Summer Jaunt 2018. 4

Losing My Boat?

Saturday 12^th May.

Having moored beneath a tree at Uxbridge, the cabin top was covered in bird shit from birds roosting in the tree. It had rained in the night, so the top was wet and an ideal opportunity to clean it off. Would you believe that it took an hour at least – this stuff is so persistent to removal, I reckon if it was bottled it would rival Gorilla Glue.

I said my goodbyes to Mike and Leslie and photographs were taken. I also gave him the VHF channel list and my PLA yearbook, because he intends getting a VHF handheld when he cruises the tideway later. We will keep in touch.

Blog published and there were some very complimentary comments from friends about my last post. I am just waiting for Chris to arrive by train, so will move up towards the bridge, which is nearer to the train station, but unknowingly I was wasting my time, because I texted him at 09.45, but without reply. I moved on through Batchworth Lock and phoned him at 10.20, only to discover that he was still at home. He eventually turned up on the towpath near Common Moor Lock at 12.00! Whenever I arrange to meet up with Chris, he is hours late – always. He redeemed himself by working thirteen locks for me. Not long after he arrived it started to rain and rain continuously until we got to Apsley, when it finally eased off. Although Chris had seen the weather forecast, he did not bring any waterproofs, so I lent him my Craghoppers waterproof, which ended up soaked, but kept him dry. In the meantime, I had my reliable Driza-Bone Ozzie waterproof, in which I looked like Ned Kelly, but without the horse.

After Chris had left to get the train, I lit the fire and had a good dry out and warm up. I was so tired that I could not eat any meal, despite there being a Rogan Josh in the fridge and the remains of a sea food salad.

Sunday 13^th May

For me it was a day of rest and time for a long overdue oil change. I was on a 24hr mooring outside Sainsbury’s, so was obliged to move across to the towpath when a space appeared. It would also be a good idea to find a launderette, as the smalls were mounting up by this time and I did not relish the thought of hand washing that lot. The washing is not the problem, it is the wringing out that has to be done after the wash and two rinses.

After writing up the blog, I decided to pay a visit to the modern Fuller’s pub, called The Paper Mill. I bought a pint and was reading the newspaper, when I spotted Arthur at the bar. We had previously worked a few locks together and I thought he might like a chat, as he was waiting for a Sunday roast. I explained where I was moored and so we agreed to accompany each other up the locks the following day. Needless to say that I never got the oil change done after being in the pub for so long.

Monday 14^th May

Arthur waited for me at Apsley Top Lock and we soon got into a routine of working the locks together, but it was a really hot day and when I suggested a pint in The Three Horsehoes at Winkwell, he said, “I was thinking about that myself.” We continued through another six locks, when I suggested mooring at Berko by the footbridge and sure enough there was room for two boats. Shortly after organising the fenders and lines the fuel boat Hyperion appeared and I hailed him down to fill my diesel tank and I had a brief chat with Phil, who I fuelled up from last year. He asked me how I enjoyed Cannie Cavalcade, as I still had the name in the window, so of course I had to show off the Westminster Cup.

Not only do I have to change the oil now, but the alternator is squeaking more and more, and the rev counter does not work whilst it is sqeeling. Although I changed the regulator last year, it did not make any difference, so this time I will change the drive belt and see what happens.

Arthur and Tina.

 

I later walked back to ask Arthur if he fancied a pint at The Riser aka The Rising Sun. He was talking to a woman on a cruiser moored astern of him as she was painting, so out of common courtesy I asked her if she fancied a visit to the pub with us. This turned out to be my big mistake. First of all she asked how much half a pint of beer was, as although I found out later that she was working in Watford, she professed to have little money. Then she talked incessantly all the way to The Riser and through two hours inside the pub and all the way back to the boats. Despite her having a degree in IT, she did not realise that wi-fi was available in a lot of pubs for the price of a drink, which I thought to be very strange. She said that she was on a mobile contract and got a set amount of data in the price, as most people are. But money can still be saved if you download data over free wi-fi. I was very doubtful about the degree after that. I had a chance to apologise to Arthur in the pub, when she took a toilet break. Needless to say both Arthur and myself paid for the drinks and she bought nothing. Whatever she was on (and I don’t mean the drink), I vowed to avoid it at all costs.

Tuesday 15^th May

I walked up the locks before breakfast and saw that Hyperion was moving off, so got back to Arthur and suggested that we move up and onto that mooring. Although he was willing to go through the locks with me, he wanted to get to Cowroast water point to wash off his cabin top and get an undercoat on. At the moment it was going to be too hot for painting. So we parted company for a while, but if all goes well we will meet up again tomorrow,

Despite this being a so called ‘day of rest’, I tackled the oil and filter change in the afternoon, as well as changing the belt on the squeeling alternator. Having tightened the belts several times in the past, I knew exactly what spanners I needed without dragging the whole collection back to the stern. Even then, I had to remove the port alternator belt to enable the starboard one to be removed and replaced. After sweating down the engine ’ole for about two hours, I started her up and the squeeling had completely disappeared and the rev counter worked again after a short delay. Whilst down there, I removed the voltage regulator to inspect the brushes, but they were hardly worn as was to be expected, as the regulator had been replaced last year to try and resolve the exact same problem.

