Birthday weekend - Day 1

After much too long, we're finally back on board.  The last time we were here was December 29 - I think it's the longest time we've gone without visiting.  We've now got a few days on board as it's my birthday on Monday.  We also want to make sure the boat is ready for 'the season'.

I went to pick up Adrian from work, and we combined this with meeting Our friend Nicola and her son Ewan in a cafe nearby.  The last time we saw them was when they joined us for the part of our Big Trip last September, on the Bridgewater Canal which goes past the end of their road.

The journey up to the boat was slower than we would have liked, and we arrived at 4pm.  We unpacked our stuff, parked the car, and within 15 minutes we were pulling away from our berth and turning out of the marina towards Stoke Bruerne.

Adrian went to make tea -- then returned saying we'd forgotten to turn the gas on.  I went and got carefully onto the bow, and turned it on.  (Adrian didn't do it himself because he broke a bone in his shoulder while we weree skiing last month, and is still having to be a bit careful).  At the second attempt at boiling the kettle, still no gas.  We wondered if we'd turned the gas bottles themselves off.  I clambered back out onto the bow, and lifted each bottle to see which one was in use.  It turned out that one was full and one empty.  With the gas situation sorted, tea could be made.

We boated for about an hour, in order to get a tank of hot water and warm everything up.  Adrian out things away and got the fire going while we went along.  We've moored at Grafton Regis, just past Bridge 57.  There's a field of lambs opposite, so we're hoping they don't wake up too early!

3 miles, 0 locks.

Thurmaston

A quick dash up to Thurmaston today for a boat test.  The sun shone, and we avoided the showers I'd driven through on the way up.  This is Thurmaston Lock on the River Soar.

On the way back, I went to check on Briar Rose, which has been unvisited for far too long.  Everything seemed fine -- although as I walked back to the car there was a very painful hailstorm!  The good news is that we're going for a weekend out on the boat next weekend.

Charlotte on test

The April issue of Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat test of Charlotte by Bourne Boat Builders.

Overwater Marina

A long drive yesterday, up to Overwater Marina at Audlem for a boat test, then back again.  It's a lovely marina which we've boated past many times, but never been in.  An indication of how good it is, is that it's very nearly full.

Between April and October, there's a weekend water taxi service from this landing at the marina, to the bottom lock at Audlem, so people can take advantage of the village's pubs and shops.  The fare is a donation to the RNLI, and I'm told that last year the marina raised over £6000.

Like all marinas, though, this one is in a pretty exposed spot, so getting the test boat back into its berth with a stiff crosswind blowing proved rather tricky.

IWA Calendar Competition

This photo of Briar Rose on the Northampton Arm in July last year has been shortlisted in the IWA Calendar Competition.  It's in the summer category -- and if you'd like to vote for it you can do so here.

A couple of other bloggers also have photos in the shortlist:  Kathryn from Leo No2 and Emma from Marpessa2 have photos in the autumn section.  You can vote for them here.  Unfortunately you get just one vote per category, so you'll have to choose between them!

All the categories -- the four seasons and the cover -- can be found here.

Stoke Boats on test

The March issue of Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat test of a spec boat by Stoke Boats.

Henry H on test

The February edition of Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat review of Henry H.  This one is a bit unusual in several ways -- it's a refit of an old shell, it's only just over 40ft long, and the front half appears to be under cloths.  Some people might know the owners, Sarah (aka Greygal) and Andy.