Girl on the water

Sarah Caplin

2011-09-08T21:29:00.003+01:00

Ever heard of Sarah Caplin? She was recently fired for being a bully.

Slacking!

2010-04-14T21:56:00.003+01:00

Wow, almost a year since I posted an update.... "slacking" is an understatement.

Fear not though, girlonthewater is still girl on the water, albeit slightly less so these days.

After a year and a half mooring in Sheffield basin / Tinsley marina, I decided that the Sheffield and South Yorkshire navigation is perhaps not for me in the long term. It's certainly different, but so is artichoke - and I don't really care for that more than once in a blue moon either!

The Sheffield and South Yorkshire navigation certainly has character, if abandoned shopping trolleys, carling cans and crisp packets are your idea of picturesque scenery. I'm glad that I came to Sheffield, but itchy feet have got the better of me, and Muddy Waters is now off on adventures in search of pastures new (or perhaps old, time will tell!).

The waterways up here have opened my eyes to how the canals were used by industry in days gone by. An old abandoned steelworks on the river near Rotherham became a favourite unofficial mooring for a short while, ideal for scenic lunchtime stop-offs before facing the wrath of Rotherham itself. In 1.5 years, I have also seen the other side of the waterways up here - locks excluded from the public with prison style fencing, presumably to keep the local dirt-biking towpath youth (of which I encountered several) from vandalising the locks; teenagers with nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon than throw stones from bridges at passing narrowboats; youngsters whose weekday evenings include untying boats in the name of "fun". Perhaps I'm being overly negative, looking back fondly at the pretty narrow canals of the Midlands, but I think it's time to give them another try. It's not that I dislike the waterways up here, but I think I've had my fill of them for now at least.

To end on a more positive note, we've spent the last few very enjoyable weekends on the boat making our way back to the Trent and plan to explore a lot of unknown territory by narrowboat this summer. The boy and I are still very happily together, and adventure awaits.

More soon!

Pram hoods?

2009-05-06T21:42:00.002+01:00

OK, random post for all the boaters out there...

Since moving oop North, I have made an observation. There are LOADS more narrowboats up here with pram hoods (y'know, the ugly canvas things that conventiently cover the stern + steerer when it rains) than there are in the midlands.

Now, I realise that pram hoods have their obvious benefits in the great old British weather, but is there a reason that they are so much more common up here? It feels like I am almost the only one without one! Is it that they don't fit under the bridges on the pretty Midlands narrow canals or something? I can't imagine that it's SO much more grim up North....

Answers on a postcard!

Boaty - quick update

2009-05-06T21:20:00.002+01:00

Sooooo, general consensus is that my engine is dead. Very dead. Likely busted piston rings / piston rings need regrinding / stuff that needs the attention of someone way more mechanically minded than I.

As my engine (Isuzu 3kc1) was last built in 1991, part prices are getting unreasonable, and it's on the small side for my boat anyway, I have decided to bite the bullet and plump for a brand new, modern engine (and the associated credit card debt in the short term).

New engine is a Betamarine 38hp, with upgraded panel which will alert me when stuff (i.e. temperatures) goes wrong, before it blows up (hopefully).

Muddy Waters is currently in the boat yard at Thorne, in the process of having a new skin tank fitted to accomodate said new engine. More power needs more cooling, which requires an additional skin tank. They are also going to clean all my engine bay up and give it a lick of primer. I am then going to paint it, to preserve the steel down there for years to come.

Now that I have dealt with the fact that I have to shell out for a new engine, I am actually quite excited about the whole affair. Since the repaint, my engine bay really has let the side down in terms of presentability - the rest of the boat looks pretty decent; the engine bay certainly doesn't.

I plan to go up to Thorne at the weekend and take some photos of the work in progress. Can't wait for the work to be completed and the new engine installed now though. 2 weeks' cruising in North Yorkshire this summer certainly has it's appeal, and a brand new engine with a 3 year warranty will be reassuring to say the least. It's hard to believe that it has now been 6 months since I had a working engine...says a lot for my friend who very generously gave me a tow, and for my new mooring with mains electric :)

My old engine is destined for a lifeboat restoration project, by a man who knows far more than I about all things mechanical. Assuming that he will let me, I hope to keep tracks of it in it's new life.

I know I've been slack lately, but will post more soon....promise.

B
xxx

Kilimanjaro / Tanzania

2009-04-27T14:52:00.002+01:00

Friends of mine run a safari company in Tanzania, specialising in Kilimanjaro and Meru Treks, including Kilimanjaro by all routes: Marangu, Machame, Lemosho, Rongai, Shira, Umbwe.

Climb Kilimanjaro

Life, the universe and stuff

2009-04-09T20:36:00.002+01:00

First off, apologies for not posting in ages. Again. Since moving to Sheffield, I seem to have less time free to update my blog...

I have now moved my boat out of Victoria Quays aka Sheffield Basin - a shame, but a blessing at the same time. The moorings in the basin are great, but unfortunately the evenings becoming lighter seem to encourage the local mischief, and the few weeks before I left saw an increase in car crime, boats being untied, possessions thrown in the water etc. The local constabulary reassured us that PCSOs were patrolling the area, but I no longer felt safe there so it was time to leave.

My new mooring has security gates, and a friendly feel about it. It's a tram-ride away from the city centre, but the other boaters seem a nice bunch and the boat club there serves good beer! Always a plus ;) The local ducks have taken to laying eggs in my neighbour's plant pots too...I like free food....

Boaty herself is still unwell, engine is officially declared dead with unknown compression problems. Parts for the existing pre-1991 engine are scarce, and having them shipped over from Isuzu in Japan isn't cheap, so I have decided to cut my losses and ordered a brand new Betamarine 38hp engine, due to be fitted in May. This will give me more power for the rivers etc, and comes with a reassuring warranty which should provide at least a few years of hassle-free cruising.

The new job and boyfriend are all going very well, and aside from the engine issues I am very happy. If all goes to plan, we will be exploring the North-Yorkshire canals by boat this summer.

Fingers crossed,
B
x

A string of bad luck

2009-02-03T19:11:00.002Z

My life for the last few days (weeks, now?) seems to have been a string of bad luck, punctuated by more bad luck as soon as I thought things couldn't get much worse.

The drama with my boat engine is still ongoing - my brother has had the head on the engine reconditioned, replaced the head gasket, given it a full service (oil, filters, the works) but it STILL won't start. I haven't given up just yet, but the bill is getting ridiculous now. Still got a few ideas to try, but it's really frustrating now. I have been offered a tow to my new mooring by a couple of local friendly boaters, but that's little consolation at the moment.

One of the joins in a freshwater pipe on the boat burst in the cold too, but The Boy once again came to my rescue and fixed that one.

As if all the boat-related drama wasn't enough to contend with, the alternator on my car died on Friday resulting in all my electrics dying and a breakdown on the M62. Of course, this happened at the worst possible moment - in the middle of a hail storm, at the peak of the M62 whilst it was blowing a gale. The result? Standing behind the safety barrier for an hour, shivering uncontrollably and soaked to the skin waiting for Green Flag recovery whilst they played "Rescue Me" as their hold music down the phone at me on constant repeat. Argh! Full credit to the traffic safety officers (aka rent-a-cops) though - they turned up and let me sit in their car to get warm for a bit until they had to go to an emergency. They left me waiting in the storm for the recovery folks, but gave me space blankets to keep warm at least.

Add to that lot stress with buses to/from work being cancelled as a result of the snow this week, and you have one unhappy girl-not-on-the-water-right-now!

I keep saying it, but things really can only get better now. If bad luck comes in threes, I must have had at least 2 sets by now.

Sleeping bag with legs

2009-01-12T22:22:00.001Z

I want one of these! Sleeping bag with legs!

Still alive

2009-01-09T23:14:00.004Z

Hello all!

Just wanted you all to know that Girl On The Water is still alive, and still thinking of more ideas for new posts than she has had the time to write of late.

Still in Sheffield, life on the whole is going well, but The Boy and Boat Dramas are taking control at the moment.

I WILL still complete the story about the great move North soon, as time permits, but right now my efforts are concentrated around broken head gaskets, water pipes, and growing vegetables (!).

Anywho, I'm still alive, and will post more soon - promise!

Big love (and don't remove me from your RSS feed just yet),
B
x

Belated update - Friday 10 October - Going Tidal!

2008-10-15T06:44:00.002+01:00

The Friday morning of the journey began with a little drama. I sprung out of bed early, all set to get up to Cromwell for 8am in order to make the tide up to Keadby. I had booked in with the lock keepers, but knew that I needed to set off before daylight in order to make it.

I made a coffee, checked the map, then went outside to start the engine. I turned the key as normal, but instead of hearing the engine sputtering into life, there was just a little "click". Maybe I had forgotten to warm the diesel coils. I tried again. Still nothing. Argh!

