Great news!!!! The Droitwich canal locked locks were unlocked and so the captive boats were able to escape.......
This did mean going back the way we had arrived, under the M5 tunnel bridge and everyone on board holding their breath again. But I must have lost weight in the 5 days in Droitwich as I managed it. As we set off the sun was shining but within 15 minutes the sky opened and drenched Pete, Susan and Mazey. I got a good soaking too but I don't mind being wet. Susan and Pete shared the locks and all went OK up to the point where Susan was driving into the last but one lock, where the lock keeper had opened the bottom gates for her and was waiting for me to enter. We seemed to be heading in a straight line and then suddenly she lost control and ended up banging my hull into the lock and then made me bounce off the other side before she managed to straighten me up into the lock. I heard her shout "Sorry" to the lock keeper and Pete said "More painting to do...." I did not hear anyone say sorry to me....
Poor Mazey was unwell this morning and spent a while at the vets - very hot 103 degree temp. After a large shot in the neck, she was allowed back to the boat and has been sleeping this evening. All is happy and settled on the 24 hour mooring at Hanbury Wharf.
Susan says "Sorry no photos as run out of megs for upload"........
Thursday 27 September 2012
Tuesday 25 September 2012
LOCKED IN AND PETE GOES CONKERS
I have been locked in and cannot get off the Droitwich canal in either direction. The river Servern is closed due to floods and the Droitwich locks are locked!!! Mazey says she is happy as the park is a play area for her. As there is more rain forecast today and tomorrow, I may be resting for a while longer............ Pete says he would normally be happy as this used to happen to him in The Cock, HBO :-))
Pete has gone conkers - he has been out with Mazey and collected hundreds of them. I overheard him talking to an old boater who suggested that conker oil eliminates spiders. Spiders like making their home within my body - I don't mind...... Pete does. So he has gone bonkers collecting the conkers!!!
Pete has gone conkers - he has been out with Mazey and collected hundreds of them. I overheard him talking to an old boater who suggested that conker oil eliminates spiders. Spiders like making their home within my body - I don't mind...... Pete does. So he has gone bonkers collecting the conkers!!!
Monday 24 September 2012
RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN!!
Dreamer's Journal:
Saturday, 22/9/2012
Exciting stuff. It was a warm, sunny day..... The lock volunteer explained to Susan and Pete about the side pond locks and how to do them. He also mentioned that it cost £17 million to restore the canal. I was navigated through a very narrow canal - room for one boat only. Apart from going though normal locks (narrow ones), Susan managed to somehow prep a Staircase lock!!! Thankfully, another boat came in the opposite direction and the owners instructed Susan on how to do it. They said that the weather was about to get wet and windy so they were headed to Birmingham and would sit it out there. I think we could have been in trouble if they had not explained to Susan how to do this staricase lock as it has been a long time since she did one. After successfully completing these, we all had the scary moment of seeing the very, very low tunnel bridge underneath the M5 approaching. I was a bit concerned, as I overheard Susan and Pete discussing it and about whether I would end up with scratches down the side OR even worse everything knocked off the top of me i.e. the pigeon box that Pete loves so much. We all breathed in and Pete literally sank to his knees (no headroom - honest) and navigated me through, very slowly and carefully, without any problems.
I heard Susan say 'Oh My God' as we excited whilst Pete laughed and said 'That was tight'......... Mazey stopped shaking!
In parts the new canal is very shallow and I ended up scrapping my bottom on rock - not happy about that....... lots of grinding noises.......
Vines Park in Droitwich is a green area used by walkers, cyclists, families and boaters. It was very busy as we navigated though the locks and 3 swing bridges. Pete swapped over with Susan as she could not open one of the swing bridges. Lots of waterfowl, hire boats and people greeted us.
A bit further on, we moored up in Netherwich Basin with 48 hour moorings. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Since then it has rained and rained and rained. So static at the moment. Waiting for a break in the weather before heading to the end of the Droitwich canal onto the Severn.
Completed 2.5 miles, 8 locks and 3 swing bridges.
Sunday, 23/9/2012
Day of rest for me. Susan went shopping into Droitwich whilst Pete watched the Grand Prix.
Monday, 24/9/2012
It has been raining hard since yesterday so Pete and Susan have decided to stay for one more day.
