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In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Saturday 11 June 2022

I really didnt need to inspect the hull again!

 Wasn't it a wonderful Jubilee weekend? And the Queen with Paddington bear...marvellous! We celebrated last Friday at our neighbours, had a great BBQ, lots of booze and plenty of revellers to see the night away. Thought our heads would be pounding the next morning, but surprisingly they weren't! 

 


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Because we felt so well, the decision was made to take FS into the basin. I first had to wind FS, the stern has to be horizontal to the concrete edge. Ian opened the swing bridge and waited for me to come through. There is always a difficult manoeuvre going into the basin, as three boats had to be moved out of the way before I could reverse into our spot. All went like textbook until I decided to step off the stern with the rope to secure FS. What happened next was a blur, but needless to say I ended up fully submerged between FS and the next boat. Gosh, it was black down there! All the silt had been stirred up by the prop, and trying to stand was impossible. Too much mud and crude build up over the years meant the bottom couldn't be found! So there was I, floundering with a fleece that had soaked up all the water literally trying to drag me down, and to say I was panicking was an understatement. Thank God for my 'man that can' because how he found the strength to pull me out amazed me. I didn't get away without a bruise or two, the worse one on my left arm, nice and black and pretty spectacular I thought!


 

Anyway, after a complete strip off on the back deck (I was black from that silt from head to toe) and hoping no one would see a shivering naked lady, it was straight under the shower and then a hot cup of coffee to warm me through. 

So today we finally set off to North Wales. Motorhome fully loaded with, no doubt, more stuff than we need. First stop, Iron Bridge, where we found a great pub to stop at, Ye Olde Robin Hood, and the Iron Bridge  was but a short walk away. The only downside was the road. Very noisy, I do hope it quiets down overnight!




 And wild life before we left the basin,







1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Grrrreat wildlife pics in and around your basin and what looked like a very enjoyable Jubilee celebration there.
Aw I do sympathise with you falling in, as I did that, but went under the ice!
Hoping that your pooly arm is slowly recovering.
Ann Makemson xx

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