We celebrate on the Fourth of July.
We moved on from Atherstone yesterday in full sunshine. We didn't set off until after lunch and drove at a genteel pace. On the way we called in at a marina looking for a pump-out. They said their machine was going to be repaired soon, but not that day. We settled for buying ice creams and hoping to find a working machine further on.
As we reached the edge of Nuneaton we came across a number of swans. Some of them were paddling alongside us but using a strange swimming stroke - we could see their feet paddling. Another swan was chasing the others and displaying to them and anything else on the canal - including us.
By the time we reached Boot Wharf in Nuneaton, they'd been closed for a while. We carried on through the bridge towards a mooring we have used before. Clare had to steer round a boat coming the other way that had just cast off. I recognised it as Hargreaves II, another Ortomarine boat that is used for day trips.
This morning, Hargreaves II was back from its overnight mooring and waiting for visitors to board. I exchanged a few words just as they were casting off.
The fourth of July is, of course, a special day - it is the anniversary of the launch of Bartimaeus in 2019. The first plan for the day was to reverse back to get our pump-out. I didn't want to set off without Clare and Nye available because I was expecting a number of important phone calls and wanted to be able to hand over.
Just after we'd cast off I saw a boat coming towards us. I decided the simplest course of action was to continue to the service jetty. I managed a smooth reverse through the bridge, past the double moored boats, and in to the boat length gap. The other boat turned out to be the Jules Fuel Boat.
A friendly chap called Spec set about the pump-out for us. While chatting he told me that he had re-designated the initials DIY - they now stand for "Don't Involve Yourself". I hadn't involved myself with emptying the tank, but meanwhile the fuel boat had reversed back alongside us. The driver was telling folk that she had something on the propellor and was now trying to find somewhere to stand to get to it. She was soon moored up alongside us - completely blocking the canal.
About six men appeared from the wharf to help, or offer advice and wise-cracks. It seems the old boat doesn't have a weed hatch, so the propellor has to be cleared from the side. After some time, it seemed a new idea was needed.
Despite his new definition of DIY, Spec was soon lowering himself in to the murky water so that he could stand on the canal bottom and attack the propellor from there. He spent quite a while heaving and cutting with support and encouragement all around.
The main offending item appeared to be a Network Rail work jacket. It seems the railway companies are still trying their best to sabotage the canals!
Spec was hauled out of the canal and rewarded with an interesting bottle of spirit. The fuel boat reversed back to let two boats pass and then came past us again, allowing us to return to our previous mooring. By then, my phone business had been concluded and we were all ready for lunch.
In the afternoon we went for a look around the Nuneaton Museum before dawdling along the canal in the late afternoon sunshine to a pleasant mooring just beyond Marston Junction.