Friday, June 29, 2018

Bashed in Homle lock

We left Gunthorpe at 9.00am in again warm sunshine. The wind had picked up a bit, but it was quite nice to keep you cool.
Another boat left in front of us and headed off into the distance, but Derwent6 was set at 1400 rpm and we wasn't going any faster.
We again used the charts as there are some tricky sections here, which caught us out going downstream.. It had caught out others as well.
We made Stoke lock and after calling ahead on the radio we were clear to go in..

All on our own we exited the lock and made our way up to Holme Lock.
A radio call here informed us of a 15 minute delay, as three boats were going up in front of us and  one of the lock gates wasn't working, also it was very slow going up.
We moored on the pontoon and waited for the green light.
On the go ahead we made our way in and was told that another two boats were now going to join us. One of these was a narrowboat and he pulled up opposite us.. Strangely they didn't tie a rope to the bow of their boat and only held it on the stern. As the sluices opened and the rush of water came in the woman on the front couldn't hold on to the ladder, and he started revving the engine to try and get the boat straight.. BANG! straight into the bow of us, Al hanging on to our rope and trying to push them off as it just kept banging the gunwales..
Yep you guessed it, not even a sorry. Not good for the lockkeeper who didn't double check that it was roped and not just hand held by the ladder. If we were a fibre glass boat it would have been crushed and a lot of damage would have been done.. Oh well! more paintwork!!!!
We left the lock not happy bunnies wondering what we would find when we moored up, but the weather and the cruising soon put a smile back on our faces..


It was only a couple of miles before we headed off the Trent and onto the Beeston canal at Meadow lock.
We got the lock ready and another boat followed us in, luckily not basher boy.
It felt nice to be back on the quaint canals twisting and turning under bridges again..


We reached the Town lock of Nottingham and again went through with the same boat, alongside a few onlookers..
We managed to get moored in the same place as we did on the way down, so Tooty should be pleased tonight.
So we need to top up with shopping and hopefully see the England game at some point.. We watched Germany go crashing out of the tournament.,We have enjoyed the football!

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

On to Gunthorpe

We were woken by the cat at 3.00am due to the fact that he couldn't get out of the boat as the walls were too high, and if he fell in we couldn't reach him.
We got up at 7.00am in the end and got ourselves ready to go through the lock at 9.00am but it turned out we had got the times wrong and it was 9.30am when the lock was open. Bang on 9.30am the gates opened and then we got the green light.
Derwent6 tucked inside the huge lock and we hung on to the ropes as the sluices opened. "We were all clear to Gunthorpe" the guy shouted as we left..
It was just perfect cruising, clear blues skies, blue water and a slight breeze to keep you cool..
As we left the lock we could see the gliders flying overhead..
It was back to following the charts again and taking the best route. We had all the walkers and fishermen out waving as we went by.. In the air it was like a highway in the sky, here are three jets all on the same path.
It was a short five mile stint before Del radioed in to Gunthorpe.
We got the green light and they said they were waiting for us.. We never passed another boat on this section, so bizarre in this great weather.
We were informed that there were a couple of moorings on the pontoons, and sure enough we had a prime spot, some luck again at last..
We passed a Ice Cream van and it was rude not to have one in the sunshine..
We also spotted a small Bistro called Blondi and when we looked inside a cold beer was staring at us "Drink Me"
We sat at a table in the sunshine and watched the food came out, "Mmm" it looked good, so yes we ordered something to go with our cold beer..
So full up we walked back to Derwent6 fit for nothing!  It was football again for us in the afternoon, this World cup can bugger up your time.....

