Saltysplash

1 Year Old

2010-07-27T16:39:00.010+01:00

8th July was Lilians 1st birthday.
We had a bit of a barbeque on the saturday afternoon to celebrate with family and friends.

Our special thanks to Glyn, off Narrow boat HUMBUG for taking the photo's while Laura was the hostess with the mostess and yours truly in true form took care of the cooking.

Oostende voor anker 2010 pt3

2010-07-27T02:39:00.012+01:00

The next morning saw us both up and about very early, steve to make preparations in the engine room and me to make a flask of coffee and ensure there was enough fresh water and snacks in the wheel house for our expected 10 hour trip.

The sky was overcast and there was a little drizzle but we had a window. I cant remember the wind direction but it was 2-3 occasionally 4.

Sure enough over the VHF we listened to the announcement from the Little Ships Admiral and it was a Go. They wanted to be away fairly sharpish as there was a Ferry expected at 8am

We slipped our mooring and hovered around the harbour watching as one by one the boats left ramsgate to take up position outside in review order to be escorted across the Channel by the Royal Navy HMS Monmouth and HMS Raider

Once outside the Harbour there was still a noticeable residual swell from the previous days weather but the little boats gathered themselves together and set off once again for France.

Sadly as we monitored the VHF we heard that one boat had been unable to leave harbour due to an over heating engine caused by a blockage picked up in the harbour in the water intake and a second boat had to return shortly after leaving due to a similar problem.

We followed the fleet to the North East edge of the Goodwin Sands the turn East for our own trip to Oostende

The good ship Mary Jane

The Rest of the Fleet

We said our goodbyes and continued to listen to the VHF channel being used by the Fleet till we were out of range. Our own crossing was very uneventful thankfully, there was very little traffic in the shipping lanes and we sipped our coffee and nibbled our snacks till we finally raised Oostende in just 8 hours.

Normally smaller boats are berthed in the inner Mercator Dock for the Festival, however, upon our arrival we were told we would be berthed in the Outer Montgomery Dock. We wernt overly pleased with this for a couple of reasons, Firstly, The Outer Dock is Tidal and during rough weather it can have a swell of over 6 foot and secondly, everything goes on in the Inner Dock and we felt we would be rather out of it stuck so far outside.

Never mind, we would make the best of it and make Valonia as presentable as we possibly could.

The three remaining days just flew by what with visiting ships, showing guests around Valonia and of course plenty of evening entertainment.

We once again met up with the crew and skipper of the Tug Kent

The weather as usual was its classic May mix of sunshine and rain and all the time, ourselves and the rest of the English contingent had an ear for the long range forecast.

It didnt look good, yes the winds were shifting southwesterly but still between force 4-6...and this time we would be heading West...same old story.

The final day of the drink up.....i mean Festival came and went and we spent the last evening in the company of the Kent's skipper. I forgot to mention we picked up an extra crew member on the saturday. Nick came over from the UK on the Eurostar as I had the previous year but would be returning with us.

That night, the wind was a full blown gale, We were moored to a pontoon which was rising and dipping in the swell and the ramp leading down to it was groaning and squealing in protest. Steve rechecked the lines and made sure that at least we would remain with the pontoon should anything untoward happen and we then retired to our berths ready for the return journey in the morning.

The next morning dawned bright and very very breezy, The general forecast for the rest of the week wasnt good so after much discussion with Kent, it was decided we would set out and radio back how we were getting on so that they could make the desiscion to go or not. We then also had the option of turning back if things got too bad.

We set off to much horn blowing and safe trip wishes, and made our way out past the break water.

Conditions were very similar to our trip along the Thames estuary, our nose was digging deep and we were throwing water up and over us.
After about half an hour Steve called up Kent on the VHF.

It was just at the point of him saying "its a bit lumpy but not too bad" that we were suddenly caught by a large wave on our port beam, we rolled slightly to the right, then, mounted the crest and quickly rolled to the left and kept on rolling, Steve was cut off mid sentence as he gripped the wheel with both hands and I just remember looking down at him. We were on our beam ends, steve in the bottom of the trough and me high up at the top looking down at the water through the port wheelhouse windows, As quick as we had rolled left we again rolled right and our positions were reversed. I rember hearing loud thuds from behind us as nick was tipped bodily from his bench seat, thrown onto the chart table and then thrown back onto the bench. We suddenly righted ourselves and as if nothing had happend, Steve resumed his radio conversation with Kent....this time adding that there are occasional rogue waves.

That was the senario for the reat of the run along the Belgium and French coast until we finally turned North West for England. Nick and myself swapping seats to allow each other a rest from trying to remain on the bench seat and steve all the time keeping us on a course which offered the smoothest ride.

There are no photos of our return trip as both hands were used for support, we didnt even get our first dose of coffee till England was finally in sight.

We eventually reached Ramsgate and if ever I have been glad to see that port it was then.
It was with much regret that I jumped ship at Ramsgate in order to catch the train home as I felt I had left Laura on her own with Lilian for too long and as I only had 1 more day left before I returned to work I thought it best that I get home.

All in all a very excellent week. My deepest thanks once again go to Steve for the invite and his seamanship in getting us there safely and home again, To Valonia for being a worthy seaboat and to Laura for giving me the time off once again for this most excellent adventure.

Oostende voor anker 2010 pt2

2010-07-23T11:06:00.007+01:00

Where was I......oh yes, we had just arrived in Ramsgate, I have never ever chosen Ramsgate as a port to visit other than as a refuge to avoid the heavy weather and seas that batter those shallow shoals around the South East Coast of England.
It does seem that almost every time we set sail for Oostende we invariably end up running for that safe haven that is the Port of Ramsgate.

Imagine how important and secure that Port was to those brave souls in flimsy, lightly planked and totally unsuitable boats 70 years earlier as they gathered and waited for the 'Nod' to head off towards Dunkirk.

The Sea during that time was maybe the least of their worries.

We hoped to be berthed in one of the inner pontoons however, there was a dredger working inside and we were instructed to 'Raft up' alongside one of the old little ships on the outside pontoon, it was a lovely white hulled heavily varnished gentlemans Yacht so very typical of 1930's design.
I made sure I put every fender down that we had on board as steve brought us alongside assisted rather quicker than we wouldve liked by the still strong easterly winds.

Directly in front was an old wooden ferry/trip boat

Eventually the dredger finished its work and we shifted position to the inside pontoons. The rest of that evening was spent on board Mary Jane

The next day the winds were still easterly 5-6 so it was a no go for Oostende, That meant we were going to be late as the festival was due to start the following day but as things turned out we were able to enjoy the celebrations laid on in Ramsgate for the 70th Anniversary of operation Dynamo

This entailed a few breakfast bevies aboard Mary Jane then a visit to the shops to stock up on supplies and then to watch the parade of the Dunkirk Vets and Fly Past by the Battle of britain memorial flight

That evening we spent in the Yacht Club which sits on the cliff overlooking the harbour and gave us an excellent view of the firework display which exploded into the skys from the Harbour breakwater.

The Dunkirk Ships were due to leave the next morning so all eyes had been on the weather reports during the day. Anything above a force four and it would be likely that the 70th Anniversary Run wouldnt go ahead.

There would be a Go or No Go descision made at 7am the next morning

Oostende voor anker 2010

2010-07-21T01:05:00.014+01:00

The end of May saw us once again in Boat Festival season.

I was very fortunate that my old friend Steve was in need of crew to attend the Oostende voor anker festival, so I took my berth on the good ship Valonia and we set off from Cuxton on the river Medway towards Ostend in Belgium.

Ex Pilot Cutter Valonia worked the south of England UK waters from i think 1969 onward. She has twin 200bhp Cummins diesel engines which when new could push Valonia through the water at 25 knots, She probably manages 20 knots these days if pushed.

The weekend before was absolutely lovely, the sun was cracking the flags without a breath of wind. I drove down to Kent with the soft top down and met Steve at the boatyard.
An evening meal at the White hart and a few sherberts later saw us aboard and ready for the morning....the weather report didnt look good.

Sure enough, the next morning saw an overcast sky and a vicious North Easterly Wind gusting force 4-5 occasionally 6.
This is never good news for a run along the North Kent coast on an outgoing tide. The reasons being, the tide flows easterly and a North Easterly wind means the tide pushes against the wind making the sea rather choppy....(understatement of the year)

We knew that we wouldnt get to Ostend this day so a run to Ramsgate was the order of the day.
The construction of valonia means that you have to spend all of your time in the wheel house as both engines are located forward of the wheelhouse which means the forward accommodation is cut off as it would be rather dangerous to try and attempt to enter the engine room when under way due to the boats movement. (too many hot exhaust pipes)

The River medway itself is very sheltered so we made good time heading down river to the thames estuary,
As we passed Chatham I caught a good look at my tub Emblem, She looks a little tired but I understand she is due for dry dock later this year.

The sun came out as we approached the mouth of the Medway but the wind continued to blow as Strong as ever.
We ventured forth into open water, ie the Thames estuary and headed east along the inshore passage towards Ramsgate, As soon as we left the sheltered waters of the the River, the waves came at us in regular and irregular intervals. We only had appx half revs on the engines in order to save fuel so instead of riding on the waves at cruising speed we ploughed through the waves, The bow digging deep into the crests and then scooping up the water collected on the deck and tossing it back over the wheelhouse as one would do with a shovel of sand.
the first time it happened I said to Steve "we're going under" it seemed to take an age for the water to clear the screens and our only view was a pale green watery mass while the boat shuddered and thumped her way through the trough.

Passing The Northforeland was interesting, it looked like we had indeed become a submarine as we dipped and scooped our way round the Kent Coast.

It was with much relief that we finally arrived at Ramsgate after 6 hours of bouncy bouncy and what a nice surprise awaited us.
It was the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation and our old friends on the Dunkirk little ship Mary Jane cracked open a beer and refreshed or flagging souls.

more to follow

Its about time

2010-05-19T14:42:00.009+01:00

Its about time that I updated this blog having neglected it for too long while doing other more important things such as looking after little lilian who's not so little anymore. Id forgotten how much attention baby's require.

We have now been aboard Amy for 5 months and can report on our progress so far.
As previously mentioned the heating and hot water is provided by a Refleks Diesel stove. Compared to the old Squirrel solid fuel stove on lady Elgar, this system is marvelous. No bags of coal to store or lug around, No Ashpans to empty, it can be left on all day without needing attention and feeding and the heat control is at the turn of a tap. It couldn't be simpler, or so I thought.

Just as the snow had reached its peak and 2 weeks before Christmas the stove suddenly and without warning went out. Luckily we have 3 electric radiators so we were able to keep the boat nice and warm albeit at the expense of the electric meter.

I just couldn't understand what had gone wrong with the stove which had been burning away merrily one minute and then stone cold the next. I checked the fuel tank and there was just under half a tank left, so I foolishly set to work on the regulator behind the stove which I was convinced had somehow become clogged up either due to water in the fuel or maybe dirt from the tank.

It was several hours later and much messing about had been done to the regulator before I finally sat back and realised that I had been an idiot. Yes, there may well be fuel in the tank but the blockage could be in the pipework to the stove.

To cut a long story short I eventually found that there wasnt any fuel getting to the stove at all. This was purely and simply the fact that its a gravity fed system and although there appeared to be enough fuel in the tank it wasnt enough to force the fuel through to the stove.

I quickly solved this by nipping down to the boatyard and topping up the tank with 4 barrels of fuel. We couldnt take the boat as the canal was frozen over.

The fuel started to flow but now the regulator wouldnt let fuel into the stove. In my tinkering with it I had obviously upset the balance of the float and no amount of tinkering would solve it. The yard eventually solved the problem by fitting a new regulator. A complete waste of time if only I had thought things out logically before jumping in with spanners and both feet.

The rest of winter passed without incident and we remained lovely and warm.

The end of march saw Wilsons of Kinver arrive and finally fit our long awaited Stern Hood. This canvas hood now covers the whole of the rear deck giving us effectively an additional room and somewhere to hang wet coats when its raining.

Heres some pics

Finally heres a couple of pics of Lilian now at 10 months old

Some Pics of our Lilian

2009-12-18T01:21:00.006Z

She is now almost 6mths old.

I think we have been the luckiest parents on the planet.

Since she was 2 mths she sleeps on average 10-11 hours a night when she decided her bedtime was 8pm sometimes 7pm following a busy baby type day.

She has 2 teeth when others older than her by several weeks have none and her only gripe about teething is a few moans during the day when she is in particular discomfort. The rest of the time she spends testing her teeth on the nose and fingers of Laura and her Godmother Lydia.

last month, with the arrival of her first tooth we decided to try her out on solid food, we had read all the books which told us to be patient and not to expect her to take to it straight away but to keep trying.

She gobbled up her first bowl in 1 sitting often grabbing the spoon to try and feed herself.
Its got to change soon surely, when is she going to turn into the baby monster?

Oh the weather outside is frightful

2009-12-18T00:55:00.008Z

Its time for a few photo's

We have been aboard Amy now for over a month and what differences have we noticed compared to life aboard Lady Elgar.

Well, Our Reflex Diesel stove has been alight since day 1 with only minor turns of the temperature knob to acquire a pleasant heat aboard. No coal bunker to fill up. No coal bags to manhandle on board, No ash pan to empty, no coal dust settling everywhere.

I do miss the flames of a real fire though.

Its now 1am and there is a blizzard blowing outside.

Remember the space we had aboard LE?

This is a pic of a visit from Laura's brother and sister in law

This is our Living room on Amy

Merry Christmas one and all

A new home

2009-11-19T19:51:00.009Z

The day of the Launch finally arrived and we were up bright and early. Not as early as we had expected because Lilian decided she was having a lie in and didn't wake up till quarter to eight meaning she had slept for nearly 12hours.

Its typical isn't it, you trust her to be your alarm clock and get you up at her normal time of 6.30am and she lets you over sleep.

Highline had let us know that the crane would arrive at 8am and maneuvers would commence shortly after. We didn't know the pecking order though as two boats had to be returned to the water in addition to ours and i think another 3 had to come out for surveys and blacking.

Neil and cath from Herbie arrived shortly after 8am and together we all hung around the yard waiting for action.
The crane driver was doing various things to his charge including fitting a wind speed monitor to the boom as the day was gusting very strong.

Finally, following what looked to us to be a lovely mug of tea, the driver and staff of Highline swung into action, and ever so gently and with great care each narrowboat was placed back in the water and another was hauled out ready for a hull survey.

It was then the turn of Amy

Once afloat I turned the key in the ignition and the Barrus Shire 40HP engine kicked into life on the first go. A quick check of the stern gland and engine dials and I set off for the winding hole just a short hop along from Highline so I could turn, and then return to the yard to take on some fuel, giving the staff chance to finish their first leg of craning day.

Lilian had long since fallen asleep obviously finding the sight of a huge crane and flying boats not half as exciting as a plastic rattle or a purple squeaky elephant. Our neighbour Lydia once again came to our aid as she had done for our wedding and took Lilian while we sorted ourselves out for the rest of the day. Without her help we would've really struggled to do, even half of what we achieved.

Amy cruised the short distance to the winding hole with ease and I found the tiller very responsive. I managed the turn in one go, and arrived back at Highline to meet Laura and Neil.
One of the downsides to buying Amy is that we would lose our neighbour Herbie. Thankfully they were not going far and had managed to secure a nice little mooring alongside Nb Humbug which is even closer to the car park and whose owner is a really lovely lady. I think they will get on well.

We filled the fuel tank with over 300 litres of diesel, (The heating system is a Reflexs oil burning drip feed stove) and then with the help of Neil, we moved up to our slot and secured Amy in Lady Elgars place.

The rest of the day was spent moving our belongings from LE to Amy and sorting out wiring for phone lines and satellite TV. Got to get your priorities right :)

So far, life on a widebeam is just fine. All crew members doing well and swinging cats.

Our next mission is to finish the move from Lady Elgar then give her a spring clean before she goes up for sale.
That will be a sad day

Of Mice and Men

2009-10-28T23:25:00.002Z

The best laid plans etc.

My dream, once I retired from the force was always to sail Emblem round Europe in particular visiting Norway and the Baltic, I thought it was a very good Best Laid Plan, but, My Best Laid Plan went Awry when I met Laura.

So we joined forces and my Best Laid Plan was to retire and then we would cruise the canals of England. My best Laid Plan went Awry when we were blessed with the arrival of Lilian.

My Best Laid Plan was to bring our family up on our narrow boat enjoying our lifestyle and all it had to offer. My best Laid Plan went Awry when we met AMY.

Amy is a 55' x 10'6" barge, She is brand new, spacious, and waiting for us to move aboard.
I think it finally hit home that we were short of space when I had tripped over one of Lilian's chairs for the forth time in one day, and of course, staying in the caravan in Morecambe showed just how much space can be available if the set up is right.

Lady Elgar was my ideal Narrowboat. She was all I ever wanted in a canal boat. A traditional stern, engine room, top spec fit out from a craftsman, a well designed and attractive hull/shell and a boat to be proud of. She has served us well for these last 2 years and it is with some regret that she is now up for sale.

It is with no regret that by Friday, Amy will be our new home.
So, wide beam cruising here we come.
I haven't told laura yet but I aim to take her as far north on the Grand Union as possible, that should be just short of Birmingham before we meet Narrow locks.

Blisworth and Braunston tunnels will be interesting as I understand wide beam boats are supposed to arrange passage with British Waterways so they can make sure no other boats come the opposite way while you are navigating the 14' wide tunnel.
I have never seen a wide beam north of Milton Keynes and according to the guide book, The Grand Union ceases being a wide canal north of Berkhamstead. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Dare I even say the words....My Best Laid Plan is...............

Will post some pics as soon as we have the green light

Canals and pretty lights

2009-09-19T12:21:00.005+01:00

Friday saw us visiting Laura's Aunt and Uncle in Hest Bank near Morecambe. Their house is almost alongside the Lancaster Canal so we all took a walk along the towpath for an hour or so. The canal here has some splendid views across Morecambe bay over towards the lakes, sadly we neglected to pick up the camera so no shots of our stoll.

