A few days on the water

[Gemini]

Day 1

Yesterday we picked up the canal boat .
It had been a lovely sunny morning, but as we got closer the rain started. It was very heavy as we entered the boat yard.
It stopped by the time we boarded but it was wet.
We loaded everything on board and looked round.
The boat men went through all the instructions with us, then went with us to the first bridge, he walked back from there . OH did some steering with him there.
Then we were on our own.
We crashed into trees at one side, bank at the other, narrowly missing several boats along the way! Our boat is wide, so it's not easy.
We moored up for a while
OH and J who were driver and navigator were so stressed they talked about taking the boat back the next day!
T was as stressed as could be. I remained calm and made tea, which spilt when we bumped into things!

We set off again.
There was a lot of getting on and off for J and T to operate bridges. I stood with OH to navigate and guide her and it went a lot more smoothly this time, we didn't bang into anything!
We moored up for the night and OH's experience as a cub leader was vital for tying the knot!
We all felt a lot happier and more confident and not planning to take the boat back
We had a big lunch on the way so had a snacky meal, couple of glasses of wine and Scrabble!
Then to bed.

[Plantaholic]

Well done ladies surviving the first day.

[Oma]

First time is always stressful , by the time day 4 comes you will all be expert
Well done surviving and not giving up

[Daisy]

Well done Gem and the rest of the crew. It's not easy and it takes a lot longer to adjust direction than you'd ever think (that's what we found!) I'm glad you stayed clam and kept everyone fuelled with tea.

I hope the sun's shining for you today.

[Gemini]

The sun is indeed shining and we are having a good day! I'll report more later .

[Lizzie48]

Well done Gem and crew!xxx

[Gemini]

Day 2

A much more positive mood today!
We got the heating on with no problems ( we had to phone the boat company last night as we were having problems)
We treated ourselves to a full English for our first morning.
Worked out the showers and got dressed.


Today we sailed to Skipton over a couple of hours. Sunny fine day, lovely countryside. Sheep , cows, geese, ducks, swans and a heron watched us as we traveled along.
J bravely took the helm a couple of times. She's not as good as OH and panics more but she did well
A lot more swing bridges and an electric one which controls the traffic lights.

We stopped at a water point to refill our water tank.
We moored up for the day at Skipton late afternoon and walked into the town to have a look round then went to the pub for a couple of drinks.

We are in for the night now, dinner in the oven and a chilled evening ahead.
Tomorrow we have to turn the boat round!!

[Daisy]

Gem - what a lovely day you've had today. It sounded very peaceful and I hope you all enjoyed the slow pace of life on a boat. I hope there is a good place, wide enough to turn round easily. You'll be back to the marina before you know it. xx

[Oma]

Bit of a adventure It will be all hands on deck to turn it round I bet xx

[Nanto2girls]

Gem, when the kids were little, we had a lot of holidays on the Norfolk Broads.
Hubby would never let me drive/steer the boats.

Sounds like you are having fun. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

[Daisy]

Nanto - when we did a canal holiday the kids did the steering. We only steered through the locks - it worked well because the boys thought it was wonderful to be allowed to 'drive' and we were able to relax.

[Plantaholic]

Gemini, good luck with the turning, at least at this time of the year I imagine the water isn’t busy.

[Gemini]

Day 3

What a day!

So different from yesterday.

Heavy rain and wind all day. There was a weather warning from mid afternoon, so we wanted to make a start after breakfast and be moored somewhere before the worst weather , due at 3.
Who would ever trust forecasts?!

It was wet and gusty from the start. Very difficult to get the boat to behave when trying to tie it up each time a bridge needed opening. Or at all really.

We didn't go as far as we originally planned as we were told the lock further ahead was closed and no one could go that far. We therefore needed to find a turning place before that
We were all totally wet when eventually we reached a turning circle. We were totally stuck in the weeds for a while, as we couldn't control the boat due to the wind.
We had to go back through the swing bridge we had just come through once we had successfully turned. We in the end decided to moor up before the bridge as it was too wild to easily control the boat.

We got everything tightly tied up, came in and shut the door!
We were all soaked. The two of us who didn't have waterproof trousers more so.
We all got into dry warm clothing and spread our wet things around to dry
We had a couple of warm drinks and lunch and are going nowhere before tomorrow!
We have read and played Scrabble and dinner is on now.
I have several layers on and am only warm now after four hours!

We feel very proud of how we are all coping and pulling together and for the most part retaining our sense of humour.
That we turned the boat in these conditions is pretty amazing for female pensioner novices!
I have to say without my OH we would have got nowhere though, through the whole trip.

Tomorrow is forecast a dry sunny day. T's birthday, so hopefully we will have a much nicer day!

[Gemini]

Staying cheerful!!

[Oma]

Oh my goodness Gem you look frozen
I think you have been very brave tackling something you have never done before , well done to you all ,
Keep warm xxx