I quickly remembered at this point that my battery voltages had been lower than normal when I checked the multimeter on Thursday, but I had put this down to the fact that I accidentally left my inverter on for most of the day. I checked the battery voltage once more - 10 volts. That's why she wouldn't start. Fortunately, I carry a charged, spare battery for my headlight (long story) and with a set of jump leads and a little effort managed to get back up and running - phew. Sadly, this drama had taken around an hour, it was now daylight, and I had missed my slot for getting to Keadby in time for the tide. A quick phone call to the lock keeper later, my plan was changed to cruising just Cromwell-Torksey on the Friday, then Torksey-Keadby on the Saturday morning, leaving at first light. I quickly calculated that, assuming no further drama, I could still complete my journey in time so wasn't too annoyed.

The tidal river was pretty uneventful really. The sheer size of the river was awesome and took some getting used to, and I enjoyed cruising my boat on the moving water, trying to steer a perfect line down the channel to go as fast as possible, and keeping away from the mud flats and gravel banks so that I didn't get grounded. Steering the boat into the entrance of Torksey lock was interesting, as I was moving quite quickly, and the entrance is tiny in comparison to the river. Still, with a little caution and a lot of full-power from my engine I made it in safely. This is something which I quickly picked up on the moving water - there are times when you have to use a lot of power to make the boat go where you need it to. My little engine could only just make progress against the current, so it was important to get things right first time!

On arrival in Torksey, I checked the battery voltages once more. They hadn't charged. I tried to restart the engine, and couldn't. My knowledge of boat electrics is somewhat limited, but I had a look around in the engine bay to see if there was anything obvious broken. There wasn't. I started then engine with the jump leads once more, and confirmed that the voltages weren't changing. The batteries definitely weren't charging. The alternator and battery management system all appeared to be connected OK - the connecting wires were still there and in one piece. I realised that I could probably restart the engine using the jump leads again to continue my journey, but really didn't want to do this because if the engine had stopped for any reason (e.g. weed round the propeller) I might not have been able to restart it. On moving water, that would not be much fun. I wasn't ready to use my shiny new anchor! Also, I needed to know what the problem was, and so eventually called Oliver from Thorne Boat Services out.

Oliver arrived in just over an hour, and quickly spotted that my alternator only had one connecting wire where it should have had 2. The other wire had disconnected itself, presumably from all the engine vibration from the past few days' cruising. He reconnected it, and my batteries began charging back up. Perfect!

The lock keeper had told me that I needed to leave Torksey at first light in the morning in order to get into Keadby lock before 11:30 - otherwise the water would be too low and I wouldn't be able to get into the lock for all the silt, and would be stuck outside until 3pm. In view of this, I got an early night. All the fresh air is rather tiring.

Battery gone

2008-10-11T22:07:00.003+01:00

......and I'm tired! Will add more photos and updates soon.

Belated update - Thursday 9 October

2008-10-11T21:11:00.006+01:00

We were finally allowed out of Redhill lock and onto the Trent at 9:30am on Thursday morning - somewhat frustrating, having jumped out of bed at 6:30, but still far preferable to wasting yet another day sitting around staring at water level indicators.

The first thing that struck me about the Trent was the sheer size of it - from the onset, it was far far wider than any waterway that I had cruised on before and the moored boats were far bigger than any that I had passed until now. From here on in, the water just got wider, the boats and locks got bigger, and the current got faster.

Despite being allowed onto the river, Thursday got off to a slow start. We made very good time down to Beeston lock, due to the amount of water on the river. By this point, I had begun to learn to keep the boat sitting on the channel (fastest/deepest part of the river) to get an extra couple of mph for free. This is quite fun, until you get it a bit wrong on the corners and the sweeping current causes the boat to list like crazy. OK, it's fun then too......but I don't really want to sink Muddy Waters! Sadly, we got stuck for 1.5 hours at Beeston lock, waiting for the BW men to clear loads of debris from the lock that had been washed down by the floods of the last few days. Still, the time wasn't wasted - we went into the chandlery there and kitted ourselves out with lifejackets. On the canal lifejackets feel like overkill, but on moving water they are definitely a good idea, as those currents are strong, and I can see really easily how difficult it could be to get back to the boat (or out of the water at all in most places) if you were to fall in.

We finally got through the lock at Beeston with another narrowboat on it's way to Lincoln, and then followed the canal through the centre of Nottingham. On arrival at one of the locks (castle lock?) , I was slightly intimidated to see a big crowd watching us work through the lock. It turned out that their office fire alarm was going off, and the bit of car park by the towpath was their assembly point. They took photos of us, so we took a couple back of them and then turned our attention to working the lock nicely.

After the Nottingham canal, we rejoined the Trent and followed the navigation all the way to Newark, tying up in the dark on the BW moorings near Newark town lock. These moorings were rather odd as they were up against the pavement which reminded me of a harbour wall - the roof of my boat was on a level with the towpath. It turned out that the bar we spotted next to these moorings was a Pizza Express. We were both too tired to venture further, and so ended up eating there before returning to the boat and passing out at about 9pm!

A little drama, but I'm still alive!

2008-10-10T18:27:00.002+01:00

The last couple of days have been eventful! A couple of moorings with no mobile signal and then an electrical fiasco today which resulted in an engineer callout to sort a problem with my alternator meant that I was cut off from the world for a couple of days. OK, slight exaggeration, I have been using my mobile in places but couldn't get on the internet until now.

I just posted a quick update that I wrote yesterday morning, and will add the photos etc as soon as I can-probably tomorrow night.

I have made it onto the tidal part of the Trent, and am currently sat on the safe haven of floating pontoons at Torksey lock, waiting for daylight in the morning to catch the tide up to Keadby. Just praying the electrical drama is now over so that I can start my engine!

Connection time is limited to my laptop battery life right now, and my connection is painfully slow.

Proper update coming ASAP.

Finally back on the move

2008-10-09T07:30:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, I sprung out of bed at about 6am to make some coffee and check on the water indicator marker before sunrise. By this point I was fed up of waiting and praying to the weather gods, so fortunately the water was right on the line between red and amber. With no wind, I decided to go for it.

I set the lock ready, so that as soon as it was light enough (about 7am) we could set off. The journey from Cossington to Sileby was beautiful, but uneventful. The morning mist on the water reminded me of quiet mornings walking from boat to car in Rugby last winter. Though flowing, the river looked impressively still. It is hard to believe that this was the same river that we had been waiting 2 days for.

On arrival in the lock at Sileby, the water indicator was again on the amber/red border line, however this time there was a rather serious looking weir off to one side, creating some turbulence and white water in what was to be our path just the other side of a lock. I don't think I would want to moor at the top of that! Not ideal territory for a narrowboat, really. An estuary tug went down, and was absolutely fine. Watching someone else go first allowed me to see where the current took the boat, and I then followed. The ease at which we travelled down that stretch was an anticlimax really, after the build-up and excitement. Whilst deciding whether or not to go, I took some interesting photos of the white water.

The rest of the day was given over to cruising through Loughborough, Zouch, Kegworth, and down the remainder of the River Soar to Redhill Lock, the last lock before the Trent. En route we managed to get filled with diesel (just to be sure on the river), fill the water and empty the loos. Having come through the last couple of flood warning lights (on green) it was rather a disappointment to be met by the red light of doom at the last hurdle before the Trent! Still, at least we got a decent day's cruising in at last.

Mum and I moored for the day at around 4/5pm, taking one of the last spaces available in the shadow of Radcliffe power station. We wandered over to the marina opposite and bought a rather hefty anchor together with the necessary chain, rope and connectors in preparation for the Trent. Unfortunately, the marina is a 5 minute walk away over 3 bridges, and anchors and chains are rather heavy. Still, the exercise did me good.

Last night I swapped crew - my little brother arrived, and mum left in his car. We're all set for another full day on the water today - the weather is looking good, so fingers crossed for the water now too.

The water's dropped 3 inches, but it's windy now

2008-10-07T12:59:00.003+01:00

Frustration! Water level was 8 inches when we arrived, and is now 5 - fingers crossed it will drop enough this afternoon. The wind, however, has picked up and is rocking the boat enough that I wouldn't want to move on a canal, never mind moving water.

Apparently BW told the people on one of the boats stuck here that they guess the level should drop enough by about 3pm, but I guess that depends on whether is rains more or not.

On the positive side, I am getting loads of time to play with my camera and read books, so perhaps when we do get moving again my photography will improve a bit. Time will tell!

A little progress, and then stuck again

2008-10-07T09:14:00.005+01:00

It's getting frustrating now! Last night, the water began to drop and so mum and I made about an hour's progress down to the Hope and Anchor pub near Syston. The pub was less than exciting, and so we just had one drink before heading back to the boat to get an early night, in the hope that we might be able to make decent progress with an early start in the morning.

This morning, the water level had dropped at least a few inches, so we moved fairly quickly down to the next lock as soon as it was light enough. We made it on down as far as Cossington lock, but the water indicator here is again far too high to proceed, so we are tied up right next to a rather impressive-looking weir playing the waiting game once more.

Another boat here has been waiting 2 days for the water to drop. Apparently it was 11 inches into the red this morning, and now it is only 8, so I haven't given up hope of moving further today just yet.