There were a couple of boats moored up around Hest Bank visitor moorings, the most unusual of which was a narrowboat with a Turf roof. Im not quite sure of the advantages or disadvantages of having your roof covered in grass but it was certainly a talking point.

That evening we drove down to Blackpool and joined the line of traffic to view the Illuminations.
Lilian as expected slept through them so missed the attraction. Laura did some videoing so at least she'll be able to see them when she is older.

Today we will be tidying up the caravan and packing ready for the long journey home tomorrow morning.

Geoffs top tip of the day,
Dont take photos using flash through windscreen at night

The Lancashire Witches

2009-09-17T16:39:00.013+01:00

My brother and I used to sit around my Great Grandmothers chair in her little bungalow and listen while she told us both the tales of the Witches of Pendle Hill.
Being just small children we used to lap up the stories of Old Mother Demdyke and not so old mother Chattox and their evil deeds in and around Pendle, Whalley and Clitheroe. So yesterday, the three of us set off over the moors and fells of Lancashire on the trail of the witches.

Its a fantastic drive out of Lancaster climbing high up onto the moors with excellent views over the Lune valley and over to the Lake District. Some may call the Lake District Cumbria but to me it has always been and will always be Lancashire.

We then dropped down off the tops into the Forest of Bowland and parked up alongside the Trough of Bowland which is a small shallow river running through the valley which we used to paddle in as children. Lilian had her feed while Laura and I scoffed some of the butties and pies we had prepared for the journey.

From the trough we continued on over to Barley neath the shadow of Pendle Hill. We passed through some lovely little villages, some with tea rooms and all with what appeared from the outside some very welcoming Inns.

Our day finally ended up at Dovestones Reservoir where we finished our rolls and even lashed out on buying a cup of tea each from a snack wagon.

Sadly we saw no signs of any Witches on the way although we did come across a Sheep called keith who advised us against "stopping in these parts"

Highlight of the day for Laura was "being on my honeymoon, sitting in the car out of the wind eating a meat and potato pie drinking a stewed cup of tea watching my husband feed the baby"

Oh yes, she has now decided she doesnt want a widebeam anymore, she now wants an old farm on the side of a moor looking out onto Pendle.....I may have to start working more overtime.
Lancashire really is one of Englands most beautiful counties.

A small brook or Clough pronounced cluff running through Bowland.

Keith the Sheep and a couple of mates warning travellers not to go any further

Pendle Hill

Dovestones

Not the Slough Canal Festival

2009-09-16T08:51:00.005+01:00

I almost got excited a few weeks ago when I was reminded of the approaching Slough Canal festival during the weekend of 12th Sept. I then thankfully remembered that I was getting married that weekend and laura may not appreciate my non attendance.

Originally we were going to have a couple of weeks away on Lady Elgar for our honeymoon due to peanut still depending on her sterilised bottles and not really being old enough to travel abroad, however, we suddenly came up with the idea of doing something a little different and still giving the illusion of going away.

At short notice, I trolled the t'internet and we found a lovely little static caravan right on the seashore of Morecambe bay in Lancashire.
A quick phone call to the owners Audrey and John showed our choice of week was available and all was then booked.

The Caravan is lovely and the view form the front is stunning with superb sunsets, plentiful wading birds to view through binoculars and views across the bay to Fleetwood and the mountains of the lake district. You can even see Blackpool Tower on the far horizon which is all lit up at night as the Illuminations are currently on in that town.

The downside to this caravan is, I was silly enough to compare it internally with what a wide beam boat would be like. Guess what, Laura is now looking at wide beams lol.

heres a few pics of our journey so far

The view from our window

Sleeping beauties

Ready for a grand day out

Mr & MRS

2009-09-15T10:11:00.009+01:00

Friday 11th September finally saw the joining together of Laura and myself in matrimony.

We met family and friends at the registry office in Sutton for the ceremony then progressed onto the Police sports club in Bromley for an evening reception.

The day went very well albeit very quickly which didnt give me enough time to admire my beautiful bride. (she scrubs up nicely)

Our thanks go to family who travelled some distance to be with us, Lauras Aunt and Uncle from Lancaster, My Brother and Sister in law and nieces from Rochdale and Laura's other Uncle,Aunt and cousins from Birmingham.

Special thanks Go to our Neighbours Ian and Lydia from Nb Serendipity for looking after Lilian overnight into saturday. They missed the reception due to horrendous traffic on the motorway giving them a 3 hour journey to Bromley which should only have taken an hour at the most.

Apart from the bride, the most popular attraction was little Lilian who was introduced for the first time to many of her relatives.

A big thank you again to all those who made our day extra special.

heres a few pics

My mum with Lilian

Lauras mum tending lilian

Peanut

2009-07-13T14:03:00.007+01:00

Her timing was perfect. After waiting 9 months with much anticipation, Peanut finally decided to arrive on her expected due date of 8Th July.

Laura woke me at just after 7am and advised me she was going to phone the hospital as she thought it was time. After explaining to them her Labour symptoms they advised her to come in and so we packed the car and headed off to the maternity ward.

By 8am Laura was in the delivery room and so we settled down for what we thought would be a long, and for her , painful day.
The pain was certainly there but just under 6 hours later, Peanut arrived safely.

She weighed in at 8.7 pounds.

Shortly after she was dressed and placed in a cot, we were suddenly brought back to reality as Laura suddenly began to hemorrhage quite badly. The room then filled with 8 people all working away on Laura, making pin cushions out of her arms with injections and various drips and drugs being introduced intravenously into the back of both her hands.

After a little while the Doctors managed to settle Laura down and peace once again returned to our room. Thankfully Laura soon recovered herself and we once again settled down with our new Daughter to see through the rest of the day.

Lilian Rose aka peanut

Laura had to spend a few days in hospital while they made sure she was fully recovered and eventually we made our way back to Lady Elgar and home.

Our neighbour Lydia made sure our return was aptly marked.

Time seems to have flown by in the couple of days we have been at home and we've had to get used to the shortage of sleep and total attention that Lilian needs but we are both very proud and grateful for this gift we have been given

Oostende Voor Anker Pt 2

2009-06-02T22:44:00.018+01:00

A big part of the festival is Beer.....I mean music. There are bands and folk singers playing at 2 venues throughout each day. They range from 5 piece Irish style groups to 10 dutchmen singing sea shanties.

Our personal favourites are a group called Hot Rats. Well worth going to see them if ever you get the chance.

This is them on the stage outside st peters church

Derek, our third crew member is a self confessed Hot Rats groupie. Here he is coming back laden with a bottle of specially brewed Oostende Voor Anker beer which we felt had to be consumed during the concert incase it spoilt while sitting in the bottle

They ended each of their sessions with a musical number featuring Phil, their resident spoons player

If you love boats of all shapes and sizes then its a must day out

Our Skipper Steve taking a turn around the deck of Valonia

Sunday afternoon although very hot was also very windy. This tall ship struggled a bit getting into her berth which was in the larger tidal Montgomery Dock. The crew of the three small yatchs behind her got a little twitchy

Finally, hidden very well amongst all the other boats I spotted an English Narrowboat. Sadly they were rafted up 6 boats from the pontoon so I never got a chance to meet the crew. They also blog about their cruising on the continental waterways and it can be found here Wandering Snail

Our thanks once again to the organisers and people of Ostend for a very warm welcome and such excellent hospitality during the weekend.
Sadly no commemorative plaque for me this year but you never know maybe Lady Elgar might make an appearance one day.......in my dreams lol

Oostende Voor Anker

2009-06-02T11:11:00.008+01:00

Thanks to Laura and my mate steve conspiring together I was packed off friday afternoon to catch the Eurostar from St Pancras to Brussels and then local train to Ostend.
I knew Steve was making the trip in his new boat but being only 5 weeks before the expected arrival of Peanut I'd not made any plans as its a four day festival plus a couple of days either side for the crossing from England.

So it was a very nice surprise indeed to come home from work one evening last week and Laura presnted me with my train tickets. I finished work Friday morning, got a couple of hours sleep then caught the Underground from Uxbridge to St Pancras and just 2 hours later saw me waiting at Brussels Midi for the Intercity train to Ostend. Another hour and there I was, bum firmly in place on a chair in Flanagans bar drinking my first Grimbergen and catching up with the gossip from many old friends made over the years that we have been going to the festival.

It was the 10th anniversary of Oostende voor anker and I had only missed 2. Steve had only missed 1.

some pics of the event

London St Pancras Eurostar Terminal

Waiting at Bussels Midi for the connection to Ostend

Mercator dock looking towards the Station

My Berth for the weekend, MV Valonia an ex 1969 pilot boat

Ill add some more pics later when ive got them off the camera

Homework

2009-05-04T06:00:00.004+01:00

While it seem every other boat at the moorings has gone cruising this weekend, We are still securely tied to the bank front and stern.

There is a canal festival going on at Little Venice in Central London but seeing as we had to visit the maternity ward at St Helier Hospital Sunday afternoon it was pointless in casting off and setting sail for Paddington.

Instead we decided to attack the garden, Laura, armed with a rake and fork sorted out the plot ready for grass seed while I constructed a kind of gravel pit where our new IKEA garden furniture now sits looking down onto the moorings giving us a sheltered spot to cool off in the summer heat armed with lashings of ginger beer and 20 Rothmans.

I must admit, ive get very itchy feet wanting to cast off and cruise off into the distance...even if its just for a day......the lure of the water is just too strong

A Grand Day Out 2

2009-04-06T10:29:00.012+01:00

My Daughter Rachael and her boyfriend Chaz came to visit over the weekend. They had originally planned to go to Alton Towers but Chaz's car decided it didnt want to drive all the way to Staffordshire from Kent so Lady Elgar and Thorpe Park was the next best thing.

Saturday is never a good day to visit these places and the queue to enter the park alone took us an hour. Once inside they do have some excellent rides. Laura and myself were more than happy to wander around with Rachael and Chaz while they selected which thrills they were going to experience. The sun was out and it was lovely and warm.

Their first ride was on something called 'Rush' basically two huge swings. The queue for this was a mere 15 minutes

Their next choice was 'Colossus' a multi loop roller coaster. The down side for this ride was the 70 minute queue. Rachael and Chaz duly got into line and we toddled off for some refreshment and to sit on a grassy bank to soak up some rays.
We returned an hour later and they were still in the queue.

So far we had been in the park 3 hours and they had only been on two rides. Weekends really are not the best times to do these things.

I joined them on the River Rapids ride and we all got very wet.

With just a couple of hours left we managed to get on the 'Nemesis inferno' ride with just a 25 min queue. This is a hang in the air roller coaster with multiple inversions and a very good ride....I liked that one :)

The final ride was one called 'Stealth' There was no way i was going to ride as it climbed up to 205 ft. No way folks.

The ride starts off on the level and then accelerates to over 80mph before climbing 205 ft and then dropping again before coming to a halt.

They queued for an hour

Once of a day we were happy with just the Big Dipper at Blackpool. It seems there is no end to the extremes roller coasters can now take you to, providing of course you dont go during weekends or school holidays.

Cabin Conversions

2009-04-06T10:13:00.003+01:00

The work in the Boatmans Cabin has finally been completed making it into our bedroom and converting our Cabin into Peanut's Nursery.

Our bed is now the full width of the cabin which then folds away during the day to allow access from the rear doors and to the storage cupboards underneath. or at least it would if the mattress wasnt too big!

Another cock up on my measuring skills meant I ordered a Mattress way too big and bulky. It my own fault for ordering it off t'internet instead of measuring one up in a shop. Never mind, it will do for a few weeks till I can order a new one suitable for use.

At least Peanuts Cabin is sorted and looking pretty good. All ready and waiting for the arrival day in July.

A Grand Day Out

2009-04-06T09:06:00.007+01:00

We took a trip to Portsmouth in March as my birthday treat.

It had been quite a few years since I last visited, in fact it was well before the days of the Mary Rose being found and the only attraction in the Dockyard was HMS Victory so I was very keen to see the new Historic Dockyard Museum.

We arrived just in time to catch a boat trip around the Harbour as our starter and armed with video camera and still camera we were fortunate to see quite a few Warships including the 3 aircraft carriers.

HMS Victory is still for me one of those great ships that justs lets my imagination run away with itself. A period of history I particularly enjoy.

Since my last visit they have opened up more of the ship. Originally the lowest part you could visit was the Orlop Deck, but they now allow access to the Ships Hold which is a vast cavernous area in the very Bowell's of Victory.

I remember when they recovered Henry VIII ship Mary Rose from the depths of the Solent but didnt realise how much of the ship had actually been recovered.
On the television pics of the day it just looked like a few timbers but in actual fact, its almost the majority of the Starboard side complete with rudder. The remains are housed in a special climate controlled building and is constantly sprayed with preserving chemicals and wax so you actually view the ship from behind a wall of perspex. It takes a few minutes to get used to the light but it is a fantastic display and well worth the entrance fee alone.

Time was running out and we ended our tour by visiting Queen Victoria's first Iron Hulled Battleship HMS Warrior

The best part of this ship, not just its size but the fact you can wander its decks unescorted and can get into alsorts of nooks and crannies and have a really good explore.

Our final attraction of the day was a visit the Spinnaker Tower which dominates Portsmouth's skyline.

This Tower rises 170 metre's above the Harbour. Encased in glass on three walls with three levels and a Glass section of floor on the lower level.
Laura nor I have very good heads for heights but we were very brave and we managed to get our backs to the solid wall on the first level not daring to go anywhere near the glass walls or the glass floor.

I then got extreamly brave and got my video camera out and began to shuffle slowly around the deck looking only through the viewfinder so that i didnt have to actually look out of the windows for real. I was shaking like an idiot and so we dashed back to the lift back to the safety of terra firma. Coming back down in the lift Laura was laughing at me because the sweat was pooring down my face....Vertigo, it sounds so silly but its horrible.

We had a quick beer in the bar below and I checked out the video camera to see what sights I had managed to record while up the tower.

It appears all I had managed to capture was our feet climbing the stairs to the lift. In my fear I had forgotten to press record, so when I thought i pressed pause to end the recording I had only then just presses record so no video at all of us being brave in the tower of death. Doh!!

We ended the day back at the Swan and Bottle for a slap up meal.

Welsh Surf n Turf

2009-03-09T04:07:00.014Z

It has been some time since I last ventured west to visit my matey Paul in Wales.
We couldnt meet up last weekend as he was in Paris watching the mighty Welsh Rugby team lose to France.

We have been close friends for the last 20yrs.
Paul managed to escape from London and return to the land of his fathers several years ago. He found an old barn in Monmouthshire which was being converted into a house and within a few months had finally moved in and settled down to enjoy the fine views across the Wye Valley.

I arrived at Pauls about half past 8 friday evening and was greated by his two dogs Wellington and Katy.
A few sherberts later in the local hostalry saw us sitting up till the early hours talking and catching up on each others news. Katy however was ready for bed well before we were

Saturday dawned bright but breazy and our plans were to drive to the coast so that Paul and another friend called Jeff could show off their Surfing skills.....in march!!!.....We loaded up the car with 2 surf boards on the roof, large bags of wetsuits 2 dogs and 3 blokes.

They both regaled me with tales of daring do while riding the surf. I was impressed and firmed up my driving with much anticipation.
As we approached Cardiff the weather had turned and was now drizzling. After a two hour drive we finally arived at Ogmore beach with yells from the dudes of " yeah, lets surf" They jumped from the car skipping and leaping towards the sea wall where spray could be seen being whipped away on the wind. They came to a sudden stop. Their shoulders dropped as they looked across at the sea crashing against the cliffs and rocks and not a square of sandy beach in view. The tide was in. Being brave sufer dudes, not fearing wind or rain, they now huddled down into their jackets and we slouched back to the car and the heater.

Paul viewing the waves

Not to miss out on their water based activities, Paul suggested another beach further up the coast. We piled back into the car and headed a few miles further west. Upon our arrival, both Paul and Jeff surveyed the waves.

All seemed well until Paul spyed the Parasurfers and realising that their image might not stand up to the scrutiny of these aparant professionals we again retired to the car with excuses of "its too windy"

One final choice...Porthcawl near Bridgend. Very unlikely to have any snobby para surfers and the boys would finally be able to impress the local girls with their skills on the boards....Not....The tide was still high, the wind whipping the spray as the waves dashed against the rocks.

The intrepid adventurers gave the dogs a run across the cliffs and we then drove the 2 hours back home and headed off to the Pub to impress the locals of our tale of excitment and adventure.
After much quaffing of ale and long tales we finally returned home and enjoyed a fantastic barbeque of huge tiger prawns, and steak...it was only midnight and the night was still young.

A fantastic weekend. Our journey to the sea, although not a surfing success was actually a great little road trip with the three of us thouroughly enjoying the day.
I can recomend the Wye Valley beers and to top off the trip, Paul agreed to be Bestman this coming september.
Back at home now and the back cabin conversion resumes tomorrow.

Emblem again

2009-02-18T07:37:00.003Z

When I sold Emblem I had some engine spares for the old Gardner 4L3W

For months they had been sitting in my mates stable in Wales and then in the boot of my car waiting for the new owner to arrange collection.

Eventually I got fed up of waiting and managed to lodge them at my daughters hse in Ramsgate thinking i might as well try and sell them on Ebay

Imagine my suprise when i gat a call from Ludwig, the new owner of Emblem asking about the engine bits...It turns out he's been very ill and was unabke to reply to my messages.

At last, I pleased to announced the parts will be going to Emblem to keep her running.

Time is catching up

2009-02-18T07:03:00.002Z

It seems like everthing on board Lady Elgar is giving up the ghost just about the same time it was fitted aboard.

Last week the Loo cassettes finally had enough, and yesterday the washing machine decided it no longer had the energy to run a spin cycle.

On top of that, the grill on the oven no longer wishes to grill and one ring on the gas hob has decided it no longer wishes to remain lit.

Anything else?....oh yes.....the water pump is playing up.

Not to be down hearted we decided the gas oven and hob can keep us going till next year, the water pump is still just about working so we've ordered a new one as standby incase this one finally sighs its last breath. The washing machine however has had to be replaced.

