It's been a busy week and I have not had time to sit and update our adventures recently, so here goes with a short update.

Last weekend we made lots of new friends. We seem to have been accepted into the 'Crick Marina Boaters & Drinkers Club'.

After a couple of hours cruising up the Leicester Arm of The Grand Union Canal on Saturday we approached the junction with the Welford Arm. This is quite a short canal with one lock before arriving at Welford Marina. This canal was originally built to feed water onto the Leicester Arm which is well above sea level with lock flights downwards at each end. Foxton to the North and the Watford Flight (see previous posts) to the South. It was built wide enough however to carry boats.
As we arrived we were surprised to be greeted by fellow moorers from Crick Marina who had also made the journey to meet up at the Wharf Inn on the Welford Marina later that evening. There were at least 3 other narrow boats from our marina. They invited us to join them, which of course, we did.

The Wharf Inn on the Leicester, Northants Border.

We were introduced to quite a number of the locals including the original 'Milky Bar Kid'! And we were also invited to a BBQ on Sunday evening back at Crick. Which of course we had to attend. It would have been rude not to.

Before traveling back on Sunday morning we took a stroll into the village of Welford to find a newspaper and a few provisions and along the way we came across Postman Pat with his Cat carved out of a tree. (As you do).

Local Postie?

The BBQ went well and so after quite a lively weekend and the lure of good weather we decided to take another day trip out on Monday. The excuse was to pick some sloes that Sue had spotted on our travels over the weekend to make some of her home-made Sloe Gin. The sloes were only accessible from a boat so it gave me a chance too to practice maneuvering such a long boat as Sue harvested her crop.

It turned out to be the beginning of the Indian Summer that we are all currently enjoying and a great excuse for a long lunch moored at a very quiet spot in the middle of nowhere. 

 Alfresco Lunchtime.

Peaceful...

It's unfortunate that we have not been able to take advantage of the rest of the sunshine this week because lots of more important things had to be attended to, but we intend to get back out there as soon as we can.

I will of course be reporting again when that happens.

Waiting.

Tempranillo's first serious cruise ended on Tuesday as we arrived back in our mooring at Crick Marina just as the weather changed for the worse. We got a little damp as we rose back up through Watford Locks. Sue especially as she worked the paddles in the rain.

Single width, deep Watford Locks on The Leicester Arm.

These locks are very close to Watford Gap services on the M1 and squashed between the A5 and the main London Railway line so not exactly a tranquil spot. The locks have a keeper and boats must not enter any lock until recorded on his list. This is because the locks are only wide enough for one narrow beam boat at a time. There is though a passing place in the middle of the flight but this has to be controlled by the Lock Keeper. Of course when Sue went to find him, as I waited at the bottom lock with Tempranillo, he was right at the top by lock 7. Quite a climb. A rise of nearly 50 feet. Although he controls the passage of the boats, he doesn't open or close the paddles so Sue had to work in the rain. I did offer but she is not yet confident enough to steer Tempranillo into such confined spaces. Each lock is only about 6 inches wider than the boat, so being lined up on entry is imperative. The locks in the middle of the flight have holding pounds which conserve water by reusing the water each time a lock is emptied and filled again. There is one set of paddles painted red on each lock that has a pound. This must be opened first to save the water by diverting it into the pound. Apparently one of the first ever Lock Keepers painted them red to make it easier to explain how to work the system. He had a saying: "Red afore white and you'll be alright, white afore red and you'll wish you were dead!" Clever those Victorians.

Passage through Watford Locks, as through all lock systems, is very strict because of safety and water conservation. The top end of the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal on which we are currently moored is very short of water this year. Most of this canal is 412 feet above sea level and is quite twisty. Once our engine has had its first service tomorrow, we intend to make that journey North. 

Important instructions for passing through the locks.

The Leicester Arm, we are told is very pretty. Let's hope we get some good weather as we explore it this weekend. I shall be reporting on it in a couple of days including what is happening at Foxton Locks, or not if there is no water!

Did e know that today be talk like a Pirate day! It also be the celebratin' of our courtin'. 41 years o' it. So we had a very special day. It started with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and champagne and finished a few hours and a few adventures later with this:

A shared pudding.

After settling down at Braunston overnight the canal this morning was like the M1. We joined a convoy of boats after our relaxed breakfast who were all heading for the flight of 5 locks and then into the mile long, 2-way tunnel. 

As we queued up to enter the first lock there was suddenly a roar of engine noise from a nearby field and rising from behind a tree right in front of us appeared an Air Ambulance flying backwards. Never found out why, but it was in a hurry to leave. We hope whoever was on board is now on the mend.

