Flecknoe

 Today's Canal : Oxford

The weather today was quite close to the forecast, except that we were a little concerned when, shortly before we were ready to set off, a short sharp shower passed over.

However, by the time we reached the first of the Hillmorton paired locks - about 5 minutes from our overnight stop - the promised blue sky and sunshine provided a wonderful backdrop.

A volunteer lock keeper arrived just as the lock was full - it was the first day of the season that they were officially on duty, one at the bottom and one at the top. In this case his arrival was very welcome as we were having some difficulty in opening the top gate. Eventually with, at his suggestion, a little nudge from  the boat, we managed to prise a gap. We didn't tell him that we had already (covertly) tried that with no success! (It is not normally a recommended practice but sometimes, with great care, is needed) In the end with two humans and one engine we succeeded

As we left the top lock the backdrop was yet again very encouraging, but in between a very cloudy patch has scuttled quickly overhead.

Passing the entrance to the small Hillmorton Marina (where some years ago we twice left our boat there whilst returning home) we could see that a number of floating homes have been added together and also floating workshop and, possible, a wet dock. This development was just starting last time we passed this way almost a year ago (BtD - Before the Drought)

Coming down the Barby straight the wind was bowing directly from behind us so we felt its full force. The stronger wind remained a feature of the rest of the day's cruising.

By the time we passed the entrance to Dunchurch Pools Marina and the nearby accommodation bridge, clouds filled the sky and some looked rather menacing. In fact their threat was 'all show' as we remained dry all day whilst on the move. Shortly after this we pulled in for a lunch stop. The wind, however, did offer a challenge until the mooring lines were secured.

We set off once again with only a short run to Braunston where, just before the junction, we completed a 'full service' . We wondered if the elsan disposal unit was available as there have been several recent  CaRT Notices about this facility - it and the water point have been a frequent source of attention as also those just a little ahead along the main line of the Grand Union south.

The sky was kind to the camera as we passed under the much photographed double bridge across the junction.

Christine was very taken by the display of daffodils on the central island between the two bridges and later suggested that Mike should take a close up on our return in a few days time. Just as well he had thought of that . . .

We now encountered quite a stream of boats coming towards us, several still getting to grips with the experience of passing an on-coming boat in a strong cross wind!

Just a little short of our 'target' for the day we pulled in to the last known good mooring for a while. The clouds behind us made us wary of going on too long = mooring in both wind and rain is not the best of experiences.

11.3 Miles - 3 Locks

Palm Sunday

Today's Canal : Oxford

We moored just below Hillmorton Locks last night so that we could go to the morning service at the parish church just a few minutes walk away.

This is clearly an old building but the present congregation try to make the form of worship to be modern in style and accessible to all ages, although there were only one or two young children today. The service was led by a combination of clergy and lay leaders - a good sign as the current incumbent vicar will be leaving the parish shortly.

Afterwards we had a little time to look around the inside of the church - there is the usual array of wall mounted memorial tablets, erected in memory of the wealthier part of society.

An effigy and sarcophagus of Sir Thomas de Astley is in the north aisle. He died in the battle of Evesham on 4th August 1265. In the wake of the Magna Carta, Simon de Montfort had taken control of government  along with many Barons and their rebellious allies. However, Prince Edward, later King Edward I, formed an army to restore power to his father, Henry III who had been imprisoned by te rebels. The Prince's army was able to overwhelm the rebels at Evesham in what turned out to be a massacre.

On the wall beside the chancel steps is a memorial to Rev Maurice Banastre Pix, described as Curate. Although at one time this was often the title of the parish priest, by the time of his death, aged 25, it is likely that he had yet to gain a proper living and so was here as an assistant. His father, Henry Pix, was married to Adelaide Louise, was born in Kentucky in US. The marriage took place in Marlborough, Wiltshire where she was born and raised.

We walked back to the boat for a late morning coffee but by now the promised wind and rain was arriving and we opted to stay put rather than attempt the three Hillmorton locks in such unpleasant conditions! At least it gave a chance to see how the new battery performed with a day off from cruising. We did run the engine for a while until we worked out how to see what the level of charge was. So far the voltage level has always been well over 13V, so much better than we ever achieved consistently before.

