Friday 6th October
All good intentions and we overslept! Hoped to leave early before the chap in the stuck boat above lock started to let down water from Soulbury. You would think this is exactly what we wanted but the 2-mile pound above Soulbury Three was also very low. We had visions of managing to get to the top lock and finding no water to get to The Globe! Anyway got dressed rather rapidly, made a quick cup of tea, grabbed a cereal bar, tiller on and then the chap on the boat behind starts his engine and leaves! Blast...the one boat we didn't want to lock with was that one. Nothing to do with the couple on board, but the fact he burns biodiesel fat from his local Indian takeaway as his fuel! My goodness that smoke and not just the smoke but the smell! Oh well, will have to make the best of it.
By the time we got to leave the lock the back pump was flowing but water levels didn't appear to be any better than yesterday. Ian decided to be on the boat, just in case, and with him having to leap onto the back deck, we got underway.
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| Back pumping at 8.15 am |
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| Cough cough...... |
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| Still very low |
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| Those breasted boats still well out. |
Slow going and many a time FS heeled to the side even in the middle. She also rode over mounds of mud with bow up in the air, coming down and then it was the sterns turn, a bit like a bucking bronco. But we got to the bottom of the first of the three locks only to find another boat descending. Again you would think this would be welcome but unable to get on the landing I had to try and hold FS in the middle without getting too near to the sides. Biodiesel fuel boat with a draught of 2ft had no problem and I was very relieved when the descending boat managed to get past.
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| Soulbury Three bottom lock and waiting for a boat to descend. |
On the lock and already in the process of letting water down was the chap from that stuck boat. And you could really tell once we reached the top how low the pound already was.
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| Thats him climbing over the balance beam |
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| Thats the boat that the chap wanted to refloat. |
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| Cough cough cough..... |
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| And these at an angle on the 2-mile pound. Hmmm, how much more water will this chap run down! |
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| Tickover and still a wash is forming. |
At the first bridge, FS was not going to turn. Heading straight for the bridge support all I could do was into reverse and hope we didn't hit. We missed the brickwork by inches as the front started to swing around. Gosh, that was hairy! Next hairy bit was a meeting with the dredger. Right in front of the biodiesel boat and across the canal. That was another fingers crossed moment 'cos we didn't want to stop and get stuck.
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| Dredgings spread over a field. |
Finally made it to The Globe at Linslade and found the first moorings before the pub free. Looking along the moorings and not a space to be had so grabbed this one quick. So here we stay for the next couple of days. Looked to see if there were any moorings restrictions and was surprised to see there wasn't. Probably why all moorings were taken! No time limit so boats just don't move on.
Went walkabout bug hunting and twitching,
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| Cormorant |
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| Wren |
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| Love the eyes. |
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