To Calcutt marina, again

Monday 27^th April; Long Itchington to Calcutt marina

With the weather already warming up we were away before 9, hoping to find a boat waiting for a partner for the ascent of the ten Stockton locks.  This was not to be and I had to turn the bottom lock.

Above the bottom lock

The two boats coming towards us should have guaranteed that at least the next lock was empty.  They bore the unwelcome news that they had just left the mooring at the Blue Lias (below the third lock) and had just passed a boat going up at the second lock.

The two historic boats were on their way to Dudley for a gathering at the weekend

After another lock I could see up ahead the glint of sun on windlass – could it be a volunteer?  Well it was, but just one, and he was helping a single-hander down the flight so apart from us being able to leave a top gate open for the single-hander and him leaving us an open bottom gate there was no more help from that quarter.  There was another volunteer, but he was helping another single-hander down and was much further up the flight.  At least we woud meet them later.

Not half-way yet

But the work wasn’t particularly hard.  By the time we got to lock 5 (second from the top) the boat in front of us had long gone and their volunteer had come back to help us.

The bottom gates here leak so badly that you often can’t open the top gates unless both top paddles are kept open

By 11 o’clock we were up.  Does anyone else remember the sign that the cottage on the left used to have outside?  ‘Club Toplockicana’.  Google's AI summary tells me that "Club Tropicana by Wham!  (1983) is a satirical, sunny celebration of hedonistic 1980s "Club 18-30" package holidays”.  We were fully occupied with small children in the early 80s, and that rather passed us by.   Too old by then but not really our thing anyway.

Fun in the sun at the top lock cottages

If you look in the front garden you can see a yellow ladder.  As we cruised away we passed two chaps coming down the towpath with more tools and equipment in a big trolley.  The nearest road access is at Birdingbury Wharf bridge over a quarter of a mile away.  I wonder what that adds to the bill when the residents need work done?

We stopped soon after that for a break between bridges 20 (Gibraltar) and 19, and to have lunch in the sunshine and decide whether to stay put for the afternoon.  We opted to get to the marina as the forecast for tomorrow isn’t too wonderful.

Has someone bought this as a retirement project?  It still has the surveyor’s marks on the hull

I hope they make a go of it, unlike the one below.  In the Sunday paper was a long article about the problem of abandoned GRP boats which have been coming to the end of their lives and are beginning to disintegrate. 

Disposal will cost CRT a lot of money unless they can recover something from the owner.  The solar panel implies that the owner would rather it had stayed afloat.

Unlike on the canals, small boats at sea do not need licenses so unless they are abandoned somewhere controlled by a harbourmaster (and most aren’t) they just disintegrate where they are left, releasing small shards of fibreglass which are finding their way into plants such as seagrass which fish eat, and filter feeders like oysters.  One brilliant and committed person is gradually recovering boats in Cornwall and taking them to landfill – and funding the considerable costs himself.  It’s becoming a huge problem and is a double whammy for the environment with the release of billions of microplastics and shards of glass.  Here is the link to the article.

Happier sights now.  Our first cygnets of the year which must only have just hatched in the last day or so.

More gentle paddling, at the other end of the age range

We were reversing into the visitor moorings at Calcutt by three, tying up to an ex-Kate hireboat which must have been bought by Calcutt Boats to add to their fleet, as some signage had been added.  We walked up to the office to register and to book in for a service and get the stern gland repacked while we are away.

There was a thunderstorm this evening although we didn't have a lot of rain.

10 locks, 4 miles