0 Miles - 0 Locks 

Remembering How To Cruise - Shakedown Time

Today's Canal : Oxford

It is now almost 8 months since we were last able to cruise on the Oxford. We were holed up in Brinklow (quite a pleasant place if you have to be somewhere!) since the start of August when the Hillmorton Locks and the route back to Cropredy were closed through lack of water.

We have called the first cruise of each year (usually a shorter one) our Shakedown Cruise for many years. It has been an opportunity to check out all the major systems on board with every so often finding something that has not liked the long lay off over winter. This time we aim to be out a little longer, perhaps two weeks, but this it is ourselves that are most in question! Are we still up to it?

This year also we have a new major system - our cabin services battery. We will post the story here in a separate blog but we are now Lithium-powered. The last two nights have been no test as we remained on shore power so now is the time!

First thing, Mike did the usual round of disposing of rubbish, filling up with water (the fuel tank was filled during one of our short winter stayovers so we have yet to experience the Trump-inspired new level of diesel prices) and emptied the elsan. We were ready to untie our ropes shortly after 10.

Here are today's prices just down the cut at Armada - diesel at £1.62, but not clear if this is base price or with VAT. From what we have heard in the past week, probably the former so just how much total we will be paying when we next fill up? Definitely an ouch moment.

It was a lovely bright blue day but also quite windy - almost a challenge as we navigated the open waters of the marina towards its exit but soon we were leaving the moorings behind us for a while.

The marina is connected to the Oxford Canal by a short arm that was originally the line of thew canal itself but which was abandoned when the canal was subsequently straighter to save many hours of contour cruising for the time-pressed boats crews. And then we turned right on were onto the canal network once again.

Most of the abandoned lengths are hard to spot but some have smart cast iron bridges to carry the towpath across - presumably those sections had arms that were still useful for local services.

By the time we passed the entrance to Lime Farm Marina some darker clouds were putting an appearance, a warning of what was expected to arrive by lunch time.

By the time we reached the very short Newbold Tunnel it was once again sunny. We were following another boat but as we emerged there was another waiting for us to come out before entering. The tunnel is actually wide enough for passing boats but some steered, especially with very short tunnels, prefer to wait and have a clear run through.

Rugby Wharf is another boatyard on an abandoned arm but opposite the entrance is a large winding hole which was where the original line continued - almost at right angles to the present direction. The diversion allowed the modern construction of yet another large  industrial unit.

The bridge closest to the large Tesco (where we shopped yesterday) had an almost clear sky as backdrop as we came through. Although, as usual, there plenty of boats moored here (for two nights?) there were plenty of spaces in the section furthest away from the main road.

The staff at Clifton Cruises were preparing several of their fleet for the imminent arrival of early season hirers, hoping for good Easter weather.

Shortly after Kent Road Bridge we kept a keen eye out for a good mooring, hoping to be as close to the locks as possible, ready for a short walk into Hillmorton village in the morning for a visit to the local church - Palm Sunday (and, let's hope we remember, the start of Sumner Time) 

The wind was stronger now and, even though there are good mooring rings - with vacancies - the shallow edge to the water, combined with several passing boats, made mooring rather difficult! Just as soon as we had secured a centre line then black clouds arrived with little notice and dropped a short, but uncomfortable, load of hail onto us! Eventually we were properly moored and could enjoy a warming bowl of soup as part of our lunch.

As planned, that was it for today's cruising but, even though we have yet to tackle any locks or moveable bridges, we felt quite pleased with ourselves. Alas, tomorrow looks like not being a great start to Summer Time so we shall see just how far we progress in the afternoon.

6.1 Miles - 0 Locks

A Wet Day

Today lived up to the overnight forecast and was generally rather wet. We drove into Elliots Fields retail park on the nearer side of Rugby were we did a comprehensive food shop. If we keep to our provisional cruise plan, it will be several days before we have a chance to visit another supermarket. Apart from a couple of village shops at Braunston, we will otherwise be out in the countryside.

