From AHarvey523@aol.com Sat May 1 11:27:21 1999 Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 03:28:29 EDT From: AHarvey523@aol.com Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: canals@blacksheep.org Subject: Amos first trip Dear newsgroup, I have at last edited my log of our first trip on Amos, and if anyone is interested, here it is: AMOS'S LOG - AUGUST 1998 FRIDAY 31.7.98 Ken finished work at lunchtime and we packed the car and set off at about 2.45 pm to come down to Parkend Bridge on the Gloucester and Sharpness canal where Amos is moored. We brought a carload of things for our holiday, with only a small space left in the car. We loaded a crate of lager and a case of wine. All the essentials. We also brought 'the plank'. Said plank was given to us at the Cons club last night, and it was 10 - 12 ft long. We had to carry it home at 10.30 at night through the back streets of Blackheath. Ken sawed off the top end today, leaving about 6 ft, after measuring how much would fit in the car. We will paint it and add the 'steps' later. We brought down the tubs of flowers that Ben, my 4yr old grandson, and I had planted up. When we had loaded and put away everything except the clothes, we had a quick chat to John and Annie in the Bridge house. We turned down the offer of a glass of wine and set off for home. It was a rotten journey, with a terrific amount of traffic. We picked up fish and chips in Blackheath and went home for the night. Saturday 1 August 98 We took the car to Ashwood to park it and friends, John and Marlene followed in their car, picked us up and took us down to Parkend Bridge again. We took them for a cruise down to Patch and back. We had a downpour of rain and the thunder and lightening was active at Patch. We passed nb Boden on her moorings, with the cutweb symbol in the window. We travelled back in heavy rain, but Ken enjoyed it on the back deck in his mac. The sun was strong when it broke through and the last part of the cruise was done in sunshine. As soon as we tied up the rain began again. Sunday 2 August 98 Our daughter and family arrived about noon. We took them for a ride out to Saul where we filled up with water and emptied the porta potti. Karl got stung which spoiled his day but otherwise they liked the boat. Son-in-law mentioned an inline filter which needs no maintenance for the water system, as I am not impressed with the current water tank, which can be open for the bugs and leaves while you are filling up. Our son arrived with his granddad about 4.30 and took some video footage of the boat on his new video camera. He has then lent it to us for the rest of the trip. Very generous of him as it's his new toy. Monday 3 August 98 A windy, rainy day. Ken was already feeling whacked and so we just slept and sat around all day, getting used to things. We put up a few knickknacks and tidied up and when the weather calmed down after tea we went for a walk. When we got back we poured drinks and sat out on the front deck to enjoy them, and John, the bridgekeeper poked his head out of his front window and invited us to join them. We had a very enjoyable evening with them in their cottage, which they showed us round. These cottages are unique to the Sharpness Canal, and are very unusual. When we first went down with Ken's dad, he commented on the convenient closeness to the 'club'. The front of the cottage has two pillars supporting the porch. It looks like a small bungalow, but is built onto the bank of the canal, and round the back reveals a lower storey. John has lent us an OS map of the area, so we will have a good reason to call in on our way back. We have enjoyed meeting John and Annie, and feel that they have become good friends in a short time. We shall miss them, and feel sad to go. We plan to come back, but it can't be before next year at the earliest. Tuesday 4 August 98 It is a lovely sunny morning. The night's rain is lying still in globules on the bows as we set off at 8.30 bidding adieu to John Wilkinson at the bridge. The plan was to cruise to Shepherd's Patch for lunchtime, then on to Perton for the evening. The day got hotter and we stopped at Patch. I had my first boat shower and we sat out on the front deck for a couple of hours, then went to the pub. The meals looked nice, but we had half a chicken to polish off from yesterday, so we gave them a miss. We rigged up the parasol on the front deck as the heat was blistering. Wednesday 5 August 98 We woke late, to lovely sunshine again. We cooked a big breakfast, before it got too hot again to cook (too late!) and set off at 10.30 heading for Sharpness. We passed through Perton which was quite pretty and got to Sharpness for 11.30 am. I got the fridge cold again, but Ken makes me turn it off again when we turn off the engine in case it runs down the batteries too much. Karl says he will fit an ammeter so that Ken can keep a check on how the batteries are doing, and we will then be able to judge how long the fridge can be left on. We took a walk round the marina at Sharpness and walked along the river and up the lane. The view from the river gate is beautiful. Unfortunately the video has stopped working - battery run down I think. The view would have been worth filming. Up the lane we turned into the Dockers Club, at the suggestion of a local chap we met. It is a very nice club, with a lovely (cheap) drink, which we consumed sitting outside on a bench in the shade. On the canal we passed through the remaining pillars of the old railway which used to span the river and the canal. The viaduct was demolished after being hit by two barges, whose rusty hulks can still be seen at high tide just below the wall of the Sharpness canal. We were moored right at this point. It was a lovely sight down the estuary to the 2 Severn Bridges. We later cruised back up to Perton, and in the evening we went for a drink at the Berkley Arms, (also known as Jack Lord's). It is a very old 'unspoilt' hostelry. It smelled odd to me, and my sense of smell is not particularly