Boat Safety Scheme Examination

Saturday 4th February
I had prearranged for a boat safety examiner to inspect the boat today. That was before I knew the heavy snow was forecast! However, I had prepared for the examination by acquiring replacement fire extinguishers and was hoping the boat (being only 4 years old) would pass without a hitch and weather forecasts always seem pessimistic. The last thing I wanted to do was postpone his visit as we were getting closer to the license expiry date and needed a comfortable buffer to rectify any defects.
As Elaine and I left Teesside under cover of darkness the race to the boat, to get the extinguishers changed, get a clean bill of heath from the examiner and get back before the snow fell.
It was -5 degrees when we arrived at Great Haywood but by lunchtime we were all ready for the 2.00pm appointment although the snow had already begun to fall on a frozen marina!




A very cold boat at 10.00am! (-5degrees outside).




Not even the ducks had ventured out onto the ice!
The examiner Derek Luker arrived dead on 2.00pm from Stafford (obviously not a fair weather surveyor!) and immediately got stuck in to carrying out his inspection. Derek was an 'old school' examiner; but very fair and identified areas where I could improve things and he took a very pragmatic approach! A few extra gas pipe clips and some additional cable supports would need to be dealt with ASAP but he provided the pass certificate after a very thorough 2hrs examination. I have since got the necessary bits and pieces and will fix them on my next return to the boat.




A boat examiner to be recommended! (Though sadly might be retiring soon).
I would gladly recommend Derek's services to other boaters in the area although he is sadly considering retirement in April so you might need to act fast!
By the time we left the marina, the snow was 2" deep and still snowing heavily. The journey home was less than straight forward, taking 5hrs instead of the usual 2.5hrs as we didn't encounter black tarmac until we were passing Thirsk!
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Location:Great Haywood

Shugborough to Great Haywood Marina

Saturday 24th September 2011.

A rather rushed early morning cruise back into the marina as I unfortunately needed to get back to work today as one of the building projects I was involved with was struggling to complete on time and my guys on site, I guessed, could use some moral support.
We were back home in sunny Teesside before lunch!


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Whittington to Shugborough.

Friday 23rd September 2011

A clear sky this morning. Arrived at Fradley at around 11.30am where we topped up the water tank. We didn't really need water but I wanted an opportunity, as suggested on Wednesday, to stop and check on the selfish moorers who had now outstayed their welcome on the 48hr (maximum stay) visitor moorings.
As predicted while everyone else struggled to find space to moor for lunch, or even an overnight stop, the following boats had been here for in excess of 96hrs!!! They were showing no inclination of moving soon and are possibly still there now!






The Candy Boat!






Holly (SR & ME Lord) and the boat in front!






The Saltire (Ian & Sue)!






Escargo

All the above boats had been moored for a minimum of 96hrs (made worse by the fact they were directly opposite the British Waterways Office!).

Just as it was getting dark we finally moored for the evening near Shugborough. A great days cruising!



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Hopwas to Drayton Bassett and back to Whittington.

Thursday 22nd September 2011.

Left Hopwas under a clear sunny sky although this soon became a windy trip but thankfully without rain!
By lunchtime we had reached a very quiet Fazeley Junction where we turned towards Birmingham; winding just before the Curdworth Bottom Lock; and mooring at Drayton Manor Footbridge.
We then had a walk into the village of Drayton Bassett; not sure what I was expecting; but a village without a pub, or a shop, or even a footpath is not a village at all! Apart from a glimpse at handful of fancy houses on the outskirts it has nothing to offer the visitor!
After lunch inboard we cruised back to Fazeley for fridge top-up!
The junction was strangely quiet, with few moored craft. We pushed on out of Fazeley and moored for the evening at Whittington in warm sunshine (& wind!).


Elaine in the doorway of one of the turrets on Drayton Manor Footbridge.

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Alrewas to Hopwas

Wednesday 21st September 2011

Woke up to a clear blue sky. Reversed into the winding hole and turned to return back up to cruise back up to Fradley where we would turn towards Fazeley.
We were surprised to see a long line of boats still moored on the 48hr mooring! I have made a conscious effort not to publish the names of the offending moorers until I have given them the benefit of the doubt and will check the moorings again later in the week. (watch this space to see who gets named and shamed!)
We spent over an hour and a half stopping for water and the wind was now picking up!
Stopped for lunch in strong winds near Huddlesford Junction.
After lunch we cruised down to Hopwas. During the cruise we realised mooring under a tree the night before had covered the boat in a layer of sticky sap that was attracting hundreds of unwelcome wasps! A problem we would have to cope with until we could clean the boat, back at the marina, at the weekend.



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Fradley to Alrewas

Tuesday 20th September 2011
Woke up to a very warm but sadly very wet morning!
Moved off our mooring down towards Alrewas at about 10.30am.
It's always a bad sign when cars are driving around with headlights on in the middle of the day! By 11.40 we were mooring up in Alrewas. Our cruising patterns had not changed; our cruising distance wasn't even enough to charge the batteries up; 6 lock/miles. We then read the remainder of the Sunday Times supplements before wandering along to the co-op for the essential fresh stuff.
On our travels I could help noticing the job advert outside the butchers for "a young man 16 to 17 years old!" which made me realise how Alrewas was refreshingly out of date and clearly unaffected by modern political correctness.


An honest and refreshing advert!

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Handsacre to Fradley

Monday 19th September 2011

After breakfast we set away in good time and within a short time we were soon locking down Woodend Lock. After leaving the lock we felt honoured to be passing steamboat President and the butty Kildare. A blast of the whistle as it approached affermed it's right to the middle of the canal! We duly pulled over to give them the deeper water and enjoyed the spectacle of them passing. Just a shame none of the crew (dressed in period style) could bring themselves to thank us for our efforts! However a nice sight all the same. They had no doubt been to the Huddlesford Gathering over the weekend and were probably making their way to the next public appearance.
After locking past Fradley Junction we topped up the water and moored opposite in the pound, when a space became available just as we passed.
After lunch it became clear to me that narrowboat 'Labour of Love' was trying to get in the gap in front of the boat. Unfortunately the space (even with our very economic mooring) wasn't long enough to accommodate her. I offered my front bow to tie up against. The crew were also carrying three dogs (one of which only had three legs!) and they needed to moor their bow, hard against the side, as the dogs would otherwise struggle to jump ashore.
I therefore conversely offered to push out our bow and tie up against them. This we did. The dogs were delighted!
Elaine and I then had a gimble up to the Swan and en-route bought a couple of packets of bonbons from the candy boat. The first bag unfortunately only lasted the duration of the walk as we were clearly consuming calories way faster than we were burning them!
The internet connection at Fradley is 'fair' so uploaded the blogs from the last three days.



A rear view of the butty (Kildare) towed by nb President as they approached Woodend Lock.



The Candy Boat at Fradley.




Our mooring at Fradley Junction.

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