Testing Stret

Pics
I was out fairly early today: Shopping at 8:30 - back home and then out to see the convoy of boats up from the Gathering of Historic Boats at Retford travelling (hopefully) to the tunnel.

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ERRORS AND OMISSIONS !
Names having never been my strong point,
and
the various crews referring to each other's boats by their owner's names,
and
me being just
rubbish,
I cocked it up.
Turns out it wasn't Aquarius that made it through Stret but Bath.
Hence the crossings out below.
If I'd just checked my piccies I'd have seen that!

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Five boats were coming through Worksop Town Lock as I got there, this put a spike in my intended visit to Birds for a sarny. There were loads of crew and passengers: I never worked out who was with what boat.

Up at Morse I watched them through: Chertsey was first and failed she had to back down to the wind.

The rest got through safely and on to Stret.

Nb Bath Aquarius couldn't manage Stret, Petrel had to take two goes and only got through with the aid of multiple flushes and bodies on a rope (mine included)

Aegis, Petrel and Aquarius Bath all made it through. They had no problems through Haggonfields or Doefield Dun but, just as Aquarius Bath was in Doefield Dun, A passing motorist pulled over to tell us that a tree had fallen across the canal a short distance up.

The offending object was just before Shireoaks Miner's Welfare, Where Archimedes and "James" are moored.

Although not the biggest of trees, it completely blocked the canal. The guy on Archimedes said it had only been down 25 minutes - good job it hadn't come down on a boat - he had already phoned BW.

 

All three boats "parked up" above Doefield Dun for lunch.
I took over 450 pictures: they're all on Flick here.

Meanwhile a call was received from Nb Bath Aquarius that they were jammed in Morse Lock on their way down. Two bikes and a Tirfor went down to rescue them.

By the time I walked back to Morse, Bath Aquarius had been freed and was long gone.

Nb Phoenix was just leaving Morse - the captain^{(pilot? driver? helmsman?)}, Mick, was intending to return to his base at Shireoaks Marina. He was understandably a little put out when I told him about the tree and he made plans to moor above Deep Lock.

 

Passing Worksop wind was Dreamcatcher, also heading for the Marina, also disappointed!