We went to currys in Slough and chose a rather nice silver dryer model within our budget which had, written on the label......"last one instock...take home today"

The lady who came to our assistance informed us, we could have it delivered tomorrow (thursday) and take advantage of free delivery which also ends tomorrow, so we said....."oh yes me old hearties"

She then handed us over to her assistant who promptly made a complete hash of the whole affair. He told us it couldntbe delivered till next week....not a big problem....but when we asked..."how about if we take it now" he said "there isnt any in stock"....i took him and showed him the label on the machine we wanted and he said" that shouldnt be on there"....yet his collegue said it was in stock and we could take it today if we didnt like the delivery date!

We eventually agreed on a date next week and he swiped our debit card and then told us it needed authorising....after several attempts at getting through to the authorising phone number he then told us our card had been declined!!!!!!
It was our boat account and we had over £1000 in CREDIT!!

He then tried to tempt us to pay with a credit card but we pooh poohed his suggestions and we high tailed it to the bank and told them the story.....the bank clerk informed us there wa nothing wrong with the card and our account was healthy.

We then decided to return home and order our choice on the internet...I typed in our post code and model number and was informed that we could order our selected machine for collection at either the Slough branch or the West Drayton branch.

Not wishing to deal with Slough anymore.....having been told by them it wasnt available......i clicked on the West Drayton branch and the message came up that it would be ready for collection in 1 HOUR!!!!!

I then spent the next hour disconecting the old machine and sure enough...we went to the West Drayton branch and collected the reserved washing machine.....we use the same account card and it cleared without any request for authorisation at all.

7PM saw the new washer installed and going through its first wash with a minimum of fuss....I must admit however, If it hadnt been for a kind chap offering his help at the boatyard to lift the damn thing, It would still be sitting in the car even now...cant expect Laura to do lifting things.

So, what was the final thing to go wrong?
The bathroom light fitting gave in......is it because everything was fitted at the same time?......who knows....is it because Lady Elgar knows peanut is on the way and she want to have everything working prior to his/her arrival?

As you mayve guessed, my work in the back cabin has come to a stop due to all the other things suddenly needing attention, except that is for the Boatmans stove which is now sitting in the shed waiting for our neighbour simon to take possession

Pennies from Heaven

2009-02-10T04:59:00.004Z

Aint t grand when you suddenly have a crisis, and you have to fork out for something which doesn't fit into your budget. Then, all of a sudden you remember 'Piggy' sitting on the shelf which, for the last few months has swallowed all your £2 coins.

On counting 'Piggies' contents this morning we found we had enough to replace the 'Elsan' porta loo plus spare cassette and a new water pump.

The 'Elsan' cassette's have a large handle at the front which one pulls out in order to dump the deposit into the holding tank.

We had in total 3 of these cassettes on board Lady Elgar which mustve been about 15 years old. well, the last one finally gave up the ghost yesterday when the handle finally sheared off.

Piggy to the rescue and a quick visit to Denham Marina, coz Highline and Uxbridge are closed on mondays, and we are now the proud owners of a Thetford465 plus spare cassette.

The water pump....well....its been getting slower and slower so tomorrow i will pop into Highline and order a new pump, again courtesy of piggy.

I like Piggy Banks :)

Its still winter

2009-02-04T03:17:00.001Z

Time has just flown by since I last posted.

Below is a pic of the sofa/futon/bed we had in the saloon.

We now have so much more space ready for Peanut and the Stove has once again become a feature of the room rather than just a heat source

I have to confess my time on the PC has been taken up playing an old game of mine that i recently upgraded. Its a WW2 submarine simulation called Silent Hunter 3.....very addictive and time consuming.

So to combat the time spent in front of the PC we took a trip to Reading over the weekend and visited the Hobby supermarket.

I bought some Hessian sheets and a Rag Rugger with the intention of making a Rag Rug or two. I delved into my wardrobe and removed all clothing that I hadnt used for over a year ready for cutting into strips for the rug.

Laura decided she would try her hand at Latch Hook crochet and cross stitching,

Here is her Latch Hook masterpiece so far

After several hours work she has completed half of her picture. She has, thoughout those several hours had a go at me requesting to see how my rug is coming along.....Alas, those several hours have been spent cutting and stripping clothes ready for the big rag rug event....ps...the co-op cloth bags that you have to buy these days instead of plastic carrier bags make ideal rag bags to keep your strips of cloth in.

Rear cabin has now been measured and my plan is forming for converting it into our master bedroom. Work is due to commence at the end of this month.

Peanut's next scan is 23rd Feb. That will be the 20 week scan.

Current size is a small Grapefruit

Pics

2009-01-28T09:22:00.003Z

The above pics show the saloon in its original plan and the top one shows the Boatmans stove and drop down table.

In my plans Im going to try and keep the artwork from the table but no idea yet how its going to work out.

Ive now got 5 days off and work will begin on stripping the backcabin ready for the rebuild.....it all goes downhill from here

Retro fit

2009-01-22T08:42:00.003Z

When we first bought Lady Elgar the saloon was open plan, with a book shelf/sideboard along one side, a fixing for a removable table on the other side and 2 single leather reclining chairs for the crew.

Within 3 months of being in board, the chairs, which were Ikea jobs and very very comfey decided to give up the ghost after their 15 year life on board LE.

Our choice of replacement was a metal framed futon style sofa bed, the main reason being it was handy for when my daughter and grandaughter visited to be able to have a decent sized bed for them all to plonk themselves down on.

The downside for us was the ammount of space the sofa/bed swallowed up.

So, With the impending arrival of Salty Jnr we today decided to go retro and return to two single reclining chairs. The space now available in the saloon is fantastic, ideal for a small baby type person known as Peanut to be able to mess around and faff to his or her hearts content.

The next job on the list is......which cabin is going to be the nursery?
Last week we spent a couple of hours in Mothercare pricing up items and choosing bits and bobs that we need.
We have two choices. Our cabin is placed centrally in the boat and is a cross bed which we put up and take down each night, but gives us 6'2 x 6' bed space in which to slob about on, assisted by a tv/dvd/free sat telly for those cold winter nights.
Now, our only other cabin is the traditional boatmans cabin at the very stern of the boat. this is complete with Trad boatmans stove and table, however, we never use the thing except for taking off our coats in winter and hanging space for washing.

So, do we convert the Boatmans Cabin into a nursery and leave our centre cabin in tact, or do we convert both cabins, the back for self and Swmbo leaving the centre cabin free as a nursery......Ill post some pics to give a general idea.

ps peanut is now the size of an orange but will remain forever peanut to his/her parents

A very Merry Christmas

2008-12-19T01:35:00.002Z

The festive period is well and truly upon us.

People are getting into the christmas spirit with Job Parties ranging from office 'do's' to disco's on Thames cruisers and theamed dress-up affairs where Henry the Eighth throws a christmas turkey leg across the dance floor for effect.

Our own works 'do' was organised for last Monday which alas, Laura and myself didnt attend due to family commitments. But we heard all about the usual goings on when we all returned to work on Wednesday...to be honest, im glad we didnt go

So, We ourselves have been looking forward to our first proper Christmas, off work together.
We have 4 days off ending on Christmas day then back to work Boxing day for 5 days then off again for New Years eve for 5 days........or so we thought.

Yesterday, The management decided to inform Myself and a few others that, due to bad planning they have cancelled my days off on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, and to make matters worse.....its without any compensation!!!!!!!

IM not a happy bunny
So....in order to make me feel better and spread a little good news at this time of year it is with Great Pleasure and Happiness that Laura and myself, announce that we are expecting the arrival of our first child this coming July

Mother and Peanut (for that is its size) doing well

Roy Orbison

2008-12-04T10:53:00.002Z

Original Post 28/06/08

Day 21

ITS OVER.
Our original plan for this day was to cruise down to Denham Country Park and find a little spot for 1 final barbie before doing the last 3 and a bit hours back to base camp. The day dawned overcast and very breezey and a few showers accompanied our meanderings through the locks.

At Batchworth we were aided by orange lifejacketed children who were visiting the canal centre and getting instruction on locks and boats....Geoff, one of the staff was telling Nora that when these groups were being shown around the motorboat 'Roger', the question was asked of them what they thought the boat wouldve carried in its hold. Not one of them thought of Coal, Televisions being the favourite guess. I guess not many kids these days have any concept of coal. Funny the way the world changes.

It was about 3pm as we descended Widewater lock and onto the Denham stretch, Looking at the sky we decided to plod on towards the Slough Arm.

At Cowley Peachey juction, my turn was restricted by a boat moored a few feet too close to the opening so a bit of jiggery pokery was needed to complete the swing onto the arm while the boat owners enjoyed the spectacle from the comfort of their chairs on the towpath.

Just over half an hour later saw us at Highline. We decided not to continue up to the winding hole as is our usual thing, but to tie up for a change on the outside of Herbie as Neil and Cath are heading out for the River Wey on sunday and being alongside the bank will be better for them loading up etc.

Our neighbour Lydia waved us in and kindly took the stern rope and we were promptly visited by 3 of her cats who had apparantly been missing their treats due to a lack of Lady Elgar being alongside.
All finally secure and engine shut down and shore line connected saw us relaxing with a chinese takeaway.

All in all it was an excellent trip with fantastic weather. We met some lovely people, maffi and bones by name others just as faces. Visted some excellent pubs and eating places. Enjoyed the drama's of boaters antics and behaviours which although sometimes are frustrating, they are nothing compared to the behaviour of people on our roads, and what may seem like moans by me about folk, are not really moans...just observations on different behaviours, as im sure other folk would observe on our behaviour.

Valuable hands on knowlegde was learned re the boat such as the starter problem and the prop shaft, but even those incidents all added to the enjoyment of the trip and the experience of owning and running your own boat without the need to call on expert help.
These problems were really very minor, the starter problem only being compounded by the fact we were on the Thames and had to shut down the engine at every lock.

Laura's highlights of the trip were the hundreds of baby fowl and animals that all benefitted from her tesco value bread bag, The Blisworth tunnel. Having her hat rescued by the lockie at Brentford and the memory of the Garlic Mushrooms at the Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton.

For me, just being together in our home cruising through varied and changing landscapes is enough. No bad memories and thats for sure.

The log shows the following data
Engine Hours 132
Distance 250miles
Locks 175
2 Tunnels

back to work Wednesday

Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren

2008-12-04T10:35:00.004Z

Original Post 27/06/08

Day 20

The morning broke dry and lovely. Following a couple of brews we fired up and cast off, Nora working the swing bridge and 1st lock while we kept looking behind us in the hope of seeing a boat coming down behind us who we might share with. Its wasnt to be so we slowly dropped down the heavily locked Hemel Hempstead section and arrived at the santary station at Apsley to take on and drop off fluids.

A boat had decided to chain themselves up to a large portion of the services mooring so we pulled in behind them and in turn took up a portion of the lock mooring. Knowing it would probably be a long fill, I toddled off over the bridge to nip into Sainsburys for a quick top up on supplies. Rather wish I hadnt as it mustve been pension day and the checkout women were more concerned with chatting to each other about Sandra's 30th wedding anniversary than getting me through with my meagre items.

I eventually exited the store and as I crossed the bridge saw 2 motorboats going up in the lock and a couple of boats just exiting the lock above and Nora looking stressed.

Typical, we'd not seen any other traffic all day then it becomes busy just as ive been a bit cheeky and gone shopping while taking on water.

As it happens, it appears no one wished to use the services while Nora had been using them, the two motorboats decamped from the lock and headed on towards the next lock and the two boats coming down started hammering pins into the ground to tie up, so we fired up, packed away the hose and dropped down the lock.

The next lock at apsley mills was obviously in our favour and the two motors had left both gates open, probably re-living old times. I deposited Nora on the starboard side and brought Lady Elgar to a stop on the portside so we could both close a gate each. I then saw a chap emerge at the steps by the bottom gates and could see the roof of his boat just infront of the bottom gates.

Thats gonna get lively when the paddles are raised thought I and as soon as both top gates were shut, this chap began winding. he then darted across to the other paddle and began winding again, wthin seconds two loud crashes occured and I could see both gates bouncing as this chaps boat began to ram into them.

GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME. He very quickly ran back across the gates and down to his boat, then all I could hear was the sound of an engine being rev'd very hard, obviously in an effort to excape from the draw of the gate paddles. Nora then dropped both gate paddles and some normality returned and the chap managed to reverse away from the gates.

Paddles up again and gate eventually open. This chap now placed himself in front of the open gate as I was exiting. The boat was only about a 40 footer at the most and painted in camoflague. He didnt wait for me to clear but came steadly forward. I managed to just get out of the way avaoiding some very nast looking spikes that he had on the front of his Bow, Obviously used for when attacking the Carthaginian fleet.

Once Id got Nora back on board we agreed that he was obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. Apparantly, it was the spikes on the front of his boat that had got trapped in the gates preventing him from being able to reverse away from them.....what a strange fellow.

Unfortunately, no further excitment occured and we made the steady descent sharing the lock work a couple at a time. It was about half four by the time we reached Lady capels lock and our intention to moor opposite the golf course was thwarted by boats there before us so we dropped down into Cassiobury park and eventually tied up just below Iron bridge lock.

Another BBQ was set up rather quickly as the sky was darkening and the wind freshening, and sure enough, just as Nora had watered the plants and I was finishing off caramalising the Lamb chops, the rain began to fall and we shut up shop and settled down to eat while watching series one of Phoenix Nights.A very pleasent days cruising of 6 hours and 19 locks.

We are now within the M25 boundary and already the thought of having to return to work looms.

ADAM ANT

2008-12-03T21:10:00.005Z

Original post 26/06/08

Day 19

According to the Log, we started up the Perkins at 11.30am after I had cleaned away the BBQ from the night before and taken down the Sky dish. The weather didnt look at all promising and there were spots of rain in the air.

Sure enough within 10 mins of setting off a couple of very heavy squalls washed everything down and blew everything about. Then out came the sun for a bit and all was calm again.

Just after passing the flour mill a heavy squall hit us again just at the same point as I saw the nose of a narrowboat come into view. The Wendover arm is very narrow and shallow so trying to see through the rain we slowly passed each other and it turned out to be Ralentando who I think we shared leighton lock with a couple of days earlier. A second boat then passed and out came the sun again this time for good although the wind gusted most of the day.

Turned back onto the main line at bulbourne junction and set off towards Cowroast armed with sausage butties for sustanance. We needed to dump rubbish and the Elsan at Cowroast and as we approached the lock I could see a boat in, about to go down. the gate then opened and it appeared that they would wait for us, which is nice, but I signalled my intention to pull over to use the services and saw they understood by the gate slowly closing.

We pulled over and tied up and were approached by the chap going down the lock.....It was our chums from yesterday on Megan, He said he'd wait at the next lock for us so it was with good company that we descended down to Berkhampstead where we waved goodbye as they stopped to visit waitrose. We didnt need the bank any more as we had solved our problem 'online' earlier.

The wind was still giving it large in gusts but the sun shone throughout. A number of large boughs had obviously been brought down in the strong winds but nothing that blocked the canal. We eventually arrived at our destination, Winkwell swing bridge and the Three Horseshoes pub and moored in the pound just a few meters away from where Lady Elgar once had an old willow tree collapse on her back in 1995.

The guide book states that the Three Horseshoes is haunted by two ghosts. A highwayman and an old lady, So after our very excellent meal we repaired to the tack room and sampled some black sheep ale and a pint of broadside. Although Nora was convinced she had her arm tweeked and saw a shadow in a corner (in a shadowey room) no shouts of STAND AND DELIVER disturbed our evening.

ABBA

2008-12-03T19:53:00.002Z

original post 25/06/08

Day 18

We departed the Globe in lovely sunshine and in anticipation of the 18 locks ahead of us.

A planned short stop at Tesco in Leighton Buzzard refilled some cupboards and fluid cabinet however the waterpoint proved to be defective. It doesn't take long to leave the town behind and after Grove lock the rolling hills and fields open up again giving excellent veiws over towards Woburn.

We filled the water tank at the top of slapton lock and noticed a boat just entering the lock behind us. Goodie, if they dont stop for water we can share the climb up towards Marsworth.

Sure enough Megan and crew caught us up as we were preparing the next lock and we spent a very pleasent afternoon working the locks together. Im gonna have to start carrying a pen on the back with me so I can write peoples names down, My memory is shocking. Both the chap and lady were lovely people.We waved goodbye to Megan at Marsworth and we carried on up the seven locks to Bulbourne.

Nora steered the flight. Nothing much worthy of note except when I arrived at the third lock it was half empty or half full depending on your point of view.

I saw a couple of people at the top gates of the next lock but saw no activity to suggest anyone was coming down so I raised the paddles and emptied the half lock of water in our favour. I then saw the next lock being emptied so there was something coming down. They had exited their lock and were holding just in front of ours by the time our lock was nearly full. I think the lady on the narrowboat thought we had deliberatly emptied the lock which was in their favour as my hello was returned by the couple on the cabin cruiser but not by the Nb. Sorry folks, but it really was half an half. I still felt guilty though.

No other traffic saw us at Bulbourne and we turned onto the narrow winding Wendover Arm.
At the terminus 4 boats were in the prime positions but one of which was also moored in the winding hole which the wind managed to lay us alongside nicely. Nora managed to push the bows off and we eventually swung round and plonked ourselves in the same spot we had used last October. Nora made a lovely potato salad with scally onions and chives and I offered up the burt offerings to the BBQ Gods.The Wendover really is a lovely little canal and the moorings at little tring farm are fantastic and quiet.Slow speed on the internet here so no picsToday we start the long descent towards home.

Oh yes, MONEY MONEY MONEY. must vist the bank in Berkhampstead later

Bucks Fizz

2008-11-29T04:37:00.002Z

Original post 23/06/08

Day 17

Late start today as we only planned to go as far as the Globe. Hadn't topped up the fuel tank since Reading and knowing how hard we had been forced to punch the flow of the Thames I was keen to top up again and see what we had used.

Milton Keynes marina was the first services so we turned in and approached the fuel landing. It all seemed very quiet. I had managed to get far enough into the marina to make getting out awkward when a chap called out from a boat that they were shut on mondays. Pooh!

