Powerless!

While everyone else was having a lazy Bank Holiday Monday under the sun in parks and gardens, in canalside pubs, sunbathing on the grassy areas around locks, or cycling maniacally and sweatily along the towing-path, or running ditto, we left our Winkwell mooring, winded below the next lock, and made sedate progress up the locks towards Berkhamsted. The locks tended to be slow to fill/empty, and/or leaking, and/or had iffy winding mechanisms. But we had no need to hurry, and it was too hot for that anyway. We would have liked to get to Berko before all of the moorings were taken, but we're ideologically opposed to rushing. Suffice it to say, however, that it took us around an hour and a quarter to cover the distance we'd walked up the canal in half an hour the day before.

We arrived at our destination at around half-past three, finding the one remaining space after dallying below Gas 1 lock, having that "Well, we could moor here. We don't want to pass up a mooring down here and then find there's nowhere to moor above" debate.

We needn't have worried. The mooring above had our name on it.

That's Kantara, fourth boat down!

Berkhamsted was full of  people having a lazy Bank Holiday Monday under the sun in parks and gardens, in canalside pubs, sunbathing on the grassy areas around locks, or cycling maniacally and sweatily along the towing-path, or running ditto.

We awoke the next morning to a no-power situation. Our battery bank was registering 12.1 volts on the monitor when we went to bed, but the fridge must have taken that down to the cut-out level during the night, so now we had no water and no heating - all of them have electric pumps. I filled a water-carrier from the water-point opposite and put the kettle on for tea, and bread under the toaster. Then the gas ran out! Okay, no problem. Switch to the second gas bottle (and for goodness' sake remember to buy a replacement!), and sit back to enjoy tea and toast.

At 8 o'clock I ran the engine to recharge the batteries and, within thirty minutes, systems were restored and we had cold water to flush the loo and for drinking. After an hour, we had hot water for showers, and I no longer had an excuse not to do the washing-up. We moved on after I'd been shocked by the coating of bird poo that had been splattered over Kantara by birds in the tree above us. Shocked into washing the boat. They'd made a really good job of it.

The other side was even worse!

A strange mixture of cloudy sun, bright sun, rain and various strengths accompanied us up to Cowroast Lock. Here we met a couple on a share-boat who'd not long descended the lock but were now wanting to turn around and go back the way they'd come. These unfortunate folk had both sustained injuries which were too painful to continue with. Their logistical problem was that the nearest winding-hole was the one we'd turned in earlier, back at Winkwell - five miles and fifteen painful locks away, after which they'd have to do the same 20 lock/miles to get back to where they were now.

However, there is a winding-hole above Cowroast, so they shared the lock with us, reversing in as Kantara slid in beside them. It's quite odd to see two boats facing opposite directions in a lock! Out of the top of the lock, they continued in reverse, first to the water point, then to the winding hole. We carried on while they were taking on water, and they came along later and moored for the night close to us.

It was a rainy night, with rising winds.

An oddity we passed on the way!