Wednesday 27 June 2012

Heading back to reality

Yesterday evening turned out to be lovely.  Once the drizzle had stopped I opened the side hatch as it was quite warm, and as I sat writing my article all I could hear was birdsong from the hedgerow.

This morning the sky was leaden, but it was bright.  I did some more writing, then at about 1.30 set off the short distance to Baxter's at Kingfisher marina for diesel and a pump out.  Briar Rose is booked in here for repainting in October, and Jon the painter was telling me that he's taken the decision to stop using Mason's paints, as the quality has gone down, leading to a less glossy finish and colours that aren't right.  He's currently carrying out experiments with other paints, and should have sorted out what he's using well before we're due in the paint dock.

Once the tanks were full and empty I winded in the marina entrance and returned to almost the same spot I'd been in overnight, just facing the other way.  After lunch I went and had a sleep for a few hours, in preparation for night shifts which begin tonight.

When I got up at about 5pm, it was sunny and warm -- nothing like the forecast.  I decided I've have dinner before going back to the marina.  It meant that I was setting off at about 6.40pm, which seems a strange time to start a journey.  It may have been only a short trip, but it was a very pleasant one.


The turn into the marina from this direction is extremely tight, almost right back on yourself, and I always approach with a little trepidation.  In addition, once you're in the marina, there's the spin right round to reverse into the berth.  I could see that I had a substantial audience on the deck of the Navigation Inn -- I could tell they were all watching, because they were shielding their eyes from the sun.  Fortunately, all went extremely well, and I was alongside and tied up at 7.15pm.

Now it's just a question of packing up, getting the car, and heading to work for another set of night shifts.  It really is back to reality -- although it does also feel as though I've been on holiday for the past few days!

2.5 miles, 0 locks.  (16 miles, 2 locks)

1 comment:

Geoff and Mags said...

Hi Adam, you're right. Looking at your photo we were in exactly the same spot. That post is only a shadow of it's former self, though.