It was beer o’clock shortly after all this activity, so I paid a well deserved visit to The Crystal Palace, having only been there once in my boating history. Not nearly so popular as The Riser, there were just a few customers and I think some of them were commuters from the nearby rail station. Only two beers on tap, whereas The Riser had six. Food was normally served, but there were no menus, only a few meals scribbled on a blackboard. Not really a very impressive pub.

Wednesay 16^th May

It was time to move on again, so headed for Cowroast to catch up with Arthur. Shopping was done in the very convenient Waitrose just above the Lock 53 and I then moved on to a mooring close by and below Gas Lock 2 to find the launderette. This was also very conveniently close to the cut, with Pizza Express across the road for coffee.

Now with the inside of the boat littered with drying clothes, I set off through the two Gas Two Locks, Bushes, Northchurch, Dudswell and finally Cowroast, but no sign of Arthur, so he must have moved on. I filled the water tank and moored up by the last boat on the visitor moorings.

I committed a cardinal sin at Northchurch Lock by losing the boat. What happened was this; I could see that the lock was empty through the gap in the lower gates, so stopped the boat just short of the bottom gates. Because there are no rings or bollards at that point, I left the centre line straight out and up the incline to the lock. The lock was not quite empty, so I had to draw a gate paddle, which let out a very small amount of water, but that was enough to move Stronghold to the other side of the cut beneath the bridge. By the time I spotted my mistake the gate was open and the centre line was in the water, so out of contact with me. By the time I thought about the situation, the boat was also drifting back, but if I could close the gate and get to the other side of the lock, I might just be able to reach onto the bow and catch the bow line – I got there just in time, but as I crossed back over the gates with the bow line, it came adrift from the tee stud. I then had to lower the line with both hands holding the ends over the tee stud and continue pulling the boat to the nearside – and all is well that ends well, but it was a close call

I could see for about half a mile ahead from these moorings and a little later spotted a working pair approaching, but not until they got close did I identify Nuneaton with Brighton in tow. Kirk was walking the towpath and I gave him the last remaining water can that I had decorated over two winters, to replace the damaged one that had been squashed between a tree and the boat chimney on the River Weaver.

Kirk took a couple of photographs before walking on towards the lock at 19.30. His intention was to get the pair to Berko that night, which I thought was a bit over ambitious and meant boating in the dark with no navigation lights. I heard that they eventually stopped at Northchurch.

Howard on Nuneaton  towing Brighton with Helen steering at Cowroast.

Known as ‘wide beam alley’, the Grand Union has many of them moored up, but very few on the move. One thing that contributes to that is that at least two locks had restrictions placed on them by out of order gates on locks, which meant that wide beams could not pass. If you come across a wide beam going in the direction, you are very rarely able to pass by, unless the steerer waves you on.

p.s. If you are wondering why it has been so long since the last blog was published, it is because Blogger would not let me publish or even save my work, so it is a good job I wrote all the text in MS Word beforehand and saved it there as normal. The final analysis is that I rebooted the PC, which then did the trick.

Summer Jaunt 2018. 3

Ricky and Serendipity

Wednesday 9^th May

I spent most of the morning writing up my blog and adding the pics. The batteries appeared to be far happier in their present position and were holding up well, but my back was aching as a consequence of all that lifting. I went into to Tesco to get a few things and make a complaint, which ended up with me being on the end of their phone to an Indian guy who seemed to know more than the lady at customer services. I finally transpired that large items could not be stored in lockers at the chosen store, so had to be shipped to a home address. Therefore the previous information from the store was totally incorrect, but nowhere on the website was that info available. I was quite disillusioned with Tesco service and if I can get it in Argos, then I will in future.

I decided to stay on the moorings for another night and move off in the morning as there was plenty of room there.

Thursday 10^th May

After breakfast, I set off towards Uxbridge with the intention of stopping at Uxbridge Boat Services to get a stainless steel chimney, if they had one, and some new sealing rubber for the weed hatch. I also bought another air horn (wherever did the last one go?) No stainless chimneys in stock, but I did get the last two items. However, the weed hatch seal appeared to be holding up OK, now that I had the lid on in the right position.

I was very close now to bridge 186, where there is The Dolphin pub beside the cut. I found a mooring very close to the bridge and walked over the bridge to the pub, having never been there before. Although there was quite an extensive menu of pub grub, there was only Doombar on tap, which was quite disappointing. There is more choice at The General Elliot and The Swan and Bottle, both a short distance away.

Back at the mooring I noticed a white sack on the far side of the towpath and peered inside, expecting to find a load of rubbish, but not so, It was full of logs cut to about 6” in length that someone had deemed surplus to requirements now that the hot wea-ther was upon us. Needless to say it went quickly into my boat.

All cut to size too.

