We left Selby in the sunshine and motored off down the canal. There was a bit more traffic today than there was when we came up. We got to Haddlesey Lock and I went to operate it. Richard brought Mary H in and there was an almighty clonk from the engine bay and then he hit the top gate! He couldn’t stop as the prop was fouled and when I say fouled I mean FOULED! It took him ages to clear it and it looked as if it had been a car seat or similar though fortunately there was no metal. There was masses of foam rubber, material and ribbons (which were probably material before they got round the prop!) Luckily no-one else wanted to use the lock! We pulled onto the lock waiting pontoon and had lunch and a well-earned rest for Richard as it is really hard work lying on your stomach with your head down the engine bay trying to free things – or at least that’s what he tells me!!
At Beal Lock (the next one) we found two boats in the lock not going anywhere as the gate wouldn’t shut. One of the boats, de Nada, had travelled down the Trent with us yesterday and had phoned Canals and Rivers Trust about 2½ hours before and the man arrived as we were chatting. However he had to go back to Selby to get a 
long handled shovel. He eventually came back with a colleague and in due course managed to find something heavy that was blocking the gate which was duly moved and the gate shut J The two boats that were in the lock went on up and then the C&RT men helped us through. It didn’t seem to take long to get up to Bank Dole Lock but we found de Nada and the motorcruiser on the waiting pontoon. They had emptied the lock and opened the gates and very kindly waved us into the lock - they both managed to squeeze in too! At the junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation we said goodbye to de Nada and headed off towards Leeds.
long handled shovel. He eventually came back with a colleague and in due course managed to find something heavy that was blocking the gate which was duly moved and the gate shut J The two boats that were in the lock went on up and then the C&RT men helped us through. It didn’t seem to take long to get up to Bank Dole Lock but we found de Nada and the motorcruiser on the waiting pontoon. They had emptied the lock and opened the gates and very kindly waved us into the lock - they both managed to squeeze in too! At the junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation we said goodbye to de Nada and headed off towards Leeds.
When Richard came back on board after Dole Bank Lock he said that the lady on de Nada reads my blog J It’s the first time anyone has actually told us. Thank you de Nada, I hope you enjoy it :-)
We had planned to stop on the visitors moorings at Ferrybridge for the night but found a lovely spot just before there where we could moor up using chains so if a commerical boat comes past we won’t worry about our mooring pins being ripped out! Millie thought the spot was wonderful as it was very long grass. She spent the evening going in and out and walking along the gunwale before settling down to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
No comments:
Post a Comment