Because we CAN!

Yesterday evening, we embarked upon what was probably our first care-free cruise, undertaken simply because we wanted to do it!

We cruised into Cambridge as dusk fell, and moored up outside the Fort St George, next to Pippin, who is also in town.


Waking to the splash-thump of rowing boats in the morning, oh! how we've missed it! (you can't see it in this photo, but there's another VIII between the City IV and Pippin!)

The purpose of our visit: to see the annual firework display on Midsummer Common. All narrowboats have to move from the part of the river edging theCommon, and so for one night only, breasting up is allowed tolerated. We and the Pippins are taking advantage of this, to moor next to Kestrel and Innocenti respectively. There will be a party on the boats/towpath and we will be watching the fireworks from the roofs of the boats!

In other news, James has an interview for the Cambridge Secondary History PGCE next week. Fingers crossed it goes well.

A Terrible Blow

Yesterday was quite a long day hence the lack of blog!

We awoke with the dawn again, and got up ready for the 7:30 tide out of Salters Lode. The tidal passage went smoothly, so we were through Denver by 8, and onto the last leg of our journey. Unfortunately the weather was abysmal! A strong headwind plus driving rain made standing at the tiller somewhat uncomfortable. We wrapped up warm, with several hats each, as well as raincoats and cap to keep the rain out of our eyes and took turns at the tiller. The readjusted rudder/tiller gear made the actual steering a lot easier though, which was fortunate since the wind made it very difficult to keep a good line away from the banks. Many times we found ourselves crabbing along (moving along at an angle) but I think we both enjoyed the challenge that the wind brought to the otherwise tedious stretch of river betwen Denver and Ely.

Once we reached Ely we decided to moor up and go in search of the CHIPS which had eluded us the day before in Upwell. We headed to Alan's Fish Bar, where we found the aforementioned CHIPS as well as a Saveloy for James and a battered slice of Rock Eel for me. It was very tasty and much welcome.

Back on the Duck, and full of CHIPS, we started up the engine and set off for the final leg, back to the mooring. The wind did not let up, but the skies cleared and we found ourselves needing sunglasses to steer! Once home, we tidied up a bit, said hello to the only resident who was about (Tom Kitten) before heading into Cambridge to pick up our much-missed Lyracat. She has been enjoying a holiday on dry land, and was as sad to leave her new friends as they were to see her go! Again she hated the taxi ride home but soon settled in. We had a nice evening catching up with the neighbours before an early night.


Not a happy Lyra

Homeward Bound

Well! Today has again been crazy. Luckily we managed to recharge our batteries, over the past few days, by relaxing at Amy's family home with reading, a bit of DVD watching, and plenty of sleep.

Today we had to get from Exeter to March, pick up the boat, and get it through Marmont Priory lock before it got dark at 5pm and the lock being shut. We planned to do as much of the journey as possible in daylight, because night navigation on the Middle Level is very much verboten and frowned upon, not to mention hairy with low bridges.

Our alarm went off at 6am, and we caught the train at 7.50. After a few quick changes, we arrived at the boatyard by 12.30, filled up with 30 litres of diesel and set off.

What a change! The engine sounds utterly different, with a dry exhaust. The rudder was much more solid with no play or waggle- it was like a completely different boat!

A bit of complicated reversing out of the marina, without touching any of the moored boats, set us on our way. Once out of March and on deeper water, we made good time, arriving at the lock at 3.15, although we had to help the lockkeepers reset it after a previous boat. Arriving in Upwell at 4, we attempted to get some CHIPS as sustenence, but no-where open did any so we headed off, arriving at Salter's Lode at just after six pm. Many times I had to use a burst of reverse to clear the prop, which often clogged with weeds and leaves. We would have had to flush the intake at least eight or nine times, I reckoon, were it not for our new skin tank!

We plan on getting the 7am tide tomorrow morning to Denver, and arriving back in Waterbeach at four pm or so, in a long Kestrel-style day!

The Ducks: All at Sea

The past few days have been spent at my mum's house, eating, resting, and being generally spoiled! Electricity just magically comes out at the walls all the time, and showers can be uncharacteristically long and indulgent.

However, today we embarked upon a very different kind of boating adventure! My dad owns a 26ft sea-going trimaran, Diva. And while we have been known to mock GRP boats, this one is different because it has the redeeming feature of being a sailing boat. Yes, it has an outboard, but it's only used when sailing is impractical, so we approve!

We had been aboard Diva before, but only while on its winter mooring. Today the conditions were perfect for trip round the bay. We hopped in the little rubber fender at Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe estuary and headed out to her mooring buoy. This is a photo of the same class of boat: a Telstar 26, but its not my dad's boat. I couldn't get a picture while she was under sail, for obvious reasons, so this will have to do.


Telstar

The Exe Estuary runs north-south and the wind was a southerly so we motored out rather than trying to beat down the channel. Once out past Exmoth an into sea, we turned the engine off. The wind was very light, but we were able to get a little way out into the bay, towards Teignmouth and Dawlish. Our useful friend, George, aka the autopilot, was manning the tiller, leaving us to set the sails (main and genoa), drink lots of tea and enjoy the freedom of being at sea. There was a slight swell, but since we weren't going fast, it felt kind of 'sloppy', meaning that James started feeling a little seasick. So after an hour or so, we headed back for the channel and home, running before the wind. This time, with the wind mostly behind us, we were able to sail all the way up the estuary. The trimaran has a shallow draft, and it was high water, so we took a short cut across the sand-bank. The depth meter showed that we were only in about 0.8m of water at one point, but we made it with grounding at all, and soon our mooring was in sight. My dad headed the boat into the wind, James hooked the grab buoy, and I shacked the mooring line on, all in one swift series of movements, and all without the need for the outboard to position it. Very neat!


Me, George, and my dad

We headed back to land for a mug of hot chocolate in the club house. James had felt less ill as soon as we were in the shelter of the estuary, and it had been a thoroughly enjoyable cruise, but we were glad to get safely back to dry land all the same! We're not used to boats actually moving round such that using the 'heads' is a challenge. Now we have been back home for hours, but Jame is still complaining that he's not got his land-legs back!

Duck Out of Water

This morning, at about half-past eight, the Duck went up the slipway at Fox's. We were very impressed with the efficiency of the guys at the boatyard- they arrived and went straight down to it, helped us move the boat back over the trolley, and then slowly and smoothly up the boat went. More photos to follow... We went through the list of stuff to do, and departed, leaving the Duck in their capable hands- and, before we'd even left the yard, they were sweating over the prop, having a go at removing it.

They certainly don't hang about!

We're currently in the public library in March, waiting for our train at 1pm to Peterborough, then trains to King's Cross and finally Exeter St. Davids, arriving in the early evening.

The week could see an altogether different kind of boating, because if conditions are right, we might go to sea on Amy's Dad's trimaran. Exciting stuff- and far less boring than the Middle Level!