Pete decided to fill me up with water. All of this action was taking place in pouring rain...... This was no small task and took him about 1 hour. First he had to climb onto the bow and open the hatch to get my drinking pipe out (Pete calls is a hose). He then had to attach the drinking pipe in the well deck, climb along the gunnels (side of the boat) carrying the drinking pipe reel. Climbed onto the floating pontoon, then walked to the drinking water point - about 110 feet away. Attached another yellow hose which he fixed to the drinking water tap. Then walked along the floating pontoon and knocked on the side hatches to ask Susan to make sure the pipe was still attached to the entry point on the well deck. Then he headed back to the drinking water tap and switched on. He climbed back onto the gunnels and stepped into the well deck and took over from Susan whilst the water flowed into my water tank. I was very thirsty - after about 30 mins I was full - so he switched off. Then he disconnected everything. Walked back along the gunnels with the drinking pipe in hand. Stepped onto the floating pontoon. Switched off and disconnected from the water tap. Tidied all pipes. Walked back along the gunnels onto the bow, and put everything away in the hatch. Locked it up, stepped back into the well-deck, zipped up the sides. Job done!!!!! Susan gave Pete a well deserved cup of hot tea - made from the new kettle bought yesterday in Argos. Susan, unfortunately, left the kettle on whilst doing some locks - BANG no more kettle .........
Saturday, 22/9/2012
Exciting stuff. It was a warm, sunny day..... The lock volunteer explained to Susan and Pete about the side pond locks and how to do them. He also mentioned that it cost £17 million to restore the canal. I was navigated through a very narrow canal - room for one boat only. Apart from going though normal locks (narrow ones), Susan managed to somehow prep a Staircase lock!!! Thankfully, another boat came in the opposite direction and the owners instructed Susan on how to do it. They said that the weather was about to get wet and windy so they were headed to Birmingham and would sit it out there. I think we could have been in trouble if they had not explained to Susan how to do this staricase lock as it has been a long time since she did one. After successfully completing these, we all had the scary moment of seeing the very, very low tunnel bridge underneath the M5 approaching. I was a bit concerned, as I overheard Susan and Pete discussing it and about whether I would end up with scratches down the side OR even worse everything knocked off the top of me i.e. the pigeon box that Pete loves so much. We all breathed in and Pete literally sank to his knees (no headroom - honest) and navigated me through, very slowly and carefully, without any problems.
I heard Susan say 'Oh My God' as we excited whilst Pete laughed and said 'That was tight'......... Mazey stopped shaking!
In parts the new canal is very shallow and I ended up scrapping my bottom on rock - not happy about that....... lots of grinding noises.......
Vines Park in Droitwich is a green area used by walkers, cyclists, families and boaters. It was very busy as we navigated though the locks and 3 swing bridges. Pete swapped over with Susan as she could not open one of the swing bridges. Lots of waterfowl, hire boats and people greeted us.
A bit further on, we moored up in Netherwich Basin with 48 hour moorings. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Since then it has rained and rained and rained. So static at the moment. Waiting for a break in the weather before heading to the end of the Droitwich canal onto the Severn.
Completed 2.5 miles, 8 locks and 3 swing bridges.
Sunday, 23/9/2012
Day of rest for me. Susan went shopping into Droitwich whilst Pete watched the Grand Prix.
Monday, 24/9/2012
It has been raining hard since yesterday so Pete and Susan have decided to stay for one more day.
Pete decided to fill me up with water. All of this action was taking place in pouring rain...... This was no small task and took him about 1 hour. First he had to climb onto the bow and open the hatch to get my drinking pipe out (Pete calls is a hose). He then had to attach the drinking pipe in the well deck, climb along the gunnels (side of the boat) carrying the drinking pipe reel. Climbed onto the floating pontoon, then walked to the drinking water point - about 110 feet away. Attached another yellow hose which he fixed to the drinking water tap. Then walked along the floating pontoon and knocked on the side hatches to ask Susan to make sure the pipe was still attached to the entry point on the well deck. Then he headed back to the drinking water tap and switched on. He climbed back onto the gunnels and stepped into the well deck and took over from Susan whilst the water flowed into my water tank. I was very thirsty - after about 30 mins I was full - so he switched off. Then he disconnected everything. Walked back along the gunnels with the drinking pipe in hand. Stepped onto the floating pontoon. Switched off and disconnected from the water tap. Tidied all pipes. Walked back along the gunnels onto the bow, and put everything away in the hatch. Locked it up, stepped back into the well-deck, zipped up the sides. Job done!!!!! Susan gave Pete a well deserved cup of hot tea - made from the new kettle bought yesterday in Argos. Susan, unfortunately, left the kettle on whilst doing some locks - BANG no more kettle .........
Friday 21 September 2012
Droitwich Junction
Dreamer's Journey:
I left the mooring at 9:30 ish this morning. Surprised to see at 9:00 that all but one of the boats moored here last night had already gone..... Probably as their owners are'nt lazy bods!!! Arrived at the Droitwich canal Junction at 2:00 pm. This is a newly restored canal and opened recently. Excited about what it has to offer as the original canals (The Barge Canal and Junction Canal) were used by my ancestors to carry salt mainly in the 1700's and 1800's. At one end is the Worcester & Birmingham canal which is where I am at the moment - Hanbury 24 hour moorings. The other end links to the River Severn - Hawford.
