Gongoozling.....

.....the art of watching canal boats, especially around locks.

I decided against moving yesterday as the weather forecast was for a wet day on Sunday and my intended next stop I knew was a 48 hour mooring, so I stayed put and got a first coat of gloss on the inside of the bow locker.

This morning was a chilly misty start as I headed off at 8:45 passing Whilton Marina.

and heading for the first lock of the day on my own.

Lock 13, first of 7 in the flight.

The Buckby locks were the extent of my intended travel for the day, seven in total lifting me a total of 62’ 10” in just under two miles and as I set the first lock a boat moved off the moorings outside the Marina and headed to join me, I waved him in three times but he didn’t notice or want to come in first and he tied up behind me on the lock landing. I walked back and asked if he was going up to which he said yes, he was an older chap (quite a bit older) on his own, and not used to sharing double locks, he tripped over his rope while getting ready to go into the first lock and I thought it might be a long morning.

I asked if he wanted to go out first and set the next lock or close up the current one, he opted to go first, so off he went while I closed up behind.

He did ok and I hovered mid stream until he got the gate open.

After the second lock he said he was going to moor up and walk back to move his car up, I think he’d probably decided he would be happier to do the locks on his own.

I did the next lock solo and then the next few locks were made easier by boats waiting to come down and working me through.

Two boats waiting at this one, nowt for me to do.

And again at the next one, lovely.

Pleasant house with boat, the picture doesn't do it justice, I'd live there.

At the last lock there was a chap raising money for Cancer in a kayak, he needed to go down the lock as he couldn’t take it out and wheel it down due to the lack of a possible route, a main road and the way the steps were built just didn’t allow him to get through, he told me he had been travelling all over the system and had been met with some animosity when using locks and going through tunnels, it seems a lot of boaters thought he should not be doing either, but it would not bother me as long as he knew what he was doing and could do it safely.

Anyway once through that lock I stopped at the service point to empty the rubbish and black water (toilet cassettes) and fill the water tank, there weren’t any free moorings visible so I had resigned myself to heading off to find somewhere but as I got ready a boat poked it’s nose out of one the mooring spaces to head off, perfect timing, I slipped into the space after he’d gone.

Current mooring:

 Totals today: 2 miles : 7 locks

Having moored up I immediately got the paint out and put a second coat of gloss in the bow locker, whilst doing it I watched a couple of holiday hires who were travelling together arrive, the lock ahead of them was in thier favour but instead of heading to the lock landing they pulled into an offside permit holders mooring whilst they decided what to do, by the time the crews had sorted themselves out a boat had arrived to go up the lock, it was all harmless but amusing, they eventually got sorted and went down the lock.

The lock is about 4 boat lengths ahead.

This crew were a bit bemused as to what was going on and eventually
turned the lock and came up themselves.

Having finished my painting I had a shower and headed for the New Inn, right alongside the lock, and had a couple of pints while watching the various antics of the boats tackling the lock, me gongoozling others for a change J.

I will sit out the rain tomorrow and see what Monday brings.