Never mind, managed to turn without hitting anything and we set off towards Willowbridge.

At Fenny Stratford lock, Nora kept asking....."whats the point of it?" well, its a lock, and it has a swing bridge across it, and, well, what is the point of it?

We took on 69 litres of the red stuff at Willowbridge at I think 86ppl. We shared the first two of the Soulbury three with a boat who were going to wind above the 2nd lock and as we were coming up the third, a chap waiting to come down mentioned he had almost bought Lady Elgar a couple of years ago. It turns out he is a forum member and we chatted for a short while about his Harbourgh boat...one of my favourite hulls they are, So Globetrotter a pleasure to meet you sir. Hope you manage to find out more info on the old girl.

Our destination finally approached and I was hoping that we wern't too late to get a mooring as ive never been here before when it hasnt been packed with boats. Imagine my surprise when, We came under the bridge and not another boat in sight, we had a choice of the whole length. yes folks, MY CAMERA NEVER LIES.

A short afternoon siesta and showered and dressed saw us plonked at our table in the Globe. Food as always was absolutly fantastic. There are no words to add. The Ale was good too.

We think so far The Admiral Nelson and The Globe have been the best eating spots, The Boat at Stoke B was also excellent but was very arty and a totally different type of eating house. The Wharf?.....well, just go along for amusment value really, not for culinary delight.

Nora did hear one bloke at the Globe tonight ordering a bar meal moaning....He was telling the barman that it was a right rip off selling the same weight Sirloin Steak as the same weight Rump Steak for £2 dearer......well you dont have to order it!...nobber.

Long day tomorrow...hope to get to the Wendover arm for a Barbie.....nighty night

Electric Light Orchestra

2008-11-21T06:53:00.003Z

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

Supertramp

2008-11-18T10:07:00.003Z

Original post 21/06/08

Day 15

Opening the blinds this morning revealed drizzle and then some more drizzle. It was morning as well, about 6am. We knew we might get a bit of noise from the mainline railway nearby but hadn't bargained for the sheep with megaphones.

Actually we did manage to drop off again and eventually arose about 10am....still drizzling...so a couple of cups of coffee and watched Takeshi's Castle.....Love the High Rollers.We cast off around about 11am with yours truly fully decked out in wet weather gear.

It was still drizzling and it was that fine rain.....you know...the stuff that gets you wet through. At Gayton Junction we took on and dropped off the usual fluids and got chatting to another couple also taking on and dropping off, about sofa's, of all things, We where suddenly whistled at by a boat opposite and asked if we had finished.....ooppps, far too easy to get carried away...sorry folks.

Laura had been looking forward to the Tunnel of Doom at Blisworth and BREAKFAST IN AMERICA/lunch was delayed for it.

There had been quite a fair bit of traffic this morning in spite of the rain and the tunnel mouth had the usual exhaust fumes shrouding its dark depths.

We chugged through and only met one boat coming the other way. I always think to myself what if this is a widebeam that aint arranged a passage, But no. twas a tug style Nb and we hailed each others dark shapes on the tillers as we passed.

No space at the top of Stoke Bruerne so we dropped 2 locks and tied up to cook the breakfast we had missed for the tunnel. The full works except for my black pudding which had been taken over by mico organisms turning it an interesting bluey black colour....Its my fault for it being hidden at the far end of the fridge.

Seeing the state of the sky and the prospect of further wet clothes we decided to set up the Sky Dish and close up for the day. Nora settled down to watch Hollyoaks and I for some strange reason fell asleep for the next 2 hours....

For the evening meal we patroned the Boat Restaurant....An excellent meal of Wild mushrooms and fillet steak for Nora and Crayfish and Red Mullet for me.We skipped pudding and had a pint outside while watching an Alvechurch boat and a Bromley Youth Trust boat negotiate the top lock.Marstons Pedigree was very good.Weather report shows rather promising for tomorrow

our mooring for tonight

The Beatles

2008-11-15T17:17:00.003Z

Original post 20/06/08

Day 13+14

YESTERDAY saw us moored at Braunston and no phone signal and no Web an Walk signal for the first time this trip so no post was possible.

We cast off from Fenny Compton and negotiated the lovely summit level of the Oxford winding around the hills and farms. Saw loads of young lambs and hundreds of tiny Moorhen chicks all along the level.

Finally Napton windmill came into view in the distance and we started the descent at Marston Doles. Ive always enjoyed doing the Napton flight, the locks fill and empty pretty quick and its got lovely open views. We passed one or two boats coming up and there were about 2 boats following behind us.

Still playing catch up on our sched, we didnt stop at the Folly but plodded on towards Braunston passing the new marina at Wigrams. I also noticed a boat builder had vanished since my last vist....or so i think, Im sure there was a boat builder not far after the bottom lock and before Napton Narrowboats, as we came under the bridge where I remembered it being, there was just a collection of demolished buildings. Perhaps I dreamed it all.

Approaching Braunston We passed the sad sight of Forum member Carlt's boats Usk and Lucy. We really hope he manages to find someone who can rescue them even if its a hard standing place, before BW run off with their remains.

Braunston certainly hadn't seen much change since my last visit unless I go back of course to the days of Ladyline in the Marina. Long lines of moored boats and no space. We eventually found a gap just before the Union Canal Carrier moorings but as I tied up I noticed that the bollards had Wheelchair symbols on the top of them, so I guess they were for disabled moorers, however no sign confirmed this but we wernt happy.

We took a walk up the locks to the Admiral Nelson and saw a couple of spaces suitable in the pounds between other boats. Ive never been keen on mooring in pounds for obvious reasons but thats preferable to being pointed at for taking up disabled moorings.

We eventually tied up between Locks 3+4 and after a shower and a rum an coke livener we mooched over to the Admiral Nelson to try and improve on the night before's meal. We needn't've tried. Just by looking at the menu it was obvious that everything was cooked fresh and all home prepared. Also, Adnams Bombadier and a couple of Ales which I cant remember the brewer....one ale was called Doombar and was very smooth and hoppy. Laura chose the local butchers Sirloin on the bone and I had their allegedly famous Cod and Chips. All was fantastic. The batter on the Cod just flaked off and not a smudge of grease to be seen on the plate. Laura's steak was just sooooo tender......Well recomend the place if you wish to eat out in Braunston.

This morning saw us both up and about by 9am and by the time I had prepared the engine for start up and took down the Satelite pole one boat had already gone up the locks, I saw movement at the lock below us and thought oh goody, maybe we could share with these.

As I held Lady Elgar in the side, One of their crew walked past and asked if we were going up and would we care to share the locks.....smashing...is the pope etc etc.

Our companions for these 3 locks were on a Black Prince Boat but the boat name escapes me. It turns out that as they approached the bottom lock, the boat that had just gone up ahead of us was in the lock and our Black Prince chums asked if they could share the locks, The private boat owners declined stating they were in a hurry!!!!!! there was only 2 of them and 4 of our BP friends. They were in such a hurry that they didnt even bother to close the top gates.

Their loss was our gain and what lovely people these 4 were. They were a day early on their reconning and had decided to go up the flight and go through the tunnel and then wind and go back again as they were not due back at Napton till tomorrow....lol..my kinda adventurers. Lauras first ever Tunnel then appeared and to say she was excited was an understatement. The landslide from last year still blocks the apprach a bit but once lined up we could see the approch of at least 2 boats coming towards us.

The first boat we passed was actually towing another boat which explained all the clanging noises I could hear as we approached. It bounced from side to side in the tow boats wake. We eventually passed 5 boats in all, without incident.

At Norton Junction we teamed up with Narrowboat DJANGO for the descent of the Buckby flight. A lovely couple who where heading down to London after having wintered on the Llangollan. They stopped at Whilton for the chandlery and we waved goodbye.....if they ever read this then I hope you manage to get onto the Thames eventually. We finally came to a stop just past bugbrooke following a provsion stop at Weedon.

We have the smell of a chicken Tikka simmering in the pan at the moment mmmmmmmm

The Beach Boys

2008-11-07T12:35:00.006Z

Original post 18/06/08

Day 12

Fired up the engine by 10.30am and toddled up towards the windly windly hole come water point at Cropredy. While I held Lady Elgar into the side waiting in the queue, Nora plodded over to the Bridge Stores for some supplies.

I was still queue waiting when she returned, Her bags seemed rather light. She was outraged! " they hardly have anything" said she......"No bread, no veg, no potatos".......I sent her back with instructions for more Coke and Tobacco.

She returned heavily laden and sheepishly said she found a back room this time with all we needed lol.

Finally got our turn at the water point which has water pressure of biblical proportions. After our hose had flown out of the filler hole for the third time searching for suitable victims to drench we resorted to holding it in place. Eventually water tank full and toilet empty we set off up the first lock towards the summit level.

There was a steady procession of boats coming down and at least one following behind us. Intermittant rain and strong winds were the order of the cruise. A young chap working a boat coming down the Lock at Cropredy informed me that he had dropped his windlass in front of the bottom gates at the next lock so if I had a magnet I might get some results. We had a good few attempts at trying to find his handle but eventually the boat behind us came into view so we had to leave it.....so if your in the area with a magnet.....Broadmoor Lock bottom gates may prove fruitfull.

At Varneys Lock we waited for another boat to come down and again the boat behind us caught up just as Nora was steering through the bottom gates. I was just starting to pull the gates shut when, imagine my surprise to hear the top paddles being drawn by Mr Nobby Nobster of Nobbsville. Anyone who has cruised the South Oxford knows that most of these locks have a vicious draw on em so I have always taken the boat right upto the top gates where the water holds her in position. Lady Elgar suddenly shot forward in the grip of the flow and I called out to Nora to go full reverse. This made little difference and LE's button fender smacked into the cill. Nobby Nobster had toddled off back to his boat......I guess he mustve been in a real big hurry.

The annoying thing, When things like that happen, Nora thinks its something shes done wrong and knocks her steering confidence when in reality there is nothing she couldve done to prevent the collision.No visable damage done to either LE or the lock, we exited, and approached the next lock

. As I came in to drop Nora off I put LE into reverse and there was an almighty juddering and shaking from beneath me.....they certainly wernt GOOD VIBRATIONS. So I leaped off with the centre rope and we dragged the boat to a stop. Being so close to the lock we pulled her back off the lock holding area and tied up.

I gave her a quick touch of reverse and the shaking and shuddering happend again with the steering step also vibrating, a short burst of forward gave no vibrating at all. I shut down the engine and had a smoke.

Having read Trevors book 'Living The Dream' I had a slight inckling that the prop shaft had shifted backwards. I just didnt know if there where any sheared bolts or loose nuts. I lifted the floor in the Boatmans Cabin revealing the propshaft and it looked like it had shifted backwards a good half inch or more. What I couldnt see was the connection with the gearbox. There is an access hatch under the Battery box to assist in this so I set to, removing 2 of the four domestic batts to allow access to the joint.With everything eventually undone and 2 batts removed I checked the UV joint and found all secure? very strange.

I went back to the BMC and pushed the propshaft, forward, back into its normal position.....I then tried to pull it back again but found I couldnt budge it.....the only thing I could find to tighten up was a small nut with an allen key head on the rear bearing. Everything else was tight.I reconnected all the batts and restarted the engine.

Forwards gear no probs.......reverse...no probs either....all very strange....The only thing I could think of was that Noras emergency reverse from forward gear direct into full reverse mustve been enough to throw the shaft backwards......We both made a mental note to always pause for a second or two before engaging reverse from forward.
No further problems or troubles and we eventually tied up on the summit just past The Wharf Inn where we had promised ourselves an evening meal in the pub.

Our evening meal proved to be quite amusing.

Nora's starter was described as Mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce.......They turned out to be thinly sliced button mushrooms in an hint of garlic oil. I had Filo Prawns with sweet chilli dip....Being a customer of Costco, I recognised them as coming from that fine emporium..."ya cant go wrong with deep fried stuff" I proudly announced to Nora as she fiddled with her mushrooms.

While waiting for the next course a couple next to us were served their main....He complained that his Sausages in onion gravey ....had no gravey...The waitress said she would bring him some in a jug.

Our steaks finally arrived but not the onion rings...We asked the waitress for vingegar, a fork and if our onion rings where expected...she said, " oh sorry, I normally work the bar, Im sure they will be here shortly, Ill just get your cutlery"

The man next door finally got his gravey as he finished his last sausage.

Our steaks wernt too bad but the chips were oven chips and Nora's veg were Raw, not even Al Dente. However, when the onion rings arrived they were spanking hot...see ya cant go wrong with deep fried food.

I appreciate that they must find it difficult surviving on summer trade but youd think they would at least get a chef who could cook instead of leaving it to Darren in a back room with a Deep Fat Fryer and a large bag of Tesco Value Mixed Salad.

Braunston tomorrow....all being well .

PS its blowing a gale outside and I think ive just heard one of the roof pots of flowers blow over

The Specials

2008-11-07T00:43:00.003Z

Original post 18/06/08

Day 11

We had cast off by about eleven and chugged through the lovely winding countryside hoping to arrive at Banbury in order to stock up at the supermarket.
The sun was out but a bit of a breeze kept the heat down as we passed through familiar places to me from 15 yrs ago.
Laura decided there was no way she was going to steer in Somerton Deep Lock so that honour was left to me. Its still a great feeling going into that narrow chasm and seeing that huge slab of wood close behind you.

Aynho, where we moored and fitted out our old Harbourgh boat had seen quite a few changes. There were now moorings both sides of the canal and not just the offside where we were. Those offside moorings had also seen big improvemnets, In our day the path was an over grown muddly affair but was now neat and gravelled.

Aynho wharf itself seemed a little sad from the days of it being an Anglo Welsh base with all the usual activities but a sign in the window of the Wharf building stated it was under new management so maybe it is up for a revamp.....it looks like boats are still either built or fittedout in the yard so its good to see its still a going concern.

My timings of canal travel never seem to work out properly and it wasn't till half six that we exited Banbury lock into what I can only describe as a GHOST TOWN.
All the shops were shut up, Plenty of boats yes but where was everybody?
We tied up just under the main road bridge and set off armed with our Tesco bags to find Morrisons.This was my first visit to Banbury since it had all been done up and I didnt recognise the place. We wended our way through narrow allys past shops all shuttered up for the night and pubs with lights on but no noise from within, not even the customery smoker outside.
It was as if the towns folk had all hidden themselves away after 6 lest the dreaded Banbury Boggart should take them unawares. The Boggart had also stolen or demolished Morrisons and with nobody around to ask for directions, after half an hour we hotfooted it back to the boat and cast off towards cropredy.

Again, timings and memory failed miserably...I didnt recall it being that far.....we eventually exited Slat Mill Lock at 9pm. The pubs would no longer be cooking and yet again I had managed to avoid buying Laura an evening meal.We found a mooring, set up the Sat Dish ready for Deadliest Catch and settled down for a Fry Bentos steak pudding each......smashing.

Make and Model?

2008-11-03T06:09:00.008Z

Original post 17/06/08

Day 10

I was up and about by 8am and following the first brew of the day, left Nora sleeping and I set off down the Botley Road to find Halfords armed with my electrical component complete with box and Lucas part number.

I passed a cycle shop on the way and looked longingly at a smashing little folding pushbike in the window but payday is still to far away for toys like that plus the car needs MOT'ing when we get home.

Found Halfords and presented me at the parts desk. I showed them my item and enquired if they had any in stock?..." what make and model is it from?" they asked, "erm...its not, its from a boat" says I. A long sucking in of breath through teeth and shaking of heads brought the response,

"We can only search our records if we have a make and model" "what about the part number? are you not able to look through the store room to see if you have one?"

" Not without a make and model of car Im afraid"

Thankfully they did suggest a local Motor Factors which was another 20 mins walk further along the road....(oh for a folding push bike) so I plodded off and found the place in a little industrial estate. I showed the chap my Item and within 2 mins he was back with a replacement. smashing.

Arriving back at LE, Nora was up and about and not fancying any further exploration of Oxford we cleared the roof of all protrusions above pigeon box height in readiness for navigating under Osney Bridge.Following comments from Trevor, Lady Elgars original owner I decided to hold fire fitting the new part and waiting till we return to Iver to speak with Steve at the yard who has already mentioned his thoughts for the starter problem. Thanks Trevor, will check out your suggestions.

We Cast off and fought against the current towards Osney Bridge. We passed under with reasonable headroom although I did have to crouch down. Once through the bridge and the narrow sections we increased speed on the wider sections towards Godstow Lock

At Godstow lock, The Lockkeeper said he'd remembered our engine from a few days earlier. It appears he likes to have a decko in the engine room doors of passing craft and state he had already seen a 2 cylinder Gardner, an old Lister and now a 3 Cylinder Perkins....It seems he does different locks on a daily basis.

Finally through Kings lock and the sharp right turn towards the Dukes Cut, and then back on to the calm waters of the Oxford Canal.

Nora, having been spoilt by Thames Locks had a momentary lapse of lock working memory and walked upto the top gates of a full lock intending to wind the paddles to empty the lock. I promised her I wouldnt mention it.

Bridge 228 managed to do what Osney Bridge couldnt, All looked good on the approach but as we went under I noticed a nasty sagging bit in the centre. This managed to topple the coolie hat off the stove chimney which luckily plonked itself down onto the roof without going overboard but then the sag collected the exhaust pipe.....just on the top leading edge and brickdust and soot and a slightly bent pipe where the remains of the contact....Think I will use Trevors 'Titch Pipe' for the next days.

At Thrupp we took on water and emptied the lav.We finally tied up just before Northbrook Lock by about 7pm and as the evening was so lovely, the BBQ was fired up and burnt items of meat were offered to the Gods.

a few more pics

Back on the Canal

Hangover

2008-10-30T17:20:00.002Z

original post 15/06/08

I think we eventually got to bed about 2am. So this morning when the church bells of Abingdon rang out it was a bit of a shock. They wont continue for long thought I, just calling the faithful to worship, but no, It was obviously a campanology convention calling the faithful who had quaffed a skinfull the night before to clamber out of bed and put the kettle on.

