RCR Rescue

Sorry, no service facilities

finally on our way - in the wrong direction

It was another hot sunny morning. Fortunately we were moored on the shady side of the canal but but Lottie made it clear that she would rather cruise to a grassier toilet. 

At 9.00 the Captain prepared to move off, but when he turned the starter there was no electrical power to the engine. After ferreting around in his engine bay the Captain found the cable connector was broken. 

passing our overnight mooring

While having a cup of tea he debated whether to call RCR (River and Canal Rescue) or deal with it himself.

Eventually he took the cable off and decided to see if the nearby Sherbourne Wharf could make one up. After one false start when he returned for his wallet  the Captain trudged off leaving me to clean the kitchen and Lottie to loll on the sofa.

 entering the Worcester and Birmingham canal

the Worcester bar

His journey was a waste of time as the wharf had a modest chandlery and no longer had any service facilities. Plan B (which should have been plan A) involved a simple call to RCR. They helpfully booked him an engineer but it could be a while before he arrived.

interesting modern architecture

At eleven the engineer phoned and after finding out what was broken said he would have a new starter cable made up. An hour later he phoned again to say he was in Birmingham. Finally he trudged into sight on the far side of the canal as we finished our lunch.

Thankfully he had no trouble fitting the starter cable so at 1.00 (a delay of four hours) we set out.  We headed past Sherbourne Wharf and turned around before we could head onto the Worcester and Birmingham canal. That's where short cruisers win every time, they can turn whenever they want.  

heading out of Birmingham

rails, towpath and canal

It was a scorching day, over 31 degrees, and we would have preferred to be moored in the shade near the Tardebigge but at least the boat was fixed.

sunshade vital today

We waited for an approaching boat and squeezed through the narrow section beside the Worcester bar. When the Worcester and Birmingham canal was first built it was not allowed to join with the main BCN so goods had to be unloaded at the Worcester bar and reloaded onto barges on the far side which took time and effort.

We cruised out of Birmingham with the railway alongside but the trains passed slowly and were not too noisy. 

I sheltered from the sun under our sunshade until I walked Lottie along the canal. The level was low and she found a way down onto a shelf to cool down in the shallow water.

view from the aqueduct

Lottie walked along this stretch

Cadbury World was the last of the buildings. shortly after that the railway headed away from us. 

As we passed King's Norton Junction we saw the restored guillotine lock with the gates hanging in the air. I wonder how hard it is to hoist them up and whether they have ever fallen down on a boat.

unusual guillotine  lock

Cadbury World

We met a boat in Wast Hill Tunnel but there was no drama or collision. We moored up not far from the tunnel a couple of hours from the top of the Tardebigge flight of locks near shady trees. In spite of the shade it was still hot at 7.00. this is already the hottest cruise we have ever done.

our overnight mooring