Weedon

Wednesday 14 May 2014 - Weedon, Grand Union Canal

After I had moored up last night and the rain had started again there were half a dozen boats who had been held up on the stoke Bruerne flight including some Wyvern boats.  The works were apparently pressure washing the gates to remove the winter’s growth.

I decided to start early to be through the tunnel before the hire boats and was heading to the mouth of the tunnel at about 07:30, to be stopped by a C&RT volunteer who was waiting for a wide-beam boat to come south and was due in the tunnel at 08:00.  The tunnel is wide enough for two narrow boats to pass but wide-beams have to have booked slots.  The wide boat was also late and did not enter the tunnel until 08:45, just before they would have been told to book another slot.  Waiting meant that the others also got ready and by the time that we were told we could go there were three of us at the entrance with another three still on their moorings.  Fortunately there was no-one after the wide-beam so it was a clear run for all six of us.

An uneventful run except that I stopped to allow three of the ones following to go ahead only to pass them about half a mile further on.  One had stopped for lunch and the others were travelling together but one of them had caught what looked like a cratch cover round the prop so was doing some emergency work.

I travelled on to Weedon where Braidbar 86 ‘Shield Maiden’ was moored and we exchanged pleasantries as I passed.  Just as I was putting away all the lights etc used when navigating tunnels I noticed the boat in front of me had come adrift, fortunately it was occupied so I helped them to get back to the bank and moor up again.

The sun has been out all day and I saw what appeared to be an upside-down rainbow in the clouds.