NB The Directors’ Cut

I’ve finally got around to counting up the miles for the last two years, and regretting even more that we didn’t manage the final cruise around London.

For 2006:
Miles: 1100
Locks: 607
Hours: 472

somewhat more than last year. Overall, we did

Total Miles: 1810
Total Locks: 978
Total Hours: 957 

I.

This will be the last post in this blog - to complete the story of our two years aboard The Directors’ Cut.

In November, Hamlet, my beautiful black dog, died after 16 years of faithful friendship.  Now we are without any canine companionship, and after the grieving we realise that we can take some different decisions now that we are no longer responsible for these dogs.  This leads us back to the plan before we embarked on the boating life, which was to emigrate to Vancouver, Canada.

We decide that we will start creating the circumstances that will allow us to move across the world.  Moving off the boat is one of the necessary steps, and so in January, we instruct ABNB (http://www.abnb.co.uk/) to put the boat up for sale.  We hope to stay aboard until Easter and take a final cruise back to SG Boats at Fenny Compton where she was built, where she’ll have her hull blacked and a little bit of a tart up!  We need to be off the boat by Easter, as we now have a plane ticket booked to Florida.

It had been our intention to leave in late February, taking the boat through the Kennet and Avon to Reading, then down the Thames to London, around the ‘London Loop’ and back up the Grand Union to Napton and then to Fenny Compton.  But the winter flooding meant that the water levels on the River Avon were much too high for safe boating.

By the time the water level had subsided, we didn’t have enough time left to cruise the London ring.  So we abandoned the London diversion and planned on the direct route up the Thames to Oxford.  Following a shorebased week in London, we returned on the train intending to leave the next day.  Ian called BW to check on the status of the broken weir at Theale.  We had previously been assured that we would be able to get through, but now the story had changed and the weir, we are told, is shut until Easter.

That means there is no chance of getting the boat out along the Kennet and Avon, in time to catch our plane flight, so we sit in Bristol and contemplate our options.  The only other route outof Bristol harbour is up the Bristol channel to Sharpness.  We had taken that journey 18 months earlier (See August 2005) and so although we knew all about the dangers, we also knew that it was quite feasible.  However that was August and the weather was good, this is March and the weather is - well - awful.  Ian sudies the forecasts for the next 10 days, which is our window of opportunity.  After that it is too late to go via the Sharpness route either.  The weather is resolutely fixed on force 8 and 9 which is a complete no no. 

So now we have only one option left.  And on Thursday April 5, almost 2 months late, we leave Bristol on the back of a low loader.

The skill of both Bristol Marina on the crane and Tuckey’s on the low loader were a joy to watch - TDC was very gently taken out of the water and placed on the loader with great precision.  It did seem a rather sad leaving though - narrow boats don’t look right on wheels with a flashing yellow light clamped to their behind.

We catch up with TDC early evening at Blue Lias Marina, Stockton.  Here she is placed in the arms of a big crane, and swung out over the slipway and it the water.  It was a huge relief to see her float again, and all credit to the crane crew, everything inside the boat was still secure.

Our final cruise is now a single day’s journey from Stockton to Fenny Compton.  Shouldn’t take too long, except that it is a gloriously sunny Good Friday, and of course, there are a lot of boats on the move.  Inevitably, Napton is a bottleneck, but the day is lovely, peaceful and much enjoyed.  Susan and Frank join us for the day - it was a good way to end.

14 miles, 12 locks, 7 hours.  Farewell.

Having started running only in July, I have committed myself to running the London Marathon in April next year so will spend much of the winter in Bristol training. Not content with one challenge, I have also set myself the target of raising £5000 for charity at the same time!

My chosen charity is Merlin - Medical Emergency ReLief INternational which provides medical help in places like Gaza and the Asian Tsunami as well as ongoing health programs in Africa. I am asking for your help in supporting Merlin and helping me towards my target. You can donate directly online with a credit card at  www.justgiving.com/ianpotts

I have set up a seperate webpage at www.pottsutting.com/marathon which will have details of my progress, both in running and fund raising.

Please help support this worthy cause. Go to www.justgiving.com/ianpotts now and make a donation.

Thanks,  Ian

What a lovely day for messing about on the river!  In the warm September sunshine, the river is at its best and the trip to Bristol is an attractive one.

