Boatwif
The occasional adventures of the Cleddau crew
About Us
We are ‘The Captain’ and ‘Boatwif’, owners of nb Cleddau.
Cleddau was a five year old youngster when we took her on in 1994. She was built for cruising on the River Trent. Over time Cleddau has had internal and external adjustments but she retains her original hull, propeller, anchor and portholes.
When asked (frequently) “What does Cleddau mean?” our response is usually “In Welsh it means swords but Cleddau is the name of the river that flows into the Milford Haven deep water estuary in Pembrokeshire…”
We both grew up in Pembrokeshire; for some years we have kept a record of what we call ‘Monkton Moments’, those exchanges with boaters and non-boaters who recognise our Pembrokeshire connections.
This blog below is a record of our mainly boating adventures.
RECENT KEN & SUE LOCATION
Out of signal in Upwell
Quick update from Son-In-Law here. No blog post yesterday due to lack of 3G signal in Upwell. Normal service should resume today...
Sights and sounds of Ely
Though now at 7pm the sun is shining brightly, this has been a rare occurrence today. At best grey cloud, at worst very...
Aspire to Ely...
The three dish Thai meal last night was superb, cooked by a near professional it would seem, since Simon the Navigator...
Idling into St Ives
Cygnet Award During our watery meanderings we have espied many swans, some obviously rearing families...
Drifting downstream with the dragonflies
To start with old news: picture attached of the trophy awarded in honour of our night-time illuminations at...
The saga continues...
So on a sunny afternoon we set out, embarking on the 300 plus mile trip back to the Macclesfield Canal...
Bankside at Bedford
The Bedford River Festival happened – and we were there! Some stats for starters: Prizes won: 1* Participation in boat parades: 3...
Day 20: Friday 16th July: QI (for gongoozlers)
So, at about 1pm Cleddau finally nosed into Bedford Lock, after a queue, a fair bit of rope-throwing – and absence of...
Day 19: Thursday 15th July: "There's no such thing as the wrong sort of weather..."
It had been our intention to lie alongside the meadow at Great Barford and gently tend our boat, an illusion shattered...
Day 18: Wednesday 14th July: The wrong sort of water
It still feels remarkable that we made any progress yesterday after the breakdown episode, and it was...
Day 17, Tuesday 13th July: No more spanners in the works, please!
Boat garb is usually casual, often grubby, chosen for messing about in boats. Last night’s Chinese Takeaway was brought...
Out of signal...
Martin (Son-In-Law) here, Quick update via answer-phone message from a well oiled (Red Wine apparently) Ken who cannot...
Day 16: In a bit of a jam...
Last night I was reminded that I needed to refer to Ken’s departure from the Ely Marina yesterday: surrounded...
... Day 15: Ely to Earith (Roots, Routes and Detours)
Back after the enforced break. Never would I have conceived of putting the words “happy” and “OfSTED”...
Day 14: Monday 28th June: "Creeping like snail unwillingly to..."
Last night we were moored in the village of Upwell, by the church, alongside the main street. We were in Norfolk, and as...