From suevbutler@compuserve.com Sun Jul 4 12:27:55 1999 Date: Sun, 4 Jul 1999 12:20:34 -0400 From: sue butler Reply-To: Canals To: Canals Subject: Trip Report - Jemima D goes from Bingley - Sowerby Bridge - Day 1 [ The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] Saturday 19th June 99 Bingley - Rodley 16 locks (including a 5 rise, two 3 rise and a 2 rise), 11 swing bridges, 10 miles, 5 hours Setting Off It is midsummer week, and we are looking forward to our travels on Jemima D. We plan to get as far as Sowerby Bridge, but here we are, driving to Bingley on a drizzly Saturday morning. Jemima is moored at the top of the 5-rise, and it is difficult to get the car very close here, but Barry (the Bingley Lockie) seemed to think it would be OK to bring the car down the little access road for 10 minutes which made the job a lot quicker. Happily the weather was improving all the time. Our friends Ray and Janet arrived just as we finished loading. They are joining us for the weekend, their first time on a narrowboat, and almost their last - but more of that in a minute! Janet has been enthusiastic about the idea ever since we joined the Jemima Co-op, but Ray was a bit nervous, as he 'doesn't like water'. He had been persuaded to come with promises of the shallowness of canals, the nearness of the bank, and the accessibility of pubs! Our Bingley adventure Janet was given a windlass, and told to hang on to it, not to leaveit on the winding gear or put it down on the beam, and she and I set off to help Barry with the locks. Neil and Ray took control of Jemima, and off we went - the start of our holidays! Into the top lock, Barry Janet and I wielding windlasses, gate paddles and ground paddles were raised in swift order. Suddenly I noticed Jemima looking a little askew, she was on the cill! Quickly dropping paddles now we watched helplessly as her angle got more acute by the minute, and water poured into her bow. I have read so many times of boats being caught on cills, and now know from recent discussions on the list that it can happen to the best of boaters, indeed anyone who suffers a momentary loss of concentration. But nothing had prepared me for the speed at which it would happen in fast emptying locks like those at Bingley. I really did think that Jemima would become swamped, and it did look very frightening from the lockside. Neil stayed at the tiller, while Ray bravely (foolishly?) went to the bow to try to stop water rushing into the cabin by stuffing a mattress in the doorway. Fortunately Barry was calm and collected, slowly letting water back in, stopping every so often to allow water to drain out of the bow, until we refloated. We went down through the rest of the 5-rise in a daze. Both Janet and I were severely stressed out, while Neil and Ray, true to character, remained outwardly calm. We moored up below to inspect the damage. Much to my surprise the actual water that got into the cabin was not as much as I expected. Our front carpets were wet, and we took up some sections of floor and pumped out the water with a hand pump and bucket. Neil and I had certainly learnt a lesson that we will never forget, and we were fortunate that nothing was damaged except our pride. Part of me didn't even want to tell the tale here as it is so embarrassing to be caught out in such a basic way, but on the other hand it was a defining moment for us, and if our experience serves to remind others to take care then so much the better. Barry too was decidedly mute about the incident, I guess he, like us, was embarrassed by the lapse of concentration. A pleasant, but less eventful afternoon followed, as Ray and Janet recovered from their rude introduction to the joys of the cut, and we all began to flex our muscles on locks and swing bridges. Ray is recovering from an op, so he spent more time on the tiller, and quickly became very competent. This is a pleasant way to approach Leeds, and we were all beginning to recover from our shock. It was sad to see Apperley Bridge looking so bereft of boats, indeed we barely saw another boat all day apart from the waterbus Apollo. We found a pleasant mooring at Rodley, just handy for The Owl where we had an excellent feast with Janet's sister and her husband who live nearby. The meal was enormous - very good value and much recommended. We are soon tucked up in our beds, but I found it difficult to sleep that night. I usually sleep so well on Jemima D, and am sure that the incident at Bingley had affected me. Day 2 to follow Sue and Neil Embarrassed were we on Jemima D --- The UK Waterways Network - http://www.ukwaterways.net/ * bringing the inland waterways community together * You are currently subscribed to canals as: george@adiva.com To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-canals-407N@ukwaterways.net