Maffi and Bones where already up and about and after the first brew we were ready for the last haul to Oxford. So we waved farewell and passed on our thanks again for such an excellent evening and cast off.

Nothing of real note for the four hours it took to reach Osney Lock except that again the going was slow in places but the sun kept playing on us and making the criuse very enjoyable.

The public moorings above Osney lock had a number of free spaces so we slotted in just past the pub and took a walk into town to get some lunch.

We stopped at the castle and took a table outside one of those grill type places, this one was called Tootsies. They brought the menu's to the table and that was the last we saw of them for 20 mins, So enough was enough and we went elsewhere. Gordon Ramsey wouldve been outraged.

Back on LE sleep overtook us both and our afternoon nap ended at about 7pm !!!!! so its now 12.20am and we are still awake. Tomorrow we'll have a wander round town and also a visit to Halfords to try and get the part for the engine then set off for the canal. if we wake up in time that is

Slug Speed

2008-10-29T10:06:00.004Z

Original Post 15/06/08

What is the differece between slug speed and snail speed? Are slugs faster because they dont carry a shell on their backs?

Today saw us awake at just before midday thanks to our evening with Kath and Neil in Goring......mmmmmmm sleeeeep. So when Nora got up and asked the time and she said quarter to 12. I said...."no its not" she said " yes it is" I said "no its not" and so we continued for a couple of mins but yes it was indeed nearly midday and we had 8 hours cruising ahead of us if we were to meet Bones and Maffi at Abingdon for our BBQ.

Within 20 mins we were ready to cast off but a quick visit to the loo was required, just as I entered the Big Boys Room, Nora informed me that she had flushed a Wasp down into the cassette.......Great thinks I, Im gonna sit on the throne and suddenly feel a stinging sensation in regions best left to the imagination. As it happens all was well and no trace of a pooh wasp.

Again the flow of the river was decidedly strong causing us, at times to struggle to maintain 2mph on the narrow bits. We were also delayed at one lock thanks to two narroboats tying up opposite each other instead of indian file thereby filling the lock with their presence, Admitadly I thought the lockie wouldve shepherded them better but he didnt, so,.....that lock took 50 mins by the time we exited.......

Time on boats is only ever important if your running to meet a deadline.....the knock on effect of that lock however, was that we arrived at the next lock 2 mins after the lockie had knocked off for the day. So, anyone who has ever worked a Thames lock on their own without any Power assistance will know that by you have have turned the Wheel 3 million times to raise the paddles, then another 3 million to open the gate and another 3 milion the close the paddles ect ect ect, its no longer fun...so that lock took us half an hour.

We finally arrived alongside the infamous 'Milli M' at 8pm. Maffi had already let us know that the barbi was lit. I find it quite bizarre that folk who have never met before and only seen each others writen words can sit down together and enjoy an evening as if they had been chums for years.

We have both enjoyed our evening with Bones and Maffi very much and I thank them for providing us with an excellent meal in the excellent surroundings of abingdon.To Bones and Maffi I say you have converted us to Waitrose Burgers, and I just wish our time to get to know each other had been longer.

Nosy Visitor

Lady Elgar alongside Millie M

BBQ

Snail Speed

2008-10-28T15:15:00.002Z

original post 13/06/08

No photo's tonight as we only have snail speed connection which kinda matches our snail speed while under way.

We had probably the quietest ever night at Henley, you know, its so quiet that you cant hear anything at all except the noise from your ears.
We woke to spanking sunshine and clear blue sky, By 8am the Henley rowers where out and about practising for next week's ladies Regatta and the Cox's were being rather vociferous....Typical small person syndrome lol.

We Cast off and got under way by 9.30 am hoping to make Goring for the evening stop. River flow's were still causing us problems, sometimes managing 3mph other times dropping right down to 1.8 on the narrows. The river was quiet again untill we approached Shiplake lock and two boats hove into view behind us who were obviously stemming the flow better than ourselves...One was a Thames widebeam cruiser and the other a narrowboat, I presume the Narrowboats are either giving it full wellie on the engines (which im not prepared to do) or they have larger props suitable for river cruising.

We enterd Shiplake lock first and were joined alongside by a Nb (Mention no names). No drama in the lock, and we intended to pull over on the left to take on water and empty the toilet cassette.
Due to our starter problem I said to the chap on the Nb that he may like to go first, He said that there were stopping for the pump out in any case....I went below on the opening of the gates and Lady Elgar kicked into life with the magic wire on the first go. I returned topside to see the Nb already out of the lock. We followed them to the Pump out and Water point mooring. The Nb promptly pulled in alongside the Pump out and I expected them to pull back to allow us to use the water point.....no such luck. He secured his tail rope and she secured her rope at the front.....she then walked upto the water hose and fed it back the 30' to their boat....so they obviously intended to pump out and fill up at the smae time, knowing full well that we also required water and couldve done this while they pumped out. Never mind, we plodded on as there was insufficient room in front of them for us....I wasnt overly bothered but it did seem to annoy Nora......Its just uncivil thats all......
By comparison......we approached the Tesco mooring at Reading and every space was full apart from a very tight gap I thought i might be able to slide into on the very end....Full marks to the Chap and lady inboard NB Cygent who came outside and pulled their boat back to give us full length on the mooring. Civil an decent...dont take much does it.

We eventually spent a couple of hours at Reading, While shopping at Tesco I put the Genny on and we did some washing while wandering round the store. Upon our return the wash cycle was just finishing and we turned round and took on 54.5 litres of Diesel at Reading marina also water and empty the elsen.

We then made all haste for Goring which should only have been 3 hours away.We texted Neil and Kath our neighbours at Iver on Herbie that our ETA at Goring was appx 7pm, well, 7pm came and went and we eventually ariived and were met on the tow path at 8pm.....Neil and Kath had already done a recce on the moorings and found all the ones below the lock taken but he guided us into a nice little spot a little way back with two trees placed perfectly for our bow and strn lines.

The four of us then wandered into Goring and plonked ourselves in the first pub where 3 ales on pump attracted our attention.
We had a really smashing evening and were really pleased that they met us but as always the evening went too quick.
Tomorrow will hopefully see us in Abingdon and a rendevous with Bones and Maffi, Ill pm then after this to make sure all is as planned.

As an aside, we shared a lock with some young folk on a Thames hireboat...The two chaps were dressed up in naval getout. The chap in the admiral hat told me that he lived in a little village alongside the kennet and Avon Canal, he said that LE was the best looking canal boat he had ever seen......Makes ya kinda proud of your home.

Its a Contact Sport Pt2

2008-10-24T13:54:00.009+01:00

Original Post 12/06/08

9.30am saw us under way from Windsor and within minutes the rain was pelting down. In fact it had been raining most of the night and now I was concerned that river levels were going to rise again and see us stranded waiting for them to fall.

I was seriously considering turning round and heading back to Brentford, However just after Boveney lock the rain dried up and we had a mixture of sun and cloud, and the very occaisional light shower.

The river was still flowing rather fast and again on the narrow sections our speed dropped to less than 2 mph making progress very slow indeed. Eventually we reached Marlow lock and On speaking with the lockie he stated the levels were still dropping despite the rain and we should find the going much easier now.

We had seen very little other traffic and most of it going down stream so it was nice for the majority of the locks we encountered we were able to keep the engine running (with permission of the lockie) as we still have starting problems.

Just after Marlow bridge we encountered a couple of sailing dinghy's spanking along 'close hauled' tacking one side of the river to the other. The first one passed by with no probs at all but the second, Tacked from our starboard side, shot across the river and then tacked again and crossed our bows from the port side.

At the end of that leg he was now parrallel to our starboard bow. I fully expected him to spill his wind and let us clear but instead he tacked again and shot forward hitting our starboard bow just behind the stem.

He shook his head, I said nothing, We disengaged, I saw he was ok and off he went again. We parted company turning our backs to each other without any spoken word....I think we both learned a lesson there.

Nora managed a School girl error when throwing a rope onto a bollard in lock, she caught the bollard perfectly and then proceeded to pull the line tight.....the look on her face was probably priceless as the bowline end also followed the rest of the line through the bollard and then back on board after having jumpped off the T-stud when she intially threw the rope.......I gave her much words of wisdom about making sure all was secure when catching a bollard......three locks later I managed to do exactly the same for my own school boy error.

We eventually arrived at Henley and found a mooring (the first we have paid for so far) just before the town bridge. Nora managed to feed a large flotilla of goslings and 1 duck the majority of a loaf of bread while I toddled off for a walk into town to find an Offie and or a bread shop......I found a Circus, a cinema down a small alley and and offie but no bread shop.

As I approached the boat on my return laden with Rum and coke and 2 packets of Pork scratchings I saw the flotilla of goslings now behaving like sheep and doing their best to keep the grass short surrounded on all sides by adult Geese who honked noisily at my approach.

I then noticed lots of little mounds on the grass opposite the boat and thought, strange, I didnt remember those mole hills before.....they turned out to be Rabbits all enjoying the evening sun.

We finished the evening with a couple of episode of Fawlty Towers and a smashing Spaghetti Bolognaise....Also some custard and midget gems.

other pics.

A Slopey Start

2008-10-23T23:31:00.005+01:00

Original post 11/06/08

Day Five

We were up by half eight for an early start to give us a full day in Windsor stocking up the larder and visiting the Castle.

We were at an alarming angle despite leaving slack ropes and it appears we had settled on some mud. No real problem coz when I pushed at the bank, both the stern and bow began to slip away from the edge.

Following the first coffee and cough and a drag of the day I did the usual engine checks and prep ready for the off. With some trepidation I turned the key and .....'click'....I attached the wire and ....'click'......I bumped the power by connecting the Domestic Batts and .....'click'.....I started the gennie and at 14v's ......'click'.....Nothing.....I spent half an hour faffing and messing and changing the starter battery for one i had with more cranking power and still nothing.

I returned to the galley for another brew and to get ready to call RCR. Not being happy with giving in, I returned to the engine room again and remembered that Trevor had mentioned that he had replaced the .....its either a relay or a solenoid. I found the old item and took off the current one and replaced it with the old one.......'click'.......I attached the wire and this time the starter turned and we were off.......I must try and get hold of a new thingy asap.

The plod to Windsor was still slow due to the flow of the river but the sun kept popping out and making it a very pleasant morning cruise....

We arrived and moored at the Island just past the railway bridge by about 1pm. We locked up and walked over to Waitrose to stock up on essential fluids.....its also Fajitas for tonight.

Once the stocks were back on board we then headed off to the castle.

Now back on board and a quick twiddle of the Sky Dish sees us ready to settle down later and watch the final of the Apprentice....Hoping the river flow decreases tomorrow to aid our passage but there are rain clouds gathering......wonder if I should water the plants?

Some pics of the day

The Sound of Silence

2008-10-23T23:14:00.004+01:00

Original post 11/06/08

Day four

Our evening with Phil alongside Hampton Court turned into a very early morning. I think we eventually retired about 5am.

By the time we woke up and set off it was 1pm. Phill decamped at Moseley lock for his return home by train from Hampton Station.

We have still been having trouble with the starter and having to resort to the magic wire which engages the solenoid prior to turning the starter. Our progress was very slow as there was still a tremendous amount of water coming down the river, Mostly just managing to make 2.5mph and in some narrow sections even down to 1.9mph for the same revs.

We got to Penton Hook Lock and duly switched off. Once ready the lock was full I returned to the engine room and turned the key and got the usual 'click'....I attached the wire and this time still got a 'click'. I engaged the switch for the domestic batts for a bit of extra power and still 'click'.... nothing would induce the starter to turn.

We hauled Lady Elgar out of the lock by rope and were passed by 'Magnetman' on his way through into the lock...... A nice old boat he has there and his Dog standing on the top Boards enjoying the view.

Once clear of the lock I hummed and arred for a while and tweeked wires and tightened connections but still no movement from the starter motor. I was about to resort to calling RCR but then for some reason I turned on the gennie. As the 240v kicked in, the Inverter/charger bumped up the power to the batts from 12.5v to 14v, I quickly connected the wire, turned the key and starter turned as it should and the Perkins kicked into life..... Gennie off and we were on our way again.

By the time we got to Bell Weir Lock the lockies had gone home so we didnt need to switch off. It was slow progress all the way and our goal of Windsor for the night wouldve taken at least another 3 hours at those speeds, so, as we approached Magna Carta Island I remembered a mooring I had used previously. It is a fiver a night but a nice spot. It was clear of boats and we tied up and shut down by 8.40pm. Laura had by now recovered from her hangover and we settled down to watch Deadliest Catch and a Fray bentos steak pie each......mmmmmmm Fray Bentos. We were fast asleep by midnight.

Its a contact sport

2008-10-21T08:22:00.003+01:00

Original post 09/06/08

Day three.

Teddington took most of our day. I went over to the lock at 10am and enquired about the state of the river prior to handing over my £115 for the 15 day visitor license.

They expected to be on yellow boards by some time in the after noon. We also where holding position as we were waiting for our friend and guest Phil, bless he had finished nights this morning and was obviously sleeping, so we tootled around the boat, reading, relaxing and Nora nursing her sunburn.....I also managed a couple of cross words.

The day was again perfect.
Sometime in the afternoon most of the narrowboats that had been at tedders moved off en masse and headed upstream. By about 5pm, we wandered down to teddington station and met phil after his journey from Plumstead via waterloo.

We set off and hit the flow which was still very fast, I kept the revs to give us 3mph, as I felt anymore would just be a waste of fuel. As we rounded Ravens Ait we slowed down by .5 mph. Phil came to the rear and took over the tiller. We chatted as you do, the time being now about 6pm. I suddenly heard a slap of water behind us and I turned just intime to see a Long Oar right by the rudder and before i could call out, the oar and skull collided with our rear counter.

The rower suddenly called out to the next rower behind him.....turn turn turn. and he set off again as if nothing had happend.

We were already very close to the bank as the flow of the water was at its least there. Blow me, if we were then approached again very close to the stern by another rower, this time being coached by a rupert in a launch with a megaphone.........he was calling out orders which i couldnt understand......what I DID UNDERSTAND WAS THE WORDS....SKIPPER WATCH YOUR COURSE......feckin cheek........

As far as im concerned, even though the skull was under oars, they were the overtaking vessel and as such had a duty to keep clear of us.......bloody cheek and after we'd paid £115 squid for the privilege.

I made sure Phil was reminded that our only collision so far has been while he had the con. We arrived at Hampton court and ive never seen those moorings so quiet. So came alongside, BBQ out and lit and enjoyed a very pleasant evening in lovely sunshine chatting and supping.Windsor tomorrow....after Phill and Nora have wandered around Hampton Court.

Lobsters

2008-10-20T15:24:00.003+01:00

Original post 08/06/08

Set off from our mooring at Hanwell by about 11.30am and finished off the flight in Blazing sunshine. Nora steered us into the first lock....a first, and she intended to do the next few as part of her helm training but then a boat hove into view behind us and we held the lock for them.

Not wishing to have to try to many odd maneuvers she decided to hand back to me...at least she is getting there and proving very good at the attempts she makes.

We enjoyed the flight in company with our fellow boaters who decided to stop at the fox PH at the bottom of the flight while we carried on to Brentford managing to pick up something on the prop just after Osterly lock. Nora, However had retaken the tiller and managed the last two locks to Brentford with apparant ease, although she states she was a bag of nerves.

Arrival at Brentford and topped up with water and gave the roof garden a good dousing as they were looking rather dry.

I then noticed Nora run to the stern and have a look inside and then come back all forlorn......"my hat has blown into the water" my laughter was soon brought to an end by the look on her face and her declaring, "I love that hat"

I looked over the Bow and sure enough there was the hat enjoying a marvelous adventure on the water making its way across the dock with the aid of the breeze towards the residential moorings. I handed her the extending boat hook and suggested she toddle off over the other side to await the hats arrival. I meanwhile dived down into the weed hatch to clear another copious amount of clinging weed and a large plastic taybrite coal sack.....only a boater couldve let that get in the water...tut!

I then planned to get the Video camera out and film Nora's search and rescue attempt, but, a knight in shining armour had already been to the rescue in the form of our friendly BW Lock keeper who recovered the wayward head gear with minimum of fuss and she was all ready heading back towards Lady Elgar Looking very chuffed. She asked him if he fancied a cold beer and he gracefully declined as he was 'on duty' so, come 1715hrs we promptly arrived at Thames lock and handed him the said beer for when he booked off at 1800hrs.

Turned right, onto the Thames and plodded on towards tedders as we approached Richmond bridge the GPS showed we had lost a full MPH. The tide was at its max and the obvious flow from the river was pushing against us, But, the Perkins did us proud and battled with the flow to see us safely at Teddington.

We are now moored for free in the lock cut and the Lockie fully expects yellow boards to be displayed on the river by tomorrow morning, so I am off outside to loosen our lines in anticipation of some drop in the level.

We went for an Indian down Tedders High st......Nora is as red as red can be and my forehead is hot. We now have to cover our bodies up for the rest of the week to let the sunburn go down.

Our mooring tonight by the weir.......whats the point in a pic like this???????

Ignoramuses

2008-10-19T05:11:00.003+01:00

Original post 07/06/08

Day one of our Grand June Cruise.

Cast off from Iver just before midday having spent the last couple of days revising and reviewing routes, due to the Thames being on Red Boards for the last week,

But after a drive down to Chertsy last night to view the river conditions I decided we would have a slow run to Brentford and hit the Thames sunday eve rather than today to give the river further opotunity to calm itself.

Glourious sunshine was the order of the day and a Big thanks to Kath and Neil of Herbie fame who came down last night to ease our departure from the moorings.
Herbie is Moored outside of us which involves some manouverings to allow us to slip the moorings but they had some measuring and faffing to do so they came down and moved Herbie under her own steam which meant we could slipout in one go rather than moving boats back and forth. They also get a good three weeks now alongside the bank which is usefull for doing odd jobs on the outside without dangling over the water.
Thanks again folks, always a pleasure to see you.

