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It'll be fine they said......


Midnight Lady

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Well we got down the trent and Mersey and down the Shroppie and a bit of the something and worc to Stourport and got to the Severn on Thursday. Now given that I felt I was drenched, on the edge of trenchfoot and kept being asked if I had fallen in and had never been on a river before I made an empassioned plea to forget the whole bloody thing and head back up to Burnley - however I was roundly ignored and found myself on a huge and unervingly swishy body of water. After a couple of hours of not dying I began to feel a little teeny bit better.....

 

...then just out of Diglis locks....with trees careering past and the rain pelting down....

 

....my engine packed up.

 

Heading towards some very very big and expensive, if somewhat fragile, looking boats I managed to start it for about 10 seconds - enough to get some steerage and avoid broadsiding them in agiant game of skittles. Another desperate restart and I avoided the next big boat...then on the last attempt to restart...

 

...the key broke off in the ignition.

 

I was contemplating the anchor - which I had owned for about 6 hours and had been assured I would never really need as it was for emergencies only (buit which I had dutifully attached to to boat and had at the back ready for action - a right little girl scout I am) when an unnaturally calm chap called Roger - acting as if he did this every 45 minutes or so - strolled out of his boat (which I had missed by a whisker) and lassoed me. We moored it and he then dismantled the ignition and dropped the whatnots out of it so I can now start with a screwdriver.

 

Once I had stopped shaking and had a large sherry I checked a few idiot items and once convinced I was not going to look a complete wombat called Alastair at the new moorings who recommended Keith - Keith came on Friday and fixed me up (sludge in the diesel basically) and I went very very gingerly down to Upton in a roaring gale. Proper waves and everything. Terrifying.

 

I am sure I will become a river girl given time but a gentler start might have been more encouraging.......

 

 

ML

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Snip**

 

when an unnaturally calm chap called Roger - acting as if he did this every 45 minutes or so - strolled out of his boat (which I had missed by a whisker) and lassoed me. We moored it and he then dismantled the ignition and dropped the whatnots out of it so I can now start with a screwdriver.

 

Snip++

 

 

ML

 

You'll find most river dwelllers to be like that. :cheers:

 

Wait till you wake up, and your boat is not quite where it was when you lock down the night before.. B)

 

Or, like the Avon', you step on when you arrive, and have to climb on, or off, or need a gang plank, when going to the pub a few hours later.. you have to love tidal rivers.

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Surely, there must be a positive reason for having the hounds on board..?

 

 

They're really nice dogs, a mastiff and a border collie. And, I'm having them again in a few weeks. Dry weather please. They used to patrol a boatyard. The border collie is a devil.

 

 

My 'huge' problems aside - the OP's river adventure was well done.

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Well we got down the trent and Mersey and down the Shroppie and a bit of the something and worc to Stourport and got to the Severn on Thursday. Now given that I felt I was drenched, on the edge of trenchfoot and kept being asked if I had fallen in and had never been on a river before I made an empassioned plea to forget the whole bloody thing and head back up to Burnley - however I was roundly ignored and found myself on a huge and unervingly swishy body of water. After a couple of hours of not dying I began to feel a little teeny bit better.....

 

...then just out of Diglis locks....with trees careering past and the rain pelting down....

 

....my engine packed up.

 

Heading towards some very very big and expensive, if somewhat fragile, looking boats I managed to start it for about 10 seconds - enough to get some steerage and avoid broadsiding them in agiant game of skittles. Another desperate restart and I avoided the next big boat...then on the last attempt to restart...

 

...the key broke off in the ignition.

 

I was contemplating the anchor - which I had owned for about 6 hours and had been assured I would never really need as it was for emergencies only (buit which I had dutifully attached to to boat and had at the back ready for action - a right little girl scout I am) when an unnaturally calm chap called Roger - acting as if he did this every 45 minutes or so - strolled out of his boat (which I had missed by a whisker) and lassoed me. We moored it and he then dismantled the ignition and dropped the whatnots out of it so I can now start with a screwdriver.

 

Once I had stopped shaking and had a large sherry I checked a few idiot items and once convinced I was not going to look a complete wombat called Alastair at the new moorings who recommended Keith - Keith came on Friday and fixed me up (sludge in the diesel basically) and I went very very gingerly down to Upton in a roaring gale. Proper waves and everything. Terrifying.

 

I am sure I will become a river girl given time but a gentler start might have been more encouraging.......

 

 

ML

:lol:

 

I did all that but the other way round.

 

Scary stuff.

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We came down from Worcester on Friday too - left Worcester about 2 ish. Moored on the rising pontoon at Upton and the river is still rising. Raining again this morning, then at 06:00 'BANG'. Got up and looked out to see the bows of a narrowboat going past. Silly fool was trying to tie up facing downstream thought I. Then I realized that there was no one on the boat and it was listing quite badly. I think it was one I saw making very slow progress upstream about five last night. I think they may have tied up somewhere and then the rising river has pulled them free.