The monthly harbour scour is taking place as we lock onto the tidal section at Hanham.  This means that the water level is very low - the turn into Netham lock is quite hairy as we endeavour to avoid the invisible and unmarked mudbanks on the corners.  Later this evening, the water level will be restored on the high spring tide.

We moor alongside the amphitheatre - so not on the webcam this time!

This probably marks the end of our major cruising for this year - we’re off to the US for a couple of months, then will take up our winter mooring here in Bristol Harbour.  I’m looking forward to catching up with friends and family. N.

13 miles, 7 locks, 5 hours.

Another early start but a much easier day. Nikki works us through the lock before setting off on her morning run along the towpath. We have nearly 10 miles of lock-free cruising through some of the prettiest canal in the country (well it’s one of our favourite bits). Bath is also delightful and we work down the flight to tie up on the river next to Poultney weir for the night. For the first time in 3 days we have proper internet so I catch up on things while Nikki goes shopping! I.

10 miles - 7 locks - 6 hours

Start off down the main Caen Hill flight at 8am as soon as they are unlocked, in company with the boat we had moored behind for the last two nights. Soon get into a good rhythm as there are no other boats around. We meet the first boat up in the last but one lock! We completed the main 16 lock flight in a little over 90 minutes but two boats set off in front of us for the remaining 7 lock Foxhangers flight and so those 7 take us over 75 minutes! We manage to pass them playing ’swingbridge leapfrog’ (the first boat has to stop to open the bridge and then wait to let the following boats through as well). We play the game slightly differently if we are in front, I just tell Nikki to keep going and then run to catch up - if we are in front we stay in front!

We tie up in Bradford-on-Avon after a long hard day, but we do manage to find old friends Tony and Beryl Medland at home whom we haven’t seen for nearly two years. A lot of catching up is done over a pie and a pint in the Barge Inn. I.

11 miles - 30 locks - 7 hours

Easy day today - slow, but hardly any locks so there is time to get some housekeeping chores done.  Across the long pound to Devizes, and then down the first six locks to the top of Caen Hill proper. 

We’re ready for the big one tomorrow!  N.

15 miles, 7 locks, 6 hours.

Knowing that we really have to travel a long way today in order to keep on target for arriving in Bristol, we set off early in weather that can only be described as horrid!  It is very windy and the rain is zipping horizontally across the cut.

Our first lock (Hungerford Marsh - the one with a swing bridge over the middle) has other ideas.  The bottom gate simply refuses to shut behind the boat.  After much poking and prodding with the boat hook, we call BW to fix it and try to reverse the boat out onto the lock mooring.  The cross wind makes that a very tricky operation and it must have taken a good 10 minutes to moor the boat.

BW arrive fairly quickly and with the right tools to resolve the problem (a small rock lodged on the bottom cill), so it’s probably only an hour later that we are back on our way.  By then, we have a partner boat to lock with and the sun has come out. (Still windy though).  This makes for a good morning’s work, and we reach Crofton by the early afternoon.  At that point we get a new locking partner and zip up that flight too. 

Across the summit we are looking for a mooring, but then remember that there are no good ones until we are down Wootton Rivers - so by the time we finally stop we are ready for a rest!  Jooles, Andrew and our God daughter Meredith come out to meet us, and we adjorn to the pub for a very pleasant, if slow, meal. N.

10 miles, 22 locks 7 hours

I guess one short day must be followed by a longer one!  We spend the morning locking at a fairly steady pace and making good progress.  There is always a boat to share the locks with, though somehow they seem to change throughout the morning.

We stop for lunch in Kintbury and to meet up with Faith and Paul who have come down from London to have their first experience of canal boating.  Unfortunately it is in the rain, but after a few locks into Hungerford, they’ve got the hang of it. N.

9 miles, 12 locks, 5.5 hours

The plan had been to leave the boat in Devizes while we travel out to the States for 2 months, but we have been offered a secure mooring in Bristol and it is cheaper, so we decide to take that up.  Having plenty to do before we fly out in 2 weeks, we need to push on to make good time on our now extended journey.

However after stopping for lunch and water at Newbury boats, drizzly rain deters us from further work for the day and we stop by the town park. N.

6.5 miles, 8 locks, 4 hours