Air Ambulance lifting off backwards.

It took quite some time to rise through the flight but we accompanied another Sea Otter and went through 2 by 2. We had not seen another Sea Otter all the time we had been out but now as we queued at lock 3 we spotted Sea Otter number 3.

 3 Sea Otters together. Green 'Little Jem' is just ahead of Tempranillo with 'Maggie' just emerged from the lock.

Side by side through the locks.

Sue had an easier day today as two guys from Little Jem worked the locks most of the time.

I was a bit more confident in entering the tunnel this time than on the outward journey which was just as well because we met three coming the other way. My main fear was meeting an oncoming boat at 'the kink'. (see Thursday 5th Sept.) One of the approaching boats had a tunnel light so bright I was convinced it was the sun shining in at the end of the tunnel. So it came as a bit of a shock when the 'sun' suddenly got closer quicker than expected.

Believe it or not, two boats can pass in this tunnel.

By the time we had negotiated all the locks and Braunston Tunnel it was lunchtime. As it was our anniversary we were looking for somewhere to enjoy a long lunch. The waterways guide book showed The White Horse Inn at Welton as having a restaurant open all day so we decided that was the place to be. It was 3/4 mile walk from the canal so I tried to telephone to confirm the information contained in our book but was not able to connect. We decided we needed the exercise so off we set. It turned out to be at the top of a hill in a delightful village and we were well hungry and ready for a drink by the time we arrived.

Disaster! The pub had just been taken over by new owners and was not serving food yet. However the new landlady could not have been more helpful and sympathetic after our mountain climb. Sue discovered a new local cider. Vale of Welton, Poachers English Cider made using apples from an orchard just up the road from the village. It says 5.5 % but the way Sue 'rolled' down the hill back to the canal, I would say it was a little more potent than the label suggested! 

The landlady very kindly insisted that we have a bottle on the house as compensation for our wasted walk and directed us to another pub that definitely was serving food all day. We had to pass Tempranillo on the way and the open bottle of bubbly from breakfast was enticing us. So we stopped off for a 'rest'.

Later that evening after another couple of long walks, too much food, more alcohol, a large pudding (see top of page) we arrived back at Tempranillo to settle down for the night. 

We got onto the Oxford Canal yesterday and went up through the Napton Flight after I looked at the map and promised Sue that there were no more locks. Boy was I in trouble. We approached a lock which turned out the be the first of seven. Once committed, you can't turn back.
Napton-On-The-Hill rises to over 400 feet and has a Windmill on the top and if you make the effort to climb to the top apparently you can see seven different counties.

Napton-On-The-Hill and its Windmill

Sue took a chance at being Captain for a short while. Everything was fine until other boats appeared coming he other way. Panic! Early days yet though.

Captain Sue.

We also had a visit from some very tame and inquisitive swans. They would not go away until I fed them with some bread. Once I started lots of ducks appeared from nowhere all wanting a share and one of the signets even tried to snatch a piece from my hand.

We saw some very strange looking cows.

Sue got chatting to some fellow boaters as we passed through the locks. She discovered that we were sailing by a Water Buffalo farm which supplies buffalo meat to local restaurants. 

Not much else happened today except the usual joy of emptying the porta-loo and filling up the water tank so we can enjoy the wonderful shower we have on board.

Heading slowly back to Crick Marina over the next few days. We are watching our engine hours as Tempranillo needs her first service after 30 or so hours of use and we need to get back before we use up those hours.

Woke up to the perfect weather for boating. Checked everything, water tank full, filled up with fuel, checked the toilet......FULL! Went to empty it and discovered the Harbour Master up to his elbows in things not pleasant. The Elsan disposal point was blocked. Had to wait awhile.
Eventually got to do what had to be done, but things didn't quite go to plan. I managed somehow to accidentally wash the cap for the holding tank of our toilet down the drain....Never to be seen again. Thank goodness for plastic bags and gaffer tape!

Finally we got under way.

About 10 minutes into our journey we approached Crick Tunnel. Very damp, cold, dark and 1528 yards long!

The light at the end of the tunnel can just be seen.

It was quite daunting and took a lot of concentration. Sue was worried spiders would fall on her head! This was the first of 2 tunnels today. The second one at Braunston was longer, 2042 yards, and due to a mistake when it was being built (in 1796) it has a kink in the middle. And we had to pass a boat coming the other way inside the tunnel. A very tight squeeze. Managed to get past though without losing any paint, I think.

Tempranillo also encountered her first lock today. In fact it turned out to be a fight of locks. 7 in total.

Approaching Watford Flight Top Lock.

Tight Fit.

