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Enter a key word to search for posts:Finally on the move
Posted on: Thursday December 8, 2016 at: 5:47 pm
So, after 4 weeks in the marina, we are FINALLY able to set off on our travels. I sold the car yesterday, which was the one thing that was still tying us down. Today we left the marina and having stopped to top up our fuel, we set off to Braunston. Only travelled 4.7 miles and 5 locks, but that was not bad going.
Along the route, we travelled through the Braunston tunnel. For those of you who have never travelled on a canal, tunnels are basically just holes dug through the hill. No lighting, no towpath, just the darkness and a semi-circular brick or concrete wall and roof. This one was over a mile long. We have a headlight on the front of the boat that lights the inside of the tunnel immediately ahead of you, which helps you see where the walls are and steer straight along the middle. This is actually quite difficult as you cannot see very far ahead – there is nothing to see. So you tend to weave your way along, trying not to bounce off the sides too much. Today the tunnel was full of mist, which just reflects the light back at you so all you can actually see is a white haze in front of you and no wall. Fortunately, turning on all the lights in the boat means you can at least see the walls alongside you, so you just try and estimate where the wall is going to be a few feet ahead.
The other thing the headlight does is let other boats coming towards you know you are there. Today, for the first time in all our experiences of tunnels over the years, we met someone coming the other way – a bit over halfway through. At first you see a tiny light ahead and you wonder is that the exit? Then it dawns on you that it the wrong colour and might be too close, although you cannot really tell as you have no reference for distance. As you get closer to each other (guessing how close you actually are) you slow down and try to keep as close as you can to the right-hand side (starboard). On top of that, most headlights tend to be on the right-hand side of the boat (to better see the wall you are supposed to be keeping close to), which means as well as being dazzled by the light, you cannot actually tell where the nearside of their boat is. Suddenly you see their bow and with only a minor bump of the wall and touch of the oncoming boat, you whizz past each other at about 4 mph. Just time to exchange a greeting and then on your way. Interesting experience and no wonder you have to pre-book passage if you are in a wide-beam boat, which is roughly twice the width – you would not be able to pass each other, and someone would have to try and reverse out, maybe for a mile!
It has, however, turned out to be a lovely day. Mild, not too windy and intermittent sunshine. One advantage of cruising this time of year is that you pretty well have the canal to yourself. I think we passed about three other boats going the other way, including the one in the tunnel. Fingers crossed for another nice one tomorrow.
Arriving at Braunston
Hi Kit, Glad to see that you are at last on the move. My friends/neighbours Niel & Alison keep their boat “Mulcibar” at Braunston. I doubt that you will see them this time of year as they don’t tend to use the boat much in the Winter, however, if you do bump into them in the future, be sure to say hi. They are a very friendly couple and usually have a great stock of wine on board!
I do hope that you and Helen are finding your feet and that you will enjoy your retirement voyaging. Do let me know when you are in our area and we will try and meet up. Very best wishes and a happy Christmas to you both, Guy and Patricia
IT MUST GIVE YOU A WONDERFUL SENSE OF ACHEIVMENT AFTER ALL YOUR PLANNING . well done kit, you did not need your crashhelmet after all. XXXXX