Category: Boat Update

Martin (Son-In-Law) here, Quick update via answer-phone message from a well oiled (Red Wine apparently) Ken who cannot get a good enough 3G signal to post a blog. Boat fixed thanks to helpful Nick who came to the rescue with couriered replacement parts. Boat back underway and still on target to reach Great Barford for Friday where boat shall be polished etc in preparation for Boat Fest! As is traditional, here is a photo to accompany the blog and as...

From Brownshill Staunch Lock (near Earith) to Godmanchester   Miles travelled: 11.75             Locks: 3       Last night I was reminded that I needed to refer to Ken’s departure from the Ely Marina yesterday: surrounded by fibre glass boats, two tight turns and gusting winds it was pronounced “perfect” by an onlooker from an adjacent boat.         What a peaceful mooring we had – no traffic, no trains and the only noise that roused us this morning was...

Sunday 11th July: Distance: 17 miles 2 locks Mint miles: 511 miles* Wind losses: 3       Back after the enforced break.        Never would I have conceived of putting the words “happy” and “OfSTED” into the same sentence. But due to the latter’s arrival at school (“Send for Ken!”) I have enjoyed happy hours with all four grandchildren (the Californian Three and the Cheshire One) and had opportunity to gaze upon Ely by foot, not just from the...

From Upwell, the Middle Level to Ely, the River Great Ouse   [First, apologies to the avid reader(s) awaiting yesterday’s submission: only as darkness fell, with  the dongle tied high on a pole and Ken sitting on the front locker, laptop on his knee, did the atmospheric conditions allow transmission.]   Last night we were moored in the village of Upwell, by the church, alongside the main street. We were in Norfolk, and as Noel Coward penned for Private Lives “ very...

From Peterborough (the River Nene) to Upwell (Middle Level)   It has taken much research to ascertain the navigable route from Macclesfield to Bedford and the Stanground Lock at Peterborough has long been top of the list of anxieties.  It is a lock that was lengthened but the cill of the previous lock remains and can prove a significant hazard to deep boats. Hence talk of ballast, bricks and batteries dominated the winter preparations while closer to the lock itself calculating...

Ken tells me we drew away from the Fotheringhay mooring at 0640.  Each night he sets his alarm clock for whatever time decreed necessary to navigate safely from A to B and to secure a good mooring at B. Years of Search and Rescue discipline make him instantly vertical and alert at the sound of the alarm.  Me, I need longer, and a full mug of tea in bed before anything remotely alert begins to happen.  Thus it was that...

Cruised today from Denford to Fotheringhay, a shorter day than usual, mooring up at about 1400.   The mooring last night was canine heaven, perfect for dog walking and dog swimming. Mid-evening, just about ten yards along the bank from us, a dog was plunging into the water time after time to retrieve large sticks (logs?) for its master; once he swam right across to the opposite bank, scrambled out, looked totally confused – and then plunged back into the water....

From Cogenhoe Lock to Denford: some fifteen locks, involving a great deal of hard work, and various attacks from nettles, thistles and wet ropes…   Overnight an invasion had taken place: the meadow we were moored beside had become inhabited by calm cows and their young.  Ken thinks they were Herefords (sign of a closet Archers fan.)  What was fascinating though was watching at extremely close quarters (say, about ten feet) a calf feeding from its mother.  It kept banging his...

Moored up late afternoon at Cogenhoe Lock, on the River Nene, east of Northampton.   The engine roared into life early (again) and we were in the Northampton Arm Top Lock by 0715.  Breakfast was permissible after the first 13 (albeit) narrow locks and the “Northampton Lighthouse” hove into view shortly after nine o’clock. It is such a weird landmark that many years ago, overcome by  curiosity, and Ken having flown over it many times when returning to RAF Wyton, we  diverted our...

0640 departure from Braunston Turn to maximise travelling in the cool of the day (that was the theory!)   It was fascinating passing through the stretch at the bottom of Braunston locks as so many work and traditional boats are tied up, presumably in readiness for the big Traditional Boats Rally this weekend. The locks were quiet, but the gates heavy; eventually we reached the top, cruising past a row of moored boats, the most wonderful smell of frying bacon...