing in the same video shortly, courtesy of Rugby Boats.

 

We then moved on after lunch, all the way to Weedon in fact. Convenient for a quick visit to the nearby Tesco or Budgens (I haven't decided which yet) convenience store in the morning before we head uphill.

 

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7 minutes ago, Jennifer McM said:

If I've correctly read this post, think our bows might cross tomorrow, we're heading for Stowe Hill from Norbury. ?‍♀️

Only if you mean Norton Junction!

 

We will probably head from Weedon to Whilton mid to late morning and stop there for lunch as I want to pop in to Bedazzled for a few more LED bulbs. Then it'll be up the flight early afternoon. I'll keep an eye out/leave a gate open for you.

 

ADDED... you just beat me to it! You'll probably pass us at, or on the way to, Whilton then.

 

Edited by Lily Rose
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2 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

I don't think so, he seems to still be in denial.

Well if 1/4 the population of Leicester can claim the Lower Soar as an extension of the Ganges then yes, I claim the Grand Union as a tributary of de Nile.

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Another lovely day of boating yesterday. We set off from Weedon mid-morning after a quick trip to Tesco Express to top up on a few things to see us through to Sunday when we go home. About an hour and a half later we moored for lunch opposite the entrance to Whilton Marina for lunch. While we were there I spotted Jennifer McM going by, heading for Gayton and then East Anglia, and we managed a quick hello before she disappeared behind the floating duck island (apparently) that we had moored next to.

 

After lunch I popped into the chandlery to buy 5 more Bedazzled LED bulbs. A couple were to replace the only two tungsten bulbs I didn't replace when we bought the boat. Three more were to replace existing bulbs with more powerful ones, keeping the old ones as spares. Particularly worthwhile was  replacing a 1W warm white over the kitchen sink with a 2W cool white. The improvement is so good that I'm going to walk back down the locks before we do the top lock this morning to buy another for the other light in the kitchen area.

 

We did the Buckby flight as far as the long pound below the top lock, sharing the locks with a very nice couple out for a couple of weeks on their little (25 or 30 foot by the look of it) Sea Otter, that they have as their cruising boat as they live on a widebeam that rarely moves. We moored for the night in the pound below the top lock (nice place to moor) and after we had paid a visit to the lovely little Anchor Cottage Gift Shop for ice creams (and other stuff!) we went to the New Inn by the top lock for dinner. The fish and chips, at only £9.50, was superb, the best I've had for some time. It came quickly, it was very hot and very delicious and there was so much I couldn't quite finish it, something I don't say very often. I almost managed it though, leaving just one chip and a tiny bit of the lovely crispy batter. Seriously, I was so full that, despite my best efforts to finish, I was unable to finish one last little chip. I just had to admit defeat.

 

After a repeat visit to the chandlery this morning, and baking the sourdough loaf I made last night, we'll be off through Buckby top lock and will then be back, for the first time in 2 weeks, on a canal we've done before. Then it's Braunston tunnel and locks and we'll be back on VERY familiar territory again.

 

The trip will then be almost over. Boo hoo!

 

But only about 3 weeks until the next one. Hooray!

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Ahoy there shipmates

 

navigating the old Grand union (Northampton branch) next month, can’t wait to go deep inside the Blisworth tunnel

 

Whats this I hear boaters harping on about speeding and disqualification - there aren’t number plates on boats so what’s the problem!?!

 

All best , Big Tom W G W

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5 minutes ago, Big Tom Wide Girth Warrior said:

Sorry Al but you must be mistaken - I am planning my maiden voyage -

 

my boat will do 15mph - is there a speed limit to adhere to (or not as the case may be!)

The boaters handbook is worth a read if you haven't already 

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10 minutes ago, Big Tom Wide Girth Warrior said:

Sorry Al but you must be mistaken - I am planning my maiden voyage -

 

my boat will do 15mph - is there a speed limit to adhere to (or not as the case may be!)

It's 4mph on canals, 8kph (5mph) on the Thames but slower than that if you are causing a breaking wash.

 

Getting caught speeding is really not the point!

 

More to the point is the damage caused to the bank and also the annoyance, and potentially harm, caused to other people and their moored boats.

 

People who intentionally speed on inland waterways are just as inconsiderate as, for example, people who leave litter (anywhere, near a waterway or elsewhere) or throw stuff in the river or canal.

 

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1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

Yes, but this poster is singularly unimpressed by any publication that has CRT written on it!

 

Al you seem very het up about this mystery forum member you are projecting on to me - did he rebuff your advances or are you jealous of his boat or something?

 

to reassure you, whoever you are harping on about, I am not him!

1 hour ago, Lily Rose said:

It's 4mph on canals, 8kph (5mph) on the Thames but slower than that if you are causing a breaking wash.

 

Getting caught speeding is really not the point!

 

More to the point is the damage caused to the bank and also the annoyance, and potentially harm, caused to other people and their moored boats.

 

People who intentionally speed on inland waterways are just as inconsiderate as, for example, people who leave litter (anywhere, near a waterway or elsewhere) or throw stuff in the river or canal.

 

 

Thanks for the info Rose,

 

okay , understood 4mph limit so as to not accept other boaters, but on the open water  with no delicate wildlife in sight .... I’m gunning it!

 

clearly we’re not going to litter - we’re not from Bedford! 

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45 minutes ago, Big Tom Wide Girth Warrior said:

 

okay , understood 4mph limit so as to not accept other boaters, but on the open water  with no delicate wildlife in sight .... I’m gunning it!

Let me know when you find this open water on the GU (as per your original post). I must have missed it on my trip!

 

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6 minutes ago, Big Tom Wide Girth Warrior said:

I may have a different idea of open water than you!

 

Question- when navigating a lock - do you just leave one end open for the next person? 

Its difficult to leave both ends of a lock open at once in my experience. 

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8 minutes ago, Big Tom Wide Girth Warrior said:

I may have a different idea of open water than you!

 

Question- when navigating a lock - do you just leave one end open for the next person? 

You must have as "open water" (whatever your definition) is about as common as hens teeth on a canal. Someone will possibly point out rare exceptions.

 

And no, you don't leave gates open, you close all gates and all paddles. Again, someone may point out some rare exceptions but I haven't encountered any yet.

 

I'm still trying to figure out whether you are a genuine newbie with much to learn or are a wind-up merchant!

 

 

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