Friday 11^th May

I set off just after 10.00 in cloudy conditions and a fairly strong southerly wind, which luckily was behind me.

A boat came out of the boatyard ahead of me just before Uxbridge Lock, which was nicely timed. Unfortunately, they decided to stop for a walk after Denham Deep. As I was rising in Widewater Lock, I spotted a boat behind me and let him know that I would wait for him at the next one. And so it was that we did the remainder up to Ricky together. We got chatting as is usual and it turns out that he was an indentured blacksmith, who changed careers later into plumbing and heating, which In turn allowed him to retire aged fifty. I think that says something for that particular trade if you are in your own business.

I moored up outside Tesco to get a bit of shopping and then moved across the cut to visitor mooring for the night, but another boat was just mooring in the space. I shouted across and asked if he could move along about six feet and he was quite happy to do that. Then I realised that I had previously spoken to the guy at the Tesco mooring earlier. A little later when I was adjusting mooring lines, the couple were on the towpath and asked if I would like to join them in The White Bear. How could I refuse a request like that? We were talking all the way there and all through a very good Indian meal. When the bill came I suggested that I share the cost, but Mike insisted that it the meal was on him and was good value for money for all the information he had extracted from me during the last couple of hours. Back at the boats, I insisted that they come aboard for a nightcap, despite the cabin being in its usual mess. What was more important, was the continuing conversation. Such is serendipity.

Nothing like a good laugh to brighten the day.

Mike and Leslie on nb Lady Baltimore

And we are still laughing

Summer Jaunt 2018. 2

To Cannie Cavalcade and Return.

Saturday 5^th May.

Another very hot and sunny day was forecast. I walked up to the IWA info tent to collect my brass plaque and sign in. I also picked up the route for the Boat Handling Challenge, which appeared to be quite demanding as most of it was to be done in reverse. If you are not aware, very few boats can reverse in a straight line without correction in forward gear. Joshers appear to be the exception, as they have a very long swim so I have been told. Joshers were built by Yarwoods on the River Weaver for the carrying company Fellows, Morton and Clayton and named after Joshua Fellows. A Josher is also known as the “Sports Model” of the old working narrow boats.

I wandered around the stalls to see what I needed to buy that I didn’t really need, but it was only the beer tent that got my custom later. Watched the English Flamenco dancers doing their stuff in the Sheldon Square Amphitheatre, with Brian and Margaret, but having seen the real thing in Spain, I was not very impressed. The Flamenco music was recorded and genuine, but real musicians would have been far more authentic. It was extremely hot, so I walked further to see if Fabian Hiscock (NBT crew) was on board nb Roger (the last wooden working boat to have been restored to original condition). After inquiries were made, he would be there on Sunday.

I had a pint of Wandle beer in The Union bar, which was very pleasant indeed. I told the barmaid that in my youth I often passed over the River Wandle in Colliers Wood and it was always foaming with pollution from the board mills there. She probably thought my name was Methusela!

Back on board for most of the afternoon to escape from the heat, but also to watch the snooker semi-final, which was the longest I had known as the best of 35 frames.

The parade of the themed boats was also taking place at 14.30, so I had to keep popping up to see what they looked like; the theme being this year, the Canal Builders. One of the most unusual and original was the narrowboat with a group of navvies crewing and then on the top of the boat was Pontcycyllte Aqueduct, Braunston Tunnel and the Falkirk Wheel. This boat later won the cup for best dressed boat.

I was a little concerned that instructions for the boat handling asked the competitor to spring your stern after stepping off and shaking hands with the judge beneath  Harrow Road Bridge. Now I don’t remember any rings or bollards in that area, because as I understood ‘springing off’ in general, it is done with a stern line attached to a fixed point and reverse gear to swing the bow out from the mooring. Further investigaton was needed.

Sunday 6^th May

After a night of thinking about the upcoming problem, I walked up to Harrow Road Bridge to survey the situation and sure enough there were no rings or bollards in the immediate area where the judge normally stood. Walking back along Delamere Terrace I was passing Pat Barton’s boat which advertised narrowboat training and decided to ask Terry Barton what he understood by the term. His reply was that it just meant getting the stern into deeper water and he was one of the team who set the route. I did understand exactly what he meant, but did not necessarily agree with him. I asked a few other boaters during the day, who I knew to be experienced and they all described the term as I understood it. However, it does illustrate that not all terms in boating are interpreted exactly the same by all boaters.

Eventually 11am was reached and I had to wind Stronghold in the Pool first, so as to be stern first out of the starting gate. Bear in mind that this is not a race, so maybe ‘starting gate’ is not the right term. At 11am the gun went off, which in reality was the starting judge just saying “Go.”

With a slight crosswind, I knew that I had to keep my speed up so as to stop any sideways drift. After about four corrections in forward gear I was about to step off under Harrow Road Bridge and shake hands with the judge, who it turned out was a lady that I knew from the Braunston Hysterics team. I reversed into deep water and took off forward now around the south of Browning’s Island, where I had to stop by the chequered flag for 10 seconds. Well I could not see a black and white chequered flag, so asked one of the moorers where it was. It turned out that the flag was flying about 3metres above a boat and I expected it at water level; it was also yellow and black.

