The Joy of a New Boat

Sunday 22 April

For once, a lazy start, with only the short run back to Tixall Wide to do. I gave the engine its weekly check, and off we went. We got to Tixall at 11.30, and I walked on to Great Haywood. I went into the farm shop to buy some of their expensive but delicious organic bread, and then carried on to Great Haywood itself to buy a newspaper and some milk.

After lunch we were pleased to see Hawksmoor, an OwnerShips boat, turn up. It was crewed by Alan and Lorraine Sensicle, whom we had first met at Norbury Junction a couple of years ago. Experienced hirers, they were on a hire craft, and having some trouble with it. As a result of our description of the OwnerShips scheme, they bought a share in Hawksmoor and are very pleased with it.

At the back end of the afternoon we joined them and Jeff and Jackie from Tiger Lily for a few glasses of wine and a lot of chat. Jeff and Jackie are privateers currently heading for the Thames via the Oxford canal.

This meant a late dinner again, but well worth it. It's one of the striking things about life on the cut - you get to know people one way or another, don't see them for months or years (though maybe keeping in touch via email) and then meet up again and carry on where you left off.

Monday 23 April

Today is the day we are due to meet our good friends John and Nev Campbell when they collect their new boat from Ben Harp, who builds at Great Haywood. We weren't expecting to see them till the afternoon, so had an even lazier start, especially in view of the fact that it had started raining at last. After the long hot start to the Spring, the rain was actually quite refreshing.

We ambled through to the Great Haywood water point, filled the tank and started a washload, then pulled just through the bridge to the north and moored on the visitor moorings there. We then walked into Great Haywood for some basic shopping, though I was unable to find an Independent. The Great Haywood/Colwich/Little Haywood area is very much Telegraph and Daily Mail territory.

Getting back to the boat we had lunch, and were just settling down to wait for a call from John and Nev when they turned up, lunchless. So we fed them a cheese sandwich or two, and went off with them to admire the new boat, Waimaru.

It's a good looking boat, built on a Mike Christian shell, and fitted out by Ben Harp, who's been in the business on his own account for a couple of years - Waimaru is his seventh boat. The design and execution of the fit out is very pleasing, though there were the inevitable snags and minor problems still to be sorted.

After a good look through, we set off up the Trent and Mersey, since Waimaru was pointing that way, and we had agreed to spend the night back on Tixall Wide. The first trip was thus up Hoo Mill lock, and on to the winding hole at Ingestre bridge. Coming back to Haywood about two hours later, we left John and Nev watering Waimaru while I backed Sanity through the bridge, and then turned through the junction to go on to Tixall.

Waimaru duly turned up a little later, with John steering and Nev still trying to get the boat into a state where they would actually be able to lie down on the bed to sleep that night. Moving onto a boat, even a holiday cruising boat, is very like moving into a house - there seems to be just so much stuff, all of it in loads of packing, and the concern bordering on panic is where it will all go.

I remember that for our first few weeks on Sanity, we had these boxes of stuff in the saloon that had to be moved about all the time and only slowly unpacked. The best thing friends can do in these circs is provide support in the shape of sustenance, so we invited John and Nev to share our lamb tagine and cous cous, and a great evening was had by all in the comfort of Sanity's saloon.