 

Very glad I'm on a rising pontoon, and think I will be here for a few days yet.

 

ML: Where are you moored in Upton?

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What a scary situation to find yourself in!

 

Well done you for keeping calm and carrying on. Some learning curves are a little steeper than others and you achieved your's without even getting out of breath (and not being hurt!)

 

everything else will be plain sailing now!

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Well we got down the trent and Mersey and down the Shroppie and a bit of the something and worc to Stourport and got to the Severn on Thursday. Now given that I felt I was drenched, on the edge of trenchfoot and kept being asked if I had fallen in and had never been on a river before I made an empassioned plea to forget the whole bloody thing and head back up to Burnley - however I was roundly ignored and found myself on a huge and unervingly swishy body of water. After a couple of hours of not dying I began to feel a little teeny bit better.....

 

...then just out of Diglis locks....with trees careering past and the rain pelting down....

 

....my engine packed up.

 

Heading towards some very very big and expensive, if somewhat fragile, looking boats I managed to start it for about 10 seconds - enough to get some steerage and avoid broadsiding them in agiant game of skittles. Another desperate restart and I avoided the next big boat...then on the last attempt to restart...

 

...the key broke off in the ignition.

 

I was contemplating the anchor - which I had owned for about 6 hours and had been assured I would never really need as it was for emergencies only (buit which I had dutifully attached to to boat and had at the back ready for action - a right little girl scout I am) when an unnaturally calm chap called Roger - acting as if he did this every 45 minutes or so - strolled out of his boat (which I had missed by a whisker) and lassoed me. We moored it and he then dismantled the ignition and dropped the whatnots out of it so I can now start with a screwdriver.

 

Once I had stopped shaking and had a large sherry I checked a few idiot items and once convinced I was not going to look a complete wombat called Alastair at the new moorings who recommended Keith - Keith came on Friday and fixed me up (sludge in the diesel basically) and I went very very gingerly down to Upton in a roaring gale. Proper waves and everything. Terrifying.

 

I am sure I will become a river girl given time but a gentler start might have been more encouraging.......

 

 

ML

 

Please tell me he actually lassoed the boat... :blink:

 

Next River Trip will seem calm by comparison...

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Well done for not giving up boating forever! Rivers don't have the same appeal for me as the canals... mainly due to my own cowardice! Good on yer.

I'm with you there Lisa. I am happy on canals, Norfolk Broads, even the salty sea. But very apprehensive on The Trent. I know this is unreasonable and after visiting Holme Lock yesterday on foot slightly happier about it. If a racing 4 boat thing and a Norman GRP can cope with the river, my big steel tube surely can too.

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It's possible to get caught out even on the most of normally 'benign' rivers if you don't keep your wits about you, we clobbered the wall entering Castelford flood lock last time we were out when the current caught me off guard..... we were holding off from entering while the lock was filled, in the middle with very little flow, a soon as we advanced to the edge though....

 

Well done to the OP for coping so well....

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Baptism of fire...............only way to go. Well Done :)

 

Yup, sounds like a normal day on the river to me, far bettter than sat in a muddy ditch. Well done and welcome to real boating :cheers:

 

Tim

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We came down from Worcester on Friday too - left Worcester about 2 ish. Moored on the rising pontoon at Upton and the river is still rising. Raining again this morning, then at 06:00 'BANG'. Got up and looked out to see the bows of a narrowboat going past. Silly fool was trying to tie up facing downstream thought I. Then I realized that there was no one on the boat and it was listing quite badly. I think it was one I saw making very slow progress upstream about five last night. I think they may have tied up somewhere and then the rising river has pulled them free.

 

Very glad I'm on a rising pontoon, and think I will be here for a few days yet.

 

ML: Where are you moored in Upton?

 

Was it you that went past shouting (ironically I assumed) "slow down!"? I was on tickover just in case throttling up went wrong again which made for an interesting moment at Upton when I barely made it into the marina (visitor pontoons were full). I will be heading down to tewkesbury on saturday if you are going that way!

 

ML

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Well done. Would have scared the crap out of me.

 

A stark contrast to the 'pleeese help me get my boat 100yds to the water point 'cause I'm a girl' threads we've had!

 

Ooh does that work? Better get some false eyelashes on next time I go to fill up then.

 

 

Seriously though all the credit goes to Roger - I was plenty girlie enough once I was moored to have a good sniffle.

 

ML

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Ooh does that work? Better get some false eyelashes on next time I go to fill up then.

 

 

Seriously though all the credit goes to Roger - I was plenty girlie enough once I was moored to have a good sniffle.

 

ML

 

Actually I don't really think any one on here has actually ever said that, so no, what usually does though is 'I am new to boating and a need help moving my boat for the first time/first few times.

 

We've had such requests on here from both girls and boys.....

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