After the main shop we crossed over the road to M&S where Christine did not find what she was looking for, neither did Mike in several other shops he called at. We discovered last night that the small alarm clock that normally lives above his head when in bed had ceased functioning. Replacing the battery did not resuscitate it - it seems that the long lay over since last August did not do any favours to the battery compartment. It does not need to be an expensive item but a light to see the time in the dark is needed and nothing to fit could be found. Alas, today this kind of item is best sourced via the internet but delivery is a problem so it may have to wait until we are back home.

It was lunch time when we returned to the boat and by the time we had finished it was apparent the the rest of the day was going to be less than pleasant and several heavy showers arrived during the afternoon. It will be no surprise that we opted to defer our departure until tomorrow when much better conditions are forecast.

Creating this and yesterday's blog was delayed on discovering that Mike had packed a non-functioning mouse and the spare that is left on the boat had also expired since it was last used. Again, neither responded by being offered new power sources so it was fortunate that Christine had brought her laptop and kindly offered Mike her mouse - which, hooray, worked! At least there is a prospect of finding a replacement before the end of this trip - at least if we do make it to Coventry as planned!

Shakedown Cruise

We drove up from home yesterday morning. Our initial ETA was 12:45 but an incident on the A34 just north of Oxford delayed us for about quarter of an hour. It looked as if vehicle had hit the central barrier - it was slightly dented - and there was a van on the hard shoulder with a damaged front. Police were in attendance and had deployed protective cones. All indications were that (a) it was not serious and (b) it had only just happened.

By now we needed a brief 'comfort' break so left the M40 motorway at the next service station, Junction 10. This is a complicated junction, in effect two roundabouts merged together with the service station accessed from the second. We were back in the car as quickly as possible and set off, remarking that we must be careful to look for the right directions. Not helped by at least one sign saying M40 with no north or south indication, we immediately realised we were going the wrong way! Five miles later we were back at the junction with the A34 and left to turn around. An other complex intersection and - yes you have guessed rightly - we gain took the wrong slip road and this time it was another 11 miles before we were finally facing the right way. 

After unloading the car and a mug of tea, Mike drove into Rugby to recharge the car. With the extra miles, the battery was now down to about 20%! Although we failed at the nearest Gridserve station on our last trip, today no problems even though four out of the advertised six chargers were not functional. It took just over an hour so it was handy that there is an adjoining Starbucks to sit and read. By the time Mike returned to the boat, Christine had finished stowing away and all was neat and tidy.

Brief Visit

We travelled up to the boat from home on Thursday last week (5th) and back home just as the light was fading. The reason was to get an update on a significant piece of work being done on the electrics which was expected to be completed by then - the majority was in place on Tuesday. However, Amazon did not play ball and a few minor items needed to complete the work did not arrive on Wednesday as expected - they did, alas, turn up at his home well after the electrician had set off to Brinklow!

This has been a complex story and we will recount it in full as soon as we are confident that all is now well! It will be a week or so yet as the final items cannot be slotted into his very busy - booked ahead - schedule. So far it is looking good but our usual shakedown cruise will be the 'acid' test. We are now planning a couple of weeks over Easter, perhaps to Coventry and then back to Brinklow before planning our main cruise this Spring - Summer- Autumn. The reservoirs are looking good at this stage so we are hoping that last year's disaster (no cruising since 4th August!) will not be repeated . . . 

Just a hint for the curious:

Weekend Visit

We came up to the boat on Friday, arriving around lunch time. The principal reason for the visit was because we had a meeting all day on Saturday in Rugby (for Waterways Chaplains) The times are such that these days we do not feel comfortable trying to do it in one day (just possible with an early start and a return home in the dark). It was quite convenient as only 10 minutes drive from the marina to Rugby Central car park (this was even cheaper than usual as the ticket machines were out of order and parking was free!)

Our fuel tank was quite down and we usually try to leave it as full as possible over winter. However, the marina has slightly reduced the days they are open for services. Having unloaded the car we sat down to take breath and before we thought, we suddenly realised that it was fast approaching 3.30 and the office closes at 4! We checked that it was OK to come down to the fuel point which we did  asap! As well as filling the tank we also collected just one bag of solid fuel.