So, 15 mins into the trip and Nora suddenly appears at the stern and demands to steer!!!!!!! Righto says I. She took control at tickover and after a few moments of getting used used to correcting the swing she was asking for more revs. She did her best yet, Steered through all three aquaducts and bridgeholes with no problem at all.
Passed the con back to yours truly for the junction but then on the main line was pushing me out of the way to take command again, only reliquishing the task in order to dash forward armed with bread for the waterfowl lining our path.

We fully intended to stop at Norwood Top Lock for the day but upon our arrival, It wasnt as I remembered it and the Youths on mopeds with no helmets by the houses alongside made our minds up to plod on to a location by a field I had used before.
While entering the Top Lock Nora was asked by a lady and her 3 sprogs " Do you give trips?" Nora replied "no, sorry, were on holiday" the lady then said to the children " do you want to go and have a look at the kitchen!!!!!" Nora, taken by surprise said, " its the second hatch along if you want to look" The lady said, " Yes, we know, we saw it as you passed"

The next pound we picked up something on the prop which was obviously large and poohy as i lost forward drive. A few kicks in reverse gave me back some forward thrust but I could feel the stern 'bouncing' as we inched forward.
Once through the 2nd lock we came alongside the field I remembered and tied up. Time was 3.45pm and once all was shut down and secured I delved into the Weed Hatch which is quite awkward as you have to reach deep, under the counter from the BMC to access it. Once open, the water was lovely and clear and i could see at least 3 different colours of plastic and masses and masses of weed...... In fact, it was weed of Biblical proportions.
Must remember in the morning to give the stern a good push out before engaging gear to try and avoid the weed.

All in all a good afternoon cruise and both our faces are now glowing thanks to the sun and breeze. I was just settling down for my first bacardi and coke when Nora said......."Is that a winding hole?".......yep, sure enough, our back end is well into the arc of the winding hole....tut....so please, Any one reading this who needed to use the Hole I can only only appologise for the Ignorant crew of Lady Elgar who have failed on their canal etiquette on their very first day.

Pics of our spot for tonight in Hanwell:-

Summer Cruise

2008-10-17T16:17:00.001+01:00

Original post 03/06/08

Its currently 4.30am and its been lashing it down since i retired to my berth at 1am.
Not looking good for the Thames circle if this rain continues. We have the option of turning left at The junction and heading north on the Grand Onion and then making a descision to do the circle when we get to braunston, The down side to that is, if we do head down to oxford and the rain returns we will be hard pushed to get back to base using the long route.

There are other circles such as the leicester ring but again the river Soar could be in flood.Am I just paniking for no reason.....still 6 days before we cast off!!

managed to get a new TV from Comet yesterday so that was one job off the list, however, I also went armed with my battery for my video camera and upon showing it to each shop assistant it was met with a sucking of teeth and a definate NO, not one that old.......The camera was bought in 2003!!!!!!They did at least suggest I try maplins or Jessups so they are on the list tomorrow......when i eventually get up that is if I manage to get any sleep!

Please stop raining.......Nora wants to visit Hampton Court

Summer Cruise 2008

2008-10-15T09:45:00.002+01:00

The following entries were originally posted on the Canal World Forum Blog and rather than do it all again and miss out on important bits due to memory loss i thought id try and copy them here for the benefit of those of you that missed the original tale and also because this is now the official site for our travel stories.
Ill put em on here one by one to simulate the original postings

If the pics dont come out ill have to try and find them and re post them but Im sure the text will speak for itself......apologies if you have read all this before

Geoff.

Original post......02/06/08

Only six days to go before we cast off and head down to Brentford for our grand cruise of the Thames ring.
We finished work Saturday morning and that was my last day at work till 3rd July...yippee, Unless of course you count my long service ceremony next Friday. (its only a year late)I wasnt initially going to bother going but then i read the small print and noticed that it was treated as a 'tour of duty' so I emailed em and let em know Salty, Nora and mumsie would be attending and to make sure there were sufficient supplies of sandwiches and cups of tea to mark our attendance.

So I have the best part of a week to get Lady Elgar ready for the cruise. The outside is ready for a good wash again following all the rain and wind weve had however the Brasses are still shiney thanks to the lacquer i sprayed them with a couple of weeks previously.
One thing that is still of concern is the starter motor problem which trevor mentioned previously. Steve at Iver asked me the other week if the starter still gave problems and he suggested maybe it was a power problem? so ill pop over to the office on Tuesday and discuss getting a heftier cranking battery to see if that makes a difference, A couple of times last week even the magic wire didnt work and seeing how your required to switch off in every lock id like to know at least shes going to turn over even with using the magic wire.

We took LE out for an overnighter last week upto harefield and had a very enjoyable BBQ moored on the offside by one of the large mere's along there. On the return We filled up the fuel tank ready for our holiday. 50 odd litres at 86ppl......dont think it will be long before it reaches the £pl mark.
I added a quantity of fuel additive but had to guess the tank volume as i have no idea what her capacity is. Hopefully it will ease some of the some smoke from the exhaust which has got a bit better since cleaning the air filter and changing the fuel filters but maybe the dear Perkins is ready for the injectors being looked at.

So, Ive dug out the Video camera and will pop into town tomorrow and get a small tripod so we can shoot while cruising hands free, Also on the list is a visit to currys or comet. Our TV decided it was going to give up the ghost this week and Nora wont survive without it......well, only for a few of her programs The good news is for the last couple of years ive been saving £2 coins in a 'Piggy' so we counted em last night and have just over 400 squid which will buy the new tv and pay for our intended fuel use on the grand cruise with some pennies left over to treat Nora to a chippy supper one night

More pics

2008-10-15T07:51:00.017+01:00

In response to Val's (whose excellent blog can be read here) request to see some more pics of Emblem, I have dug into the files and found a few.

She was built in Scotland by Forbes of Sandhaven in 1934 as a Seine Net Drifter. She was and is Larch Planks on Oak Frames.

In 1940 she was Requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war duty as a harbour duties boat and she was rumoured to have taken part in the Shetland Bus run although myself and previous owners were never able to confirm that fact.

She did survive an attack from the Luftwaffe however and in 1945 she was decommissioned by the admiralty and returned to fishing complete with a new Gardner 4L3 engine which is still in use today.

She eventually moved south following several changes of ownership and eventually she found herself laid up in Cowes on the Ilse of Wight were she was purchased and restored and converted into a cruising pleasure boat.

Emblem in her original design

'Laid up' awaiting rebuild

Note the original Fish Hatches which were retained on her conversion and used as skylights

This is how she looked following her conversion in the Mid 1970's

Looking from the saloon into the galley showing her heavy Oak deck beams

The Trusty Gardner 4L3

She was 'Dry docked' every year for Anti fouling on her hull and repainting the topsides

Particular attention was paid to the Seams to make sure they were watertight, The Black patches are the Bare Wood of the Larch Planks where the Primer and Anti foul had peeled away.

We, the previous owners and myself did all the work ourselves.....with help from friends of course and following 2 weeks in Dry dock she looked splendid when finally the spring tides returned and she was re floated

And finally Emblem on display as an exhibition at the famous Oostend Voor Anker Festival which she has attended under her own steam for the past 7 years of which I was proud to be a Crew member for 4 visits and the Skipper for 2 Visits

Not bad for an old Tub is she.

More Emblem

2008-10-09T06:56:00.018+01:00

Its 7 am and ive been trolling through old DVD's of our trips on EMBLEM.

These pics date back to pre 2000 , I cant quite remember the exact date and I apologise for the poor qualtity as I have taken them from video .

Even though I dont remember the exact date I do remember we were following the Thames Barge Match

Steve was the owner skipper of Emblem and I was enlisted as crew along with a chap called simon. My old mukka Gary was also enlisted but due to his work committments he couldnt join us untill day 2 when we arrived at Gravesend.

mixing it with the heavies in the Thames Estuary

The following STILLS show Emblem.....as filmed by Gary approaching Gravesend Pier where we collected Gary....Gary you may remember from previous posts owned Disponibel which may feature again in future DVD finds.

Gary was an important part of our crew as we could always rely on him to film evrything and anything....the downside with taking stills from the DVD is that there is no commentary...maybe oneday ill work out how to download a portion of the dvd disc

Anyway, i digress, we had set off from chatham and berthed overnight at Queenborough, Isle of sheppy. day 2 saw us at Gravesend awaiting Gary who, due to work committments couldnt make the first day. We had a rough time he would meet us at Gravesend pier but we arrived early and in an effort to bide time we moored onto one of the ships Bouys opposite the pier. Within minutes of us securing our lines, Simon, one of our crew had his fishing line over the side with a bait of Ragworm and Squid......Suddenly, a roar of twin diesels approached and the PLA Pilot boat pulled alongside our starboard quarter......Steve, being the skipper was pushed towards them and they asked "do you have permission to moor here?".......gulp....luckily while Steve was making sorry noises my mobile rang and gary announced his arrival at the pier.

Steve duly conveyed the info to the Pilot Boat that we would vacate the Ships Bouy forthwith and they, having done their duty, put both engines into full ahead and sped off......Simons fishing rod suddenly bent alarmingly and his fishing line began to 'Run Out' very rapidly

A swift attack of the knife soon put paid to the Gravesend pilot boat taking the majority of simons line.

We manouvered alongside the Pier and picked up Gary and then set off and followed the barge race as it approached Gravesend.

It was a fantastic day with good winds and hot sun.......this however didnt help us one bit....Steve had just had Emblem re-rigged and bought some new heavy canvas sails........We spent hours faffing with them, rigging and re-rigging and eventually we had foresail and mizzen full an bye.......steve put the Gardner into neutral and.........we started to go Backwards.

Eventually the Race was won...dont ask me who by as it was a few years ago now and we repaired to Queenborough

A short Dinghy ride took us to our evenings entertainment.

Ill let the Pics do the Talking

Trying to sort out the sails

Just a few suitable knots and turns

A few Heave O's on the haliards and we're away

Next on the list was the foresail.......Im not overly happy with how young I look on these next stills :/

In awe of sailing backwards with mizzern and foresail full an bye

And finally a couple of stills of the reason we were out there in the first place....The annual Thames barge Match

Is it just me or do splitters behave like this the world over?

So, a very happy event indeed, Thames barge owners enjoyed their race and the crew of Emblem enjoyed their cruise

Skipper steve saw us safely back to Queenborough and a few jars were quaffed before hitting the sack.

The Weather has turned

2008-09-30T08:04:00.003+01:00

Herbie is back from her travels along the Lee and Stort.
They have had some lovely weather but as I sit here typing the rain is lashing the roof and the wind has picked up, is that the last of the warm spell?

We had the stove lit last night but again, it was far to warm with it alight and far too chilly not to have it. Im going to pop out later and get some logs to see if that will be more managable heat wise rather than coal in this transition period.

The stove pipe seems to be sealed well enough with no more drips down the the outside of the pipe and a good draw for the fire so am quite pleased with it.

Next jobs on the list are the oil filter and topping up the batts which are now just coming upto a year old. I last checked them 5 months ago and all were in good condition so will be intersting to see if they need any top up or not.

One thing I have badly neglected is the Gennie, but bearing in mind ive only run it 3 times it does kinda sit out of sight out of mind, so full service filterwise for that little darling and of course check the Mud box as it is raw water cooled.

Time has flown by for our first year afloat. it didnt take long for the licence renewal to come along and within the next few days we're expecting the bill for this coming years moorings. We are hoping to do just 6 months this time in order to try and spread the costs, as we have been hit for the BSS cert. The BW Licence and Moorings all within a 2 month period so 6 mths will make it not quite such a big hit in one go...or at least it will in our minds.

Ive been contemplating what, if any changes we would like to make internally having now spent 12 months aboard and I am leaning towards slight changes to the Boatmans Cabin.
We use the rear doors as our main entrance and exit and the cabin does tend to get littered with coats, shoes and bags. Im thinking sof keeping the bed on the starboard side but converting the Port side into full height cupboards/wardrobe. The Drop down table is never used nor is the computer desk that Trevor fitted as we are wireless and the laptop is plonked on a tray on ones lap in the saloon when on line.
Our main wardrobe at the moment is the engine room which has to be cleared everytime we set off anywhere or if I want to do some tinkering so this new space would be invaluable.

Time to do some drwaings me thinks and see if im brave enough to attempt to emulate Trevors excellent wood working skills....oh dear..I fear the worse

Overnight at Denham and Whipsnade

2008-09-23T20:18:00.008+01:00

This Friday we had arranged to have Rachael, Dan and granddaughter Brooke come to visit. They unfortunately dont drive so I did the 200 mile round trip to Ramsgate to collect them and all the equipment that goes with a baby.

Dan wasnt able to come back with us friday night due to commitments but was going to get the train to Victoria on Saturday. This threw our cruise plans into a little muddle as we had planned to head down to Tesco at Bulls Bridge to do our big shop then turn round and spend the night at Denham before running back to base Sunday afternoon.

It was quarter to 1 by the time we picked Dan up from Victoria and by the time we had prepared Lady Elgar for the off it was 2pm.

We chugged the 5 and a bit miles to Bulls Bridge without incident except collecting 2 fence panels and a five bar gate on our bow.

By the time we had finished shopping at Tesco it was now turned 5 o'clock and the prospect of getting to Denham in daylight was gone.

Rachael and Dan were keen to do some locks so we decided to carry on with our plans and set off for Denham. Laura was able to give the lock working instruction at Cowley lock in gathering gloom but by the time we reached Uxbridge lock we were reduced to tunnel lamp and the big 'Seek an Search' spotlamp.

There is something lovely about cruising at night when your tunnel light illuminates your route, and swings slowly with the turn of the boat like a battleships search light.

Denham Deep lock was navigated with extra care due to the darkness and then we had a clear run towards Harefield Marina where we would turn. We spotted a likely BBQ spot on our way past the country park away from any other boats and by 10pm had secured alongside and shut the engine down. Within a short time the BBQ was fired up and Dan had commenced trying to drown pieces of luncheon meat on a hook while pretending to try and catch fish.

It was a late night but we were all tucked up in our berths by 2am not to reappear again till 10 the next morning.

Sunday again was lovely, weatherwise, and following breakfast we fired up the Perkins and headed back for base.

Dan took to steering with ease and it wasnt long before I was happy to leave him alone at the tiller

All this excitement was obviously too much for Brooke who was able to sleep whenever and whever she wished...lucky girl

Rachael made sure Dan was kept in check by the use of the personal radio and made sure he was well and truly informed when it was his turn to keep Brooke amused.

There is always something interesting to see on the Uxbridge/Cowley level due to the collection of boats in that area. One of my favourites is this old wooden motor boat which appears to be in restoration. I particularly like the outside cooking facilities in the hold, you can just see the kettle sitting on the cooker.

Passing this large classroom widebeam was a challenge for Dan but we passed without incident and eventually arrived safe at Iver following a very pleasant 2 days indeed.

To top off Dans trip, he managed to land a fish off the moorings. It was lovely to have them stay and spend time with Brooke who at now 8mth old is already very much an individual.

Monday morning saw us all up at half 6 in the morning so that we could get Laura to Whipsnade Zoo. I had bought her a 'Be a Keeper for a day' experience for her birthday and the day had finally arrived. We dropped her off at the main gates for 8.40am and off she went to look after various animals at the Zoo.

She mucked out the rhino's and then fed them. Lions also came in for a feeding as did Giraffes and Elephants. She had to fly the Harris Hawk prior to the scheduled Bird show in the park but, the Hawk apparently got spooked by something and couldnt be recovered from the tree it had taken refuge in. By the time Rachael Dan Brooke and self arrived to watch the bird show, the keeper was still trying to entice the Hawk from the tree and failing, and, because it is a bird of prey, they had to cancel the bird show due to the obvious dangers to the display birds from the hawk.

We enjoyed our walk through the Zoo but Lauras day was by all accounts, fantastic...shes now looking for a job there

Slough Festival Day 2

2008-09-16T20:39:00.005+01:00

After re-reading my previous post I must admit to feeling rather guilty about my adverse comments on the weekend.

I didnt really want to be so negative so its only right and proper that I defend what really was a pleasant weekend which was only slightly marred by the organisation.

There were plenty of things for kids and families to do from boat trips to fishing lessons and watching the falconry. Some of the birds of prey they brought along were spectacular specimens

I like the way the handler is looking very suspicious of the Eagle

There was also ferret racing where the kids could gamble their pocket money away

There were also a decent if small collection of boats, one of which, Highlander, was set up to allow visitors aboard to see just what life aboard a modern Narrow Boat is like.

The Boat an Butty Freya and Christina where well turned out and I heard plenty of folk suddenly exclaim surprise at catching a glimpse of their Chicken Coop.

The Harbour Masters boat Ro-An was a lovely example of an old dutch Ark with a classic huge wooden rudder

Eventually though it was time to take down the bunting and flags and prepare for the return journey back to Iver via the Slough basin.

My glass was recharged by Kath with their Tring Ale to assist me in the journey, we set off for the basin.

It was obvious that we were approaching a heavily populated area as the beer tins and the signs of the human throw away society began to appear in the water....even the customary arm chair until arrival at the basin which is a rather sad little place with very little to show what mustve been there when it was first built.

We managed to turn and set off back without picking up anything obvious on the prop and passed Herbie on her way to turn at the basin.

Looking back away from the basin

Slough Basin

Lady Elgar having just turned in the basin

Nb Herbie approaching the basin

We pass Herbie and head back to normality

We arrived back at Highline just as dusk was taking a hold following a few dodgy things obviously round the prop. and within a couple of mins herbie pulled alongside and we made all secure.

It was back to work for Laura and myself the next day but Neil and Kath were off on their Lee and Stort cruise, so an Early night was the order of the evening for all.

I really do hope they hold the festival again next year and that we are off work again. Its never that bad really when you look back, and when I think about it, its more about what you make of it rather than what you expect of it.

Slough Festival proper

2008-09-14T03:47:00.013+01:00

You have to come to this event if it occurs next year just for the sheer......."whats the point" value.

I now know why folk down at the moorings had a glint in their eyes when they asked."is it your first visit to the Slough festival"

To say the facilities offered to visiting boats to a "Canal Festival" are a little basic is the understatement of the year. I can fully understand shallow waters and needing a plank to get ashore as its one of those things boaters have to make do with, but, the moorings being fully obliterated by reeds and nettles is another thing entirely.....This is Herbie's view on it.