All this waiting around is somewhat frustrating - I'm going to really need the weather, tides and lady luck on my side now to have any chance of making it to Sheffield! In fact, I know for a fact that I can't actually get right into Sheffield yet anyway, as the final lock flight of my journey (Tinsley) is still closed due to a broken pump.

It feels good to have moved a little bit this morning, but is very annoying having to sit around when I want to be out cruising

Once again, I have been playing with my camera to pass the time.

The water has risen, even though it's been a nice, dry day here :(

2008-10-06T17:25:00.001+01:00

Photos of Leicester, the Weir, and Birstall

2008-10-06T13:16:00.007+01:00

1:15pm and we're still stuck in Birstall, Leicester waiting for the water level to drop on the river. The morning wasn't a complete write-off as we cooked a tasty stew for lunch and walked down to the marina at Thurmaston lock to buy a bilge pump with built in float switch which I have now fitted.

It turns out that the lock we were hunting for in the dark last night was just on the other side of a bridge that we had walked right past - oops. These things are easier to spot when it's light. It wouldn't have made a difference anyway as the water there is still 6 inches above where it needs to be.

Urban sprawl and flooded rivers

2008-10-06T09:06:00.005+01:00

Sunday got off to a bit of a slow start, mainly because the weatherman was right and it poured with rain. Nathan and I tucked into a hearty English breakfast in bed, before wrapping up in our waterproofs and braving the elements of urban Leicester.

Cruising towards the city, the waterway began to widen. The locks got stiffer and heavier, and the more built-up surroundings made an interesting change from the rural canals of the previous few days. It is a shame, but the waterways of Leicester really do feel to be somewhat neglected, navigations that time forgot. We encountered more broken lock paddles on the route through the city than I have seen in my entire boating career to date!

Suddenly, we rounded a corner and it felt like we were on the sea. This was certainly the most open water that Muddy Waters has seen since I owned her, and it felt fantastic. Words cannot express how beautifully she swam through the deep water, gliding along at a decent pace, breaking through the water so smoothly and silently. Nathan popped indoors for a while to check on the food / fire, but I called him back pretty quickly. Just outside Leicester City football club, approaching Freemans Meadow lock, I saw the most exciting (if somewhat frightening) sight that I have ever seen from my boat. We were cruising along the top of a HUGE weir! The Nicholson guide says "The canal and River Soar meet just above Freeman's Meadow lock, where there is an enormous unprotected weir. Care is needed, especially in times of flood. KEEP WELL OVER TO THE TOWPATH SIDE." It certainly isn't wrong. The photos aren't great, mainly because I was concentrating on keeping my boat well away from the edge!

Heading North out of the city around lunch time, the high water warning markers which had indicated "Green, safe to proceed" along the journey so far suddenly showed Red, and we had to wait in a lock for an hour or so for the river level to drop. The boat that we eventually went down the lock with had been there since 9am and the crew were somewhat frustrated about being held up. We took the opportunity to devour the roast lamb which Nathan had been preparing as we cruised and change our clothes as we were soaked from a morning out in the rain.

Eventually the water level dropped until the amber marker was just showing, and so we set off somewhat cautiously down the river. I didn't enjoy this section of the jouney, as the current was still rather strong and steering the boat became a little too challenging for comfort under one particular bridge. No harm was done, fortunately. We arrived at Birstall lock to discover that the high water marker was most definitely in the red area still, and so tied up to wait for the level to drop once more.

Replacement crew (my Mum!) arrived on Sunday evening, along with a rather tasty seafood risotto which Dad had invented for us (recipe to follow), and Nathan and I took her to the Mulberry Tree bar which we discovered located conveniently close to where we had tied up. All that I can say is that I hope that we do better boating than we do in pub quizzes!

After a brief return to the boat to eat the remainder of the chocolate fudge cake which Nathan had brought down as a birthday surprise for me, Mum went to bed. Nathan and I weren't ready to sleep, so instead ventured off into Watermead country park, in search of the next lock to check the water indicator there.

Lesson 1: Venturing into unknown country parks in the dark with a torch whose battery doesn't last very long maybe isn't the best idea in the world.
Lesson 2: Such country parks tend to be rather muddy after heavy rainfall.
Lesson 3: Ballet pumps aren't the best footwear for these kinds of adventures
Lesson 4: Maps and compasses can be quite handy sometimes

We got a little lost, but made it back to the boat safely after just over an hour. We didn't manage to find the next lock or check the water level, but looking at the map this morning I suspect that we walked pretty much past it and didn't notice!

Mum and I are now sitting on the boat by the lock, still waiting for the water level to drop. Somewhat frustrating, as the sun is shining, there's a little bit of mist lingering over the water, and it's exactly the kind of morning that I would love to spend out cruising.

We've already had 4 cups of tea, a boiled egg with soldiers and a homemade scone each already (it's only 9:30am) and are both hoping that the water drops soon as the sunshine and blue sky are taunting us stuck here. Fingers crossed...

Just off to the shop, will upload photos later.

Photos - Fri/Sat

2008-10-06T08:06:00.003+01:00

Belated photos from the weekend - I finally found a spot with decent mobile internet coverage.

Enjoy!

12 hours of blood, sweat and tears

2008-10-04T21:09:00.002+01:00

This morning we scraped ourselves out of bed just before the sun rose, whilst it was still around 4 degrees outside and set off towards Foxton locks. With 177 miles and 91 locks to go, we needed to cover some ground in order to have a chance of making it to Sheffield in time. The weather was better than the forecast had predicted, in that it wasn't tipping with rain. The wind, however, was rather strong and made for some interesting steering.

Nathan put me to shame and took the tiller for the early part of the journey, steering the boat through Husbands Bosworth tunnel without so much as touching the wall. The boy is a natural!

We made good time up to Foxton, arriving early enough to not end up queueing for the staircase locks, and were heading towards Leicester with full tanks of diesel and water and 10 bags of coal on the roof before lunch time - much earlier than I had anticipated. The wind made reversing and turning the boat rather interesting, but we escaped unscathed and wound our way through the reeds towards Leicester. Saddington tunnel became rather fun when the torch battery ran out, and I completed the second half of it in complete darkness, lining up the vent on the front of the boat with the tunnel exit in the distance in order to steer a (reasonably) straight line.

On the map, the locks heading towards Leicester appear to have small gaps in between, at least enough to catch your breath and have a cup of tea, however in practise they are really close together.....at least, all of them except the ones where I said to Nathan "it's OK, you bring the boat and I will walk to the next locks, it's not far". Unfortunately, it was quite far (about half a mile maybe) and I ended up running alongside the boat, unable to back on for all the reeds growing alongside the towpath. Still, I guess the exercise did me good and it gave us something to giggle at for a couple of minutes.

Pressing North towards Leicester, it became clear that we weare heading towards an urban area as we needed a British Waterways key to unlock the anti-chav devices on the paddles of the grafitti-covered lock gates. Even the sheep didn't have much respect for them (see photo).

The wind continued to blow, and we worked our way down the seemingly never-ending chain of locks until darkness, finally mooring near Wigston in Leicester as darkness fell. Within minutes of mooring it began raining quite heavily, and so we were both glad that we had stopped when we did.

Feeling rather hungry I managed to burn the sticky lemon chicken which I was cooking for dinner, but we were both so hungry it didn't really seem to matter. Our muscles are aching, our feet are sore, but we now have only 156 miles and 66 locks to go.

Fingers crossed that the weather man gets it wrong again tomorrow, as he says it's going to rain heavily all day tomorrow. I'd rather have the wind!

Anyway, that's enough for one night, we have a bottle of wine to finish before bed, and the river Soar to explore when the sun rises tomorrow morning. Oooh and maybe a bacon buttie.

Friday night - takeoff!

2008-10-04T21:01:00.002+01:00

After leaving Gap and making a brief call at Hillmorton, Nathan and I set sail Northwards.

The cruise to South Kilworth took about an hour, leaving plenty of time to chop firewood and check the route to the pub on the map before darkness fell. The path forked, and all we needed to do was take a left turn along a bridleway...what could possibly have gone wrong?! Personally, I blame my mum, as whilst chatting to her on the phone about the plan for the coming few days, we managed to miss the turning and walk round 2 sides of a triangle. Fortunately the walk was worth it as The White Hart in South Kilworth had locally reared 12oz Ribeye steaks on their specials board and some rather tasty Wythcwood brewery Big Bertha on tap to warm us back up.

The walk back to the boat afterwards was fairly uneventful, as we managed to find the right path and stumble along it in the dark back to the safety of Muddy Waters and build a fire.

Last minute mission extension

2008-10-03T15:24:00.003+01:00

Wow, I have just managed to secure myself a winter mooring in Sheffield basin, which means I need to cruise slightly further up the tidal Trent than initially planned. So we have moved back slightly in terms of progress.

The mission now stands at 180 miles and 91 locks! More miles, less locks, but canalplan now says 8 days again. And the weatherman is still bringing bad news. Will I make it? Stay tuned to find out!

