Monday, August 31, 2020

Turn around day

The winds had been horrendous and today it was the calm after the storm so Del set off early as we were getting low on water and we had a lot of rubbish to get rid of on board.


We set off just after 7.00am and crept along. It has been quite empty along here, probably due to a tree that was down at Shenton in those strong winds..

There is something about cruising early with the tranquil effect the countryside gives off, as the water trickles under Derwent6.. We had to dodge the odd tree but the canal wasn't blocked..


We got to the tunnel and it was a bit tight at the end, as we were very light on the front end as we were low on water, and the water levels had risen due to the rain we had had..


  A boat had just come off the water point, but thought it was a good idea to keep coming out when we had to turn.

We just missed each other as we manoeuvred into position and backed up on the water point, filled and got rid of our rubbish..

  We then set off for the return journey, but this time we had plenty of clearance through the tunnel..

The wind had picked up slightly and we could see rain in the distance which was on the forecast..

We had no dramas and our mooring we had left at 7.00am was still there.. We just manage to set everything up and it poured down, great timing..
 
The rain didn't seem to stop for the rest of the day. Tanya cooked tonight which was a real treat, and lovely it was too! The rain was relentless, so the telly and the dvd came into play with a good film and some drinks of course.. 


Saturday, August 29, 2020

Special Guests

The following day we had our god daughter Tanya coming up for a few days. The weather didn't look brilliant but she just wanted to see us and have a change of scenery, and that we could definitely supply.. She arrived in good time, as the roads weren't that bad, and we both met her in the carpark. We walked back to Derwent6 and she pulled out some goodies which she had picked up on the way here.. It was a warm day even though it was damp and wet so we hit the coffee and chatted in the cratch..


The weather looked a bit better the following day and while we were in Congerstone we booked a table for lunch. 
Tanya had already picked what she was going to have before we left Derwent6! Again we had a nice table and the food was amazing.

The trouble was the drinks were flowing and nothing was going to be done in the afternoon so the bubbly came out ..

Del used the time to polish the side as we planned to turn around the following day.. and Tooty helped.


Friday, August 28, 2020

Life is People!

 So what have we been up to.. Well we had that bit of rain so we stayed put for a few days and the water levels came up a bit here on the Ashby canal.. We have got to say it has been reasonable quiet up here and we have really enjoyed our stay, but we will be on the system again soon as we try and push ourselves out into the real world..


  Our highlight of the week was when Del's Mum and Keith met us for a meal at the Horse and Jockey pub... We had a lovely time and had a great Sunday lunch with them and a good old catch up..
They walked back to Derwent6 for a coffee, it was great to see them both looking so well.. Hopefully next time we can take them on a trip.

So we have just enjoyed doing nothing really, football, Grand Prix, book reading, and wine, beer and nibbles out in the cratch.. We have enjoyed chatting to friends and family on Facetime and Zoom, so we have felt we have kept in touch, but we are really looking forward to the time when we can see everyone again.. Lets face it life is all about people!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

We don't move in the Rain

 Oh yes we do! as you will see from this blog..  

We set off very early, in fact it was 6.15am (just as the light was good enough). Yep there was a very light drizzle but we wanted to turn around..

Our reason for moving was that we had been static for two weeks and if you remember we had topped up with everything at Sutton Cheney. Well we had now runout of everything again. Our water was straining the water pump at the taps as it was dying of thirst, and Del was dying of thirst as we had run out of beers..  So the plan was to do the same again..

 The drizzle soon eased off and it became very clear that the water levels had dropped significantly, even though we had had quite a bit of rain over the last day or so.. Derwent6 was just off idle for most of the way because being low on water means the bow is light and that makes the stern dig into the water deeper. When throttle is added it drops even lower into the water like you see on a speed boat..  It took us an hour to get to the winding hole at Shackerstone and Derwent6 turned with ease here..

The levels were patchy as it was ok one minute and then you suddenly slowed to a stop at the shallow sections.. If you meet another boat, and you are not both on idle, the water is taken away and you lean over as demonstrated in this picture.
We then got our first moan of the day at Market Bosworth, as we got shouted at passing a moored boat, not for going too fast, but for going too close to them.. "Close enough" came a shout from the hatch, and Del kindly said "sorry, there wasn't the room to leave a good gap" They had moored opposite a bush and they expected boats to go into the bush to get past them..
The problem was that is was shallow under that bush where boats hadn't gone there
 Anyway we got through unscathed and continued to poodle back into the countryside.

Our next problem was at the battlefield moorings where a boat was across the canal. Al popped up to see what was going on and Del moored up..

We ended up, with the help of another boater, pulling it back and re pinning it securely before we could get on our way..  We reached Sutton Cheney at about 11.00am and just as we arrived a guy was leaving on the 24 hour mooring, perfect, so we slipped in there.
We then found out our hose reached the water tap from here, great.. This gave us enough time to then grab a bacon sarnie and a coffee while we waited for out shopping from Asda to arrive..