The 360 turn was next, in a clockwise direction, which went well, as Stronghold almost turns on a sixpence given enough power. Stopping again in front of the same judge, I now had to reverse into Paddington Arm, which was a tight squeeze between moored boats, so a bit more correction in forward gear to get beneath the road bridge and I was done. It was only at that moment that I realised how tense I had been, even after having competed in four previous years.

To relieve the tension, I took off around the island and through Maida Hill Tunnel to go through London Zoo as far as Cumberland Basin, where I knew I could wind the boat to return. There were scores of people walking the towpath and enjoying the most amazing weather for a Bank Holiday. I wish I had a pound for every photo that was taken of the boat. One elderly gent (same as me) was dressed impeccably in a light grey suit, but with shorts, white knee socks, black shoes, white shirt and pale pink tie. I congratulated him on his sartorial elegance as I passed by. Incidentally, back on my mooring later, a dark skinned man appeared on the towpath dressed in brown knee length riding boots, tight white riding breeches and short white jacket, and over the top was a black flowing cape. To add to the outfit his long greying hair was adorned with pale blue hair extensions. I commented again on his elegant sense of dress. What I do regret is that I did not take any pictures – I am sure they both would have agreed.

The crowds are out in force.

Macclesfield Road Bridge, aka Blowup Bridge.
 https://londonist.com/london/history/the-explosive-history-of-blow-up-bridge

After all that effort it was time to pay The Warwick Castle a visit and to my surprise there were seats to be had at that time of day. The illuminated boat procession was at 21.00, but I was too tired to walk that far again and managed to stay awake to see most of the Snooker World Championship.

Monday 7^th May

Reckoned to be the hottest May Day Bank Holiday Monday since records began. After some breakfast, I set off to photograph and support Karen Cook (NBT crew), as she had decided at the last minute to enter the boat handling competition. She was also very nervous and shaky at the start line and plied me with questions about route and technique. At 10.30 she was set loose on the course, which she achieved slowly and with care and faultlessly as far as I could see. Nb Stella also winded on sixpence too, although it was performed quite slowly. At last she backed into Paddington Arm and the relief was obvious by the photograph.

nb Stella about to reverse after the 360 deg winding.

Karen reverses in the Boat Handling Challenge.

A sense of relief and a smile at the end.

I strolled back along the south towpath chatting to various friends on the stern moored boats. At about 12.45, someone asked if I had had a phone call yet; the answer being in the negative, but I checked my phone just in case I had missed one. I said that it was too late for notifications of prize winners by now anyway. Two minutes after that I had a call from Mike Moore the Waterspace Manager, who informed me that I should be at the Horse Bridge in ten minutes, so I was up for something, but it could be runner-up. Karen was there too for a prize. Imagine my surprise when my name was called to receive the Westminster Cup once again and a  bottle of Prosecco. Karen was awarded  The Novice Boater Cup for being 1^st time boater in the event and Runner Up prize in the Idle Women’s shield for boat handling, so she was well pleased with those two trophies.

The Westminster Cup is back in my possession again.

Karen with son James after the presentation.

Back on the mooring I had a spot of lunch and celebrated by removing all five batteries, and they are really heavy, so as to replace the 2016 pair of fridge and inverter batteries with newer ones bought this year. I should explain here that my batteries are in a side locker at deck level, but because the top of the locker is formed of angle iron and tapered, the batteries have to be removed in a set order one at a time. I took an hour and a quarter and my back is still aching the day after. I suspect that I was responsible for damaging the batteries by overloading them when using the inverter to run other devices that imposed heavy loads, despite running the engine at the same time, so reducing the time the pair would hold a charge. The inverter was no problem at 1600 watts, but requires more batteries to support it. However, they will suffice to run the domestic lighting and TV and a lesson learned through the wallet.

Later I moved Stronghold into the pool with the intention of winding for the return trip tomorrow. As there were now no mooring spaces on the Delamere Terrace left  (someone had already jumped into my space) I asked if it was OK to moor in the Pool breasted up to the last boat in the line. All was well now for the last night. The beer tent was now closed, so I was abruptly informed by an officious lady sitting on a chair doing nothing, whilst everyone else was beavering away clearing up, so I took off to The Union Bar for a well deserved pint.

Tuesday 8^th May

I was up early to greet yet another sunny day and several boats were about to move after 08.30, so I joined them after a bite to eat. I cruised slowly back along the Paddington Arm looking for nb Zavala, breasted up temporarily to another boat and said my farewells to Brian and Margaret, who were leaving their boat there for a week whilst they went home.

