my first time as a single hander

first obstacle of the day

After breakfast we all cruised to Colwich Lock as the gates are heavy and it can take two crew members to open them. The lock was deserted so the Captain worked the lock for me opened the top gate then closed up behind me.

“What will you do if you get to Great Hayward lock before me?” he asked.

“Join the end of the queue,” I replied as it is usually busy there. 

After fighting to get Lottie to leave the boat the Captain walked her along the towpath back to the car. Meanwhile I enjoyed the adventure of steering alone.

peaceful cruising

Although his walk took half an hour it didn’t take the Captain long to drive to Great Hayward. Finding parking proved to be more difficult as everywhere close to the lock was full. He eventually found a place ten minutes walk from the lock.

After a too short cruise I arrived at the lock to find it empty with no boats around. I tied up to the lock bollards and went up to the lock and opened the gates passing a lady painting on my way. As this meant crossing over the far gate to open the far gate it took several minutes. However I was surprised to find that Fine Chance now featured in the foreground of the lady’s art.

Great Hayward lock ready to enter

I pushed the bow out,stepped aboard and steered under the bridge into the lock. As the front of the boat slid slowly past the gate I reversed the engine to virtually stop the forward motion. Then I stepped off the rear deck holding the centre rope as I had seen single hander’s do at this type of lock. I walked up the steps guiding the rope past the gate and pulled the boat forward. Once clear of the gate I wound the rope round a bollard to keep the boat still while I closed both gates.

Boat moored just before the junction 

I opened the paddles slowly so that the water didn’t shove the boat around and proudly watched her rise. This was my first solo lock and probably my last. A lady with a windlass walked up as a boat rounded the corner but by the time he reached me I had opened the gate.

As I walked back to board the boat the Captain arrived with Lottie who barked s if cross she had missed her cruise.

“Moor just before the junction," he called out as he waited to help the lady close the gate after her boat was in place.

I had stepped off and was just pulling the boat over when Lottie arrived at our new mooring dragging the Captain behind her.

Lottie cooling off in the pond

After a cup of tea the Captain suggested we have lunch at the farm cafe then go for a walk on Cannock Chase.

Having reclaimed the car we drove round to the farm cafe which had a terrace overlooking the canal. We had seen the land before the cafe was built and passed by several times during its construction, but never eaten there. 

We had an excellent lunch which included fresh farm eggs, mushrooms and bacon. Lottie waited patiently for her scraps of bacon at the end of the meal.

After a bit of trial and error we managed to find a quiet car park on Cannock Chase for Lottie’s afternoon walk. Lottie got hot but found a pond to cool off in. We parked at the marina where our boat would be surveyed tomorrow and bought cold pie and salads from the nearby farm shop for our evening meal. We bought ice creams to eat as we walked back to the car but I was startled to see a lady giving her two terriers an ice-cream each. All Lottie gets is a scrap of ice-cream on the very end of the cone!