Date - 27 06 2010 Day - Sunday Start - 0900 End -1715 Hawkesbury Junction
Last night the moon rose as a large bright orange ball on the horizon,it looked to be almost full. A couple of hours later and it was well into the sky and now its normal shining silver. Again the night was warm and we went to bed with the slides and side doors open. We could hear the music and singing drifting up from Braunston, it must have been loud in the village. This morning we set off at 9 am. there had already been a couple of boats passed, one was going at a fair speed, he throttled back when he was almost half way passed us and opened up again as soon as he was by, I don't know why he bothered. We met him later as he went to Hillmorton to wind. The first boater we met warned us that there was a chap swimming in the canal, sure enough just through the bridge there was a chap swimming against the towing path. As we approached Barby straight a boat was catching up fast, as he came under the motorway bridge he was creating a good wash so I pulled over to allow him to pass as I didn't want him on my stern passed all the long term moorings. By the time we reached the north end of the moorings he was out of sight, but not for long as we suddenly started to catch him up. He also winded at Hillmorton, but he reversed into the winding hole to turn and spent some time with his crew poling the bows round while we sat and waited. We had a good run to Brownsover where a boat pulled out right in front of me, but it didn't have much effect as we were now on the end of a convoy doing about two and a half miles an hour.The did this speed constantly so every time when I slowed for moored boats they drew away and I then had about three quarters of a mile of good cruising while I caught them up again. Slowly the boats pealed off mooring up for the afternoon leaving us with the leader and I am please to say he turned into Brinklow Marina. Apart from meeting a couple of boats who thought it was fine to travel down the centre of the cut on the very wide parts with no thought that there may be very little water in the bit where they were and the offside bank so running us into the mud, we had an uneventful run to Sutton Stop. At the lock we locked down on to the Coventry Canal to wind. I had hoped to have photographed the three cill's on this lock, but someone has removed the two incorrect ones, just leaving the one below the top gate, there had also been one above and below the bottom gate. We returned through the lock onto the North Oxford Canal to start our journey homewards. We stopped to top up with water by the lock in which time a couple of boats came by,so there were no spaces left on the visitor moorings, so we moved on and moored for the night at 5 15 pm just round the corner from the end of the visitor mooring and it actually seams a quieter here with the hill shielding the noise from the motorway. You will find our latest position and all our past travels on our blog at http://nbharnser.blogspot.com/ -- Brian