I was not looking forward to the boring trip back to Bull’s Bridge, but it was worse than I suspected with so much plastic on and just below the water surface. I stopped off at the Ladbroke Grove Sainsburys to collect a new Dyson handheld vacuum cleaner from the Argos stand there. I only ordered it at 09.00 Sunday morning and it was ready for collection at 16.00 the same day, which I think is incredible quick service. I previously tried to order the same item from Tesco and collect from the Bull’s Bridge store, but they were having none of that and insisted that it be delivered to my home address. There was no way I could change that online, so they lost the order in favour of Argos.

Wall to wall plastic and other detritus.


Looks like a terrapin - never seen one of these before.

It was a slow voyage back, with constant chucking back to clear the blades until finally I had to lift the weed hatch and clear it manually. This happened three times and I was thoroughly sick of it. So much for banning plastic carrier bags. Finally, after 7 hours to do 13 miles, I arrived at Bull’s Bridge and there were plenty of moorings close to Tesco, which improved my day somewhat.

Summer Jaunt 2018

Summer Jaunt 2018. 1

Beginning The Journey.

Tuesday 1^st May.

Here we go again on another summer cruise towards the Midland waterways , with no plan in mind except to visit Canalway Cavalcade on the way north once again and then Braunston Historic Boat Rally to do some marshalling of the daily parades during the weekend of June 24^th/25^th and meet up again with old friends. I will also meet up with my eldest daughter at Sutton Stop for a meal and a few beers in The Greyhound. Hopefully I will make some new friends and meet established friends on the cut somewhere/somewhen on the way.

I am travelling with nb Zavala, crewed by Margaret and Brian as far as Cannie Cavalcade at least, but after that they may be cruising the Bow Back Rivers with the Byfleet Boat Club. Having already done that some years ago with St. Pancras Cruising Club after the Olympic Games, I have no wish to repeat it, much as I enjoyed it at the time.

We departed The Pelican moorings on The Wey and were soon on the River Thames, with intention of stopping the night at Kingston, where we all ate at Cote Brasserie overlooking the river. I have to say that I cannot fault any Cote restaurants and I have eaten at several over the years.

Wednesday 2^nd May

We intended to stay at Kingston most of the day and lock through Teddington onto the tidal section half an hour before high water, which was at 17.20, assuming that Thames Lock in Brentford would be manned as usual before and after high water. The Teddington lock keeper was also of that opinion, so I phoned Brentford and spoke to the duty lockie the day before, who told me that the lock was not manned after 6pm, but assured me that the duty lockie the following day would wait a few minutes after 6pm to let us through. I did phone about 4pm on the day, but the lockie at the time was adamant that he was going home at 6pm precisely. Brian and I considered it and thought of hoping to make it in time, but the thoughts of spending the night on the mud outside the lock were not very condusive to a good night’s sleep. So it was decided to lock through in the morning at 5am along with Tristan III and MyLady, who fortunately had already booked a passage. I say that because Thames Lock in not normally manned at that time in the morning, despite being told the opposite by the Teddington lock keeper. The moral here is “Do not believe anyone, until you have confirmation from the horse’s mouth.”

Thursday 3^rd May

Rising at 4am after a poor night’s sleep is most unpleasant. It was still dark, but at least it was not windy or raining. Heading for the normal lock that I have always been through before, I was redirected towards the barge lock, which is far larger, but is divided in two by an additional pair of gates. The drop at that time was only about 6inches, so we were quickly through and no lines were needed. We were virtually on slack water with a heavy mist that could be seen lying just above the surface. With a constant progress without speeding we reached the GU turning at Brentford in 1hr and 5 mins, which was good going according to other times recorded. As we were waiting for the lock to open, the CRT van crossed the bridge with the duty lock keeper on board and he assured me that the lock was only manned because one of the other boats had previously booked it, which was very lucky for us. Any booking now has to be made with CRT head office 48hrs in advance, not 24hrs as previously. Once again the goalposts have been moved!

The Gauging Locks were soon dealt with by Margaret and we were well on our way towards Hanwell flight of seven locks. All went well and we soon got into a routine, with Margaret emptying and setting the full locks and seeing Brian and myself in before drawing the top paddles and then walking up to set the next one. Brian then opened the gate on his side to exit while I lowered the paddles on my side, before exiting through the open gate. I then stopped just beyond the gate and closed up, before moving up to the next lock, where I had to remove an orange length of ripstop nylon from the blades down the weed hatch. Whether this was a sari or not was debateable, but it certainly impeded progress for a while.

Norbury Top Lock was the last one and then it was Bull’s Bridge Depot that it once was when full of working boats. It was just gone 11am, so we were in good time for some rest and relaxation on almost empty moorings outside Tesco. Brian and I had a beer each before having some lunch and crashing out for a bit.

Friday 4^th May

I awoke feeling well refreshed to sunshine and the day became warmer by the minute, with hardly any need for a fire on board. Last night I cooked some Waitrose calf’s liver with a cider vinegar and cream sauce and tiny new Jersey Royals and sweet corn – delicious, but then I only cook it about twice a year as a treat. The sauce was a little on the sweet side, but I did not have any raspberry vinegar, which is normally what I would deglaze the pan with.