acute. I think it's a case of 'been there, done that' as far as that particular pub is concerned. I would in future stay at Sharpness and use the Docker's club. I am told that the food is very good there too. Thursday 6 August 98 We had a sunny but windy cruise up to Frampton for lunchtime and we had drinks in the Bell. After Ken had done his engine checks we continued on to Saul. The moorings at Frampton are not very good and the banks slope steeply. When we arrived at Saul we wanted to top up the water tank. The wind blew the boat everywhere, much to the entertainment of the watching passengers for the Willow Trust trip boat, which was moored somewhat inconveniently for our purpose. The bridge keeper eventually sorted us out (John had told him we were new to the boat and asked him to provide assistance if necessary). We set off to walk the country mile to the Ship to get a meal. We were moored bows on to a floating flower garden at Saul, which had not one, but four wind chimes hanging at the front. Given the gusty day they made an irritating din. We had a lovely meal and a drink, then trudged back to Amos. Friday 7 August 98 It is another lovely morning for our trip towards home. We started late, with an early lunchtime stop at Parkend to say goodbye to John and Annie. They were glad to join us for bacon sandwiches and then insisted that we share the bottle of hock we'd left with them last Monday evening. We sat in the sun while John and Annie took turns creosoting their new wooden garden furniture, with John going off to open the bridge when required. Ken then took over and finished creosoting the rest. After lunch John phoned Gloucester dock to find out the mooring situation. He said it was not good, the docks were full. We could go and take our chances, or stay and have a barbie with them, adding that this could mean drinking. We allowed ourselves to be persuaded after at least a second's thought. Ken spent much of the rest of the afternoon sawing off the dead wood from the plum orchard for the barbecue, and I picked up the windfall plums. We had a wonderful evening with barbecued fish, potatoes and salad. We also had plenty to drink. Ken had cider, lager, wine, and a single malt whisky. Saturday 8 August 98 We left Parkend after bidding a reluctant farewell to John and Annie. John stowed the anchor on the roof in the correct manner ready for the river trip. It was a lovely cruise up to Gloucester. It was a baking hot day and we managed to moor on the pontoon outside the dock while we assessed the situation in the dock. There was no shelter there from the heat so we went into Gloucester to the shops, which had to be cooler. We found a little indoor market where I got more wool for my blanket. I had told John that I wanted some wool to knit Rosie and Jim dolls to put in the window, just to see his face. He didn't disappoint me! We stopped for a drink in one of the pubs in the town, on the way back we passed the Tall Ship pub, which seemed to do some nice meals for a reasonable price, but couldn't stop then as we had the shopping to put away in the fridge on board, however we went down to the Tall Ship for an evening drink and a meal as it was too hot to cook. We got talking to the couple on the nb behind us. We explained that we were facing the wrong way because the wind took the boat round as we were mooring, and we had decided to leave it that way till we were ready to go. They told us that the lockkeeper was going to assemble all the boats that wanted to go up in the morning at 10.45. He would then only let them out when the tide was exactly right. We decided to join this convoy, and would go up in the morning with nb Madrigal. Sunday 9 August 98 We set off in the morning with Madrigal and entered the lock with several other boats. The water was lowered and we waited for about 15 - 20 minutes in the lock until the gates were opened. We all exited the lock like corks from a bottle and set off up the channel to the tidal Severn. We went at a brisk pace, and Ken steered a course following Madrigal's wake. There were a lot of logs and debris to dodge, half-submerged, and looking like alligators. As we joined the flow from the river the impact tilted the boat. We then proceeded at a very brisk pace. It was exciting and we did not want to stop at the Boat at Ashleworth as planned. We continued, but when we reached Lower Lode, our planned stopping place for the night it was too crowded for us to get in. Madrigal had waved us past and let us take the lead before Ashleworth, intending to stop where we did, so we would have needed two berths, a 40 ft for us and 45 ft for them. We therefore had to continue to Tewkesbury lock and then it was on to Upton. Upton was full too, but the skipper of a 50 ft nb moored on the steps below the Swan invited us to breast up with them, and Madrigal too, which we were all glad to do. The downside was that each time we went ashore we had to negotiate the narrow ledge to get up the steps. Not a trick to employ in the dark after too many drinks. We all got acquainted and after we had each been out for our evening meals, we all assembled on the bows of our boats with candles, lamps etc and drank and chatted till midnight. We are all off to Worcester tomorrow, but no one is planning to set off too early. Monday 11 August 98 We went to get the fresh bread and a paper before leaving Upton, then followed in the middle of the convoy, and breasted up to the same boat at Worcester. We were moored under a willow tree, which made it the best mooring in Worcester in that heat. The lockkeeper at Worcester told us that Bevere lock was broken, and was being repaired. This was likely to mean that we would have to stay in Worcester overnight. The lock had broken down yesterday and divers had to be sent from Plymouth and welding gear from Torquay. In fact, boats began to come downstream from the middle of the afternoon, but by that time we had decided to all stay and to have a barbecue that evening. We all pooled our contributions. The