Date - 22/03/08 Day - Saturday Start - 9 30 am End - 5 pm Bridge 19 Ashby Canal
Shortly after mooring last night we were passed by the fastest boat to ever go by us while we were moored. it was a Clifton hire boat leaving a wash as it went. The only good bit was he was unable to get through the bridge at that speed and ended up in the off side for a bit. A10 pm we heard another boat, this time it was a day boat from Rose Narrowboats heading back, to be out that late we assumed they must have hired a skipper as well as the boat. Last nights choice of moorings turned out to be a good one, the thick hedge on the offside making a very good wind break. We set of a little before 10 am in a cold stiff breeze and bright sunshine. The wind was causing a problem for boats coming towards us on the wide bend just before All Oaks Wood and at least 2 boats hit a moored boat ther as they came out from the shelter of the trees. At the other end of the wood I fished a new builders barrow out of the cut, it's wheel broke the surface as we went passed. At Rose Narrowboats there were our friends on their Clifton hire boat, they had gone through the swing bridge and narrows and were now pined to the bank by the wind, when they finally got free they must have hit half the moored boats on both sides of the cut before reaching open water. Just beyond Coventry Cruising Club it started to hail hard so we decided to pull over foe a bit, but it stopped as quickly as it started and we only just got the ropes ashore and it was time to set off again. We filled with water at Sutton Stop, here BW have put encapsulated notices on sticks saying "Oxford Canal Hawkesbury Junction Footbridge" I noticed that had also done this at bridge 5 and the footbridge on the Coventry Canal, maybe its to save money being cheaper than cast bridge numbers. We stopped for a bite of lunch in the next hail storm and then continued on to the Ashby Canal. It always surprises me the amount of traffic we see down here and today is no exception. We went straight passed the "Brewers Fare" pub at Trinity Marina as mooring there is £5 a night for a maximum of 2 nights and moored just before bridge 19 at a few minuets past five. -- Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Visit this site and help save our waterways http://www.savethewaterways.org.uk/
