Bartimaeus

We had a slow start to the day yesterday and decided to do a more thorough stock up from the shops.

While Clare was out I set about clearing up some of the remaining marks from the masking tape we'd used to secure cupboard doors last October.  Having being left on for eight months, and possibly trying to remove it in 30°C heat meant it had left a lot of sticky mess behind.

I hit on the idea of trying the T-Cut I had used to clean the external paintwork.  It seems designed to dissolve greasy sticky stuff.  It worked very well, though it was still quite a lot of effort. It also cleared the sticky marks left behind when we removed sticky-backed velcro that used to hold the curtains for the bedroom windows.  I wish I'd done that years ago! Clare doesn't like the waxy smell (I don't mind it) but it dissipated very quickly.

By the time we'd had lunch it felt too hot to start on an afternoon of locking, so we decided to leave that until today, but make a point of setting off a little earlier.

We set off this morning through the two swing bridges and the Clare winded at Netherwich Basin so that we could get the bow on to the water point.  She was anxious about the turn as usual, but managed a flawless approach.  Once the tank was full she also reversed out and pirouetted around the concrete post before heading towards Hawford.

We continue to experiment with driving slowly.  At low speeds the drive is virtually silent even when standing at the helm.  There is a slightly faster speed where the motor sings, but that stops when we go faster again.  By then the propeller noise is starting to become audible.  It was a great day for staying at the silent speed.

We had hoped we might find a lock-buddy as we did before, but we were probably simply too late for that.  We worked through the first lock and then sat on the lock bollards below for a spot of lunch.  We moved off when we saw a boat coming the other way, having opened the gate for them.  They left a gate open for us too - enlightened self-interest.

I remembered that there were very few mooring spots before the visitor moorings at Hawford, but those moorings are quite noisy, being very near an elevated busy road.  There is a fabled spot below Lock 3 where mooring is possible - you just have to know where it is.  I spotted one location that might have worked, but it didn't seem quite right.

Just after Bridge 3 (was it bridge or lock in the fable?) we spotted a couple of gaps in the reeds about the length of a boat apart, and there were pilings to attach chains to.  Just as we reached it a boat coming the other way passed us.  Once they'd gone I was able to get the stern near enough to step off and attach a chain.

I walked along the towpath to the bow of the boat and Clare was able to pass me a rope and the other chain.  It turns out that the canal is too shallow to allow us to get very close to the bank, but after a little fiddling we were able to get both ends near enough that we aren't blocking the channel.  We then deployed our new gang-plank for the first time.

Previously we had a wooden one stored on the roof.  Now we have a folding aluminium motorbike ramp stowed in the starboard stern locker.  After some fiddling with the safety strap to make sure it doesn't slide away we gingerly tested it.  It doesn't flex at all like the wooden one, we consider that a success.

We finished cruising for the day with the batteries still at 100%.  They returned to 100% again while we were eating dinner - another success.

Oh, and that anniversary - exactly seven years ago Bartimaeus was launched!