evening was another success and we have all become good friends in a short time. Greg and Karen and their children are taking a last long cruise in their boat before taking it to Canal Craft for sale. They feel that their children are in need of wider experiences and cannot keep the boat and travel abroad. They seem rather sad at the decision and I'm not surprised. The children have not known a time when they didn't have a boat. As they did not anticipate needing to light their fire again they gave me their logs and some peat too. Alec and Liz on Madrigal will continue in company with us for a few days longer. Tuesday 11 August 98 Karen and Greg set off early as Karen wished to avoid the heat as much as possible, and the forecast is for the hottest day this year. We followed a little later with Madrigal. We led the way to the Hampstell and all four of us enjoyed a meal and a drink on the patio. We then went and waited to go into the last lock. Due to the way the lockkeeper wanted us to be arranged in the lock the last boat to arrive was first out and got into Stourport locks before us. We got up quite quickly however, and Alec and Liz stopped at the SS on the river while we were locking up. Ken managed the boat through his first narrow locks without too much trouble. We intended to empty the porta potti at the SS in the basin but there were 2 boats tied up there and so the chance to pass them and get up York Street lock was too good to miss. I went to set the lock and found Greg and Karen and family just going up. We moored by the Black Star on the new public moorings. They haven't settled yet and so are very dusty and gravely. They will be an asset though, when they've weathered a bit. Alec and Liz came and joined us soon. After a rest, we went to call on friends that live in the waterways cottages overlooking the basin, and went to the Angel with them. We have promised to take them for a trip on the river next time we're down that way. Later, we joined Alec and Liz sitting outside the Black Star until dark. There was a pleasant jazz group playing inside, and if we had been alone we would probably gone inside to listen. Wednesday 12 August 98 We will stop at Wolverley tonight, and Liz and Alec will travel on. We passed nb Triffic but though I waved and pointed at the cutweb sign in his window the chap steering looked at me as if my label had dropped off. I took a turn at steering the boat through a couple of locks and had no trouble with her. We arrived at Wolverley some time before Madrigal, though they had been behind us a couple of locks back. Just when we were considering walking back to see what had happened to them they appeared in Wolverley lock. They had got a large tyre wedged on their prop, and no access to the weed hatch. We are very glad that a plate was welded onto the back deck of Amos giving access to the weed hatch. They still determined to carry on despite the delay, so we exchanged e-mail addresses and they continued. I have promised to send them the address of the blacksheep ng. Later we went for a walk up to Wolverley village and had a drink in the Queen's Head, which is the pub that the locals use. Thursday 13 August 98 Our daughter and family came down to complete the cruise with us. When we arrived at Kinver we couldn't moor below the lock, so we went up and stopped at the SS/water point. Ken and I filled up with water and emptied the loo while the others went to the Vine. We continued when they returned and met the coal carrying boat at Stourton lock. It was on it's way to deliver coal to the cottage on the canal at Kinver. We cruised proudly into the marina and settled down with relief on our own mooring. It has been a wonderful holiday, but we are glad to see Amos back in place at Ashwood, and perhaps we can begin to realise that she's truly ours. Friday 14 August 98 Off home to borrow our daughter's car to take our sofa bed to Ashwood. She and I believe that it will fit through the doors of Amos, but our spouses do not. After we had installed the sofa, we then took the car back and returned for the w/e. Saturday 15 August 98 Jobs to do today begin with Ken sorting the engine room out and me cleaning the cabin. I have brought the 12v vacuum cleaner from home, but when I plugged it in it blew the fuse. It took Ken some time to find the blown fuse, and as they were not like the ones he installed on our GRP cruiser, but like those in a house, and he needed 5-amp fuse wire to mend it. Deciding that while the power was off he may as well take out one of the small neon tubes that needed replacing and see if he could get one at the same time he began dismantling the one in the loo/shower room. It needed both of us, one to hold the fitting and one to unscrew. The first 6 screws just undid the brass cover to the roof. Then the wires inside the fitting had to be undone. Then still dangling it from the ceiling it was difficult to release the tube. Eventually the job got done, and off he went to the chandlery. Back he came, as Richard is on holiday and the staff had not yet arrived. He went back a little later and was gone some time. There was neither fuse wire nor light fitting in the chandlery, but Ian phoned Paul Aldridge's premises to see if there were any there. The chap looking after the business while Paul is away said he had some, so off went Ken to Wombourne Canal Services. He came back with fuse wire but no light fitting, as there was none left in the box that had been full last time the chap looked, last week. The light fitting was put back together and the fuse mended. Ken was not happy as he had spent all morning working but not even begun the job he intended to do. However, the afternoon went better, and we rounded off with an evening in the Boat Club. Sunday 16 August 98 Too tired to do anything today. A lunchtime drink, a siesta and then time to pack up and go home. Work in the morning for Ken, oh dear! If you stayed with this, I hope that you found it interesting. I am sorry I missed you Martin, but maybe next year?