Thank you to everyone at Gap for the nice messages, card, wine and money - I will likely put it towards my anchor or some more wine for the journey.

Let the adventure begin!

Becky
x

A smell of adventure in the air

2008-10-02T22:11:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow is my last day in my current job, before I move on to pastures new. Tonight was probably the hardest of all my evening cruising missions so far, despite not involving any locks, tunnels or other obstructions to delay my progress. It was also the most enjoyable in some ways.

After work, I drove to the next mooring spot, about 5 miles further North, and then cycled back to the boat. The thinking behind this was that I would rather cruise as the light was starting to drop than cycle on the roads, and I knew that I was pushing it for time as I was aiming to cover almost twice the distance I had managed last night.

Things started well - 45 mins to walk/cycle back to the boat seemed reasonable, considering that the towpath in some places wasn't really wide (or safe) enough to even walk along, let alone cycle.

Upon my return to the boat, I discovered that my mooring pins had been ripped from the ground, presumably by a passing boat going a little too quickly. Still, no harm was done and the wind was blowing in the right direction, pushing my boat against the bank.

I set off cruising, and made reasonable progress although the canal was quite overgrown and weeded up in places. The light began to drop, reminding me of the beautiful sunsets I have seen from these villages in the past. I took a few photos, and remembered the tree in Yelvertoft which I took a photo of last winter when it was bare of leaves, sitting against a pretty purple skyline. Today, that same tree is covered in greenery. I took a photo anyway.

As it got progressively darker, I realised that time was very much against me, again. The more sensible part of me realised that I could just stop, tie up, and continue to my car at sunrise before work, however there didn't seem much fun in that and the new box of firelighters was in my car. Also, the weather man isn't promising nice things for tomorrow morning, and so I suspect that a half-hour cruise at 6:30am might not seem too appealing.

I eventually arrived at my pre-determined mooring at 8pm, around 45 minutes after it had become what most people would class as "dark". The canal here is so deserted that it really did feel like I was cruising into the wilderness, miles from another soul. In reality, I'm only a mile or so from the nearest village, but it feels further.

There was a minor drama as I came to moor up, as my centre rope came loose from the cleat which attaches it to the top of the boat, whilst I was stood on the bank. Fortunately there was nobody around to see me fly backwards and land on my bum, so I got up pretty quickly and managed to jump back onto the boat and reattach the rope. Mental note to self: attach rope properly before going near rivers.

The fire is now lit, the lamb stew has been eaten (well, some of it), and the rain has begun pattering quite heavily on the roof. I'm glad I didn't plan on walking far before work tomorrow.

For the next week or so rain will be no excuse not to cruise, but right now I'm glad that I am curled up on my sofa, watching the flames in the fire and sipping a glass of red. It's a hard life, but somebody has to do it.

I hate the BW mooring tender process

2008-10-02T15:40:00.004+01:00

It's official, I hate it. Just lost out on the mooring I really really wanted up North, for the sake of a pesky £65. Not £65 a month, no, just £65 per year! Gutted.

Moorings are serious business. There has to be a better way of deciding who gets them. The amount I tendered was significantly higher than the guide price, but I would have happily gone up another £100 if I had known that it would be required in order to secure the mooring.

Worst of all, there are no other moorings up for tender in the area I need to be in, so I can't even have another go yet. Looks like I will continue towpath surfing for a little while yet, then...

BW are never going to read my blog or care what I think, but I really don't think tenders are a suitable way of distributing moorings. The idea behind it all is clearly to push the prices up and ensure that boating becomes an elitist rich-man's game, and that really isn't what it should be about.

Anyway, end of rant. I didn't get my mooring, and am somewhat annoyed as I lost out by such a small amount.

2 long miles

2008-10-02T11:10:00.002+01:00

The journey from Crick to Yelvertoft is relatively short (2 miles) by water. For reasons that escape me now, I decided last night that it made more sense to cycle back from Yelvertoft to Crick by road rather than following the canal. Perhaps I remembered the long, straight road that links the two being shorter than it actually is, but it was a LONG ride back, with the dark fast approaching and time not on my side. It's a good thing I have lights on my bike. Still, 2 more miles chipped off the total - only 156 more to go now!

Last night wasn't an easy one; I also ended up lighting my fire with kindling and BBQ lighter fluid as I had run out of firelighters. On the plus side, I managed to cook a rather tasty-looking lamb stew on top of the fire once it finally got going, and plan to eat it for dinner tonight - yum.

More items to add to the list of stuff I really should own for this mission and don't: Firelighters, bike pump, reflective cycling stuff, anchor, engine oil. stern grease, diesel, coal, lifejackets....

Light at the end of the tunnel. Twice, in 2 days!

2008-10-01T15:49:00.002+01:00

Following on from my success in Braunston tunnel on Monday, I continued my journey yesterday from Norton junction, up through the staircase locks at Watford, and then on through the 1528yd tunnel to Crick.

The journey up the Watford locks wasn't the most pleasant. I had a brief wait to allow another boat down the flight before I could begin my ascent, and then the heavens opened leaving me to work up the locks in the tipping rain. By the time I reached the summit I was more than ready to go inside and make a warm cuppa, but with time and daylight against me decided instead to push on to Crick.

Given that my torch ran out of power in Braunston, I was more than aware that the same would happen in Crick tunnel but decided to go for it regardless. This time, I didn't brush the tunnel walls once - an achievement, considering that it was this very tunnel that had destroyed the corner of my cratch cover last time I passed through and had contributed significantly to my somewhat-irrational tunnel phobia.

There are now only 158 miles and 89 locks to go, and the only tunnels left are relatively short in comparison to the two which I have just completed. Hopefully the tides and weather will be in my favour. The forecast still doesn't look promising, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Only 163 miles to go now

2008-09-30T08:38:00.002+01:00

It seems that my readership is expanding! Mum informed me last night that my Grandad has been reading my blog, so I'd better behave myself now. Hello Grandad, if you're reading this.

Last night I continued my mission Northwards through Braunston tunnel, then up to Norton junction on the Leicester section of the Grand Union. I discovered somewhat of a flaw in my temporary-tunnel-light plan - 2.5 million candle power torches make really really good tunnel lights, far brighter than any I have used before....but the battery charge doesn't last long enough to make it the entire way through Braunston tunnel. The last third or so was an experience...and perhaps one not to be repeated. I made it through with a combination of my rather inadequate navigation lights and a wind-up torch, switching the 2.5 million candle power one on every now and again for reassurance. The solution may be to invest in another rechargeable torch, as I prefer it to my old headlight. Anyway, a boater can never have too many torches!

Now that I am on the Leicester line it really feels like the journey has begun. Only about a day and a half's more cruising and I will be in uncharted territory; up until now I haven't explored anywhere North of Foxton.

It's currently miserable and rainy outside, but the BBC forecast looks reasonably promising for later. Well, it predicts that the rain will stop at any rate. I hope it's right so that I can make some progress through the Watford locks this evening.

167 miles and 96 locks to go

2008-09-26T08:06:00.002+01:00

Last night I broke the 100 locks barrier! Only 96 more to go now, according to canal plan.

I call it a mission, moving my boat such a distance, but when you wake up to beautiful scenery in the mornings it's hardly a chore. This morning, I allowed myself extra time for the walk back to my car so that I could take these pictures. Braunston locks were where I spent my very first night on my boat last summer. They were also the first and only place that Jono breasted both of our boats together and took them through the locks whilst Helen and I opened the gates.

Last night I made it up the flight before dark, met some lovely people along the way, and then had a delicious steak and a couple of pints in the Admiral Nelson before bed.

Happy memories!

Leaving this town - the journey begins

2008-09-25T08:20:00.004+01:00

I have begun to write up the minor drama which was my first night's cruise in the mission Northwards, but am waiting to moor somewhere with mobile signal before I can upload it. Lesson 1: Mobile signal is worse in Braunston than anywhere else I have ever moored. Lesson 2: Check that your boat has enough diesel for your mission.

Here are a few pictures from the first night, Tuesday 23 September 2008:

Mission plan

2008-09-19T16:16:00.002+01:00

One week, one girl, one narrowboat. Can I do it? I think probably not, but I will give it my best shot and see how far I can get!

Teasing me

2008-09-18T08:31:00.002+01:00

Following on from the post I wrote last night, the weather decided to tease me this morning. There is something magical about waking up in the open countryside surrounded by mist lingering over the water, the view enhanced by the crisp smell of winter fast approaching. The dew drops on the roof of the boat looked like last winter's morning ice and there was an alomst eerie feeling about the stillness and calm. The only sounds breaking the silence were the birds in the trees and an odd plane overhead. I wish that I hadn't broken my phone last week, or I would have taken some pictures.

I am really looking forward to the mission ahead now, cruising as the sun rises and discovering uncharted territory.

The DADDY of all boating missions

2008-09-17T18:59:00.003+01:00

OK....so things have changed a little in my life. I'm still working in Rugby at the moment and living anywhere within a 30-40 minute drive of work, but not for much longer. A new challenge awaits, and is located very close to my sweetheart in Sheffield. Winter is fast approaching, and I am moored 103 locks from where I want to be. With only weekends to move the boat and a hectic social calendar, things are looking tricky to say the least.