13 locks in all and Sue is knackked! She wound up so many lock paddles and pushed and pulled so many gates you would not believe. And still managed to produce an amazing meal at the end of all that. A glass of wine helped, of course.

Moored now up for an early night. Hope the weather is as good tomorrow.

Time to celebrate.

Here is video footage of the launch. Quite an unceromonious occasion, as it happens, but exciting for us none the less.

Sunday was a very exhilarating day. Our first trip out was a little 'touch and go' first thing in the morning due to the gale force winds, but having had a little chat with the Harbour Master we, well I decided that we should pluck up the necessary courage to venture out onto open water.

It turned out that the Leicester Arm of The Grand Union Canal has not has the TLC it deserves of late. The narrow and twisty waterway is quite overgrown and in places making it difficult to see approaching boats due to the overgrown reeds and other flora and fauna.
We had a narrow miss when I cautiously got to a bend to find another boat coming the other way. Not being used to the length and weight of Tempranillo yet I thrust her into reverse expecting go backwards immediately, like Harvest Moon used to, but it took longer to slow before eventually going in reverse. This put the bow well into the bushes leaving a towel that Sue had hung out under the cratch to dry swinging from a branch.... clothes peg and all! But it was still there on our return trip so Sue retrieved it as we passed.

We were advised, as it was our first venture, to only go as far as the second winding hole where we could turn round but we got there in about 40 minutes and we wanted more! So we pressed on...and on...and on looking for another suitable place to turn. It was also lunch time and there was no site of any watering hole of any description so we pulled over for a bit of home cooking.

We did eventually find a point to turn and I made it in one without hitting anything. Thank goodness for the Bow Thruster.

It was quite late in the afternoon by the time we got back to Crick Marina and the weather had turned a little aggressive. The wind had come up making it tricky to negotiate the marina entrance and then almost impossible to slot Tempranillo back into the berth that I'm sure was much wider when we had left it earlier.

My first attempt was abysmal and we ended up completely in the wrong end of the marina. It didn't help that the wind blew Sue's hat off and we had to spend a few precarious moments fishing it back out of the water.
Friendly fellow boaters seeing our plight ran to the rescue ready to catch any rope that might get thrown in the general direction of any piece of adjacent land. Fortunately the wind stayed just calm enough for me to get the bow into the mooring slot and from then on  it was easy. We were soon moored up and all hatches battened down in the comfort of our new surroundings......Lovely!

We are hoping the weather will improve over the next couple of days so that we can begin our journey south.

We will let you know.....

Maiden Voyage

I was hoping to upload a short video of the launch but since Tempranillo arrived  on Thursday we don't seem to have had a minute to ourselves so here are a couple of pictures of our first trip out today, Sunday.

 Our Tiller Pin In Situ

FULL STEAM AHEAD

Stern View with Tiller Pin

It looks like the weather is going to get a bit heavy during the next few days for us canal cruiser types so we may be stuck here in Crick for a while. This should give me time to edit the bit of footage we shot and get it up for you all to view. There will be more pictures too.

Today Was The Day But.......

SORRY, NO PICTURES THIS TIME.
(Our boat builder refused to send any photographs because he said it would spoil the effect on delivery.)

It's very difficult to concentrate on anything and make decisions if you don't have a definitive plan. Dates for delivery have come and gone, for various reasons. The main reason being that our boat builders want to make sure that we are getting what we want and not what they want to sell us. To that end every minute detail has been attended to with the greatest of care.

That is why Sue and I have tried our best to stay calm. So when the final confirmation comes it is hard not to get over-excited.

As we are now!!!

We had a call this morning confirming delivery to be tomorrow morning...YES!

So we are now running around like headless chickens making sure we have everything, or maybe nothing of what we need. Top of the list... Champagne for the launch... Video camera to shoot it... Glasses for the Champagne... Kettle... Wine... Tea... Coffee... Wine... Cups... Bedding... Wine... Clothes... Clothes Hangers... Wine... Toothbrush... Toothpaste... Wine... the list is endless.... Oh and some wine, mainly Rioja. After all it will be 'The Grape Escape'.

Hope our poor old trusty Volvo (now 227,000+ miles old) can take the strain of so many boxes (mainly Rioja).

You would think we were going to the far end of the Earth.

The ridiculous thing is, we will probably never be any further that 15 feet from land at anytime!

When we get settled in, I will bombard this blog with pictures and information.

As a matter of interest, I have been looking at the statistics for our blog and it seems we have had viewings from as far afield as Singapore, Venezuela, USA, Canada, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Italy and Ireland.
We are surprised that our little blogsite is attracting so much interest. Thank you, and I hope we can keep you interested as we cruise.

Please return when you can.