11th October Friday
On Wednesday night the cold set in and on Thursday morning there was a fierce wind again which made it difficult to get out of our mooring. We had moored in a bay in the bank so there was no lee way bow or stern and the wind was pushing full strength on the river side. Pete pushed us off eventually and we decided we should buy a proper barge pole for events such as this.
We headed back to the Thames with passers-by telling us the weather was colder/chilly/windy/different to yesterday. Isn't it funny how us Brits always comment on the weather and state the obvious? The Wey was just as charming but this time instead of little water boatmen insects skitting about on a flat surface, there were autumn leaves and ripples and periodically we got pelted by conkers and acorns. The locks on the Wey are well maintained by the National Trust (they put the canal CRT locks to shame) and I was able to operate them, except for the last but one which beat me. We definitely want to do this trip again sometime, a little more slowly. Dapdune wharf was a pleasant mooring with Guildford in easy reach. At first we thought Guildford a bit dreary (the outskirts are) but the centre has a pleasant shopping centre with cobbled street leading down to the river. Next time we will continue to Godalming.
Thursday night we moored back on 'the wall' opposite Shepperton lock. Wind whistling by, fire cranked up, early night.
Today, Friday we have pressed on to Windsor again. The morning started bright and sunny although still with that wind, but then the rain set in heavily. And here I am talking about the weather again, like a true Brit. Hey ho. I attempted to alert me old muckers at the prop workshop that we'd be coming through so that we could wave hysterically but there was no sign of life there- hope they haven't succumbed to the glue fumes.
So here we are on this royal mooring once more. Maj is in residence, flag flying at the castle. No doubt staying indoors - one would not want to be riding one's pony in this wretched weather.
Thought I had finished there until we discovered we couldn't turn off the engine. The key did nothing and the main switch in the engine room was useless too. After a couple of phone calls, we upped mooring pins and set off at a pace for Bray Marina to see Terry. All this in heavy rain and strong wind ( the not-so-good side of boating). He discovered a blown ignition fuse, caused he thought by it working loose, touching metal and shorting. A securing nut was missing so now we have a cable-tie instead! Is this a long lasting fix, I wonder?
Eventually left Bray at 4.45 , this has been a long day. Moored in Maidenhead, still windy and raining, no TV signal, but cosy and glad to have stopped for the night.
On Wednesday night the cold set in and on Thursday morning there was a fierce wind again which made it difficult to get out of our mooring. We had moored in a bay in the bank so there was no lee way bow or stern and the wind was pushing full strength on the river side. Pete pushed us off eventually and we decided we should buy a proper barge pole for events such as this.
We headed back to the Thames with passers-by telling us the weather was colder/chilly/windy/different to yesterday. Isn't it funny how us Brits always comment on the weather and state the obvious? The Wey was just as charming but this time instead of little water boatmen insects skitting about on a flat surface, there were autumn leaves and ripples and periodically we got pelted by conkers and acorns. The locks on the Wey are well maintained by the National Trust (they put the canal CRT locks to shame) and I was able to operate them, except for the last but one which beat me. We definitely want to do this trip again sometime, a little more slowly. Dapdune wharf was a pleasant mooring with Guildford in easy reach. At first we thought Guildford a bit dreary (the outskirts are) but the centre has a pleasant shopping centre with cobbled street leading down to the river. Next time we will continue to Godalming.
Thursday night we moored back on 'the wall' opposite Shepperton lock. Wind whistling by, fire cranked up, early night.
Today, Friday we have pressed on to Windsor again. The morning started bright and sunny although still with that wind, but then the rain set in heavily. And here I am talking about the weather again, like a true Brit. Hey ho. I attempted to alert me old muckers at the prop workshop that we'd be coming through so that we could wave hysterically but there was no sign of life there- hope they haven't succumbed to the glue fumes.
So here we are on this royal mooring once more. Maj is in residence, flag flying at the castle. No doubt staying indoors - one would not want to be riding one's pony in this wretched weather.
Thought I had finished there until we discovered we couldn't turn off the engine. The key did nothing and the main switch in the engine room was useless too. After a couple of phone calls, we upped mooring pins and set off at a pace for Bray Marina to see Terry. All this in heavy rain and strong wind ( the not-so-good side of boating). He discovered a blown ignition fuse, caused he thought by it working loose, touching metal and shorting. A securing nut was missing so now we have a cable-tie instead! Is this a long lasting fix, I wonder?
Eventually left Bray at 4.45 , this has been a long day. Moored in Maidenhead, still windy and raining, no TV signal, but cosy and glad to have stopped for the night.
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