Left high and dry?

After an early breakfast we moved the boat round to Great Hayward Marina. It only took a few minutes. Boats were moored alongside engineering so we headed for the service pontoon.

We started unloading but moved to a brokerage mooring when a member of the marina’s staff gave us the code to use the security gate. After moving our stuff to the car hampered by an unhappy Lurcher who wanted to cruise on, we checked out with the sales staff, giving them my mother’s phone number to contact us on as we were spending the rest of the day with her.

We had a good drive over to Mum’s. In the afternoon the Captain phoned the sales people to see if the boat had passed her survey. No one in the office knew what was happening. Was our boat waiting out of the water to be blacked or did we have to take her back to Kings Bromley Marina?

Lisa our sales rep promised to call in the morning so we had a take-away with Mum and stayed the night with her.

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!

The final cruise

Roofless Armitage tunnel

After breakfast we prepared to move off. Concerned about the boat alarm the Captain took the helm. As usual when moving the boat to a new location I saw him out of the marina. As he was about to turn onto the cut a narrowboat appeared through the overgrown foliage. I signalled halt. By the time our boat had drifted to a stop the boat on the cut emerged from the Captain’s blind spot and chugged by.

Collision avoided I waved him on and walked to the car with the dog. I took my time driving to Armitage as the boat would take much longer. I parked by the 7 foot wide tunnel in a handy canal side car park and walked through the tunnel to meet our boat at the other side. Boaters are asked to send a crew member on ahead to make sure no boat is in the tunnel to avoid an impasse in the middle as the bend makes it hard to see through.

Our boat approached as another narrow boat entered the tunnel. I signalled the Captain to stop. A red faced woman ran along the tunnel towpath waving her arms frantically.

half way to Wolsley Bridge

“Stop!” she yelled “boat coming!” the Captain nodded. “My wife did tell me,” he remarked as he stepped off onto the towpath.

The woman seemed confused as I had strolled through from her side.

After her boat had cleared the tunnel our boat passed though and moored just beyond the car park.

“Every thing okay?” I asked.

“Fine he replied “no problems, the alarm didn’t go off.”

She wants you to change your mind about selling her,” I replied.

Over a leisurely lunch the Captain decided to head to Wolsley Bridge to moor for the night.

“There’s plenty of mooring there but where will we park the car?” the Captain asked.

“Perhaps the pub will let us park overnight there if we eat there,” I replied.

close to the night's mooring

“Good idea, I’ll meet you there.”

You take the car; I’ll drive the boat,” I replied. “I’m going to enjoy my last cruise.”

“Will you be all right through the narrow bit?”

“I’ll be fine,” I replied.

The Captain cast off and walked with Lottie to the next bridge to see me through that one as it was on a sharp bend. I would have to negotiate a worse one alone. Lottie was reluctant to return to the car. The Captain would take about 20 minutes to drive to Wolsley Bridge whereas it would take me an hour and a half to meet him.

I enjoyed being alone at the helm. I met another boat in the narrow stretch near the town centre as we passed moored boats but slid Fine Chance between the moored boats and on coming boat with a couple of inches each side.

moored up

Shortly after the aqueduct I spotted one Lurcher leading the Captain towards me. The Lurcher had clearly been taking a dip in the canal to cool off as she was very wet. I shut the boat’s door to stop the soggy Lurcher drying herself on the future owner’s sofa.

They boarded eagerly.

“I should have brought shorts with me,” the Captain complained. “I got hot walking along the towpath. I looked around but the only parking was at the pub,” the Captain said. “But the pub landlord was happy for me to leave the car in his car park over night. I’ve reserved a table in the bar for dinner tonight as dogs are allowed in there.”

By the time we cruised to Wolsley Bridge the soggy Lurcher was dry. We moored before the bridge and relaxed before having an excellent meal at the pub. The Lurcher waited patiently for us to finish our meal before being rewarded with left overs. The Captain mellowed over to pints of draft Doom bar. I haven’t seen him so happy on a cruise for ages.

Boat for sale

The almost clean boat

The captain has had enough. He decided it was time to sell the boat and do something else.