Today I cruised through 12 locks and 4.5 miles. Susan drove into all the locks and bashed me about a bit but Pete with Mazey prep'd the locks. There were a few raised voices and swearing but generally all went well. Up until recently, Susan was not happy about driving me into locks but now she is much more confident and happy to do them - especially if it means she can chill out on the back............ The weather was Ok until about 1 hour ago when it started raining which prompted them to stop early - personally, I don't understand what a bit of wet has to do with stopping cause my bottom is always wet anyway ;-))
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| My view this morning - end of Tardebigge Locks |
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| This is where I was moored this morning |
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| My bow |
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| Water point |
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| Pile up on the canal |
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| Droitwich canal entrance |
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Update on where we are!!
It has only been 2 and a half years since we started our journey with Dreamer. I have written loads of journals but not managed to get a blog up and running. The boat clock has registered over 1,000 hours. I hope you enjoy our journey as much as we have and hope to continue to do so.
Last weekend we were in Birmingham - Gas Street Basin. On Friday we saw Michael McIntyre in the NIA - fantastic. Such a laugh. Then I dragged poor Pete around Sea Life. A great experience in the Turtle 4D show - to be honest we could have done without the little kids screaming in terror.....
We are now in a place called Stoke Pound on the Birmingham and Worcester canal which is at the bottom of 30 (yes I repeat 30) single locks. It took Pete and I 4 hours to complete this exercise. These locks are known as Tardebigge 30. The longest locks in the country - I think!!!!. Pretty countryside though. We decided that we would swap after every 5 locks in either driving the boat or doing the locks. After 20 locks - Pete seemed to get a second wind and decided that I should drive and he would do the locks. I was not going to argue with him. Our teamwork was amazing.... I thought so anyway ;-)) We left the couple in the boat who were behind us, way behind and finished almost 30 minutes before they did. Obviously, they could not overtake us but they were in the lock behind us for most of the way. Pete can be SO competitive. Just to mention also that all but 2 of the locks were against us...... I thought Hatton 21 was hard enough!! BUT we managed and actually both enjoyed the experience. After dinner and a well deserved pint or two in The Queen's Inn, Pete lit the stove last night for the first time since winter so we were warm and snuggly. I ended up sweltering in bed and could hardly breath. It was lovely though to wake up to a warm boat as it is getting a bit chilly now. That was yesterday (18/9/2010).
TODAY we have not moved at all but completed lots of boat bits and resting before we head off tomorrow. Pete polished along one side of Dreamer as I cleaned the well-deck. We are planning on going to the Droitwich canal (another 10 locks) - which opened recently and then along the River Severn to Worcester. After that we head into Tewkesbury on the River Avon and up to Stratford-on-Avon. Really excited but a bit concerned about the water levels and hope the rain holds off.
I will be adding photos when I get a good link to the internet - so cannot promise you lots of photos - just lots of chatty bits.
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| Birmingham - Gas Street Basin |
Last weekend we were in Birmingham - Gas Street Basin. On Friday we saw Michael McIntyre in the NIA - fantastic. Such a laugh. Then I dragged poor Pete around Sea Life. A great experience in the Turtle 4D show - to be honest we could have done without the little kids screaming in terror.....
We are now in a place called Stoke Pound on the Birmingham and Worcester canal which is at the bottom of 30 (yes I repeat 30) single locks. It took Pete and I 4 hours to complete this exercise. These locks are known as Tardebigge 30. The longest locks in the country - I think!!!!. Pretty countryside though. We decided that we would swap after every 5 locks in either driving the boat or doing the locks. After 20 locks - Pete seemed to get a second wind and decided that I should drive and he would do the locks. I was not going to argue with him. Our teamwork was amazing.... I thought so anyway ;-)) We left the couple in the boat who were behind us, way behind and finished almost 30 minutes before they did. Obviously, they could not overtake us but they were in the lock behind us for most of the way. Pete can be SO competitive. Just to mention also that all but 2 of the locks were against us...... I thought Hatton 21 was hard enough!! BUT we managed and actually both enjoyed the experience. After dinner and a well deserved pint or two in The Queen's Inn, Pete lit the stove last night for the first time since winter so we were warm and snuggly. I ended up sweltering in bed and could hardly breath. It was lovely though to wake up to a warm boat as it is getting a bit chilly now. That was yesterday (18/9/2010).
TODAY we have not moved at all but completed lots of boat bits and resting before we head off tomorrow. Pete polished along one side of Dreamer as I cleaned the well-deck. We are planning on going to the Droitwich canal (another 10 locks) - which opened recently and then along the River Severn to Worcester. After that we head into Tewkesbury on the River Avon and up to Stratford-on-Avon. Really excited but a bit concerned about the water levels and hope the rain holds off.
I will be adding photos when I get a good link to the internet - so cannot promise you lots of photos - just lots of chatty bits.
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