Hi Folks, Just had an enjoyable weekend's trip up the hard bit of the GU, here's the log:
On Thursday night, after work, I took Victoria down to Cowley Lock ready for the carpenter based at Uxbridge Boat Centre to produce a quote for me in the morning. It was 18:30 when I got to the boat, and after setting the fire, and starting up the JP2, and set off down the canal in the last elements of daylight. A quick stop at Tesco's at Bulls Bridge, and then on my way again. A good run down to the lock found me mooring on the Visitor moorings just before the lock, and I was soon to bed. Friday morning I was up early, Steve Marrage starts work at 7:30am, and had a job to go to that day so wanted to have a look before he went to work. I started working through the lock, and sent him a text to let him know I was at Cowley. It was at this point that I realised I had left the tunnel light on all night... I did wonder why the interior light was a little dim, but there was still plenty of brightness in the tunnel light even in the daylight. Steve phoned back to tell me he was going to be late, and to continue up to Uxbridge, which I did. On arriving, Steve had a look in the hold, where I want to create a small front cabin under the cloths, and help formulate what I needed. Afterwards I waited until the shop opened, and bought a new loo (in the region of £80) since the old one leaked (I'm sure I could get a seal kit, but it will be handy having a second loo for the front). Time was getting on, and I still had to get to work, so stopped outside of Swan and Bottle. I knew it would be deep enough there as I once saw two Denham gravel barges sat next to wall, both fully ladened, so it must be getting on for 5 feet deep on the bank edge! I biked up to the station, and was soon on my way into town. After work, I caught a Ruislip Central Line train at 6pm, and after a tiring but overall downhill bike ride back to Uxbridge arrived back at the boat at 6:45 with a Maccy D's in hand. I thought I might as well do some miles tonight to get away from the noise and find a better TV signal. I didn't stop till below Black Jacks where I spent the night on the lock mooring (the lock was ready with a gate open when I arrived, so at least I wasn't going to be in the way!). I spent a few hours watching Comic Relief before giving up at midnight. Saturday morning saw me getting off at about 7:30am, with the lock still ready for me. I had a quick pit stop in Tescos in Ricky, I didn't bother getting a Basket and ended up wishing I had got one! At the lock, someone was working down when I arrived, the flow caught the boat as I was pulling into the water point but I quickly got the rope around the bollard - I had a weekend of jumping off with ropes quickly since stopping on the right is difficult as the paddlewheel effect just puts you back in the middle of the canal again! I refreshed the plastic water carrier I've got, since it started to taste after a couple of weeks of standing, and found that the bins were removed so put the bin bag on the roof ready to chuck in the pan above the lock (as suggested by the notice), which went in easily and all rubbish points should be so convenient! Since even lock moorings are occasionally too shallow for Victoria, going up I usually put the bow up to the bottom gates, at an angle so that I could get and off on the left wing wall, leaving it in forward to hold it there. Some have a bollard placed in a good place for holding the back end rail rope, though the rudder usually pulls off to the left and will hold it on. You do have to be quick getting back on after raising the right side paddle though as the flow pulls the boat away from the wall fairly quickly! Either using a rope, or in lazy mode, the engine to work through the lock I was going really well, and soon caught up a pair of boats messing about - well one of them anyway. I caught them up for the next two locks, but at Watford one pulled in, but didn't let the other boat know what was happening so they went on alone. Before they left the lock I was at their heals again, and we agreed to share Iron Bridge (slow filler), so one of them stayed to help me through the lock. The boat in question was Hillingdon Star, and they were on a two day trip with several scout leaders on board. There were two trainers, and a son of one them (who saved Victoria going her own sweet way just above Ricky with a leap down the bank to grab the rope which had worked loose). We stayed together for the rest of the day, and made good time. I left the lock first, while the trainees took the boat up slowly and closed the gates, and I got the next lock ready. We were following even slower Hillingdon boats with about 20 kids on the two boats, but with much hell and very little notion (even from the people in charge - for example: lock full, top gates open, so look at Nicholson's for about 1 min before leaving, etc...). Hillingdon Star's skipper was getting doubtful they would reach Winkwell before dark, and they couldn't run during the night without various rulings from the bossmen. Thankfully the other boats stopped for lunch between the two Hunton Bridge locks, though my heart sunk when we reached the next lock. I arrived with a wide beam cruiser style barge stuck across the canal at the lock moorings, and a single man