A few days on the water

[Lizzie48]

I can’t see the photo Gem, I can only imagine how cold you must have been!

[Daisy]

Oh Gem, what a let down with the weather. But you all did really well, and it sounds as though S gets the Star Captain Award. I do hope tomorrow is better weather though, and your clothes dry overnight.

[Gemini]

Lizzie, I will be putting lots of photos on FB, including that one.

[Plantaholic]

You certainly look wet and cold. Well done Captain S. Safe journey home.

[Gemini]

We had a cosy night in, nice meal we had brought with us, board games and plenty of laughs about the amusing bits of the day!

Day 4

T's birthday.
A sunny start which cheered us all up .
Breakfast then we set off. We have been through 3 swing bridges already and are moored up for a cuppa and birthday cake.

More later...

[Daisy]

Gem - I hope T is enjoying her birthday. My goodness, you have been busy going through 3 swing bridges already.

[Gemini]

I will tell you how many swing bridges we went through all together later Daisy.

Day 4

Continued
A lovely and sunny fine day, but so tiring. Apart from my OH we have all had enough now and are happy to go home tomorrow.
We have to have the boat back by 9am in the morning so have come back and are parked up just along the bank from boatyard where we return the boat tomorrow.
We were to go out for T's birthday to an Indian restaurant, but all voted to stay in! We are tired and would have to walk back in the dark along the towpath 😮 OH and J have gone to collect a takeaway instead.
So, no more swing bridges, barge poles, rope pulling, Suez Canal scenarios across the canal 😊🙂

[Plantaholic]

Am I getting the feeling that you will not be doing it again

[Daisy]

Gem - it isn't always the perfect days on a sunny beach type of holidays we talk about when we reminisce with friends. I'm sure Suez Canal type incidents will be a topic of conversation with you and your friends for a long while to come.

[Lizzie48]

It was certainly what you could call an "active" holiday!xx

[Gemini]

Day 5

We were up early as we had to have to barge back in the boatyard by 9am. We had parked not far away the previous night so it was only a few minutes sail.
We stripped the beds and put the bedding into the provided laundry bag, had a cuppa and washed up the cups. We had all packed and showered the night before to save time.

We rang the boat company to say we were on our way in and off we set.
Loaded our belongings from boat to cars, had a chat with the boat guys, and we were off.

We drove to Ilkley and had a lovely end of holiday breakfast at Betty's. It was partly to celebrate T's birthday the previous day, but we tagged along as we wanted breakfast out anyway.
OH then got a very nice waterproof coat for golf in the Trespass shop next door, well reduced in the sale so she was happy.
J and T stayed for a bit of a wander around but we then said our goodbyes and headed home.

Our cat look plainly miffed when he woke up from his nap in the conservatory to find us there! He kept looking for W, our catsitter
He gave us the cold shoulder for a couple of houses, then spent the evening cuddled up to me on the sofa, purring and enjoying strokes. We are obviously forgiven!

I will sum up the holiday in my next post.

[Gemini]

As most of you know, the canal boat holiday would not have been my choice.
I haven't changed my opinion on that one. In fact it was far more tiring and hard physical work than I could have imagined. Which is a good job as I would not have gone and neither would T.
We were sold a holiday of sitting chatting on the front with a G&T or Prosecco and chatting. The thought is hilarious now!!
Not only did it need four of us the majority of the time, our friend J isn't nearly as capable and she thought, and is a panicker, so my OH had to do almost everything.

T and I just got on and helped as there really was no option. There were so many swing bridges to operate. Jumping on and off the boat , throwing and catching wet heavy ropes, pulling on ropes from the bank to bring the boat in and hold it still, and pushing off banks or anywhere else we got stuck, with poles is all hard work. My knee is bad and she has a replacement knee, so its not any of it ideal! J did some steering but we often ended up with a Suez Canal situation She tried her best though, and did get better at it. T had one brief go, I did not. I know my limitations! Our barge because it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and corridor with wall, was very long, wide and heavy. One man referred to it as the Royal Barge as we sailed by We did very well to control it, four ladies not in the first flush of youth!

I wish there had been far less swing bridges, and that we had been luckier in being able to go through when another boat had it open, so we could all stay on board. This only happened 3 times I think. I also wish we had gone through a lock, as I was looking forward to that. If we had gone the other way there would have been some. The one we would have gone through, just beyond where we in the end turned around, was closed.
I wish the weather had been better. We had some nice weather, but one day was horrific. We saw almost no boats moving that day.

There were good bits
Being in the fresh air on the water, apart from on that stormy day, was lovely. We had some nice calm sunny weather. Watching the world go by, seeing the wildlife was wonderful. Not really relaxing though as you were on constant look out for the next swing bridge, and woe betide anyone who may have gone to the loo if a swing bridge was anywhere ahead, as they would all be shouting for you to get up on deck!

Restful it was not, but it was relaxing in some ways.
Spending time with friends, having no time constraints, beautiful countryside were all benefits. As was having a comfortable warm boat to live in. The bed wasn't the most comfortable, the loo and shower very cramped, but for a boat it was all good.
We had nice food, drink and company.

Would I do it again? No, I wouldn't choose to.
If OH really wanted to (she loved it all) I would IF we went with younger people who were able to do all the physical work required.
I am not up to it and neither were J and T, although I was impressed by how much T did do, although not enjoying it, and told her so.

I'm glad we did it, as OH wanted to so much, and I feel proud of all four of us going out of our comfort zones (some more than others!) learning new skills and puling together to solve problems.

Most importantly, we all came home in one piece and still speaking to each other

[Oma]

Well you tried Gem that's the thing
You never know you might have taken to it like a Duck to water if you were younger

You survived and will have something to laugh about in years to come

[Daisy]

Gem, I take my hat off to all of you. You were all 'tested' in some way or other and came through smiling. I think your route was very difficult and it was incredibly brave of you to choose a route with so many swing bridges, and I think you all (except maybe S!) would have enjoyed it more if it had literally been plain sailing. (Manual locks can be hard work, as well!)

Despite all the hard work, there's something quite satisfying in just surviving. Our daily lives are so highly automated with so many mod cons and conveniences, but on a boat (and in a caravan to a lesser degree) many things we take for granted are stripped away and you slow down and don't do much. OH and I always say in the caravan we spend longer looking after ourselves and Eva, and things like clearing up the breakfast things take time, putting the bed away each morning etc, getting water, emptying bins and waste tanks, giving Eva regular little walks, but somehow it's very relaxing! It's a pity you had such bad weather one day though, and I think had you done that trip at the height of summer, with long light evenings it would have been easier on you all.

Well done - you did it!! And survived to tell the story. xx

[Gemini]

I forgot to include in the positives some of the lovely people we met along the way.
The lady who when we were struggling on that first day told us that they were on day 2, had been exactly like us the day before and now had the hang of it, and that things would be better tomorrow. She was right.
The lovely guy who stood on the bank when the boat was too far for me to throw the rope and T to catch. If fell into the water and he lay on his stomach to lean into the water to get it. He then held the boat until OH and J could get pegs hammered in to secure the ropes.
The two young ladies who helped by pushing the nose of our boat away when it got stuck on the bank.
Plus the friendliness and smiles and hellos along the way, and the positive comments (from women) on how well we ladies were doing

There were a few grumps about and some who could have helped (especially pushing the heavy swing bridges) who didn't. On the whole people were lovely.