Today was Car Shuffle Day. Yes, we know that this is normally the day before returning home to maximise the time spent in 'real' cruising. These days we are less concerned about 'putting in the miles' than being comfortable and operating within our current capabilities, not those we had back in the Sixties! And then we had a really generous offer from David to come hand give Mike a lift directly from the marina in March to that in Buckden. We did just about have a public transport route worked out but it would have taken up quite bit of the day.
We were only a mile away so it was not necessary to get up before dawn to arrive by the agreed 11:30 agreed pick up time. Instead we set off from the town mooring just after 9 o'clock, but we did not move very far, just under the Town Bridge. The service block here has been rebuilt by the local council since we last came here 8 years ago. In theory it is a lot better - at least it is new! And it is fitted with locks that use the standard Middle Level Commissioners key rather than one just for the single place, as it was before.
However, the first thing we saw was that the pump out with contactless payment is now out of order and the sign looks like it has been there for a while. Although the facility is supposed to have rubbish disposal there was a single domestic-scale bin with no segregation! We were initially relieved that the key we bought some weeks back at Stanground (but replaced at Salters Lode) fitted the door lock.
We were keen to empty the two full cassettes here as it is just a couple of metres from the boat whilst we discovered at our night's stopover at Foxes that there it is a bit of a walk. When we came to lock up after we had finished we found that although the key fits snugly into the lock, the lock does not turn and the door had been open all the time anyway!
The final part of this segment in the 2026 Cruise was through a residential part of March. The greater portion of the adjacent properties have moorings built at the end of their gardens, but some are not used and some very much in need of a re-build. Even so, the number of boats was quite high but it is clear that the Middle Level Commissioners have yet to work out a cost-effective enforcement process (but none of the other navigation authorities have either) Most of the moored boats are short and appear to be mainly for day trips. Hence it is perhaps to be expected that if a once-enthusiastic family lose interest, they just let their small boat survive as best it can.
Under the A141 Isle of Ely Way (the bypass to the west of the town) and immediately turned into the marina. Although we knew the berth we had provisionally been allocated, it was not at all clear where that was, so Christine first had to get ashone (harder in the context than it sounds) to make enquiries from the office. Mike was pointed in the direction of the East Basin but once inside he had to make a couple of tight turns before reversing onto the correct mooring, almost at the far end. Fortunately there was only a light breeze and it came at just the right time to assist in the final turn. In a typical marina wind it would not been anything like as tidy a manoeuvre!
Mike walked to the marina entrance just as David was driving in so neither of us had to wait nervously wondering if we were in the right place! The roads were busy but not so as to cause significant delay and about half an hour later Mike was reunited with our car.
But he could not immediately return to the boat as the car battery was down to 50% and we had not located a fast charger in March. So, Mike returned to the SmartCharge point next to Sainsbury , Huntingdon where, by the time he had picked up a sandwich from the store, found another item on the shopping list and asked the three phone shop for an update on the timescale for the network merger with Vodafone (still taking a lot longer than initially announced) and returned to the car it was already around 95%. However he then spotted a notice on the next door charger that he should have bought a parking ticket separately from the electric cost so he rectified that. The notice on the charger he actually used was mangled and the message was not visible. Seems to be a recurring feature in places where such extra charges are levied.
Then he was back on the road and with the help of satnav had no difficulty in making his way back to the marina where Christine had been busy sorting out clothes for the upcoming change from summer to autumn/winter attire.
The afternoon was wet so no photos yet of the marina and our mooring - perhaps tomorrow!
1.1 Miles - 0 Locks
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