The only section of towpath cleared for the event were reserved for the trip boat and the 4 fishermen giving fishing lessons.

Compare here the area given to fishermen and that given to boats.

BOATS

FISHING

Which stretch do think the organisers wish to promote more?

Our boat is very well hidden from view....which is probably a good thing but, I keep expecting Humphrey Bogart to emerge from the reeds towing a boat ala The African Queen.

To compound the sheer laugh ability of the event, That evening, Neil kath and ourselves set up and began our BBQ about half 6.... at quarter past 7, 2 chaps from the IWA walked past us, looked at the boat names and then came back towards us....one of the boaters stood with us said, "you may not have been able to read the boat name due to the vegetation but if you want to know, its..............." These chaps then stopped and suffered a barrage of gripes from us, that even just 2 blokes with decent strimmers wouldve opened these moorings up a treat....it wouldnt've been difficult to arrange.

They were then joined by a chap in a coat who turns out to be the band leader of a Jazz sextet that had been booked for the boaters entertainment in the beer tent for the evening!!!!!!!!

This was the first we had heard of this, even after visiting the IWA organisers tent to pay our £10 participant fee and boat registration.

It appeared that the band were due to start playing at 8pm but so far nobody had turned up....to make matters worse...the beer tent was closed......and they were sitting in the tent in total darkness as the bloke with the genny had gone home......at this point I was struggling to see my cooking meats on the barbi through tears in my eyes brought on by laughing due to the sheer rediculous situation.

Mr Band leader was threatening the IWA chaps that they were going home but we and the crews of the other 8 brave visiting boats assured him that we would be there by 8pm or just after.

I skimped on cooking the lamb properly as I now felt obliged to attend the gig....which..if we had known about it in the first place we wouldve been up and ready on time, but Neil very kindly said the Lamb was just right.....mind you, it was very dark by now so the lamb couldve been burnt to a crisp.

Following a quick dismantle of the food cooking/eating area we recharged our glasses with the excellent beer kath had provided and we made our way to the ex-beer tent where the six members of the Jazz band were playing assisted only with the aid of a few 'night light' candles and a Gas lamp. They were bloody marvelous, my favourite being the trombone player for dexterity and range on his 'Bone'

We and the band lasted an Hour before the cold, isolation and lack of sustenance overcame us. We bid our goodnights and returned to the boats by torchlight. Neil is suffering from the remains of a nasty viral cough and im not sure the night air did him any good, so I hope they get some warm air during their holiday this coming week and keep well indoors during the evenings.

I seem to have got rather carried away and missed out on the actual festival.

It just feels odd. There were plenty of cars parked in the field but the actual site itself seemed very empty... 1 burger bar. 1 icecream van and a stall selling samosas were the only catering available......im sorry....im laughing now about it.

I think the biggest problem is that its such a large site yet they have so little going on except ferret racing and pony rides......then a few charity stalls, a Ghost train and some mini steam and diesel engines.

One amusing point for me was.....we were queing for our Samosas and kath got chatting to a lady wearing a BWB Canal Action sweatshirt. Kath asked, " what exactly is Canal Action"

The lady proudly stated that she was the volunteer Lengths person for the Slough Arm...although, she no longer walks the towpath as she feels intimidated!!!!!!!!!!!! PMSL
Why should England tremble

In line with current BW policy she went on to explain how much important wark was being done to assist towpath users to encourage their access to the canal......No mention at all of boats and their access.....how embarrassing is it when even the trip boats have to stop in order to clear their Props 2 boat lengths from their starting point?

It seems to me that Canals are not for boats anymore

The steam and Diesel engines were the best bit for me...chugging away and being tended lovingly by their owners while their respective families sat in deckchairs in the background with faces as long as nextweek......

The only ex unconverted working boat to visit the site was FMC LUPIN
I love the Motorbike combination on the deck.

They however, were reduced to having to moor nowhere near the festival site. So much for canal history.

I suppose they could just about see the other boats from their location even if I did take this pic on zoom.

Im sorry if this post seem like a rant cause I didnt want it to be. I just feel that our home is the Slough Arm and we should support this event whenever possible, its just that its such a half hearted, Fred Karno's affair. Little or no organisation, a token gesture of a festival Plaque for visiting boats with a band for the night thrown in provided that you have a mind reader with you to know that they will be there.

The local Big name company...ICI had obviously been approached for their assistance and their contribution?.......The Dulux dog who will allegedly be making an appearance tomorrow. Its actually got laura so rilled up about it that she is threatening that she is going to try and get on the organisation side next year...if there is a next year.

My favourite bit so far......Listening to Neil play his bagpipes and then two young asian lads coming up to chat with us and asking if Neil is my dad....ROTFOL.....we are both grandads although he does have a few years on me.....Like I said to him......he mustve had a hard life or im looking pretty good :)

uncharterd waters

2008-09-13T09:57:00.006+01:00

Friday morning saw us up bright and early to prepare for the Slough Canal Festival.

Filling the water tank and washing down the boat then sorting out cruising ropes, deck chairs and BBQ.

Neil and Kath of Herbie arrived and within a couple of hours we were ready for the off. The weather had remained very mild but it was no real surprise that as soon as Neil turned the key in Herbie and the engine fired up, that it started to rain. Our neighbour Lydia has a saying......Herbie on tour, rain will pour. Actually I just made that saying up, but it is Lydia's theory that it always rains when Herbie goes out.

After a couple of initial clunks from the starter motor I eventually got Lady Elgar fired up and emerged topside. Neil had cast off and put Herbie in gear and set off for Slough. Well, after 1 and a bit boat lengths he came to a dead stop with his prop fouled. We had just slipped and were heading in the opposite direction but not wishing to miss out on an opportunity for I enquired if he wished "A Tow"....."Never" was the reply as he dived down into his weed hatch.

We crawled over to the High Line base as we obviously had picked up weed also and then bunkered the fuel tank, dumped the loo and cleared the prop.

A short motor east and we turned at the windly windly hole and set off back to follow Herbie.

It had now stopped raining and was very pleasant again. We then had a phone call from Neil asking if we could pick up the strimmer as the mooring site had a few nettles so as we passed base we picked up the cordless strimmer.

No further problems with weed and we eventually arrived at the festival site and with the aid of Neil Kath and another chap we tied up as close to the bank as possible which was very very shallow.

As it happens, there was little point in sprucing the boat up earlier as the reed and rushes have hidden LE from view.

Maybe the organisers are not overly bothered about visiting boats?

Any way, Bunting very kindly made by Kath was adorned over the roof and we finished off the colour by hanging two flags between Herbie and LE.

The strimmer proved to be useless as it hadnt been charged so will have another go with it after a night o charge.

A few sherberts on the tow path and eventually we retired indoors to await the grand opening Saturday.

Looking forward

2008-09-08T04:38:00.003+01:00

Do you feel sometimes your always looking forward to dates in the future that you have planned and you seem to spend your time wishing your days away?

Maybe its the expectaion of doing something different from the usual hum drum of work,sleep and eat.

Anyroad,
We have the Slough Canal Festival coming up this weekend. Ive spent the last few days doing some autumn cleaning inside the boat. I wouldve liked to do some of the outside work but the weather has put all that on hold.
has any other boater noticed how boats seem to attract dust and fluff more than a house, or is it because in a steel tube we are much closer to the grime to notice it wheras in a house it has more room to spread out/

Kath, our neighbour on Herbie has made us some bunting for the festival so we can dress LE fore and aft and hopefully make a good show to add some colour to the festivities. I know it starts on Saturday but im not sure if we need to pitch our spot on friday so we are up and ready for the grand opening on Sat. Ill email Neil in a min and see what their plans are.

I fired up the old stove last night for the first time since I replaced the stove pipe. There was a chill in the air due to the wind and rain but sure enough, within half an hour I had windows and doors open and that was with a very small amount of coal on the go.
While trying to sleep in the heat, I suddenly had a brain wave in finding a use for the old stove pipe. Why not cut it to size and use it as a lining for the chimney, so that we dont get the gunge running down the side of the boat. There should be enough space in the roof coller to fit it from above and then fit the chimney over it.
I always get my best eureka moments when trying to sleep.

The next dates to look forward to will hopefully see Dan and Rachael and granddaughter Brooke visiting us for Lauras Birthday 'day out' being a "zoo keeper for a day" at Whipsnade zoo.
This full day experience will see Laura doing the duties of a zoo keeper at whipsnade while the rest of us wander around the zoo trying to keep track of her. She is dead excited.

My plan of doing the river Lee as a final cruise this year has hit a brick wall as it turns out we dont have enough leave left to give us 2 weeks. I suppose if we were brave enough, we could, if we put our minds to it, cruise to point A.....go to work for 4 days commuting from point A then continuing our journey on the days off till point B and so on till we got home but i not sure if laura would be happy leaving our home at the mercy of the towpath and to be honest, nor would I.
15 hours away from the boat is a long time for it to be left alone on the towpath.
We would alos have to make sure we have suitable transport links to be able to get us to Lambeth for 7am to start work.
I wonder if there are any marina visitor moorings that would alow us 4 nights stop over......something for me to muse over while trying to sleep.

Actually, I think ill post a thread on the The Forum to see if any one has any usefull ideas on the subject.

of course, if the weather continues in its current trend there is no point at all in trying to cruise a river navigation for obvious reasons.

Sough Canal Festival

2008-08-25T10:34:00.003+01:00

for details see this excellent blog

http://nbherbie.blogspot.com/

I have nothing more to add

Thank you and good night

Oostend 2007 pt 2

2008-08-24T09:24:00.013+01:00

Hundreds of classic boats are brought together over the weekend from all over Low Countries and the UK....well, six or seven from the UK but the town of Oostend make every effort for those of us who brave the crossing and the sea's. They very kindly provided us with 250 litres of Fuel and lunch time meal tickets throughout the four days.

Our mascot T-Rex is hung from the highest yard arm

Music is a large feature of the festival with folk bands, rock bands and marching bands all taking their turns on the stage erected in front of the station and when evening comes and the visitors depart, the stage and beer tent become the meeting place for the crew's and again the folk and shanty bands go through their repertoire.

The centre piece of the festival however has always been the Replica circa 1800 RN Frigate 'Grand Turk'

Here she is just arriving in Mercator Dock being aided in her manoeuvres by 2 small RIBS

Another regular British vessel is the Motor Tug 'Kent'

Going down into her engine room and you feel like your in a cathedral, with her huge diesel motor reaching up to the skylights, and of course, every bit of copper and brass is gleaming

The Days are long with the public shows opening at 10am and then the boats being open to the public at 11am through till 6. This trip we were stuck on the outside of 2 other boats so our visitor numbers were very limited except for those engine enthusiasts who where willing to clamber over the boats to come and view Emblems 1945 Gardner 4L3.

Once all was cleared away for the evening ourselves and the crew of Mary Jane

would repair to the Crew tent for a few well earned sherberts and a listen to the bands

There is always a downside and sure enough, as the beer flowed so our inhibitions departed.....unless your steve, he just falls asleep

Paul, the owner and skipper of Mary Jane was suddenly the victim of an assault by his mutinous crew who were hungry following a long day of polishing bright work and smiling at the belgium public so it would appear, that their usual method of getting him off his chair is to clang him on the head with a beer tray, cover him in the dregs of left over glasses and then force feed him whatever he has left in his glass.....only then can they depart to find a restaurant.

Clang on the head

Spill beer

and drink up

Thankfully, the crew of Emblem were more gentle with their skipper guiding me back to my berth when they felt i'd had enough, which was usually when I started singing and talking Boll***s to Jamie and smoking my pipe.

I wish I could remember what I was saying

Much words of wisdom no doubt

The weather gradually deteriorated over the weekend and by the closing day on the monday, the rain was lashing down and the winds were gusting force 7-8. A number of the British boats had already left the day before due to the weather reports. Jamie jumped ship and returned to blighty with the crew of Mary Jane on the Ferry to Ramsgate as Paul was leaving MJ at Oostend for the week while his steering was repaired.

Steve and myself however still had the rest of the week off so we remained to brave it out. Rachael and Dan needed to return home by Wednesday so we managed to get them train tickets to Calais tuesday morning where they then caught the Ferry home and were picked up by Dan's dad at Dover.

That just left Steve and myself and a now very empty Oostend. The forecast for Wednesday was still pants and a walk over to the Harbour wall tuesday afternoon certainly cast doubts in our minds as we watched the breakers smash onto the beach. Wednesday morning dawned bright but still with the wind gusting 4-5, a quick look at the outer harbour and we made the decision to 'run' for Dunkirk knowing that if it got too bad we had 2 other minor ports we could hide along the way.

As it turned out, we kept to the inshore bouyed channel along the Belgium coast to Dunkirk and the wind had shifted from the NE to the SE so the land was acting as a 'lee' and keeping the swell down to a manageable level.

We arrived in the safety of Dunkirk harbour and enjoyed an afternoon wandering around its streets and port. It had also been the weekend of the Dunkirk Little Ships visit and there were still a couple of boats waiting for a weather window.

Our weather reports had been varied and very unreliable so far, this was due apparently to severe cyclonic weather all along the UK east coast which made predictions very difficult, The good news was that Thursday morning was expected to be SE winds 3-4 increasing to 4-5 by the evening with a sea state as slight.

We set off Thursday morning just after dawn and although the wind was already quite strong the sea hadnt had chance to 'get up' and in 5 hours we knew we would be within reach of Ramsgate so even bouncing around for that length of time wasnt too bad. As it turned out, the sea didnt get any worse and we enjoyed another decent crossing and by the time we approached North Foreland the wind had eased and we had blazing sunshine.....again, in total contrast to the weather report.

We arrived off North Foreland just before low tide so wouldnt be able to use the quicker, inshore Gore Channel so we moved out further into the thames mouth and entered the Princess channel and mixed it with the cargo ships heading in and out of tilbury.

Red Sand Towers

They are old WW2 anti aircraft gun towers

our position marked on the chart approaching the

towers times at 1620hrs

Re dressing the ship in order to dry out the flags

which had got a soaking at Oostend

We finally came alongside Thunderbolt Pier at Chatham Dockyard by about 7pm following another 12 hour cruise. The Old girl had done us proud once more in getting her crew there and back again.

Long may she continue.

Oostend 2007

2008-08-20T06:33:00.012+01:00

I know its historical but for the 2 years I lived aboard Emblem I was without t'internet access and never had the chance to show any of Emblems trips, so here we go.

While Living aboard Disponibel, Gary and myself were very fortunate in being alongside a wondefull chap called Steve Woolgar. He lived aboard Emblem on the moorings at Hoo on the Tidal medway. We all worked dodgy shifts, Gary and self being coppers and steve being a taxi driver in sevenoaks, so we all finally met one night, arriving home about the same time just after midnight and much wine and Bacardi being consumed and spilt we have never looked back.

Eventually, life takes it turns and steve hitched up with a wonderfull lady called Debbie and they eventually bought a Barge of Biblical proportions called PAX.

My circumstances had changed, gary had passed away and Steve offered and sold Emblem to me.

Prior to that, we had attended The Oostend Voor Anker festival in Emblem since 2001 for the previous 5 years and although 2006 was my first visit to Oostend as skipper of Emblem, 2007 was caught on video.

The Festival was always organised for the last week in may coinciding with a bank holiday weekend in Belgium. In 2006, we spent 2 days hiding in Ramsgate due to bad weather and didnt arrive at Oostend till the eve of day one...much to my embarressment considering it was my first trip as 'skipper'

2007 however proved to be in total contrast and we set sail from Chatham at 7am in the calmest weather and sea I have ever known. Crew for the trip were, Steve, his son Jamie and for their first ever trip my daughter Rachael and partner Dan.

Emblem leaving Chatham

I had made a couple of improvements to Emblems Navigation systems during the year and we enjoyed for the first time a GPS chart plotter linked into a DSC VHF radio system

Should any emergency arise, then a quick press of the emergency button on the VHF set would alert the neartest shipping or coastguard to our plight and automatically give our GPS position....nice

The above pic shows our course and speed over the ground as we approached Dartness Point on the Medway.

It was a lovely morning without a cloud in the sky. Steve and myself had got up early and cast off while the 'KIDS' Jamie, Rachael and Dan had remained asleep, although half an hour into the trip, the engine noise of the Gardner 4L3 was obviously too much for Rachael and she repaired to the wheel house complete with Duvet to continue her beauty sleep

We ran with the Tide out into the Thames Estuary and followed the Gore Channel past Whitstable, Herne bay and Margate where we then shot past North Foreland and headed out into the North Sea for the Shipping lanes

Margate

I felt a bit guilty having insisted that Dan and Rachael take Sea sickness pills because the sea was an absolute mill pond, and the Tablets have a kindof drowsey effect

They however, managed to fight the effects and spent the next 9 hours of the crossing on deck taking in the sun and breeze

8 hours later Steve and myself were feeling the effects of an early start and a late night spent in the King George V pub....thank goodness for Auto Pilot and Radar alarm,

As we crossed the first TSS (traffic separation scheme) we needed our wits about us as there was a fair amount of shipping leaving the dover straights

This GPS pic shows us nearing the Sandetti East bouy prior to entering the last TSS

As you can see, our speed was nearly 7knts at 750RPM. The thick line was our GPS track to the nect waypoint, the little black arrow and thin line being our actual course due to tide.

Pics showing Steve doing an impression of an awake watchkeeper and one of the many ....huge monsters we had to avoid.

Emblems controls were/are very simple, a Geared Wheel for gearbox control and a twist and clamp lever for the throttle,. These pics should show the rev counter/temp guage, echo sounder and chart table and Ships Wheel

It was such a lovely crossing there was little to keep our interest except for a fly by from the Coast Guard aircraft and jellyfish spotting.

12 hours later saw us entering Oostend harbour and slotting ourselves into our spot for the 4 days of the festival. Our neighbours (whom we had rafted upto) were the crew of the goodship Mary Jane, a Dunkirk little ship whose crossing had been rather more adventurous than ours.

