Original post 22/06/08
SUMMER AND LIGHTNING, all around us.
I think it mustve been about midnight that the electric show began in the sky followed by loud rumblings of thunder across the valley. The rain was so heavy that the plants on the roof took quite a battering so when we woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine evrything seemed so much better, except that is for the howling gale blowing from the sou'west.
The plant pots didnt stand a chance and after the 2nd time of putting them back in place, the third time they blew over...over they remained.
We did the remainder of the Stoke Bruerne flight alone, the wind making us contact the side rather more than we wouldve liked but got through unscathed, I suppose if time was no object and we didnt have to be back for work it wouldve been a perfect day for not moving at all....sigh....maybe one day,
Crabbing sideways was the order of the day and trying to avoid moored boats while slowing down enough not to cause them too much problems .
As we neared Cosgrove, a couple on a Wyvern Boat passing us called out " How far is it to the aquaduct?"I smiled at them and said " Youve already done it.....just before the lock"
They looked longingly behind them.....never mind folks, look out for it again on your way back.
The approach to Cosgrove lock was interesting, Once passed the line of buildings and approaching the sanitary station the wind found its way through gaps in the trees and blew us towards the moored boats, I could feel the hull tilt to port as the gusts hit us, so it was a bit of wellie on the revs and regain some control. The mouth of the lock however has no tree cover and as we slowed to stop we were slammed into the side and held there.....who needs ropes when youve got wind power to hold you in position. All we need now is to fit up some form of Gaff Rig and some Lee Boards down the sides and we'd save a fortune on diesel.
Our planned stop was for Great Linford so we carried on past Cosgrove moorings and approached the aquaduct over the Great Ouse. Being in Wyvern country I could see one approaching ahead of us. As they entered the aquaduct and lost the shelter of the trees the wind caught them and slammed them into the side of the trough. Always nice to see what your gonna have to cope with before you have to do it, so, as we entered, I kept well over to the right and as soon as the tree line finished, i steered to starboard and just managed to avoid clanging the sides....with a bit of power of course....Nora was going to take some pics of the crossing but she just confessed that she was actually more concerned with clinging on for dear life.
Finally arrived at Great Linford and was a bit surprised to see a large gathering of boats on both side of the water. Some tents and marquee's then came into view along with throngs of people all enjoying what turned out to be the "Great Linford Waterside festival."
We tied up just before the bridge and did a very quick shop to stock up on milk and booze and bread and then headed off to see what was going on.
A few stalls, a few childrens rides, a large stage with rock bands making a sort of noise and the usual eating establishments. We milled and thronged with the rest of the population of Milton keynes and then...oh joy of joys......a stall selling stuff and things and there, hanging at the back was a Peg Bag. Not just any old Peg bag but a Peg Bag that obviously had our name on it......Ive been looking for one for ages, No longer will our pegs have to hang on the rotary line awaiting the next load of washing, They can now rest easily between loads in their own splendid Peg bag.
We even found a couple of pegs on board to start the collection
We purchased some rather fine fudge. Rum an Raison for me and Chocolate for Nora and Choc and orange for both of us, and you cant pass the customery burger bar with out sampling the wares, which in actual fact, were probably the best burger i have ever had from a van .....far better than the cardboard I forced on myself at the Crick Boat show.
We got back on board and both sat down listening to the noise of the band on the stage, We were then passed by 7 teenagers with their Lager cans and Jugs of cider and decided maybe we will move up a bit for the night, so we cast off and cruised for an hour and found ourselves a little spot which will suit for the night.
All in all a good days cruise made even more interesting by the wind. Tomorrow will hopefully see us alongside the Globe Inn. We have booked a table for 8.......pm that is....not for 8 people....unless anyone cares to join us
3 comments:
Great reading again Geoff. It's like being along for the ride. The aquaduct actually sounded quite scary, reading through even your wonderfully calm lines. I've never been on one before, but judging by the wind and rain we've had here today, I can well imagine what it was like...I've almost felt seasick this evening and we haven't even left the harbour! No wonder Nora didn't want to take pics...
Re Philip's blog, I'm sure he won't mind you making a link, and I'll bet he'd be even more thrilled to get a comment. He's half English, so I never really speak to him in anything else, and as you probably know, the cloggies mostly speak pretty good English anyway..
By the way, I'm very interested to gather that you have actually spent some time here in Rotters. Do tell!
Oops, I'm behind you again Geoff! I see you have left a comment for Philip....
Thank you so much for keeping up with my blog too. I've just noticed you have joined the 'followers'. That's really good of you. I hope you don't mind, though. I've taken a bit of a liberty and mentioned your blog in my latest post, as in how much I enjoy it, and have made a link to it too, but if you don't like it, I will of course remove it. Looking forward to the next post already!
Thanks Val, Very happy with any links and please you like the tale, I promise to update our more recent exploits soon but theres not been much boating sadly.
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