Bartimaeus

We don't expect to meet prehistoric creatures, like mammoths and rather enjoy the usual suspects of herons, mallards, swans, sheep and cows, especially when they have fluffy babies and right now the canal is duckling central. It is a cuteness overload and they even seem to be able to run on the water when they are in full skedaddle mode.

Alongside the usual farm animals we passed a small herd of alpaca. Immediately after we met another boat. We gave friendly greetings and could see they were enjoying their holiday. It is common when passing in a spot with poor visibility, as we were, to let people know whether there is another boat behind, but less usual, as I chose to do, to alert the driver that there were beautiful alpacas to see just round the corner. I could see people at the front of their boat looking over to see them. They were still enjoying that holiday!

The alpaca might be glad the hot spell is past. There is plenty sun but a cold wind at times and we have been very unsure how many layers to put on and when the sun is away, it is particularly cold. The occasional lock or lift bridge has been a good excuse to warm up and we are definitely each getting turns at it. At one I was descending in the lock and noticed some stop planks. Someone had recently asked about what these were on a social group. They can be placed in a narrow space, like a bridge or near a lock, to block off the water so that part of the canal can be drained to do work perhaps on a lock gate, and the rest of that canal is still available for cruising. Often they are hidden away in bridges. What I had not noticed before, but could see here, was that they had Roman numerals carved into them. I didn't think the order they went in mattered and I really don't know what IVX is about.

One of the lift bridges I operated had the strange effect of being easier to raise than to lower. Shane speculated that the counterweight was too heavy. The imbalance might mean you aren't lifting the bridge, you are lowering the counterweight and then lifting it back. It certainly felt unstable and jerky, on the way back down.

At another lift bridge that Shane chose to work a passer-by had remarked that in about 90 times of passing this was the first time he had seen a man operating the bridge and a woman driving. Later in the day as I worked a lock a man asked me why the man always drove while the woman worked the lock and I told him I had driven the previous ones as it happens, but it was common enough - for me depends how hard the lock is to operate, but the ones here are pretty straightforward, but some do have strange names, that are hard to pronounce.

Another strange sight was a blob of orange jelly that had appeared on the hatch. It didn't look like an accidental splat of a dropping as it was neatly shaped and stuck to a vertical surface. Asking insect enthusiasts and the internet have drawn a blank and we can't wait and see what develops, as Shane accidentally got it smeared on his hand while fiddling with the hatch that was being a bit reluctant to stay open.

The hatch randomly moving does increase the risk of bumping your head but so far we have avoided injury. We were having an easy day compared to another Ortomariner who had sent an SOS to ask if anyone could help her with moving the boat, as her partner had broken his leg (in three places).  We weren't close enough to assist but the group chat was alive with suggestions and she is sorted now with a professional boat mover helping her through locks while surgery progressed in the hospital.

We were glad not to have that much drama in our day and went for a quiet evening stroll and enjoyed the very fully blossoming May tree. We have been casting cloots on and off and on again. I had worn a tooroemost of the day.

Later as it was getting dark Shane called me outside, urgency in his voice. I came out and he told me there was an otter. I got a good look at it on the other side of the canal and it flipped and dived making it's body shape and slick tail clearly identifiable. I wanted to try and get a closer look. Shane was too cold but I put a fleece on and hurried down the tow path in the dark.

I heard a commotion and it was a mother duck flapping and quacking more frantically than usual. Then I noticed her cluster of ducklings. She flew back again with more loud noise. She seemed to know there was a predator around and wanted her babies safe. I carried on looking and occasionally saw rings in the water suggesting a recent surfacing and dive. As I got near a bridge I heard some sloshing. The otter jumped on to the towpath, but just as fast decided the towpath wasn't safe, turned and plopped back into the water - the hunter was feeling hunted. It swam to the other side of the bridge but couldn't get out that side, meeting a wall rather than a bank, so headed back the way under the water it had come., surfacing occasionally. What a lot of snuffly grunty sounds it made when it came up, making it easy to locate and I saw its head popping up a couple more times . Meanwhile I had also seen several bats flying over the water passing me in both directions. The night hunters were lively tonight!

In the morning we had the infamous Hurleston flight. It only has four locks so isn't two arduous though it can be tricky to pass between the locks as the pounds are short, and it has a lot of leakage making for low water levels from time to time. It is mainly infamous to us as the place where, while on a boat holiday, another boater's brand new boat came a cropper in the cill on the way down and his boat filled with water. The owner was remarkably calm, knowing he was insured, but his wife who already seemed less enthusiastic about the whole boating lark was beside herself and in dire need of a glass of red calming fluid.

Although I am completely aware of the cill, I still associate this place with disaster and this time I was hyper aware that I should watch the boat position on the lock. Shane enjoyed regaling the novices with the tale, though they were going up and the warning was not relevant to them - yet - and made their driver even more frantic. In addition the event happened because the wife was unwilling to cross over on the lock gate to wind the other side and the driver had jumped off his boat to do it and so lost control of the boat. I cross closed gates happily, but as usual Shane was being more gung ho. 

We still don't know how the other Ortomariner broke his leg. No details were revealed. It wasn't in the vicinity of a lock, where the drop is considerable. I did no dangerous leaps but as I manoeuvred out of the way of the novice crew, letting them have a straight run in to the next lock a woman from their boat called over, "deftly done". It has to be said many regard the use of a bow thruster as "cheating" and it certainly helps avoid some scrapes. It certainly useful in the short pound between locks.

At a later lock I got out to help the boat in front but very soon two volunteers arrived back from lunch, so while I hung around, I didn't have to do much and was mainly there "for the bants", which they were very much enjoying. Though sadly one said he had once fancied a boat but after having received abuse from people, he went off the idea. This is a shame as clearly he had friendly chats too. They get specific training on controlling the water and some people are impatient to run the lock faster and I thought after that it might be like being the referee at a football match and getting sworn at for strictly applying the rules of the game, if the judgement is adversely affecting them. I am aware that you can have quite a lot of friendly or supportive exchanges but the one that will stay with you is the insult or admonishment. This volunteer was very kindly taking a holiday-maker in the boat behind, through the steps of lock operation, while taking Bartimaeus through giving extra training.

At the next lock we were left to our own devices and this one looked a whole lot trickier. The winding was easy enough but the bridge that looked the easy place to cross was in fact blocked off when the double gates were open, and had only one rail, leaving one having to feel agile enough to climb over the arm, or use much less leverage using the middle of the arm and nipping round it before getting too close to the 20 foot drop, or walking the long way round to cross at the other end. It is fine with a person operating on each side, but operating it alone involves  some extra risk assessment. Complex leg fracture anyone?

On the plus side there was some very fragrant wisteria on the fence, so all was pleasant and the hire crews usually have enough bodies that they don't need to work both sides, so the holiday makers behind should be fine.

We diverted  to fill us with lunch and the tank with something new and different. We will see how the veggie fuel goes, but expect it won't smell like a chip shop while we go along. On the way in, I spotted an endangered species, in quite the wrong habitat, a strange choice of boat name, but handsome.

On the way back we met another boat at the fragrant lock so it didn't feel dangerous at all operating the bottom gates. At the next one the volunteers had gone, but I still didn't operate it as Shane had chosen to leap off. I hopped off once we had risen just to provide visual proof of another pronunciation challenge. I should have asked the volunteers how to say it.