Just after leaving Ramsgate their steering pin had sheared and the skipper made the crossing and arrival at Oostend using only the twin props for steering and propulsion.....an excellent feat of seamanship considering the distance and age of the boat.

That will do for now, as its 8am and I have to be up at 4pm for night duty

will post part2 of the trip when Im next fully awake.

can any one help? the pics I post wont slot into the last curser position but plonk themselves at the top of the page so I have to move each one everytime I post

What am I doing wrong?

Its done

2008-08-20T00:54:00.003+01:00

Before I say anything, Nora and self have just watched a fantastic film on telly which I have to recommend to all....its name is Confetti. I have no idea how we have missed this 'fly on the wall' docu film.

Enough said.

We cellebrated Jack and Beck's wedding on the saturday night and Sunday saw yours truly driving home to Lady Elgar while Nora remained in Sutton to look after the cat.

Monday and Tuesday were both NIGHT DUTY's and come Wednesday Morning I was all set to attack the stove pipe.

I got home by appx 8am and, with the aid of coffee and fags I eventually set off to Wickes by 10 am and selected a sexy little Angle Grinder for the princely sum of 30 quid.

My Black an Decker workbench was set up alongside LE and with the aid of the old pipe I marked off the correct 54" on the new stove pipe.

If youve never used an Angle Grinder before its obviously a nervous moment when the machine first kicks into life........have you ever seen the amount of, and the distance the sparkes travell.

in addition to the sparkes, the damn machine kept jumping off the pipe and throwing my arms upwards towards my head!!!!!

Eventually I got the hang of cutting steel and hanging onto the grinder at the same time and the 6" of excess steel fell to the floor.

Within minutes I had slotted the newly cut pipe into the new stove collar and the roof collar. Within another few mins, I had packed the pipe fittings with heat rope and brand new 'fire cement'. This part I will admit i had a few bad dreams over. due to the acute angle from the stove to the roof collar, however, having cut the pipe to the correct length, it fitted just smashing.

A couple of coats of stove paint and a cureing Fire later and all proved to be well and dandy for the coming winter... will try to post a pic if ever Nora hands over her camera.

Actually she has more important things on her mind. It was her birthday on 14 August and for once I thought I had finally excelled myself in birthday gifts.

Be a Zoo keeper for a day

on the 22nd of Sept she is going to Whipsnade Zoo to muck out all kinds of animals and fings. Im not allowed in, so will have to buy my own ticket :(

Actually it sounds like a great day, her expected best bit will be working with the penguins

Prepare for Winter

2008-08-09T02:34:00.007+01:00

On board LE we have a squirrel Solid Fuel Stove with a back boiler that heats a rad in the main bedroom.

Our first winter using the stove proved that it was bloody marvelous, infact too marvelous sometimes as we experimented with various settings and ended up sweating in bed due to the heat.

Over the last few months however, there was obviously a problem. during wet weather, a very very slight trickle of water would run down the outside of the stove pipe from the ceiling leaving numerous rusty streaks on the pipe. My thoughts were that the sealent or cement was obviously getting tired around the roof collar.

The Original Pipe looked to me like a cast iron drain pipe with the bulge at the bottom, similar to a joint in a down pipe. I had already had to do some packing to the Stove Collar which on day one of of our taking over had a rather large gap in it revealing the innards of the stove.

This pic.....if it works....shows my temp packing of stove cement around the lower collar....knowing that this summer I would have to do a proper job of it.

So, I look at all this.......well i can only describe it as looking like rusticles...running down the outside of the pipe and know its going to be a messy job. Laura aint gonna like it..

Ideal oppotunity comes up....she has to go to mumsies for 2 weeks to Cat sit.

I duly drop her off at mumsies, 'yes dear, have a lovely time, no i wont be bored...ive a few jobs lined up...of course ill miss you.....' :)

A few jobs lined up turned into day 1 playing a stupid computer game called ROME...Total War.......I managed to defeat the Cartheginians and make a start on attacking Egypt
Feeling as guilty as a guilty thing, the next day I made a start on the stove pipe.

Armed with a large bucket of 'Wickes' fire cement, a wallpaper stripping knife and a flat head screw driver i made my assault on the roof collar. First job, was to sweep the flue, after a number of vigourous sweepings with the flue brush, I examined the collar and old cement for obvious failings.

If youve ever swept a chimney, youd know by now that my hands and face were black...as was the shirt i was wearing.

meanwhile, The English bowlers led by their new captain Kenin Peiterson were setting about the Southe African openers

All seemed in order...I couldnt find any obvious gaps that would allow rain water to flow down the outside of the pipe......not to be out done, I repaired inside the boat to inspect the internal packing.

After a steady 1st session South Africa's batsmen started to collapse

Imagine my surprise when...looking at the top of the stove pipe I spyed a pinprick of daylight on the actual pipe itself!!!!!!
Sure enough. a couple of jabs with the screwdriver made the pinprick into a hole....never mind thinks I....I can pack that with cement and make good for another season.

Ah ...where ignorance is bliss it is folly to be wise.

I began to scrape off the rusticles...as I did, the hole......to my dismay....became a gap...no ammount of cement would save this sucker......Bugger!!!!!!

Tea and England only needed a couple of wickets to reduce SA to a dismal first innings

Sure enough, the more I probed, the more 15yr old pipe fell to bits until it was held only by 3' of metal to the roof collar. This was the last thing i wanted as we were trying to save money to pay the moorings and licence due in sept.

Nothing for it but to finish the job. The screw driver proved no further use so I set about the pipe and old cement with a hammer and my decent chisel.
An Hour later finally saw a defunct stove pipe lying alongside and a finally clean roof collar.....That 15 yr old cement was bloody good stuff...whatever it was.....I could only chip away bit by messy bit.

The last SA wicket fell to Monty Panasar and England went into bat.

The moorings at Iver are ideal in as much as having Highline Yatching at its base.
I, plodded along to the chandlary casting soot dust with evey step and met John Bolsom in the shop.

A few minutes explaining my needs and listening to his advice and 60 odd quid later saw me mooching back to the boat with a brand new stove pipe and stove collar and fire rope lugged across my shoulder.

Smashing, thinks I....will have this sorted in no time, but no,it was not to be.
The pipe was several inches longer than my measurments (no faults of Johns) and wouldnt come close to fitting in the angle required between stove collar and roof collar. I would have to cut it with my Angle Grinder.
Of all the things I brought with me from Emblem, I knew my Angle Grinder would be useful.
Why was it then, that it wasnt in the shed? It wasnt in the boat? it wasnt in the car?

because it was still on Emblem ya daft SOD!!!!

England at close of play were the 1 wicket of Andrew strauss down........

Time had run out, the shops were closed.

Work beconned the next day.

Im now in Sutton at Laura's mums and going to a wedding tomorrow.
The stove pipe is in the shed waiting for me to return and do it serious damage.

I did look around for the camera to take some sooty shots but laura had taken it with her for the wedding tomorrow so I will have to do some 'post' pics when I return to LE on sunday.

Sigh :)

The good news is that england look like they may..just may make a game of this test with KP making a Captains innings of 100 backed up by decent scores from Cooke, Collinwood and Harmisson

Stand by for action

2008-08-06T09:53:00.002+01:00

Its 10am

Im recording our summer trip from video to dvd as I type....3 tapes in total but Nora got slack in her recording as the days wore on.

Once its saved to disc, i'll take some stills off the film and try and do a commentry on the trip.

for a proper ...as it occurs...story then, best have a look at http://www.canalworld.net/forums/blog/saltysplash/index.php??

There's quite a few pages so try and find the start and all should be revealed

In the meantime......watch this space for this blog's version of the 2008 Thames circle trip

This Weekend

2008-07-29T14:39:00.009+01:00

My daughter Rachael and her partner Dan had been living for the last 10 months with Dan's mum, and after my Granddaughter Brooke was born living space has been virtually nonexistant.

So this weekend, after much saving, they have managed to find a property to rent and Laura and I were called up to assist in the move.

The day of the move was due to be Saturday morning. Normally, when visiting we would book into the local Travellodge at Ramsgate, however, yours truly hit upon the great idea that we could Camp for the couple of nights and save ourselves quite a large wedge on accomodation.

We dug out the tent, which hadnt been used for at least 4 years and collected together our camping bits and bobs.

We finished work Friday morning and drove direct to Ramsgate arriving about 9am and we booked into a nice little site just by The old RAF Manston airfield. Now known as Kent International although most flights appear to be traing flights for pilots.

It took about 15 mins to pitch the tent then another half an our to blow up the airbed with us taking it in turns on the foot pump to avoid RST.

In order to keep tiredness at bay we visited the Raf and Spitfire museum at Manston which im sure Laura was thrilled about although she managed to keep her enthusiasm under wraps.

She seemed very unimpressed by this Fokker Dr1 Triplane

And I dont remember the figure sitting in the cockpit of this Sopwith 1 1/2 strutter. Have we just captured a ghosty image?

and finally the Manston Spitfire

We finally got to bed about 8pm think the noise of our fellow campers BBQ next door might keep us awake but no, we heard nothing till we woke up twelve hours later.
We hot footed it over to Dans mum's house for a brew and await the man with the van.

Brooke was unimpressed with the bustle, and managed to sleep through most of the move

The move went smoothly, we then returned to camp and packed up the gear as for the first time, we would be spending the night at Rachael's.

A smashing weekend.

Disponibel

2008-07-22T22:12:00.020+01:00

My old Mukka Gary Browne died 3 years ago after fighting cancer. He was 45

We had first met in 1985 as young coppers in Woolwich SE London working those mean streets and enjoying all life had to offer. Together with our close friend Paul, we went hiking, camping, fell walking and boating.

Eventually as time passed, Gary stole my dream of living aboard a boat, however, he didnt go along my route of a Narrow Boat but went the whole hog and bought a 1908 Dutch barge which was for sale in Amsterdam.

The actual purchase took rather a long time due to Dutch Notaries (solicitors) and money transfers but eventually, following several trips to Holland we were finally ready to cruise 'Disponibel' from Amsterdam to Hoo on the River Medway in Kent.

The Dutch and Belgium Canals were like nothing we had ever experienced before, with huge commercial barge and ocean going traffic.....and we thought Disponibel was big.

In order to satisfy Insurance demands, Gary was obliged to ensure a qualified skipper for the Canal trip to Neiuport and another qualified skipper for the crossing to England. he also had to name an Engineer for the journey and confirm that various modifications had taken place for the crossing, ie, a dedicated engine fuel supply to engine, not using the existing tank, Wheel house strapped down (as it was collapsible) and all skylights to be 'Boarded over'

The Skipper for the canal part of the journey was very kindly filled by Mr Eddie Oostland, The vendor who had lived on board for the last 30 years, 10 of those years with his wife and children. Disponible had been in his family since she was first launched. This was his last trip in her and his emotions were running high.

We kept him plied with liquids to ease the pain :)

Yours truly was nominated Engineer, based on the fact that I once changed a split pin on the prop of my dad's outboard engine on one of our 'Lads' boat trips on the Peak Forest canal.

Gary's official title was 'owner' and our 4th crew member was Paul.

Moorings overnight on our run to Neuiport were varied and always near local bars that the commercial boatmen used.

At almost 90' she was just about long enough to fit between these two dolphins

The Barge behind was twice our width and had the customary car on the stern

It took us 4 days to get to Neiuport passing through wide tidal sections and small villages and towns, Brugge and Passchendale being being my favourites.

The lift bridges are operated by pressing a button on the approach, although some seem to open by magic

Once at Neiuport we were met by Carl, our skipper for the crossing and much activity took place preparing the old girl for the sea. The insurance only covered us for crossing in winds up to Force Four and Carl informed us we were good to go on the next tide at around 3 am. The hardest part of the preparations were finding an oil drum for the dedicated fuel tank as upon our arrival at the port everything seemed to be closed for the day but Eddie came good and using his native tongue on the Belgium community secured a drum suitable for the task which was then secured to the engine room roof and the nessessary pipes connected to the engine.

At around 3 am we left the harbour and headed for England.

All was well till I took over the helm as we approached the first Traffic Separation Scheme. Carl had gone to sleep behind me on the bench seat after giving me a course to steer and instructions to wake him if i wasnt happy with anything.

Well, I knew the basics that we had to cross the TSS at right angles and give way to traffic on our starboard, but this was a totally alien environment to me. I could see several large ships off our starboard bow and as we all inched closer I was convinced I heard the name 'Disponibel' being spoken over the VHF......I woke Carl and pointed out to him the rather large vessel approaching and he said..."mmmm yes does look rather interesting, I think we'll give way"

carl took the helm and didnt leave it till we had rounded North Foreland, in the meanwhile, the wind had picked up nicely and we were now ...I think bouncing about is the wrong phrase....we were being thrown around like the proverbial cork. I was scared to death.

Note the lashings for the fuel drum to the funnel

Eventually, Broadstairs on the Kent Coast came into view

I dont worry about admitting my fear at all, I was in a flat bottomed 90 year old boat, made of iron with a 1940's engine in sea's for which she was never intended......gulp

Thankfully, as we rounded North Foreland and headed up the inshore Gore channel things calmed down and Carl, Gary and Paul retired again to bed leaving me with a fantastic trip along the North kent Coast.

We entered the Swale at low tide and chugged through the very narrow channel towards Queenborough (isle of sheppy) to await the next incoming tide to take us onto Hoo. As we approached Kings Ferry Lift bridge, smoke started billowing out of the engine room, Carl took the helm and dropped revs to tickover, Upon inspection and with much trepidation I found that the problem was the oil filler cap had loosened itself and thrown oil over the engine and exhaust. soon sorted.

At Queenborough we tied up alongside an old lighter just behind the 'Ross Revenge' which some of you may remember as the old 'Radio Caroline' ship.

Queenborough is a lovely stop over if ever your brave enough to do the transit from Limehouse to the medway

Around about 2am saw us cast off and head up the Medway towards Hoo.
The crew very tired and worn out following their 23 hour trip.

Paul, trying to work out tide tables

We had to hold position outside Hoo to wait for enough water to get us into the moorings, but eventually, the tide did its job and we inched our way into our allotted slot.

Note the fine looking MFV in the background.......my old boat 'Emblem'

We enjoyed many trips on Disponibel after our epic journey and Gary tried various moorings, Tower Bridge, Cuxton and finally ending up at Poplar Dock BW Marina.

Eventually his illness and outrageous moorings and upkeep forced him to sell the old girl and he moved back to the land to a flat in High Wickham.

A year before his death we were searching the net one night and found an advert for Disponibel...she was up for sale again....by this time I was divorced and we hit on the Plan of buying her again and setting up home together as two sad bachelors.

Sadly, it wasnt to be.

Nocturnal

2008-07-18T08:17:00.007+01:00

Finishing nights onto a day off is not my favourite way of working. I can never decide if its best to go straight to bed or stay up and see most of the day through and then have an early night...after all, normal folk don't go straight to bed as soon as they get home from work, Have their tea, then maybe a few bevies in front of the telly before bedtime.

So that's what I did Wednesday morning. It was 815am by the time I managed to get past the traffic on the Chelsea embankment and through Earls Court onto the M4. Was very surprised to see Laura up and about which she explained she had stayed up so we could get into the routine together rather than being awake and asleep at different times.

We eventually got to bed about 1pm and both woke at 8pm. That meant we had the prospect of still being wide awake come the early hours of Thursday so, following a couple of ciggies and a brew we retired again and both managed to sleep till 2am........what a life!

Night time telly not being up to much Laura settled down and watched her ER dvd's while I battled with ancient civilisations to conquer the world on the laptop.

5am saw us pushing a trolley round Tesco in Slough for the weekly BIG SHOP. We were just 2 of about 6 other shoppers and while that may sound smashing, not having crowds of people about, its actually more of an obstacle race due to the shelf stackers and their huge wire cage things blocking aisles and walkways so that you find yourself in a kind of supermarket maze wheeling your trolley from one dead end to the next till you finally emerge at the only open checkout with its sleepy occupant clock watching.

I think im slowly getting the hang of Blogspot and have been messing about with colours and stuff, so if anyone finds it hard on the eyes or has suggestions the please let me know.

Here's a couple of my fav pics from our Emblem days

Sunset over Chatham

Still Playing

2008-07-14T15:31:00.002+01:00

3 days into a 5 day working stretch means ive not been able to have a faff around with the site.

I think ive managed to show some fav blogs and links and managed to work out how to add a link when typing text......Ill have to test em now.

Laura is still lying in her bed of sickness and demanding sympathy so im trying to make all the right noises while avoiding the dredded lurgy.

Good to see Herbie back alongside us after enjoying their cruise on the river Wey, I was abit concerned for them after all the rain we'd been having but like all true adventurers they came through. Well done folks and thanks for the wine :)

Time to get ready for work. Only 2 more nights to go then 5 days off, yipeee

testing pics

2008-07-10T09:10:00.008+01:00

Just a test page for pics, that i was never able to load onto CWF coz they were too large...still struggling with links?????

This was a trip on our old boat Emblem, mid summer 2007 on a fishing trip to the Thames estuary with some work chums

Its a new day

2008-07-10T07:58:00.004+01:00

This Blog site is totally new to me, Canal World Forum was pretty easy to use but this is already taxing my IT brain so if there are any glaring errors, please let me know or at least bare with me.

I have really enjoyed posting a sort of diary of our lives on the canal world forum.....now, thats the first thing......how do I make the words canal world forum, into a link?
But having read Herbie and other blogs I thought I would try and go a step up and not rely on the relative safety of Canal World.

Its 8am and I have just returned indoors after being outside looking for swimmers.

There I was, sitting on the trusty Elsan when a weird howling/meowing noise invaded the privy privacy, A quick dash outside after releasing the front cratch cover revealed our neighbour Lydia.......Nice jim jams......clambering over her bow.

It turns out Millie, one of her cats had lost one of its lives by dropping between the moored boats, but Lydia had managed to rescue her by a quick release of mooring lines.
Thank goodness, I think Millie is proably lauras favourite cat, Should wouldve been heartbroken.

Good news, we passed our BSC