According to canalplan, I am 9 days away from my beau. 5 free weekends, assuming that rain, snow, ice and tides are on my side. Or a week off work and a fairly hefty mission. Hmmmm.

Sitting by the fire this evening with the smell of burning wood in the air and a crisp wintry feeling beginning to develop outside reminds me of all that I love about boating. What I would give to leave immediately and begin the epic mission North!

I raise my glass to the mission ahead,

B
x

Thought of the day - wise words

2008-08-29T14:53:00.002+01:00

When I was a teenager, I remember my Grandad once telling me "You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time".

So true, no matter how damn hard you try some days!

Gordon Ramsay's sticky lemon chicken with champ

2008-08-29T08:37:00.001+01:00

Tasty. Yummy. Good eats. Make some!

Dhokla - Gujarati chilli cake

2008-08-13T12:52:00.004+01:00

Made this last night, and it tasted pretty good - not unlike the bought version that Nathan bought me recently which prompted me to try and make my own. Savoury chilli cake - yum! Also pretty good for making on the boat, as the only fresh ingredient is the chilli. Traditionally eaten as a snack with a cup of tea.

1 cup Besan (Gram flour)
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 tbsp Sugar
Thinely sliced Chillies
few Curry leaves
Salt to taste

In a bowl seive the besan flour and mix 1 tbs lemonjuice, green chillies, turmeric, baking powder, salt , sugar and 1/2 cup water to make a batter of semi liquid consistency.

Boil water in a wide bottomed pan and place a wire mesh upside down. The water level should be below the wire mesh top. Grease a baking pan and pour the mixture into it.

Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook in its own steam for 15-20 minutes. Check for the doneness by inserting a clean toothpick, The Dhokla’s are done when the toothpick comes out clean. Remove the Dhokla pan from the steaming water carefully and let it cool for 3-4 minutes. Put the pan upside down on a clean plate and cut it into squares.

For seasoning, heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies cut lengthwise. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, remove the pan from the heat and add 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp sugar. Mix well.

Spread the seasoning on the Dhokla’s and serve with Tamarind Chutney and Coriander chutney.

Home sweet home

2008-08-11T22:46:00.005+01:00

Some days, I just love living on the canal. Like last Monday night, for example, when this was the view from my roof.

Another item to add to the ever-growing list of really cool stuff I want but don't have anywhere to store?

2008-07-28T13:46:00.001+01:00

Oh, but, it's only little. And would work in/on my stove. Mmmmm fire :)

Diablo toasty maker

Photography

2008-07-18T08:09:00.002+01:00

I wrote a few months ago around learning to use my camera properly. That still hasn't happened (yet) however last night Jono showed me what my camera can achieve, and I am inspired.

Today's unnecessary purchase

2008-07-16T14:22:00.003+01:00

Was in the chandlery at lunch time, picking up a few useful electrical bits to finish the boat off, and I spotted this. It made me smile, so I bought it.

Fluffy pink clouds

2008-07-16T09:01:00.002+01:00

I took this picture as the sun was setting over the canal in Hillmorton last night, and I think it pretty much sums up my life at the moment - fluffy, pink and happy!

All's good in my world right now - I've met a lovely man, got my boat back and the sun keeps shining. Summer's here and the festival season is upon us, life is pretty sweet.

B
x

Complete at last

2008-07-10T14:47:00.003+01:00

There are a couple of finishing touches still to be added, and a little DIY to be done, but Muddy Waters is now basically complete. She's back on the water, and just about fit to take out cruising this weekend - yay!

So close....yet so far

2008-07-04T14:32:00.004+01:00

Question is....will she be back on the water tomorrow? Boat yard guys still say "yes", but there's a lot of work still to be done. Time shall tell!

Oh yes, and I don't know quite what posessed them to paint the cleat on the front in spectacular postbox red, but it isn't staying that colour. It will soon be in keeping with the rest of the colour scheme ;)

Paint job - shiny shiny now

2008-06-23T16:06:00.001+01:00

Boat has been lacquered...

Paint job - spoke too soon

2008-06-17T15:40:00.002+01:00

So much for this morning's post entitled "getting there now". I popped to the boat yard at lunch time to check on progress, and my new paint has been damaged. It was covered with a plastic sheet before it was 100% dry (to shield it from overspray), and the sheet stuck to it in places, ruining the finish.

This *may* not be a bad thing, as the guys working on it said that they may decide to coat it with lacquer to resolve the issue. Alternatively, they will have to apply another coat of paint. Either way, I figure another protective coat on my boat is good really - may mean it takes a few days longer to finish though, time shall tell.

Muddy Waters paint job - getting there now

2008-06-17T13:14:00.000+01:00

Becky + beer = broken toe

2008-06-16T17:56:00.001+01:00

Ouch :( Somebody should have pointed out that it was Fri 13th before I went out on the beers...

Muddy Waters paint job - more progress

2008-06-16T17:54:00.000+01:00

Muddy Waters paint job - painting has begun!

2008-06-09T10:02:00.000+01:00

BBG Bathroom refit - Almost done now

2008-06-09T09:51:00.001+01:00

BBG Bathroom refit - Getting there now!

2008-06-05T16:18:00.003+01:00

BBG's bathroom is also coming on in leaps and bounds now:

Muddy Waters paint job - progress

2008-06-05T16:15:00.001+01:00

My boat is coming along nicely now, the prep. work is almost complete at last. She has been sanded and smoothed, and is almost ready for primer now.

New addition!

2008-06-03T15:05:00.003+01:00

This morning, I became a proud auntie for the second time. This gorgeous little girl weights 7lb 1oz, but has not yet been named.

BBG Bathroom refit - Shower tray now in

2008-06-03T13:52:00.002+01:00

Colours

2008-05-30T15:08:00.001+01:00

That's it, the decision is made. The colours are chosen, and the paint is ordered.

After almost a year of deliberation, I have finally decided upon a new colour scheme for Muddy Waters! She will be keeping the same basic design as she has now, but with more panels on the sides, new colours, and some arty funk which I am still in the process of designing. I spent my lunch break with a paint brush, some paint samples and a roll of masking tape, and can at last visualise the end result. Well, almost.

Billy, who is going to be doing the painting, seems remarkably chilled about the whole process. He's doing a sterling job of stripping all the old paint off and smoothing out any lumps and bumps, so I have high hopes that he will be able to turn my ideas into reality now.

Must remember to ask him if I can have the tiller painted in a stripy spiral though - almost forgot about that little request.

Muddy Waters paint job - Day 3 photos

2008-05-30T14:14:00.001+01:00

BBG Bathroom refit - Day 3 photos - Sprayfoam!

2008-05-30T12:18:00.001+01:00

Muddy Waters paint job - More day 1&2 photos

2008-05-30T12:17:00.002+01:00

Muddy Waters paint job - Day 1&2 photos

2008-05-29T10:52:00.001+01:00

BBG Bathroom refit - Day 2 photos

2008-05-29T10:51:00.001+01:00

BBG Bathroom refit - Day 1 photos

2008-05-29T10:34:00.001+01:00

Ready....set......go! Day 2

2008-05-28T21:18:00.002+01:00

What would you take if you had arrived home from work tonight, to be told that, after tonight, you won't be able to get into your home again for another 3-4 weeks? Oh, and you need to carry anything that you take down/up 2 ladders and then carry it 65 paces in the pouring rain? That's where I found myself this evening, and so I'm now sitting amongst a pile of clothes, bedding, and my Glastonbury gear!

Aside from the moving drama, however, progress on my boat seems to be moving along nicely. Today, the paint (and rust) has been stripped off a lot of the roof, and more windows have been removed.

Work is also coming along nicely on Xav's bathroom replacement on his boat - batons have been fitted to the steel, for the wooden panelling to attach to.

Will upload pics tomorrow - connection is too slow tonight.

Day 1 in the repaint house

2008-05-28T11:49:00.001+01:00

At last, it’s all happening. Muddy Waters has now gone into the paint shop, is sitting comfortably, and progress has already begun. All of the windows down her right-hand side have been removed, and I have chosen some shiny new replacements for her. Yesterday evening was spent climbing on/off her to gather essential belongings (clothes, food etc) and moving into my temporary boat-residence.

Despite my best intentions, I have still not chosen the paint colours, and have only managed to make 1 fender in preparation for the completion. Tonight desperately needs to be spent with Photoshop and a colour chart, and possibly a glass of wine. Tommorrow, there will be photographs of the progress to date.

Fire poi.

2008-05-23T10:09:00.000+01:00

There was alcohol, a crowd, fire. Yeah baby!

Vending machines kill more people than sharks

2008-05-14T12:49:00.001+01:00

No, really

Sea searcher eat your heart out

2008-05-09T15:55:00.002+01:00

I want underwater CCTV! In fact, for £80, I might GET underwater CCTV as soon as the paint job is paid for and I have money again.