My note in Nicholson’s told me that it is 13 miles to Little Venice and takes 4.5 hours, so there was no urgency to leave this morning. Plenty of time to water up and do some chores, like watching the snooker!

At Bulls Bridge.

We departed Bulls Bridge about midday and joined the long queue of boats cruising into London. I stopped briefly to ask James on Tristan III if he had a mooring plan and although Tina did, it was for their boat alone. I lent James a Stillson wrench to release his very tight water inlet, which had seized up over winter. Further along Claire on M’Lady had a plan which she kindly sent to me, but because I was a late applicant, Stronghold was not on there, so I was still non the wiser.

Steady progress was made over four and a half hours, passing about four miles of live aboard boats breasted up as we got closer to Paddington. Of course the pollution with bottles and plastic bags increased too and several times I had to “chuck back” (quick rev in reverse and pause) to clear the blades, before making further progress.

Just after 16.30 there were signs of boats slowing down and queueing for entry into the pool to moor up. I was invited to breast up next to a 67ft Dutch barge called PAX and began conversation with the owner, Nathan Johnson. The barge was built in 1905 and he had refitted the interior himself with the aid of his wife/partner. For three years he was in Rotterdam and moored next to Valery Poore, who has written several books about her boating experiences in Holland and Belguim, which I have read and we have also communicated by e-mail mainly about her writing.

A little later one of the waterspace guys came along and suggested I moor behind PAX on the bank, because nb Manatee had not turned up and she was supposed to be in the inside against the bank.

I strolled up to the bar later and met John Fevyer on the way. Karen Cook was on the stern of her boat, so another catch up chat took place about her journey from Dunchurch Pools Marina. Jack Reay was on board decorating his boat. In the bar I met up with Graham and Linda Scothern  and John Boswell for a pint. Also in the bar was Mike and Jenny Moorse, whose boat was in dock having a new Barrus Shire engine fitted, so they were sleeping on board Pat Barton’s boat. All in all it was quite a sociable evening.

Summer Cruise 29. Back on the Thames.

Wednesday 2^nd August

Having slept on the problem of the alternator and knowing the problem was going to get worse I made the decision to return to my home mooring. It was either that or take a chance up to Lechlade and hope for the best, which would probably mean spending £200 on having a new one fitted when it finally gave up the ghost, bearing in mind that it is only three years old. I can fit a new A127 voltage regulator for about £10 to £12, as there are only three screws to remove and one electrical connection. Also in mind was the fact of having no refrigeration for a while, as this alternator runs the fridge and inverter.

The other persuading factor was that I had been as far as Newbridge previously and found the river to be featureless and boring, so I only intended to do it because it was there.

I reversed to the previous winding hole and turned in the direction of the lock, where I purchased licence for a week on the river, being accompanied through the lock by a hire boat. It was not a pleasant day with the wind getting up and rain forecast about midday. The other boat was fast, as is the habit of hire boats on the river and sometimes canal, but he had to wait at the next two locks and I went in with him.

Finally getting to Abingdon, I decided to call it a day having done 20miles, so after the lock I winded just before the bridge and moored up by Abbey Gardens, there being only one boat there at the time; however it was soon filled to capacity as were the moorings on the other side of the river. Shortly afterwards, the rain began in earnest and the wind was blowing Stronghold onto the bank. Watching boats mooring up on the opposite bank was difficult with the strong wind trying to blow them back off. Having done that many a time, I made the right choice.

I phoned the last remaining Auto Factor in Abingdon, but they only supply complete alternators, so that was another dead end.

Thursday  3^rd August

I knew that it was going to be difficult getting off the bank with this wind, which was much the same as yesterday. I powered up as much as I dare between the moored boats and got off the bank in reverse. There was then enough room to execute a turn upstream before winding and heading back downstream towards Culham Lock. I was hoping to make Goring for the night, which according to my Thames Visitor Moorings web site was four hours away. In the end it turned out to be six hours travelling and no lock holdups either!

Wargrave Regatta.

I passed nb Tyseley on the way with Micron Theatre crew on board to do another summer show somewhere. Always to be admired for what they do, I have seen them many times and thoroughly enjoyed their performances.

Onward through Clifton, Days, Benson and Cleeve Locks to Goring and there was a vacant space, much to my surprise. So I finally moored up for the day in front of nb New Auckland and the lady on the bow remembered that we went down the Wigan Flight together last year. Sure enough, it was Chris and Graham from Northwich.

There was a yellow cherry tree close by, and although Graham thought it was a quince, I Googled it and I was right. Using the cabin shaft, I shook down enough to make some jam later.

I was told that George Michael’s house was still displaying all the tributes paid to him by fans outside his house, which is just around the corner, so I went to see and have to say that it is very impressive still.

Three pictures showing the front to the house.

The back of the house overlooking the mill stream.