As we were preparing to return to our berth, we spotted a tiny leak of fuel down the outside of the stern. Since the marina staff had filled up we did not think that it was careless filling - this has happened a few times since the boat was painted (actually the first time was as soon as we collected the boat after painting and we did query this with the painters who could not see any issue!)  On this occasion we were alongside with the starboard side to the mooring and better able to take a close look.

When someone stood on the boat edge nearest land, a faint leak could be seen - as soon as the boat levelled up it stopped. The leak was coming from one of two holes near to each other just at the top of the stern. At that point there was not much we could do but return to our pontoon - darkness was fast approaching. Once tied up again, Mike used some matchsticks to plus the holes as a temporary fix. At least we were no longer polluting the marina.

The marina were holding one of their social events Friday night - a bonfire with a catering wagon on site. Aquavista do not allow fireworks - presumably for safety reasons - so they could only build the largest bonfire they could manage. We had been emailed a few days earlier and it was supposed to be lit at 6 pm. Someone must have been trigger happy as when we came out of the boat we could see that the pile was well alight and the guy (which we saw as we arrived, being hoisted aloft) was no longer visible.

It was certainly blazing well and kept us nice and warm even at some distance. We had taken a gamble on what the food wagon might be serving - turned out to be just filled jacket potatoes. A choice of fillings, ample portion sizes and a reasonable price.

Saturday was the meeting in Rugby - it finished on time and we were back on the boat before five.

During the night, Mike had been dreaming about the holes in the stern and woke to the thought that they might have been fixing a small plastic plate - a vague memory that did not extend to recalling was was inscribed on it! It did occur to us that it might have been lost during the repaint.

Sunday morning we went to the parish church in Brinklow. As this was Remembrance Sunday the church was full, with a good attendance from the cubs and scouts. At the end everyone was invited to walk to the other end of the village to join with another church at the war memorial. Perhaps we should confess that we did not feel keen to walk all the way down and then back again to the car so skipped this bit!

Christine suggested that we should go straight into Rugby to charge the car and also for her to have a chance to visit M&S and other stores at Elliots Field retail park. Mike dropped her outside M&S before going a short distance to the EV point. This time the charger started perfectly. Mike adjourned to the associated Starbucks and when Christine texted to find out how it was proceeding, Mike was already on his way back to the car. By then it was at 90% so that would do. Christine only had limited success at the shops - she did buy some things but by no means all that she was seeking (no wonder on-line shopping has become the default option for many purchases if the outlets do not bother carrying a full range of sizes, colours etc.

Monday was a chance to catch up on a few tasks - including sweeping the solid fuel stove chimney! We might have gone for a walk or visit somewhere but, as it happened, it was a rather wet day so not ideal for that.

Tuesday we returned home. Rain arrived as we were loading the car - Mike was quite wet at the end but had planned a change out of 'boat clothes' before driving back. We repeated our route from last time, mainly to call at the Lidl store in Rugby where, slightly to our surprise, we had found the sandwiches to be better than many other stores. The main drive back home was uneventful although for a while we had some unpleasant drizzle which meant hard concentration on the motorway.

Before Launch

A few days into Maiden Voyage

Zoomed In

In the evening, with some help from Andrew, we closed in on solution to the stern holes. We found some photos on file from when the boat was very new (despite extensive searching nothing more recent seems to have attracted the camera's attention!) Indeed, there was originally a small plastic plate there but the text was too small to be legible. Then our investigations discovered that it is a requirement to display the unique CIN just at that position. Indeed, we also found that it was only fitted at the last minute by the builder, between launch and handover. Normally the number is engraved into the steel hull but the method used seemed to be acceptable for RCD compliance (regulations for new build) Once we knew what we were looking for, and looked up our CIN in the boat's user manual, it was just possible to correlate it to the fuzzy image as above.

Missing plate - note matchstick in hole!

We also discovered that this is not a BSS requirement (unlikely to have safety implications, the raison d'etre for BSS) Hence it had not come up at the last BSS examination! But it is good finally to have an explanation for something that had been niggling away for over a year. All we now have to do is get a replacement made,