Life is hard

2008-05-09T10:46:00.002+01:00

The last 2 evenings of the current mini-heatwave have been enjoyed sitting by the water, sipping gin, eating BBQ food, and watching the world go by. This morning, I watched cygnets and duckings swim past the boat and lambs skipping in the fields as I was drinking my tea. Now that the sun is shining, this really is the best place in the world to live. I snapped these pics of my latest mooring.

Giant Hogweed

2008-05-08T09:50:00.002+01:00

Whilst enjoying a BBQ yesterday evening with Steve and Andy (my current neighbours), Steve spotted some Giant Hogweed growing on the towpath. As far as I know, I have never come across the stuff before but according to Wikipedia it's pretty nasty stuff:

Giant Hogweed is a phototoxic plant. Its sap can cause photodermatitis ie severe skin inflammations when the skin is exposed to sunlight or to UV-rays. Initially the skin colours red and starts itching. Then blisters form as in burns within 48 hours. They form black or purplish scars, which can last several years. Hospitalisation may become necessary. Presence of minute amounts of sap in the eyes, can lead to temporary or even permanent blindness. These reactions are caused by the presence of linear derivatives of furocoumarin in its leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds. These chemicals can get into the nucleus of the epithelial cells, forming a bond with the DNA, causing the cells to die. The brown colour is caused by the production of melanin by furocoumarins. In Germany, where this plant has become a real nuisance, there were about 16,000 victims in 2003.

Giant Hogweed (close-up)Children should be kept away from Giant Hogweed, and protective clothing (including eye protection) should be worn when handling it or digging it. If skin is exposed, the affected area should be washed thoroughly with soap and water and the exposed skin protected from the sun for several days.

I'll try and remember to get a photo of it tonight.

You have been warned, kids!

Summer has arrived!

2008-05-05T16:18:00.005+01:00

Just had an absolutely gorgeous long weekend. Cycled miles and miles around Amsterdam with Xav, enjoyed German beer in the sunshine, and partied right through 'til the small wee hours in Sugar Factory.

I arrived back at the boat at around lunchtime to discover that the broody swans who I have seen guarding their eggs recently now have 6 cute little cygnets swimming around with them - bless! With all the doors on the boat wide open, it's still 30 degrees in here so I'm sitting around in my shorts. Bring on the summertime!

Work.....meh

2008-04-30T17:34:00.002+01:00

Getting a bit hacked off with the whole work / job thing at the moment, but just stumbled across this online which made me giggle a bit:

We're in the paper!

2008-04-24T16:24:00.000+01:00

Merchant beer festival in the Rugby Advertiser. See the gallery.

St George in the Merchant

2008-04-24T12:40:00.003+01:00

It was never going to be pretty - St George's day celebrations, in The Merchant, possibly one of the best real ale pubs on the planet which also happens to have a beer festival on this week. There were 66 real ales on tap, conveniently served in 1/3 pint glasses. There was singing, dancing and a whole lot of fun. I managed to befriend a photographer from the Rugby Advertiser too, so might end up with my mug all over the paper later - hmm.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words - check it out.

To the top!

2008-04-22T15:38:00.003+01:00

Next month, I am completing the Irish 3-peaks challenge with a team from work, for charity. This means that I am going to climb the 3 highest mountains in Ireland in under 24 hours. Which means I need to get my lazy butt to the gym between now and then, or take up running along the towpaths. Ideally both.

I've made myself lots of promises, including gym visits and not eating junk food any more, and just stumbled along quite a cool tool - an "online pedometer" where you can check how far you've walked/run. Works on roads, canals, fields, paths....everywhere, as far as I can tell. Check it out: Gmap Pedometer. Now I know how to check my progress, I just need to MAKE some progress!

Being as I failed on the second training mission to Cadair Idris in Wales (poorly muscles in my knee), I really do need to get some serious training in very soon.

Slow down!

2008-04-17T09:26:00.002+01:00

When moored using mooring pins, people speeding past too quickly do more than just spill your wine by causing the boat to rock - they are also capable of tearing your mooring pins from the ground, which was exactly what had happened to Muddy Waters yeterday. I returned home from work to discover my boat floating around by the bank, with both mooring ropes hanging down into the water. Two of my mooring pins were missing, but retrieved after a few minutes "fishing" with my sea-searcher magnet. Those things are worth every penny.

Once the boat was safely moored, I took advantage of the relatively nice evening and decided that a spot of magnet fishing was in order. An hour later, I had retrieved a rather impressive haul from the bottom of the canal: 4 mooring pins, 1.5 lump hammers, a fishing rod rest, and what I *think* was once the arm of someone's tiller!

Men

2008-04-15T17:04:00.002+01:00

Will I ever understand them? Will Mr Right ever come along? The ones I have met recently fall into 2 basic categories: The ones I am not interested in, and the ones who are not interested in me. Or at least, play so hard to get that I have no clue whether they're actually interested or not. I thought that maybe things were a-changing, but now I'm not so sure.

They say they come along when you're least expecting it - I'm going to stop looking now and see where I end up.

Sunburnt...again

2008-04-14T12:22:00.002+01:00

Since arriving at work this morning, 2 people have asked whether I went on holiday somewhere hot for the weekend! In fact, I went no further than the pub, but spent a few hours on Saturday out in the great outdoors, cruising the boat in a mixture of wind, sun, rain and hail. The weather was far from fantastic, yet I still managed to get sunburnt on my face for the 2nd time in two weeks. Clearly need to invest in some decent sunscreen for the summer if I can manage to get burnt in March and April!

Something good happened too, but I will write more about that when the time is right. Don't want to tempt fate right now.

Also just noticed that my blog has over 100 hits since I added the counter a couple of weeks back - who is actually reading the babble that I write?!

B
x

Becky's smokey bacon and paprika risotto

2008-04-10T13:11:00.002+01:00

Discovered this by accident whilst trying to use up bacon and peppers, but it turned out alright so I cooked it for Jonno and Helen last night. No exact quantities, it just tastes good.

Couple of packs of smokey bacon
Onion
Garlic
2 red/yellow peppers
mushrooms
Smoked paprika
Chilli
Risotto rice

Chop bacon into bits, cook in big pan with onion and garlic. Add roughly chopped peppers and mushrooms, cook some more. Add risotto rice, paprika and chilli to taste, plus a bit of boiling water. Keep adding water / stirring occasionally until rice is cooked. Add more paprika, or some black peppper. Eat.
I think this would work well with cherry tomatoes added at the last minute, but haven't tried that yet as I forgot to put them in yesterday.

Heaven is a place on earth

2008-04-08T13:32:00.002+01:00

I want to live here forever!

Grandma's legendary fruit cake

2008-03-28T17:10:00.003Z

According to the crew of Opposite Lock (sister ship), my Grandma makes the best fruit cake in the world. Every time I see her, I am presented with one of these little beauties, wrapped lovingly in traditional brown greaseproof paper and kitchen foil. Myself, I'm not really a fruitcake lover even, but this stuff is magical.

I'm posting the recipe before I lose / misplace it. I am informed that Grandma's teacups measure about 7.5 fluid ounces....probably best to find one the same size of the results may not be as desired! Yes, I know the measurements are all old-school metric, but they're staying that way. Because that's how Grandma makes it.

1 lb mixed dried fruit
8 oz chopped cherries
2 teacups sugar
8 oz butter
2 teacups water

Mix all of the above together in a big pan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Leave to cool (best overnight, if you can wait that long).

Add 4 teacups of Self Raising flour and 2 eggs.
Line two 2 lb loaf tins with greaseproof paper. Bake for two and a half hours. Gas mark 2 (150 degrees C).

Legendary!

Trains, tubes and TV versus this - where would you rather be?

2008-03-27T09:01:00.001Z

Would you believe that British Summer Time begins this weekend?

2008-03-26T08:33:00.001Z

Gutted - was looking forward to spending the weekend cruising. Still will, but it might not be as much fun as I had hoped now.

City vs Canal

2008-03-24T11:11:00.002Z

Having spent the last few days working in Central London, I am absolutely, 100% convinced that the canals are the best place on Earth to live. OK, so London might have a Starbucks on every corner supplying luscious white mocha for the extortionate sum of £3.30 a go, but the air is dirty and most people in the street completely blank you as you pass by. On the towpath, passers by are usually greeted with a friendly "hello" or "good morning", or at the very least a welcoming smile. Here, I feel horoured if they so much as look up from their newspaper to avoid walking straight into me in the train station.

The trains and tubes are a very odd place, with their own strange culture. This morning, my train was cancelled and so I was lucky enough to experience the replacement bus service instead. The 7:30 bus turned up 20 minutes late - a blessing, I thought, as I got straight on that one instead of waiting for the 8am one. With hindsight, I may have been better off waiting for the next bus, as mine got lost about 6 times en route, with the driver stopping to check a map and turn around every few minutes. Of course, we missed the connecting train by about a minute and were forced to stand out in the cold waiting for another. I did feel sorry for the driver, as he was only given the job yesterday evening and the hand-written directions which he had been given were no use to anyone who didn't already know the local area. Surely, in this day and age, the companies involved could afford to splash out on a few Sat Nav systems for these types of situations?