Friday 4^th August

After fixing the small horn, I let go about 10.15 heading for Reading. nb New Auckland had already left  and I presumed that I would not see them again, but I was wrong and they appeared about an hour later coming out of Goring Lock towards me. I knew they were out of water, so they had gone upstream to Cleeve to fill up and then return. On the way downsteam later I passed them going upstream again – strange? Maybe they had gone to drop someone off?

Goring Lock and weir beyond.

It was a day of sunshine and clouds, but the wind had dropped, which made it very pleasant, but it was monotonous cruising.  Through Whitchurch, Mapledurham and Caversham Locks, ending up at Tesco moorings in Reading, where spaces were at a premium apart from one that was long enough for Stronghold, between two convenient trees to tie up to. Most of the boats here being live aboard, as you can imagine and probably here for months at a time.

I set to in the afternoon to make some jam from those free yellow cherries at Goring moorings and found a simple recipe on the web. The worst part was pitting the stones, but after that it was plain sailing. I had some for breakfast the next morning and it was good.

Saturday 5^th August.

First on the list was shopping at Tesco, but just enough to see me through until Monday, when I would be back on my home mooring.

The alternator is still charging, so the fridge runs throughout the night with no cutting out. I have limited use of the inverter as much as possible, so the batteries are still about 12volts in the morning.

It was a long day through many locks and there was a year’s worth of weather in one day, from glorious warm sunshine to a thunderstorm, in which my trousers got soaked and I had to change them.

An unusual sight at Marlow.

I decided that I would try and reach Bourne End and The Spade Oak, having read the blog of No Problem, where they had a winter mooring here. I have tried and failed over several years to get to this pub, but never knew where to moor until I read their blog and saw the photographs. As usual on the Thames, the gin palaces were moored up 10 to 20ft apart, so I turned below and crept up to ask the furthest boat if he could move up a bit, which he couldn’t because of an obstruction below the water there. Fortunately, the boat behind was about to move off, so I was in luck and got in with some help. The Spade Oak was certainly a good pub to go to, with an excellent menu and 3 beers on tap. The trip had taken me eight hours and was the longest this year so far.

Sunday 6^th August

I let go at 09.00 hoping to reach the River Wey before 6pm for the last locking through of the day. After that time Thames Lock is locked up until 9am the following morning. Nearly all the Thames locks were manned by lock keepers, but there were queues of boats at most locks and at some there was a twenty minute wait if Stronghold could not get in. I had to use the very long bow line when other boats were in locks with me, which took extra time and effort, but once again I had developed a different technique, by dropping a bowline at the end of the centre line over a bollard, with the tiller string on; this kept the boat in a straight line whilst dealing with the long bow line and stern line. That done, I could take off the centre line and cut the engine, whilst controlling the bow and stern lines. When the lock was empty, I would throw the bow line onto the lockside and retrieve it with the cabin shaft when leaving the lock – with luck it would drop onto the cabin top, if not then I would hold the line tight until I could secure it to something, sorting it out at the next lock.

On route after Windsor I came across an old Springer boat moored on the offside with the stern in the hedge. The engine deck was up and a young couple with fiddling with the engine, so I asked if they had a problem, to which they replied in the affirmative and that they had been there two days! Waiting for three other boats to pass before I could wind my boat, the couple were very surprised that I had come back. They explained that the engine only turned over one turn before dying again. I asked if the batteries were fully charged and she said that the volmeter read 12 volts, so they were, not realising that it is current that is required to start the engine. She demonstrated and sure enough the batteries were very well down. They had jump leads, which were connected to my engine battery and I revved it up to promote more charge. After three tries with a pause in between, their engine fired up amid a cloud of blue smoke to cheers from all of us. The alternator belt was not tight enough, so I advised that was tightened at the earliest opportunity, after which we shook hands and I departed.

After nine hours of constant travelling, eating and drinking on the move, I was just passing the moorings above Thames Court, when I spotted nb Milly M with Maffi on board. He came out and waved me in to moor up, so I winded and came in to the mooring and tied up. We had not seen each other for a year and had lots to talk about, which continued in the pub until about 10.30 pm and too many beers. We had ridden to the pub on Maffi’s two bikes, one of which he found in the water at Kingston. The problem was to get back to the boats on the bikes on a very dark road and with no lights, but it was achieved with no mishaps. I slept very well that night, needless to say!

We had another chat the following morning, which included Neville and Kelly on mb Erma, moored just in front. It transpired that they had bought their boat from Nigel Prior and were members of Byfleet Boat Club, so we will meet again at one of the BBC social occasions.

I left there about 11.00 and was at Thames Lock before 12.00, but it was an hour before I got through, having had a chat with Tracy and waiting for another boat to come down. Finally, I moored up on my home mooring at 2pm, having really enjoyed the whole trip.

Summer Cruise 28

Saturday 29^th July

Setting off from Lower Heywood, I had a brief chat with John Harris, whose boat “Kings Vanquish” is moored at the bottom of his garden. He is a Morgan Car Club member and is friend of Peter Darch. I phoned Peter after he failed to reply to my email two days ago, and he agreed to meet up for a meal later that day in Yarnton, where he and Anne ate every Saturday evening at The Turnpike.

