Easter in the Rain

Easter 1998 was very wet and to make matters worse Touch and Tell had alternator trouble so that we had to rely on our generator. This meant late starts and early finishes so that we had enough time to charge the batteries.

Saturday 4th April

We arrived at the boat yesterday evening but we are not cruising today, instead we are up early and off by car to the Norwegian Buhund Club dog show at Ryton on Dunsmore. . We have a very successful day with Brandy our young dog winning his classes and then Edith our lovely black bitch winning not only her classes but also Best in Show. . Unfortunately Jacquie could not enjoy the occasion as she was suffering from a migraine. . After having to wait for a committee meeting we arrive back at the boat via Southam where we pick up a take away.

Sunday 5th April

We start the day with a lazy breakfast and then head back to Southam in the car to attend Palm Sunday services. . Back at the boat we have an early lunch and set off between showers heading towards Marston Doles. . We start down the Napton flight but at the top of Adkins lock the heavens open with a shower of hail. . We decide to stop until it is over but when it clears we do not feel like continuing and stay there for the night.

Monday 6th April

The dogs have a long walk before we continue our descent of the flight, there are several boats coming up, mainly hire boats and it takes us about an hour to make it to the bottom. . We carry on to Braunston where we stop for water, it is only possible to get the bow on the pontoon with the stern tied to a tree as there are already boats taking on water. . Whilst we wait Jacquie exercises the dogs and I cook a quick pasta lunch. . With no lunch stop needed it seems we will make good progress today but before long we meet up with a young woman bow hauling a heavy wooden boat. . We take pity on her and take her in tow on cross straps. . Towing a heavy old butty is hard slow work needing a great deal of concentration, you cannot afford to take your eyes off the way ahead. . When we get too close to trees and a flowerpot is knocked overboard Liz just shrugs and smiles. . To communicate with her Jacquie jumps off at a bridge hole then runs ahead to rejoin Touch and Tell at the next bridge.
It turns out Liz and her baby, Bop, are taking the boat to a charity dock to have work done on the hull. . We drop her off at the top of Hillmorton, she will need to put her chains on and pull in the sides of the boat to get her through the locks. . After walking the dogs Liz helps us negotiate the locks whilst telling Jacquie about her life. . We moor for the night near bridge 69 where the towpath would have been ideal for the dogs if it had not been so muddy.

Tuesday 7th April

Overnight the batteries do not seem to have a full charge despite a long day running the engine. When we stop at Tescos, Rugby, to do some shopping I set up the generator to recharge them, I am suspicious about the alternator with which we have had a lot of trouble. . At one o'clock we stop at Yate's to buy some diesel and the young man who serves us suggests that a new rattle we have developed could be a cracked bearing in the alternator.
After lunch the sun has disappeared behind clouds and by the time we reach Stretton Stop the rain is belting down with lightning flashing overhead, Jacquie puts her waterproofs on just for long enough to help me take the boat through the swing bridge. . Just before 5 p.m. I stop the boat beneath the M6, I am tired and wet and it is a relief to be out of the weather. . It is not exactly a conventional mooring but we decide to stay the night, at least we can run the generator without worrying about it getting wet in the rain.

Wednesday 8th April

This morning the weather is dry but you could not say that about the towpath, walking the dogs is not easy as it is so boggy. . We have a late start after running the generator and Jacquie tires valiantly to walk Brandy but soon has to give up as the towpath becomes impassable without wellington boots. . At Hawkesbury we fill water bottles whilst passing through the stop lock, this means we can turn the water pump off and conserve the battery power. . Through the lock we turn towards Nuneaton but reverse back to the mooring in the Coventry direction. . When we are safely moored I walk off to find some petrol for the generator. . It proved to be a long walk but fortunately I get a lift, very fortunately in fact as it means I am not walking in a hailstorm. . Jacquie missed the storm as well, she had just got the last of the dogs back on board when it started.
We had intended to cruise the Ashby this holiday but now there is no time left so we set off back the way we had come. . After we pass the lock I have a rest and Jacquie takes the tiller dressed in her wet weather gear because the sky is very threatening. . The rain starts as we approach Ansty. . Eventually we stop for the night opposite Coleshurst farm, at least the towpath is firm to walk the dogs. . I find a tarpaulin and stretch it across the back deck so we can run the generator and keep it in the dry.