Anyway, end of rant, I will be back home very soon now. If anyone who knows me ever hears me so much as contemplate working in London at any time in the future, please remind me of these comments. Working here is a novelty for a day or two, but any longer and it turns into a dirty, expensive version of hell. As nice as the white mochas are, I would much rather be on my boat and out in the fresh air.

Living the dream

2008-03-06T00:18:00.003Z

Life is GOOD!

On Tuesday, I got home from work, went for a walk in the woods, then collected and chopped firewood until dark. After dark, Jonno and Helen came over for a couple of drinks and we sat by the fire chatting about boats, dogs, and how fantastic life on the water is. We never seem to tire of this!

Yesterday, I ran my engine for a couple of hours after work, as I'd forgotten to turn my inverter off in the morning and so my batteries were a little on the flat side. Whilst it ran, I sat cutting rope and teaching myself how to make fenders from some instructions I found online. After some initial confusion (think big tangle of rope, and staring at the instructions as if I were trying to assemble some complicated piece of flat-pack furniture) everything began to make sense and I now have something which resembles a half-made fender. Most surprising was how long they take to make, but it's satisfying to feel that I'm learning worthwhile, traditional skills. Also, I will save a fortune if I make my own fenders rather than buying them. (More beer-tokens for the fast-approaching summer).

New mission: Complete 10 fenders by the time the boat is repainted, to protect the new paintwork.

The simple life is great. OK, so we do have mod-cons on the boats, reasonable incomes and a much easier life than the boatmen of days gone by, but there's something intrinsically pleasing about at least trying to be self-sufficient as past generations did, collecting wood and making things rather than going out and buying them. If I ddn't have to work for a living and had more free time, I would do these things even more.

One of my workmates forwarded on an email this morning. Normally, I don't pay too much attention to chain mails, but this one really captured by attention - I still do half of this stuff!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1920's, 30's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70’s!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses full of asbestos.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese & tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took cadging lifts.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

A trip to the coast on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the stream and NOT from a bottle.

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Kebabs.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and only opened for a few hours at weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner shop and buy fruit Spangles and some bangers to blow up frogs with.

We ate buns, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No mobile phones – no one was able to reach us all day. And we were always O.K.

We would spend hours building our trolleys out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in streams with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on Sky, no video tape or DVD movies, no surround sound, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents.

Only girls had pierced ears!

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross buns at Easter time.......no really!

We had air guns and catapults for our birthdays.

We drank milk laced with Strontium 90 from cows that had eaten grass covered in nuclear fallout from the atomic testing.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them from the street!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

Mum & dad didn’t need Brandy, Whisky whatever when they came in from work!

Footy had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

Our teachers used to belt us with big sticks and leather straps and bully's always ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

Our parents got married before they had children and didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kylie' and 'Blade'

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 70 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

Insomnia

2008-03-01T01:42:00.003Z

As Faithless would say, "I can't get no sleep!"

Right now, I am actually tired. A couple of days ago, the entire UK experienced an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, the biggest in 25 years. At 1am, asleep on the boat, I was completely oblivious. Tonight's wind, however, is in a whole different league. According to weather.co.uk the wind is currently 36mph from the West and I believe it 100%. People reported cupboards rattling and shutters banging in the earthquake - they know nothing. I've only been back on the boat about an hour this evening, and the shaking and rocking is incredible. The curtains got a gust of wind in them through the open window, and managed to open themselves, which was a little scary! The cratch cover is rattling around even though it's fastened down properly, the wind is howling round the boat, and the light pull cords are swinging around illustrating precisely how much the boat is moving. I even double checked that it's tied up reasonably well as it was moving SO much.

Unless there's a serious change in the weather overnight, I think I will remain in my duvet until the wrong side of lunchtime tomorrow. After last weekend's fun and games in the wind, I have a feeling that my only ventures outdoors tomorow will be to fetch more coal in.

Old Rosie

2008-02-29T13:06:00.002Z

Last night, Jonno, Helen and I indulged in the sumptous surroundings of the Knightley Arms once more. To our delight, they had acquired a new drink - Old Rosie scrumpy. This is some very, very nice cider. 2.5 pints later, I felt like I had drunk far more. Delicious, but rather potent.

This morning, I have discovered the PERFECT plan for the BBQ boat parties we will undoubtedly have in the summer - Old Rosie. I smell danger, kids!

Still looking like a windy weekend :(

2008-02-28T10:46:00.003Z

Blame it on the weatherman!

2008-02-26T19:48:00.002Z

Last weekend, I tried to move my boat, but failed dismally due to the gusty winds - after moving about 5 boat lengths I realised that trying to counter-steer in the wind when driving a 57ft sail is something best not attempted unless you really, really have to! I didn't NEED to move anywhere, and had underestimated how cold it was outside, so the decision to stay in Yelvertoft was a relatively easy one to make after the first couple of brushes with the bank. Frustrating, nonetheless - I can happily move my boat in the pouring rain, but strong winds aren't for me.

We had planned to move further North next weekend, but the long range weather forecast is predicting 20mph winds for Saturday. Fingers crossed that it improves as the week goes on, as I'm getting itchy feet now and looking forward to some new scenery again. Not that there's anything wrong with Yelvertoft, it has has lovely pub (the Knightley) and a nice stretch for mooring complete with bins and water point. I even caught myself a new piling hook here whilst fishing with the magnet over the weekend - bonus!

Photography - the mission

2008-02-20T09:01:00.002Z

I have owned my digital camera for well over a year now, and so this summer I am going to actually learn to use it properly. As in manual mode.

A couple of evenings ago, I spotted what could have been a beautiful photo of a tree near my boat against the sunset, and am kicking myself now for snapping it on my phone instead of taking 2 minutes to go and get my "proper" camera out. This one could have turned out really nice too...

Stunning Photography

2008-02-18T12:18:00.005Z

Besides cooking, the Opposite Lock house is home to many other talents...

A nice pair

2008-02-15T10:53:00.003Z

Drinking in the Royal Oak in Crick on Wednesday night, Jonno came up with a blinder... he had spotted the couple who run the pub whilst out and about recently, and so announced to the pub "I thought to myself, 'I'm sure I've seen that pair somewhere before'". Unfortunately for him, the landlady did have a rather large pair and the entire pub collapsed in hysterics whilst Jonno turned a fantastic shade of red.

Time is flying...and I'm not keeping up - Sun 10 Feb

2008-02-15T09:23:00.003Z

On Sunday, Opposite Lock crew and I rose early. We progressed slowly through Braunston, stopping for Water, Bins, Elsan disposal, and a cup of tea and chat with a lovely man on a tug-style boat named "Kyle".

The Braunston lock flight was very quiet, and a cheeky pre-lunchtime beer from the Admiral Nelson whilst the boats were in the lock gave Jonno the inspiration to breast the boats together! This meant that Jonno could steer both boats simultaneously, leaving Helen and I to work the locks. I got a work out, and Jonno earned some man-kudos by steering 2 boats at once!

After the locks, we stopped to devour a delicious beef and beer stew which Helen had been cooking all morning. One of the dogs jumped off the wrong side of the boat and had a little swim before we set off to brave Braunston tunnel.

This was my first attempt at a tunnel single-handed (except Newbold, which is so short it doesn't count...) and, whilst I made it through relatively unscathed, I have to say that I didn't enjoy it. It's dark, wet, cold, and you can't see the other end for the first few minutes. Also, in tunnels, as the light moves at exactly the same speed as you / your boat, there's a bizarre sensation of being still / moving backwards until you look at the wall and see the bricks whizzing past. Creepy.

After the tunnel, my friend Mark called and asked what I was up to as he fancied an afternoon in the fresh air and sunshine. I arranged to meet him at Watford Gap services, on the way to the Watford locks. Sadly, we arrived too late to make it to the Watford locks and so ended up mooring near the New Inn on the A5, in a lovely spot near a rope-swing on the towpath. Sunday evening was yet again spent in true boater fashion, eating and drinking in the New Inn. Good food, good weather, good company, beautiful countryside - this is what life's about!

On Monday, the sun was still shining so I took the afternoon off work and completed the Watford lock flight and Crick tunnel (where I bumped the wall and got covered in tunnel dirt, yuk, I still hate tunnels), mooring in a gorgeous spot which sadly has no mobile phone or internet signal. Hence the blog taking so long to post.

Time is flying...and I'm not keeping up - 8/9 Feb

2008-02-15T09:06:00.005Z

So much has happened since my last blog entry, I barely know where to begin! Last Friday, Chez and Roz came to stay the night and "talk boats" over a couple of drinks, followed by a cruise from Long Itchington to Braunston on the Saturday. The weather was stunning for February, and, after a brief delay setting off due to alternator troubles on Opposite Lock (rather than my hangover), we spent the day travelling through the countryside. Words cannot describe what a fantastic time we had. Helen taught Chez to work the locks, Roz managed to somehow sleep whilst I bumped the wall repeatedly going up the Stockton lock flight, and we even passed a flock of runaway sheep.