These black swans must be are quite rare.

I had stopped at The Rock of Gibraltar for lunch on board and then went into the pub for a pint, only to meet up with Kevin and Ingrid at the bar. Strangely, we met there about the same time last year. Their boat Columbia (1909) now had a home mooring at Gunpowder Wharf at Thrupp.

Upon getting to Thrupp, I passed by nb Bones with herself sitting on the bow. She offered to open the lift bridge, for which I was grateful as it saved me precious moments getting to a vacant mooring.

All went well and I reached Thrupp in good time to moor outside The Jolly Boatman, where Peter said moorings were always available. They picked me up later than expected and had a great meal and conversation in the pub.

Sunday 30^th July

Several small upkeep jobs were on the list for today. The air horn needed attention once again and sure enough the supply voltage dropped to zero when it was operated, so a voltage drop caused by under gauge wiring was almost certainly the problem, as it worked fine when closer to the battery at the stern. Whatever it was, I replaced it with an electrical trumpet horn, although not so powerful, it did the job.

Secondly, although the alternator was showing a charge to the batteries, the rev counter was intermittent and took a long time to operate after starting the engine. I suspected the voltage regulator and brush assembly, having previously researched the problem on Canal World Discussion Forum. It was easy to remove from the rear of the alternator by three screws and sure enough one brush was only half the length of the other one. Now knowing what the problem was, I spent a long time scouring the internet and only found one match, but it would need to be ordered on the internet and with no address to send it to, it was impossible. Amazon showed one, but a replacement in their store was on an unknown time scale. Researching even further, I discovered that a Lucas A127 voltage regulator appeared to be exactly the same and these were far easier to find on E-Bay – progress?

I did some more washing this afternoon and got that out of the way once more, before visiting The Jolly Boatman for a pint. I have certainly had enough of fault finding for today!

Monday 31^st July

It was a beautiful morning with no wind when I let go, although it got windier  by mid afternoon and the clouds appeared, but the rain kept off. It was quite an uneventful trip towards Oxford and the locks were easy, despite them all being against me. At one lock I picked up £15 that I had previously walked past – free drinks for a few nights!

The alternator was behaving better today after tightening the belt, so there was less squeeling, but I will still phone around the limited number of auto factors when in Oxford, although there is only one that I can walk to near Osney.

I stopped for lunch whilst watering up at a very slow tap just above Dukes Cut. After that I had forgotten how many lift bridges there are on the approaching length into Oxford, which slowed me up considerably, even though they all opened with a key from the towpath side.

I was on the lookout for a less common type of blackberry that was fruiting right now, with very large and lush berries that were so ripe, many fell off when moving the bush. When I did spot them on the offside, either it was too shallow, or there was another boat coming. I did find a handful eventually when I took the rubbish across a lift bridge to a service point. When I moored up in Oxford opposite College Cruisers, imagine my surprise at seeing one of the bushes only feet away, where I picked two bowls full. I set to peeling the Bramley apples, bought in readiness and cooked them up immediately.

The strip of land between the cut and Castle Mill Stream. 

Do people actually live here?

I was disappointed to find The Bookies closed on Mondays, as I have been there so many times before, so I had a look in the Harcourt Arms, but there were few people in there at the time. Having already walked past

The Rickety Press earlier, it had sounded as though it might be interesting so I walked back to it. , www.thericketypress.co.uk Sure enough, it was busy with students and the beer pumps were up and down like yo-yos. Food was served in the form of burgers and pizza, the latter cooked in a wood fired oven.and made from their own dough, so an enterprising pub run by the Dodo Pub Company. Looking at their web site later, I wondered how they are making progress with three new pubs and others are going under at a phenomenal rate.

Amusing or just encouraging alcoholism?

Tuesday 1^st August

I should really be off the CRT waterways today, but decided to stay on a bit longer to shop for a few basics in Jericho. I phoned the only auto factors within walking distance and as expected, they would have to order the part, so I hope it keeps going until I return home.  On the way back from shopping, I popped onto The Bookies for a well deserved pint and whilst perusing their menu, made a snap decision to have Moules Farcies and another pint of Landlord. The stuffed mussels were swimming in garlic butter and breadcrumbs and served with sliced French bread and I have to report that it was all delicious. Why is it that the French are so good at these things?

Back on board, I decided that I would move on to the Osney moorings, if there was space there. In fact there was plenty of room for at least six boats, so I was in luck. I winded below and close to the lock and entrance to Osney Mill Marina, where there was more room and pulled into one of my favourite moorings for the night.

Another close shave with a private boat trying to moor up in front of me, so I offered to take a line whilst the steerer sorted his boat out. Only this morning another boat came in to moor in front of me and clouted the button on my bow. I had an apology from his wife, but why is it that these so called experienced boaters do not seem to have the knowledge to handle their boats? Hire boat steerers I can understand making mistakes, but then they are often more careful and often slower in manoeuvring than private boats. Maybe the latter suffer from over confidence.