We found the cruiser owners on the Ouse and their thing about their boats fascinating... Entering at Denver once we found a rally in progress across the water point. We yelled we wanted water and about 50 fenders came out on our side, hands held us off, a hose was passed across and someone held the (push) tap down all the time we filled. On another occasion we moored at Denver and watched a boat leave his moorings, cross to the tap and proceed to wash his (white) fenders with scrubbing brushes and god knows what for a couple of hours. When he was happy he turned the boat and did the other sides fenders for the rest of the afternoon, before taking the boat back across to its mooring. Further up near where the Cam comes in we observed boats returning to their marina with captain and party in the wheelhouse while one crew member (maybe the paid help) rushed about the decks furiously exchanging slightly dirty working fenders with totally clean marina ones. (The boats had racks for all these fenders installed.) We also met on the fens - Boaters who had never moored except to bollards. We had to explain ronde anchors to these people and even fix them in the earth as the idea of coming ashore let alone getting their hands dirty was too much for them to take in. Boaters who went into the bank (often hitting it hard given their speed) to avoid us going the other way on a wide river. Boaters who had never worked a lock and paid a kid to do it at £5 return. (He was making £200 a day on weekends - I asked. It was the easiest lock on the Fens and the only one, he said, these boats ever went though on their day trips.) And boats which really were used like the day boat gin palaces that we talk about from the past. (As in 'drive in, then let the peasants in the narrow boat work us through while we have more little drink poos'. The peasants (us) normally stopped at half wound up etc and made tea - then, if the other crew got restive told them to do their share as we had beds on the boat - which seemed to shock many in their boats which we assume had beds which were never used - their boats being used only for day trips.)
--- On Wed, 7/16/08, Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [canals-list] Harnser's trip report July 2008 To: "Canal list George" <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 5:29 PM Date - 16 /07/08 Day - Wednesday Start - 0945 Five Mile pub End - 1600 GOBA mooring above Pike and Eel Harnser's present position http://tinyurl. com/harnser- 16 The Five Mile pub has a themed menu every night, last night it was "bangers and mash with peas" which coast us the princely sum of £4 each for s sausages, potato and peas, I think this has been our cheapest pub meal ever. This mooring was bright but windy when we set off downstream on the Cam to the junction of The Great Ouse and the Cam at Popes Corner, here we turned left towards St Ives on the Great Ouse also known as the Old West River. this was quite a bit narrower than the Ouse we had got use to and we were also travelling upstream so progress was down to about 3.5 mph. As it was so windy we decided to stop for lunch on the GOBA moorings at Aldreth. After lunch the first lock we came to was Hermitage Lock. The river above here is tidal so the lock is manned. I went up and had a word with the lock keeper and he set the lock for us, by now a large plastic was behind us. No sooner had we entered the lock and the cruiser started in behind me, the locky instructed me to go right forward and touch the gates, by now the cruiser was roped behind me and I had to get Diana to come along while I held the boat in gear to attach the centre rope so we didn't run back, the gates closed and we started to go up. After the lock the cruiser shot passed but had to wait at the next lock as there was a boat going up. I asked him if he would like me to go in first but he declined. he went in and put both ropes ashore and was holding his boat fast, I crept in behind him but because he was so far back from the top gate JUST TOUCHED him, he went mad, "you've crashed into me, you should wait until I told you I was ready and called you in" etc. This went on all the while the lock was filling. Once full he inspected the damage." I had made a great gouge in his gel coat with my fender" he said. I couldn't see any mark and he didn't ask me to pay. I didn't like to point out that in the previous lock he had not waited for me to get secured or invite him in, also I didn't point out that if my fender had gouged his gel coat my bow would have split his bathing platform in half first. He stopped at the Pike and Eel moorings but I thought it prudent to go on to the GOBA moorings and walk back to the pub. -- Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED] info> Join SOW and help save our waterways http://www.saveourw aterways. org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