First we had to clean and paint it which we did over the winter months taking advantage of the mild winter. It was sad work making her pretty when we were not going to enjoy using her any more. You can’t use the boat once it is at brokerage

The boat was put on the market. I was sad, the Captain was determined. To leave the bathroom sweet smelling he headed for the service pontoon for the final pump out of the holding tank.

Boat dog relaxing while we paint

The Captain struggled to reverse our boat into its berth. He tried twice but the wind pushed her around. Then the boat showed her displeasure at being put up for sale by sulkily sounded an alarm. Its shrill beep startled us, in nine years we had never heard it go off. The Captain headed back to the easier mooring on the service pontoon to find out what was wrong.

small but cosy

The temperature warning light was flashing as well but the engine had not been running long enough to reach its normal operating temperature. The Captain was baffled but decided to let everything cool down before he tried to return to our berth just in case it was serious.

I made a cup of tea to soothe him while he called RCR (River and Canal Rescue). They couldn’t help or advise him on what to do as they had never heard of an alarm going off when the temperature was only 60 degrees instead of the usual 80 degrees.

lurcher occupying half the seating!

Have you checked the coolant level? The RCR man suggested.

The Captain checked the header tank and all the electrical connections and then headed back to the berth. He abandoned any attempt at reversing in and nosed into the berth.

We walked back to the car on the rain.

Goodbye boat. Will we see you again?

The engine alarm

Six weeks after putting the boat up for sale the Captain received an offer on the boat, conditional on it passing its survey, which he accepted.

moored on the pontoon

Three weeks later we headed back to the marina to take the boat to Great Hayward for its survey as the local facility had shut down. It was a two day journey at walking pace or just over half an hour in the car! The Captain allowed an extra day to repair the faulty alarm or temperature control or engine coolant system even though he had reported the fault to the sales team.

One complication was that the new owner had said if the boat passed he would leave it out of the water to have its hull blacked up. We decided one of us would drive the car around while the other cruised the boat to the survey. Once the boat was delivered to the dry dock we could empty our last possessions out and head for home.

We had a reasonable journey to Kings Bromley Marina but it still took over three and a half hours in heavy traffic. The Captain decided to run the engine while de-wintering the boat so that he could check the temperature switch and decide what action to take.

stretching her legs

I took our Lurcher on a long walk while the Captain switched on the water pump and checked for leaks as this can be a tense time for him. As I arrived back the engine alarm beeped twice then stopped as the Captain charged from the far end of the narrowboat.

“Did you touch it?” he asked. I shook my head. “Strange it seems to have switched itself off,” he murmured. He poked around the engine bay to see if the engine coolant system was working.

Baffled he came back. “Perhaps the temperature switch was sticking. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow when the engine gets up to cruising temperature,” he said.

Leaf Lament

We headed for the boat hoping to take it out for a couple of hours to charge the batteries and heat the water, but as we headed north the winds grew stronger and stronger.

Icy winds sliced across the marina as we unloaded and the almost naked trees bent under the assault.

The Captain built up the fire and declared we were staying put that night.

The next morning looked promising with sunshine and light winds. I had a craft fair to go, but as I didn’t have to leave before 3.00 we had plenty of time to cruise to Rugeley and back.

Autumn is a tricky time to take the boat out. Some boats sweep through leaf filled canals but our boat soon gets a clogged prop. In spite of this we set out cheerfully. Within minutes we hit a thick slick of leaves - the boat became sluggish. The Captain threw the boat into reverse to clear the leaves from around the prop but it didn’t work. The boat drifted to the side of the canal and I leapt out to hold the rope expecting The Captain to open the weed hatch and plunge his arm into the freezing water in order to scoop the decaying leaves out.

He didn’t. Instead he tried to walk the boat forward beyond the thick debris to where the water was completely clear. We grounded on the bottom.

A narrow boat appeared behind us and chugged past. I expected the Captain to ask them to tow us into clear water but he just waved and said we were fine. After waiting for the leaves to drop away from the prop shaft he asked me to drive while he pulled from the bank. It didn’t work.

A puzzled walker asked “Do you know what to do?”

The Captain sighed. “I’ll have to go down the weed hatch,” he replied.

Reluctantly he opened the weed hatch and plunged his arm into the muddy depths. He shook his head and reached for his knife. Finally the culprit emerged, not just decaying leaves but a bundle of plastic bags knotted together so that they formed a big ball. I dread to think how much rubbish the fish have to cope with.

