Last night we started thinking more about our movements in the coming weeks.  We have agreed to try to get to the top north west of the connected network for the beginning of September.  So we looked at booking our passage on the Ribble Link.  We knew it was popular, but when we looked, there were hardly any passages left.

We tried to book, but were told that we couldn’t because Bartimaeus’ draught was too great – 0.71m versus a maximum of 0.69m.  After the initial disappointment, I checked the Statement of Conformity which forms part of the documentation for the boat.  It shows the draught as 0.66m, so a phantom 5cm of additional depth has crept in to the documentation somehow.  I also spotted that the recorded length of the boat on the Canal and River Trust system was a metricated version of 58 feet.  But Bartimaeus is 58′ 6″.

I sent an email to the Canal and River Trust this morning pointing out the error.  This afternoon I had a reply accepting the corrected information – and we are now booked for our out and return passages on the Ribble Link – hoorah!

We now have a destination and a timescale for the next month.  The distances are not punishing, but we’ll have to step up from zero locks and hardly any miles done today.