Mr Asda arrived bang on time and this gave us a head start on the return journey. It was lovely when we left and the acorns were hanging low on the trees and the cows were enjoying themselves.

Then the heavens opened and Del was now holding a brolly..
You would have thought the water levels would have come up a bit but as you can see passing boats was still difficult, and in the rain a challenge.
There was a few claps of thunder and flashes around us but it was head down and brolly even lower, good job Del was standing on a rubber mat..
It was then that gap again, and yep we were close again, but no shouting this time so they must have been thoroughly fed up of everyone going close..
Our mooring we were on had been taken, (and lets face it we had been there two weeks) so a new one was found a bit further up..
 CaRT have given out restrictions on the Ashby now because it is so shallow, but it is passable with care and a bit of patience. We sorted ourselves out and then put the kettle on, knackered!
 


   

Saturday, August 15, 2020

Blazing hot but loving it

 The water up the Ashby has been getting very shallow in places now with this dry spell we have had.. We are on quite a good spot and Derwent6 had made its place in the mud but we were starting to lean a tad.. We had a boat in front of us which seemed to be in a deep spot but we love it here so much we stuck with it.. The sunsets have been fantastic and the wildlife is so great you don't need a telly, oh and Tooty is in his element, and we are getting plenty of solar. 

We got a text from David and Lisa on nb What a Lark saying they were on their way back to us and was there room, and of course there was and of course the chairs came out..

We had to pull Derwent6 forward and off of our settled mooring and we ended up mooring back up again with the back right out.. This wasn't a problem till the morning when the levels came back up and we drifted back in. We had all planned to go the the Horse and Jockey pub again and we were so looking forward to it.. It was very hot and we needed to post a letter, so Del went out on his bike to post it and incorporated a bike ride, not a good idea when it was so hot and water was not at hand..  Still he made it back, just!  

We walked up to the pub, which takes 20 minutes, and had a fantastic meal with good company. We can recommend this place as the food is tremendous and worth every penny. 

We were left on our own the following day as David and Lisa set off early (or sparrows as Lisa calls it) as it was another warm one and they wanted to get as far as they could before it got too hot.. The boat in front of us moved off as well and we stole his deep spot and we were now completely floating again. Storms were on the cards, but we didn't get them so the BBQ came out again.


It was the perfect evening. All on our own, so we have Country Music playing from the doors of Derwent6 and the smell of Pork loin chops on the barbee, with a beer in hand, what is there not to like.. The following day was a scorcher and we were pleased of the shade we had, but we could see the storms coming..

Sure enough it poured down but later in the evening We love this life!!!! 

Thursday, August 13, 2020

The famous five!

We had a good nights sleep last night and were up pretty early and after those few days of fun we were pretty empty, but we wasn't up early enough, as we watched Mark on n.b Calisto (the coal boat) pass us..  We wasn't desperate for anything, but its good to top up when opportunities arise and we missed that opportunity... So it was back to our refreshment centre at Sutton Cheney to sort us out in the hope we might just catch him up.. 
It is now getting very shallow here and we could only do 2 mph (and if we had a very laden coal boat that would be reduced to 1 mph). There is something about travelling early as everything just seems so still and Derwent6 breaks the mirror in front of her..

This fella was watching us!!!!

We arrived in perfect time at our destination as we had a shop turning up, this time from Asda, and soon found out our mooring was free, and as we took the turn the coal boat was in front of us.. 
We moored up and then Mark reversed onto us and sorted us out a gas bottle and also filled us back up with diesel.. We last filled in March, (we know March!) and was worried if the gauge was telling porky's. As it turned out it was spot on and we did still have a third of a tank left.. I know we keep saying it but this lithium/solar combination is amazing and paying us back big time.. 
The coal boat left us (sorry didn't get a picture mate) and we thought we would have a couple of bacon butties from the cafe while we were waiting. They are on the 'Eat out to Help out' scheme and you won't get a cheaper bacon butty than that, Mmmmmm
Asda arrived on time and we loaded Derwent6 up with food and replenished the beer and wine racks, lovely!
We then set off back the way we had came and pulled up on the water point, we also took a container out of the waste tank so it was empty..
 
So there you have the famous five for us.. Food, Gas, Diesel, Water and a empty waste tank, we are now sorted for the next couple of weeks..
We then carried on heading back towards Market Bosworth, and as it was market day tomorrow, all the moorings were taken, so we pushed on back to where the party started.. 

 We moored up at 4.00pm and the boat in front of us pulled up as well, and just as we were doing the chains a boat coming the other way slipped in between us both.. Its going to be hot again tomorrow so we have some shade and solar to play with..