We stopped to fill the water and get some lunch at Calcutt boats, and even found the time for a spot of magnet-fishing and chilling on the roof whilst we were there. The solar panel helped to top up the batteries ready for the tunnel light too!

Saturday evening was spent enjoying some long-awaited home made food in The Plough in the centre of Braunston, before Rox and Chez had to head back to London. The rest of us were tired out - I was sleeping like a baby by around 9:30pm.

More Gourmet cuisine from the Opposite Lock kitchen

2008-02-08T09:11:00.000Z

Wednesday night, I arrived home from work to be greeted by yet another gourmet creation - chilli mackerel pasta goodness! Those guys are good to me.

The boy is back in town

2008-02-06T17:33:00.000Z

Is it for real?

Daaadddd....can I borrow your garage?

2008-02-04T19:30:00.001Z

http://www.gsahv.pp.fi/ossauray/auray_u.htm

Seriously, if I ever have the time, I want to build this! Umm...I am quickly turning into a boat-geek.

Epic mission mk2

2008-02-04T12:22:00.000Z

Yesterday I was going to move the boat to Stockton with Opposite Lock, however it was far too windy to be moving anywhere and so we had to stay put and catch up on some much-needed sleep (on my part) instead.

The new plan, now, is to undertake an Epic Mission next weekend involving a couple of carefully-timed stops near to good drinking spots en-route to either Crick or Yelvertoft. I'm quite excited, as Epic Mission mk2 includes Braunston tunnel and will be my first attempt at a tunnel single-handedly!

Just had a look at the long-range weather forecast for next weekend...fingers crossed it will change between now and then or it could make for another weekend of soggy boating.. at least it's not going to be too cold though.

Back to the good old days

2008-02-04T11:39:00.000Z

Mental note to self: Hiking along the towpath with 2 full toilet cassettes (and then emptying them) is not a task to be completed after a night-long party on 2 hours' sleep.

Xav, captain of BBG and party king extraordinaire, returned to the country this weekend to remind himself of the fine life that he used to live on the UK canals. And to remind us how much fun we had when he was here. During his 3-day whistle-stop tour of our fine land he managed to take in a few good traditions including cruising his boat on the Oxford canal in the falling snow, Wetherspoons curry night, Le Merchant and it's fine guest ales, canalside country pubs, hog roast, and getting intoxicated with his friends, singing, dancing, and having a good time into the wee small hours. All that was missing was a nightclub, really!

Photographic reminder of the good times:

Rural bliss

2008-01-28T13:19:00.000Z

Following on from Saturday's mission, I got up early on Sunday morning and began to descend the Stockton lock flight single-handedly and complete the journey to Jonno and Helen in Long Itchington. These were the first wide-locks that I attempted single-handedly, and despite the wind I managed the first two on my own without any real drama before being offered help by a man and his young son out on their Sunday morning walk. I lent them a couple of spare windlasses and made a cup of tea, and they worked all but the very last lock for me. Had they not, I suspect it would have taken me the whole morning, but I would have got there in the end. It's still beyond me how he managed it, but the little boy must have been no older than about 7, and was able to open the lock gates. They were taller than him! Strong little thing - I even struggled a bit with them.

On arrival in Long Itchington, there was no sign of Opposite Lock. Gutted. I had tried to phone them the previous evening, but there was no answer. Perhaps they had moved on, I thought.

Not one to be defeated, I continued cruising. As I hadn't passed their boat already they could only have headed in one direction. It was only about 10:30am, and there was no way I was being defeated now that I had come so far. After a few more minutes cruising, I spotted Opposite Lock in the distance. Victory! 6 months after taking ownership of my boat I was finally where I wanted to be - out cruising. For real. Yeah baby! Moored up behind them (just glad they didn't see the mess I made of tying up, what with strong wind and a tired girl...) and spent the rest of the day enjoying tea and Grandma's home-made fruit cake on the boats. Bliss.

In the evening, the man who shall now be known as Jonno-Oliver for his outstanding culinary abilities, cooked a delicious Thai Fish Curry for the 3 of us. Drunk lots of wine in celebration, then went to bed tired out but buzzing from the feeling of accomplishment.

Epic mission (and a seasick dog)

2008-01-19T21:20:00.000Z

Today has been a good day! Parents arrived, with dog in tow, yesterday evening. I treated them to a lovely takeaway from Titash, as flailing with bilge pumps and being locked out meant that I didn't make it to Tesco as planned to conjure up an impressive culinary masterpiece. They settled in well, and as soon as the dog learnt that the boat moving and creaking every few minutes was not something that needed barking at, we had a nice, peaceful, TV-free evening. When Dad commented that it was actually quite nice listening to music (OK, I did play an entire Phil Collins album to keep him happy) and making conversation instead of staring idly at the TV, I realised that it was all going to go well.

We got up at 7:30 this morning, and I cruised the boat from Hillmorton to Clifton to turn around whilst Mum and Dad cooked a full English breakfast - result! Back in Hillmorton, I quickly filled the water, disposed of the rubbish, and emptied the loo and then we set off on the Epic mission. The dog seemed to enjoy watching where he was going whilst we were cruising, so I let him sit outside with me. He didn't like locks, however, and decided to try and jump off the boat as we were half way up the first lock. Oops. Dog went splash and ended up being hauled back onto the boat by his collar, looking slightly sorry for himself. Guess he might have learnt a lesson there.

Originally I had planned only to make it as far as Braunston, but we arrived there at around lunchtime and so decided to press on towards Leamington and see how far we could get before dark. It poured with rain all day, and we were already soaked to the skin, but everyone was in good spirits and the constant supply of tea and cake which Mum provided at half-hourly intervals kept me going quite nicely. Napton junction came and went, we bumped into Iain and Alison on the coal boat and stocked up, and before we knew it we were at Calcutt locks and it was starting to get dark. Considering that the coal boat was the only moving boat we had passed all day, we were very very lucky to arrive at Calcutt just as another boat was going into the first lock. We went down the 3 locks with them in what seemed like no time at all, and were advised by their crew that it wasn't very far to the next canalside pub, which would be a good place to stop for the evening. "Not very far" turned out to be about another 45 minutes cruising in the dark and rain, but we eventually arrived at The Boat pub at Stockton and I suddenly realised where I was! Those 45 minutes were quite hard going, stopping several times to try and work out where we were. I slid down a muddy bank on my bum (recommend waterproof trousers for this), and found myself giggling whilst crawling through a hedge, with Dad, to get back to the boat after we had taken a walk to look for landmarks or a pub! With hindsight, I really do wish I had taken my camera on that particular mission.

Along the way, Dad managed to rustle up the most fantastic Chilli I have ever tasted, made entirely from food he found on my boat. I struggle to comprehend how this was possible, giving that I have been living mainly on instant mashed potato recently. Somewhere on a par with turning water into wine, I reckon. And it tasted SO good served with jacket potatoes cooked in the fire when I came inside cold and soaking.

During the last couple of hours of the journey, the dog developed sea sickness. Never, in my life, have I head of a dog getting seasick. But he was. Very. Including on my nice big red rug, which Mum has taken home with her now in the hope that it is washable. Looks like I'm going to have cold feet when I get out of bed in the mornings this week.

Overall, I have just completed my longest boating mission to date, with parents in tow, with virtually NO drama, a full English, and a seasick dog. In the tipping rain. In January. And I'm fantastically happy, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Bring on the summer, I smell fun ahead!

Tomorrow's weather forecast indicates rain all day again, but as I've driven through some serious floods to retrieve my car this evening, NOTHING is going to stop me now. I plan to rise with the sun, hopefully find another boat to partner with, and complete the trek through Stockton locks to catch up with Jonno and Helen on Opposite Lock. Fingers crossed that tomorrow morning goes as well as today has! I'm at last free to cruise for a couple of months, and absolutely determined to make the most of it.

Just realised how much I've written... Time for one last cup of tea and an early night now I reckon, I'm knackered. Just in case anyone ever gets bored enough to read to the end of this uber-babble, there's one thing you should know - I LOVE my boat!

Catalogue of error

2008-01-18T14:24:00.000Z

Since my last post a couple of hours ago, things have started to go wrong for me.

I popped back to the boat at lunch time to build my fire so that the boat is toasty warm when Mum and Dad arrive later, and discovered that my bilge pump is no longer working, as it has become entangled around the running gear and the wires have ripped away from it. Bit of a silly thing to have let happen, but not THAT big a deal - shouldn't take more than a few minutes to replace the bilge pump tomorrow morning before we set sail, right? Wrong. So wrong.

Whilst messing around in the engine bay with the bilge pump, I also managed to somehow lock myself out! The latch on the door seems to be jammed or something, so now I can't get back inside without breaking in.... and Mum announced at lunch time that they may now arrive earlier than originally anticipated this evening too.

Fortunately, Dave from the boat yard was around and is able to take a look at both of these things for me this afternoon whilst it's light and dry outside.