Saturday, May 7, 2011

The end or a new beginning????

When you see himself, iron in hand, you know our pair have fully adopted this new lifestyle. He may still have that long haired hippy boater air but we now have a pair of city slickers. Well, perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration. No one would ever regard himself as slick (although for special occasions he does brush up quite nicely). It’s more of your “genteel shabby”. Rather like a favourite old cardigan; well worn, comfortable and baggy! Herself despairs.

A bit shabby is how they regard Avon Rose around the waterline on a weekend visit to do some maintenance. A hard winter killing off the the vegetation fringe and six months in a marina going nowhere and we have some spots of rust near the waterline, although elsewhere she looks good. She needs to come out and be blacked - now. Still, a productive weekend doing routine maintenance. Some repainting in the front cockpit and clearing out the rest of our “stuff” ready for a final cruise, leaving this delightful winter mooring to deliver her to Dominic Miles at Rugby Boats at Stowe Hill Wharf on the Grand Union at Weedon. Dominic, through whom we bought her nearly three years ago is going to provide the same service for us. A conversation with Dominic’s man Steve at Stowe Hill and we have a blacking arranged for a couple of weeks’ time. She needs to look her best.

Load up the Enterprise car and off he sets for home. Yes, that is what Bath has become. What was home when we started this adventure now computes as “the house”, as Avon Rose is “the boat”. And what about herself? She stays another night on board at Brinklow as she is going to accompany our daughter when she goes for her heart and CT scans before her cancer treatment starts. Hence why himself is wielding the iron. At the end of the week he returns by train for our last leisurely cruise to move Avon Rose from Brinklow to Stowe Hill Wharf. A strong breeze makes reversing out of our berth and exiting the marina interesting as we make our way the few short miles to Rugby and the usual mooring near Tescos (a boatman needs to be fed!) Next day is still breezy and somewhat dull for the run through Hilmorton locks and on down to Braunston where, horror of horrors, our favourite mooring spot below the church is full so we have to move on to moor before the turn by bridge 90. The sun broke through as the day progressed to remind us how lovely this stretch is as we catch the first sight of Baunston church as we pass through the bridge by Willoughby Wharf on our meander southwards. A delightful evening dining at the Boathouse with friends Mike and Marion rounds off the day.

And so our last day of cruising on Avon Rose starts with a light shower, the heavens weeping as we tackle first the six broad Braunston locks, the two thousand yard tunnel on the summit pound before we descend the seven Buckby locks, and pause for lunch by Whilton Marina before making our way to Stowe Hill. In almost three years there are few photos of the old boatman doing his stuff, so herself remedies this a little and himself takes some video clips for the records. And that duck (tiller pin) saw them set off and is once again doing his job as they finish. Himself found another duck memento too which he couldn't resist. A duck in boots as a reminder that sometimes on the towpath even ducks need wellies. A casual text on the topic leads to another surprise. A brief meeting with our biking friends at Weedon Bec. Then it's pack up and leave Avon Rose in the tender care of Steve and Dominic of Rugby Boats at Stowe Hill Wharf as a friend fetches us and takes us to dine with her before we take train to Bath which thanks to an advance ticket deal is a journey in First Class.

As you would expect, himself has all the numbers from our first cruise from Blue Haven Marine where we boaught her to our last stop at Stowe Hill. They are:

70 tunnel passages
176 movable bridges negotiated
948 broad locks plus 702 narrow giving a total of 1,650 lock passages
2,337 miles of canal and river cruised.

Now some time has passed since the above took place. Easter has come and gone; there has been a trip back to Brampton for a house and dog sit, catch up with old friends and do some maintenance at the house.

Himself has been for a job interview - Volunteer Lock Keeper ! As part of the transition to a charitable trust, British Waterways is expanding its use of volunteers still further and the old boater couldn’t resist putting his hand up to have a go. So Avon Rose may be up for sale but canals will still be part of life and enquiries and plans are already being made to go back into shared ownership next year.

So this really is the final post to “The Meanderings of Avon Rose”, but the spirit and aims of AvonRose.org.uk continue on. Remember...” Twenty Years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!”.................... Anybody want to buy a boat??????



£48,500. 57ft G&J Reeves/owner trad (but with an extra wide hatch that creates a semi trad stern). 1998. G&J Reeves have long been established as builders of good quality narrowboat shells. Although ostensibly a trad, the rear hatch is extra wide giving the feel of a semi trad. A smaller hatch is incorporated in the large hatch in case of bad weather cruising. Clever! The original owner - there have only been two - of this boat fitted this out to a high standard of craftsmanship - with attention to detail and design based on years of narrowboat experience. There is an excellent amount of storage, a 4' 6" wide cross bed, a separate utility room with washing machine, a well equipped galley with a cabinet fridge freezer unit, roomy saloon and a large forward cockpit protected by a cratch that is easy to remove. A new Isuzu 42 engine was installed in 2009. Avon Rose is perfect for long term "go anywhere" cruising.