Thursday 9th April

Another mid morning start whilst we charge the batteries and within ten minutes it is raining again. . Jacquie is at the helm whilst I stay in the dry. . We make a brief stop at Rose Narrowboats to get a few items from thier chandlery. . As we approach Newbold tunnel I take Jacquie up a hot bowl of pasta and take over the tiller. . We stop on the offside moorings at Rugby and I go off to Tescos for supplies. . When I return Jacquie says she will steer but as I am already wet it seems better to carry on, at least until Hilmorton when we will both be needed to work the locks.
When we reach the locks we find that all the paddles are up, there is a boat just ahead of us who takes one lock and we take the other. . As we reach the top of the lock the lock keeper appears, he asks that we use only the towpath side locks as he is having to run water down. . I walk on and am amazed at the sight that greets me, the top gates of the middle locks are weiring at a high rate, the water is over the brickwork at the top of the lock. . Meanwhile Jacquie has to use full throttle to pass through the bridge hole because of the flow of water. . I am told that the canal is 500 yards wide at Braunston so that is where all the water is coming from! . It makes ascending the locks difficult as the water is coming into the lock faster than the paddles at the bottom can drain it. . Usually the bottom gates of these locks are light and easy, today we need assistance from the boat engine pushing against the gates to get them open. . To wind the top paddles you have to stand in water, it hardly makes any difference because of the water already flooding in. . We make it out of the top lock just before 5 o'clock, the towpath is just about above water level. . It is also dry and well drained so we tie up for the night, at least we can walk the dogs. . I am amazed that the other boats coming up the locks all seem to carry on, just at the top of the "weir" the water will be at its lowest point.

Friday 10th April - Good Friday

I awake to find it is snowing and that the boiler has gone out, it is quickly relit. . When we set off, well wrapped up, the snow sson turns to sleet. . Jacquie takes the first shift but I take over before Braunston and pull into the chandlery as we go past, I want to look at the price of fridges. . As we leave the header tank for the boiler bubbles over, not using the water pump means not drawing any hot water and the boiler has overheated, Jacquie quickly turns the thermostat down. . When we stop to walk the dogs the precipitation has ceased but shortly after we set of again it starts to rain. . By the time we reach Napton the rain is quite heavy, a boat coming out of the bottom lock tells us there is nobody going up and nobody behind him - we have the flight to ourselves. . We start up but stop in the shorted of the two long pounds (below Adkins lock) as there is a good towpath for walking the dogs just past the lock. . Soon after we have moored a lock keeper comes by, he says it is a sensible place to moor and asks how far we are going. . Apparently they are stopping boats at Cropredy as Banbury is flooded and people are being evacuated from their homes. . It will be difficult, he says, if there is heavy rain overnight.

Saturday 11th April - Holy Saturday

Another late start but at least we do not have far to go, three locks and a few hours cruising. . At the top of the locks Jacquie takes the helm and I tell her to stop when she feels like lunch. . In fact I ask her to stop earlier so I can try to get a steady picture for the TV news to see if I can find out about the flooding. . Banbury is not mentioned, it is all about Leamington and Stratford - good job we did not go that way! . When we stop for lunch, and to walk the dogs, there are signs of flotsom in the hedges, did the canal overflow here? . We take our time, there is no hurry and the weather is variable drizzle, sunshine and showers. . I take the stretch back to the marina where I turn round for a pump out and a new gas bottle, we then moor between the marina and the pub near where we had started from.

Sunday 12th April - Easter Sunday

The day starts with frosty sunshine, we walk the dogs and head off by to Southam by car to go to church. . Afterwards we head down into Banbury, we wnat to know if we will be able to get through to go home. . The floods are gone but the canl is definitely closed. . Somerset, a Black Prince hire boat looks a sorry sight partly on her side and sunk under the bridge by the visitor moorings. . We are told that everybody got off safely but it shows we were lucky to choose the right way to travel. . We return to the boat and lunch in the pub, no longer the George and Dragon it has been renamed the Wharf. . Afterwards we ask at the marina about having our problems sorted out. . The Marina itself did not escape the floods, the dam wall overflowed and the newly planted bank now had valleys gouged out of it. . The fresh stone on the car park had all been washed to one side with the mud. . Our trailer was buried axle deep in mud. . We were told that the staff had spent a frantic time lenghtening mooring ropes as the waters rose. . We nomally moor with fixed straps our ropes inside the boat, what might have happened if we had not been out cruising does not bear thinking about.

Monday 13th April - Easter Monday

Today we spend cleaning the boat, she is very dirty after all the mud. . Wet dogs do not make for a clean boat. . We travel home relieved that the problems we had suffered pailed into insignificance to other people's stories.

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