wondering about almost lost with a rope in hand. I took the boat out of gear since there was nowhere I could moor up, and hung about in midstream. The barge had come alongside the wall whilst the lock had emptied, and after opening the bottom gates the bloke trundled back to his boat. I asked nicely if he minded if we went ahead (after checking he was wide, it was a close thing), and we would back set the locks for him. I thought he had understood and said yes (and I think he did), but he obvously didn't quite understand as he got into his boat after we were working through the lock and set off towards it. I said to the Hillingdon Star crew they had better stay and open the bottom gates for him, but I understand they only lifted the paddles, so God only knows how he got on. After I nearly came a cropper at Home Park Mill Lock, which is a lot closer to the bridge than I remembered (the fisherman on the lock mooring didn't help), we had a good easy run up to Hemel where they stopped for water, and I tried to get the stove running while I waited. One smoke filled cabin later they came along the canal, and we nicely got to Winkwell with plenty of daylight to spare - though I'm sure the home cooked cream scones they gave out to the crew, and thoughtfully to myself, helped. They stopped below the locks, and they walked up to open the bridge on their way to the pub. They nearly had to run to get the bridge open before I reached it, since the lock was ready with a gate open I was through in it no time at all. One of the crew even ran up to open the gate of the next lock, which was extremely nice of them. I waved to Julian on Parglena, but I'm not sure he regonised me, and stopped just through the bridge where it was just deep enough for me to jump on and off. There was a little light still in the sky (7pm I think), but after cooking sweet and sour chicken, I was done for the night and collapsed in front of the TV before having an interupted night. Most of my nights on Victoria haven't been good ones, mostly thanks to my poor control of the stove. I either wake up in the middle of night sweating buckets and unable to breath in the heat, or finding it's just to cold for me and having to get up to try and rescue the stove - usually unsuccuesfully - and then needing to relight the damn thing. Still, I didn't need to be up early, so without an alarm set managed to snooze in until 8am. Starting off on Sunday was interesting, mostly in the fact that I needed to get out the way I had come in, and reversed right back to the bridge again before getting off down the canal. There are quite a few locks that need to be left empty down here, and a boat coming down late last night had also left many gates open which aided my acent. I said hello to Debbi Figgi on my way by her mooring, and was going really well until coming to a grinding stop at the Gas two. A wide community boat (Close Shave) were seriously messing about in the bottom lock as I walked up to the lock side. I asked the skipper if anyone had been sent to the next lock, but was told they were getting some training?, so I ended up running up to the next lock flat out trying to get it ready for them to drive straight in. I managed to do this, and had both gates open but still after frantic arm waving they still pulled in to the side. I gave up at that moment, but was hopeful when they said they would let me in front at the next lock. While I was getting their lock ready for them another boat had joined at the bottom of the locks, and they were hoping for Pitstone for the night. Unfortunately a boat was coming down the top lock, and so we were delayed reaching the following lock which CS were just ascending. They were good to their word at Northchurch though, and we were finally past them. At the bottom of the Dudswell two, the lady of the boat I was sharing with started to walk up to the next lock. I said, "It's OK, the next should be ready, as it needs to be emptied after use"... famous last words, and so another lock (with a single open top gate) I had to get ready!!!! My original plan was to moor at Cowroast, but it was still early (13:30), so I decided I might as well have a run up the Wendover Arm (just to see how Victoria would fair in shallow waters). At Bulborne there were more empty spaces on the "Visitor" moorings than I had ever seen (BW must have been moving boats on - which is good), and after a fun, but mostly uneventful run down the arm, I returned to Bulborne. I spotted a nice 70 ft mooring, but thought I would turn before mooring up, but sods law again a boat came along just before I needed to turn, and they took the spot. I wasn't to bothered since there was plenty of room, but I'm now on a bit of a corner. A check of the (online) railway timetable later saw me on my folding bike up to Tring station. After finding my bicycle pump had decided to break itself, I thought I'd better stay away from the towpath and took the cross county route. It seemed much further by bike, and while mostly benign it was hilly there abouts. I caught the 17:15, and was back to Northolt (from Harrow) at 18:45 (after getting an indian takeaway). I was glad, however to see that the widebeam barge wasn't still at Home Park Farm lock as I glided by! :-) Cheers, Mike -- Michael Askin http://shoestring_DOT_zapto_DOT_org/
