About Me

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After thirty years of hiring, I finally bought my own 50ft boat in 2005, which was built in 2001 by Andicraft at Debdale Wharf. I mostly cruise single handed and have no problem with that, although it does take a little longer than with a crew. My mooring is on the Wey Navigation, so I have a choice of routes on the Wey or the Thames.

Thursday 27 April 2017

Summer Cruise 1.


26th  to 27th April 2017

Here I am again blogging for the sake of friends and family about my summer cruise to various boating festivals on the canal system, starting with Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice in London. For a change this year some members of the Byfleet Boat Club are also attending along with me.

I left the moorings with Brian and Margaret on nb Zavala, with a view to travelling as far as Kingston, which is only just over a mile from Teddington Locks. We had an uneventful trip, passing Still Rockin’ with George and Carol waving as I passed them just upstream form Sunbury Lock. I also locked through Thames Ditton with Chris on nb Merchant, but did not have a chance to converse with him. At the same lock there were a lot of EA staff in yellow jackets about to evict some permanent moorers on three boats, all belonging to the same person. I was not sure where they were going to evict them to.

Mooring up on the Barge Walk, we had a very pleasant evening meal in Cote Brasserie, where I had eaten before, so knew that it would be good and I have to say that the Zavala crew agreed with me.


The other BBC boats stayed the night at Hampton Court Palace moorings and we will meet up at Teddington for the locking through at about 16.30 on Thursday, heading for Brentford Locks and the entrance to the Grand Union Canal. Unfortunately, that is the time of high water at Teddington, so we have to wait until then for an easy passage to Brentford on the ebbing tide.
Cranley and Barleytwist about to pass beneath Kingston Bridge.

1 comment:

Carol said...

Good do see you again Ray albeit from a distance! Odd that you heard the conversation re evicting the three boats - see my blog
http://wbstillrockin.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/cruising-upstream-and-sad-news.html of the conversation we had with the lockie at Molesey.
Enjoy your summer cruising.