It’s been a while….
What we’ve all experienced is heat waves, droughts, wildfires, mugginess, sweaty shirts and not a lot of rain. What Rick and I have experienced, along with other boaters who want to make a go at chugging through the canals is low water levels.
We were originally expected to start our maiden voyage in July. This was after we had our gas cooker installed, and our oven and grill a once over by our trusted gas man, Mike. We had our electrics checked previously by Simon. And we had replaced a sheet of ceiling board above our saloon, which was rotting away. We reckoned that the board was just a plain old piece of 5mm plywood, which is no good if untreated. So as our replacement we attained some marine plywood, which (without going into technicalities) was properly treated through each layer of the board. I slapped on some PVA glue (watered down of course) to each side, and we threw it up without a hitch. That’s if you don’t count the rusty nails that needed drilling out of the structural beams, the mess getting the old piece of board removed, the time it took to get our new freshly cut board, and having to rip out some wiring for some ceiling lights that didn’t look too clever. We also had to measure and bore a hole where the ventilation is. No problems there.
There was also, a special anniversary for the marina in mid-July. All proceeds were for Cancer Research. There was a dog show, where local vet Steve Leonard led the competition for best behaved dog, best looking bitch, best dog overall and more. There were special doggy treats for the winners. We also had a treat watching dog trials. There were three well-trained border collies guiding ducks, geese and a beautiful looking chicken the trainer named “the lion”. Following on from that was some welly wanging, photography competition, “find the swan” competition, raffle, live music and the barbecue. We also had Holly’s Floating Kitchen round to supply the marina with freshly made cakes, coffee, and ice cream.
Between the heatwaves, Rick was able to secure some storage boxes and the side hatch window, ready for our long term journey. But while all this was going on, we were alerted to a problem with nearby locks and reservoir. Hurleston reservoir (big old pond) had its levels down by 10 feet. This was mostly due to the breach along the Llangollen canal near Whitchurch, which lost a crazy amount of water. However, the dry weather was drying the reservoir even more, which meant Hurleston Locks would be closed. Hurleston Locks has four locks side by side, and all boaters on the Llangollen Canal would have to pass through it to get elsewhere in the country. The Canal and River Trust (CRT) will let us know whether we can pass by the end of July.
Fingers crossed, we will be able to get the all-clear and we will be able to pass through Hurleston Locks by the start of August!