Approaching Crick

20th & 21st May

Today's blog is a joint effort, as we're both working hard on getting the boat ready for the show. Sheila did the first draft and Bruce edited it later.

We had a lazy start yesterday, the first day this month that we haven't been on the move. We finished the work of the day before by attacking the port holes and the Houdini hatch with Brasso (Sheila) and T cut (Bruce). Then we went on to work on the bits and pieces, tiller pins and door knobs. Bruce did a little magnet fishing to while away the last quarter hour before lunch. He didn't make a very good haul apart from one nice solid mooring pin – always welcome. After lunch we put another coat of polish on the starboard side, hard work but it made all the difference. Sanity is beginning to look sleek and glossy (for the first time this year).

As we finished work and settled on the towpath for a well earned cup of tea a boat called Van Diemen moored in front of us. She was being single handed by a chap called Geoff and it was no surprise to discover that he came from Tasmania. He was in his second season and was looking for information on boat electrics. Bruce promised to pass his phone number on to Richard Edwards who is the expert that we contact when we have questions.

This morning we woke early, just before 6.00 am and decided to take advantage of a fine morning so we could get to Watford flight before there was too much of a queue. We were boating soon after 7.00 am and by 7.30 we had worked the last lock in the Buckby flight and were on the water point. Once the tank was full we set off and turned with pleasure onto the Leicester Arm. It was a good feeling to be back on a narrow canal even if only for two lock flights.

The Leicester Arm from Norton Junction to Foxton is a lovely canal. The trees are full of blossom and the birds are in full voice, particularly the chaffinches at the moment. It's a bad time of year for bird spotting of course because you can hear the little blighters but with so much leaf on the trees there is no way you can see them. Sheila comments: Bruce gets cross with me when I'm steering because I do get distracted by the birds and Bruce is afraid I will run us aground. (I haven't done so yet.) (Not quite (Bruce))

It was a surprise to arrive at the foot of Watford Locks at 9.00 and not find a queue. In fact we were the second boat of the day. Before we went into the bottom lock one of the lockkeepers went into the pump house by the bottom lock and turned on some pumps. This caused a lot of turbulence just in front of us and Sheila asked what it was for. Apparently it is a device to discourage the spread of Zander which are in the Braunston pound. The pumps were blowing a stream of bubbles into the water which is supposed to stop the mature fish from entering the lock. However the fry and eggs are not affected so it doesn't sound as though it will make too much difference. (Hope BW aren't spending too much money on the scheme if it is only going to be a short term fix.)

We really like the Watford flight although that is partly because it comes after a flight of broad locks. Staircases have a bit of a reputation but I don't think it is deserved. They do have to be worked slightly differently from single locks but once you get the rhythm they are very quick and easy. I always recite to myself the verse I was first taught on the Foxton flight by Mick and Crystal :

Red before white and you'll be alright,
White before red, you'll wish you were dead.

This is because there are side ponds on the flight and the red paddle from the lower lock to the side pond must be raised before the white paddle from the upper lock to the side pond. Getting it wrong annoys the lockkeeper. In the days of Mick and Crystal at Foxton they would tell you loudly and clearly what a fool you were and since Foxton is always crawling with gongoozlers it was red face time.

Watford is a noisy flight being very close to the M1 but the noise of the motorway serves to remind us how lucky we are to be living at a slower pace than the people on the road. We left the flight by 9.30 having been helped up the flight by Andy the friendly locky and Sheila carried on through the next two bridges to moor at the end of the piling just after bridge 8 while Bruce started making bread for lunch.

Sheila: I was very pleased with myself that I managed to bring the boat in and get her properly moored while Bruce was below. Then I looked again at the mooring and realised that if we were half a length further back the trees wouldn't hang so far down onto the bow. I decided to wait until Bruce was free to move her. Mooring once by myself was enough.

This is a nice mooring as it is far enough from the motorway to be peaceful and it puts the starboard side of the boat to the bank for final cleaning. When we get to Crick the port side will be to the towpath and we will be able to finish cleaning that side. Wherever we moor along this stretch the boat ends up covered in bits that come off the trees – but that's life. The only real hazard are the supports for the piling which are not properly buried but are covered by grass. Tripping is a real hazard.

Just after lunch Liz and Austin Siviter arrived on their boat Just Siviting and decided to moor in front of us. I'm glad they see the funny side of the mooring plan for Crick where their boat has been renamed Just Visiting. We had a good natter to catch up with Braidbar news. We may yet see Shimshams or Kala if they come up Watford tonight.

Between the hard work of helping at the show, and the fact that it's a very erratic connection at Crick, blogs may be a bit irregular for the next few days; bear with us and normal service will be resumed as soon as we set off along the pound towards Foxton.