Noisy Mattress

Captains Log Canal Date 18th June 2009 Travels 6 miles 4 locks Current Location Western Outskirts of Warwick (A445) OS Ref SP27111 – 65666 Lat – Long 52 17’18.5N 1 36’14.1W The weather forecast for yesterday was OK in the morning getting windy & wet later so it was agreed that a very early start would be in order. We hoped to be up by 8.30 and ready to move by 9.30 (yes I know that is ridiculously early but some sacrifices have to be made from time to time) Just as planed I woke up just before 8 and attempted to wake Pam. After a token grumble we both got up and made ready for this early start. After breakfast Pam suddenly started calling me all sort of names. It would appear that I had misread my watch and it was an hour earlier than we thought. Ups! We set off under a blue sky, no wind; perfect conditions. After the first 2 locks the rain started, only light stuff, nothing to worry about. We carried on to Leamington Spa and found a supermarket alongside the canal. After a restock of the food cupboards, we went to home base to get a few odds. When we came out it was to a different country. The sky was black, wind at about 200 mph or more, and Rain like you see in the tropics. In the best dry land sailors tradition we went below for a brew and let the rain blow over. I do hate it when they get bad forecasts right! After the worst of the rain had gone we continued on our journey. At the next lock it started again, this time we became more than a bit damp! I don’t like mooring in towns and we were informed that there are good moorings to be found down the Sailisford Arm. This arm is full of boats both sides all the way, Boats were moored in the only winding hole making it very difficult to turn round and get out! I had two attempts at winding, still not got the hang of this bit of narrowboat witch-craft. On the second attempt I noticed a loss of power and a very expensive noise coming from the boat, it may have been the gearbox complaining about repeated forward & reverse shifts, or I could have picked up something heavy and metallic on the prop. Now those of you who know me will understand that it is almost certain to be the most expensive option. We limped back out of the arm on to the main canal and moored up. It was the remains of a mattress, complete with springs and canvas wrapped around the prop. After an hour I had removed it all and the drive sounded sweet again. Today we make an attempt on Hatton Flight without the use of Oxygen or Sherpa’s With any luck we should spend tonight on the summit.