One month in! (24 miles, 0 locks)

Four weeks to the day since we took possession of Kantara, Grace and I did another seven hours cruising today.  All right, it was largely the return journey to Yelvertoft, but the return is often very different from the outward because of the new view it affords, and, again, the weather was fantastic, and the countryside beautiful. I have had more kingfisher sightings in these past two days than in all of the canal holidays we have had in previous years.

The problem with boating is that may not get enough exercise. There are canals, of course, and stretches of this one - The Grand Union - which have lots of locks, but the land is pretty flat in this part of the country, and I have yet to operate a lock. I am mindful of how much a week of lock operating and the frequent walks between locks have in past years resulted in a healthy weight loss, and increased muscle, but this just isn't happening at the moment. So today, I jumped off the boat as we passed underneath a bridge, and I did some walking along the towpath while Grace continued with Kantara.  This is something I'm going to have to do a lot - and I'll have to let Grace do her bit, too!

What a day!

Despite our slight anxieties about running the engine continuously before it has its thorough service, we just had to come out for a bit of a cruise yesterday.  The sky was blue, there was not a cloud in the sky, the water was still and the countryside, beautiful.  In the entire day, we saw no more than a dozen other boats on the move.  We moored in the middle of nowhere, watched the sun go down across the other side of the canal, and were amazed by the myriad stars just before we went to bed, stars in a totally clear sky, with no light pollution to spoil it.  This is what boating's supposed to be like!

For those of you who know little or nothing of canal boats, let me make something clear to you.  We travelled for around seven hours, including a stop for lunch, but only travelled about twelve miles, from bottom to top of the picture below.  The slow pace is all part of the enjoyment, giving us time to look around, and to relax at the helm.  If we had had any locks to go through, then it would have reduced the distance travelled in that time by about one mile per three locks.

We're currently right at the top of the picture...

Today, we awoke early to a beautiful, misty morning.  One boat has passed us.  It is very peaceful.  I can quite get used to this!  We will return to the marina today.  We have to go into Rugby to collect a rug we have ordered, and I need to prepare for the barbecue tomorrow evening.  I got volunteered to sing at it!  I have my guitar with me, but absolutely no music or lyrics (and, to be honest, a voice which is very much out of practice!), so there is some work to be done there!

The problem with such good weather...

...is that the level of the canals has now reached low, and we are seeing each week a growing list of canal and lock closures.  Boaters who have ventured out of the marina have returned with tales of running aground, of fearing to go through locks, in case they are closed by the time they return, and they become stranded.  Well, we will go for a few days of cruising tomorrow, but we will not aim to venture too far north, because that's where the locks increase in number, and thus the danger.  Our galvanic isolator is fitted, our noisy water pump corrected (it was leaning against the stainless steel water tank, which amplified the sound very effectively), and our water tank filled.  Tomorrow, the cut!  But what a day for hot weather this has been!

Where are we?

Several people have asked where we are currently, so here's a Google map to give you some idea.  If you look closely at the satellite image of our location, though, you will see no marina, because Google's image pre-dates the building of it.

Click to enlarge (a bit)

It's another lovely day...

 ...and I'm not in the classroom!  The sky is blue, the water is flat, and we might just get out for some cruising this week.  We've been a bit lazy for the past couple of days.  Having been home again to pick up various things for the boat, we've ordered an "oversized armchair" to replace the two leather chairs we gave away, wired the boat tidily for internet connection for both of us, tested the antenna mast extension almost to full height (and, my goodness, it is high!), and shopped around, unsuccessfully, for a rug.  Any excursions in the near future will be on a one-day basis.  We are having the galvanic isolator fitted tomorrow, the engine serviced some time soon(!), and going to the marina barbecue on Saturday, a big event by all accounts, and an opportunity to meet more of the boaters here.  Each day, Kantara feels more and more "home", and we're loving it.

It's a lovely day!

I awoke this morning, my 60th birthday, to a beautiful clear blue, sunny sky, three weeks into our Kantara adventure.  We may venture out today, but we're now being a bit cautious since discovering that the engine has not been serviced for some time.  It's an eleven year-old engine with over 6,000 hours on the clock - not excessive for an engine of this quality - so we need to be sure that it's been professionally serviced before we entrust our cruising to it.  So we await the arrival of an engineer "some time in the next week or so" to do the work.  I look forward to being able to ply him with questions about an engine which is largely a mystery to me at the moment.

We now boast what must be the tallest 3G mast in the marina.  There is already on the roof of the boat the mounting for a Sky dish.  We have taken the dish down for the moment, but could always replace it or another service dish at a later date.  But the mounting looked just right for the task of housing a telescopic mast for our 3G antenna.  It did need some modification, though, so we drove around to a boat-builder's yard, where a young man cut and welded the housing, to produce exactly what we needed, charging us a mere £2 "to cover the electricity".  A trip to a caravan accessories shop resulted in the purchase of a telescopic mast - extending to over three metres if we wish - and then back to the boat to mount it.  The mounting unit needs sanding and a couple of coats of paint, but the antenna is now held aloft to grab our 3G signal from the air!

Many thanks to Bob Blues for recommending the kit we are now using for our Internet connection.