Our luck ran out

After a couple of lazy days over the weekend and watching a lot of sport we prepared ourselves for the tidal Trent very early Monday morning.
With the football things seem full on and Sunday was no exception with England winning 6-1 and having to stay up late to watch the highlights of the Grand Prix with a Hamilton win.
We were both up at 5.00am and we crept down to the pumpout station for 6.00am.
It was on pause, which was a bonus, so we got most of the tank emptied for nothing.. We also filled with water.. All done by 6.40am and the lockkeeper arrived and told us that when the gates open we were first in.
Our luck was running and we came out of the lock first and then saw boats on the moorings below the lock getting the signal that the tide was right to move.. two got off in front of us and another went downstream.
We pulled into the up stream and things went very slowly. the cruiser behind us overtook us and the two in front left us for dead, one was a narrowboat.
Still it meant we had the river to ourselves once they had all gone.. All this nice weather is great but it does make people with boats, go boating.. We could see all the cows trying to get refreshments in this hot weather, it made us feel like we were in a western movie.

It was quite busy as we got out our charts again and navigated the course. We just got hotter on the back of Derwent6, it was lovely, but it was wearing us out.

It took us five hours to get to Cromwell Lock and it also wasn't good news.
Loads of boats were in front of us and the lockie said most were stopping at Newark. Oh well at least we stopped in Newark on the way up. We passed under the A1 and the traffic was horrendous.
When we arrived he was right, not a mooring to be seen. This was a bit disappointing considering we left at 7.00am this morning..


Still we pushed on though Newark town lock and got a hint that we might get moored at Hazelford lock but we couldn't remember the moorings there.
We passed Farndon and saw a mooring on a pontoon and when we got on it there was a sign that said pay at the marina.. When we asked the couple on their boat behind they said it was ten quid. We couldn't even get the full length of Derwent6 on the pontoon, and no shoreline, we moved on!
At Fiskerton we might have got in asking to shift boats around, but it was right outside the pub and we didn't fancy that.
So it was onwards to the Lock, and when we got there it was a high wall but on the end it was a bit lower, just a bit.
We moored up and walked up to see if there were any other choices but alas, there wasn't.
There really are a massive lack of moorings on the Trent, and its difficult if you don't hit it right, time wise. It feels like you have to fight for a mooring and our luck just ran out.
We couldn't get a tv signal but did have good internet so watched the football on there. We were knackered. We set off at 6.00am and moored up at 4.30pm, a long day!!!

Monday, June 25, 2018

Back to Torksey

It always feels strange when you wake up and the boat is empty again. Even Tooty the cat was a bit confused as he had Derwent6 to himself.
It was such a lovely day and rude not to get cruising with breakfast, buttered crumpets was on the menu.
We got to Saxilby at 10.00am and Del filled with water.
Al picked up some sausage rolls and fresh meat from the butchers and then Del posted a couple of letters in the village.
We then set off again and headed to Torksey Lock.

Its a bit straight but easy cruising and it makes it easy when the suns out.. When you turn at the end you have the huge power station in the distance.
We arrived on our mooring at midday, and then walked round to see the lockkeeper to get booked in for our next Tidal Trent section.
Then we chilled for the rest of the day with the football..

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Saying goodbyes.

The plan today was to get back to Lincoln for lunchtime, and as we had made good progress yesterday we could chill a little before we left. Again it was very windy and we pushed off into the current. We made steady progress up to the lock in the city. Again we did the Glory hole and then got to the moorings at the Woodcocks Inn.
We just had time to get ready and then we all meet up with Ann and Tony again, along with Bernie's sister Christine and husband Graham. We had a lovely meal in the 2 for 1 and it was lovely to be meeting up with everyone.
We all went back to Derwent6 in the sunshine, before we all departed.. Christine left first and then Bernie and Sarah left with his Mum and Dad to pick up their car.. Ann and Tony had brought Al a small money tree (to replace her one that is on its last legs), which made her cry as that is something her Dad would have done.
We all had a great time and it was lovely to see them.. Thanks guys for everything.. Things ended with a brilliant send off with the Red Arrows giving us a display overhead.


Tooty wasn't amused!
Oh that reminds us, Al has now got all her cards from her Birthday, and a big thank you to everyone who sent cards and presents.. They will now go up on Derwent6 for a week..