After sawing again the Captain produced another tangle of plastic. After that surgery the prop turned better but still got clogged with leaves several times.

 

“We won’t make it back in time unless we wind here,” he said as we reached the first winding hole at Handsacre.

He winded the boat and tied up, the only boat on this popular mooring.

After a cup of tea we set off back trying to miss the leaves but the prop kept clogging up. he wasn’t happy as we turned into the marina, we’d been out three hours but the batteries had only had two hours charge.

He spun the boat round to reverse into his berth, but the gusting wind sent him towards moored boats. Customers at the diesel point watched as he turned the boat to try again.

He allowed for the wind to push the boat sideways as he reversed. It didn’t so he missed the berth again.

The third time he managed to get the rear between the pontoon and our neighbouring boat. The watchers from the service pontoon seemed disappointed that the afternoon’s entertainment was over.

After lunch the Captain busied himself with the fire as I set off for a school with my books and art. Hopefully he will be in a better mood by the time I return.

Rammed

Its always busy at Tixall Lock

We cast off at 8.15 though the Captain woke me at 6.00 clattering around in the kitchen. Apparently Lottie had woken him and asked for her duvet to be put over her, and he made a cup of tea as he couldn’t get back to sleep.

but it is a peaceful place

We had only four locks remaining on this trip, the first one was ready to enter. It was lovely to enjoy the views on this part of the canal; normally we have done this section in stiff winds and heavy cloud. We reached Tixall Lock in time to see a boat emerging, however a man on the lock side closed the gate and ran to open the paddles to drain the lock. When this happens I am happy to stand around and watch the crew work the lock, clearly they were in a hurry. He was. He hustled his posh boat in and closed the gate then ran to my end to start filling.

“You’ve left a paddle up,” I said. He ignored me and started winding the top paddle. “It won’t fill with a paddle up,” I repeated. He turned his back on me.

view from the Wide

His wife heard me and called him back but he shouted, “Its fine.” She pointed to the raised paddle and he sprinted back to lower it. Just then a hire boat hurtled into the bushes below the lock. Clearly the barrier across the canal had come as a surprise to the helmsperson.

Posh boater worked the lock red faced while I watched the hire boat crew punt their way out of the bushes and return to the lock pins. Silently the posh boater lowered the paddles my end and opened the gate. Then he stormed off to rejoin his wife. If that’s the way the posh crew work I’m glad to be a commoner.

As I closed the gate behind our boat an eager boy ran up from the hire boat below and put the paddles up. A man from the hire boat behind me told me I could get Lottie back on board as they would open the gates for me. Both hire boat crews seemed far happier than the grumpy man in a hurry.

plenty of spaces at the other end

We were surprised by the lack of boats moored on Tixall Wide but not by the wind that blew across it. I hadn’t noticed the wind before so Tixall Wide wins the booby prize for the windiest mooring. We went past the moored boats and turned onto the Trent and Mersey canal. After going straight into Great Hayward lock we cruised past Shrugborough House. 

I waved to a lady with a buggy and two hounds  just before we moored opposite Shrugborough park.

Shrugborough House

While we were mooring I spotted a doll lying on the tow path. From its immaculate condition it hadn’t been there long. I called after the lady with the buggy but she couldn’t hear me. Hampered by cyclists whizzing past and Lottie trying to sniff the hedgerow I called to the boaters to stop the lady.

The call went along from one boat to another then a third. The lady turned round and the man on the third boat pointed to me. I held up the doll.

and our quiet mooring further along the park

The lady came back and reclaimed her daughter’s lost toy. Apparently she had retraced her steps along the canal to look for it but must have turned back just before our mooring spot. She was delighted that the search was over and her daughter was happy again.

We were having lunch when an Anglo Welsh boat rammed us at full speed. The cupboard doors flew open an the glasses tipped over but nothing broke.

“How can you swerve into a boat on a long wide straight bit,” The Captain yelled. He looked over the side but there was no obvious damage on our steel hull. The Anglo Welsh boaters were apologetic but it was strange how they lost control on an easy bit of canal. I guess they were travelling far too fast.

We had a quiet evening apart from the cows lowing. Tomorrow we have an easy cruise back to base.