And off I go.....

.....well only to the other side of the canal.

On Friday the expected delivery of the sensor did not happen, so I did some alterations to the wet cupboard where I will store mooring pins, chains etc, along with my waterproofs, once I got that finished I put a load of washing on and went off to get some milk, so a quiet day again.

Saturday was a really chilly start, quite a heavy frost, but the stove was still showing signs of life so I got that going quite quickly, and another pottering time waiting and hoping for the spare part to arrive, lunchtime came and went and I was getting quite frustrated, I could take the chance and start cruising without the sensor, but that relied on my assumption that the fault definitely lie with that part and I was not 100% certain, I was just about to make the decision when at 2:30 the postman arrived with my part, phew, so with assistance from Arthur (he had a nice big spanner the correct size), the part was fitted and the engine started, no warnings so all looked good.

So I was off, all seeming a bit real now, changed a gas bottle, settled my bill and with care moved out of my mooring and with Arthur watching the front (it is a very tight turn, not because I was a novice) and turned left, just 200 yards or so and winded (turned through 180 degrees) to get me facing the correct way and moved over to the bank and moored up, I know, not much of a cruise, but a giant step for me, this was only done because there is no-one around on Sunday and the tight exit from my mooring means it’s a lot easier with someone to watch the front.

So a few pictures now I am out.

For the last month this has been my view from the side hatch, it's and ice cream kiosk, in winter, typical me, evidently the ice creams are lovely, if I ever come back this way I will definitely moor up to say hello and try one.