Sunday 10th June 2007 Three Mills round the Bow Back Rivers loop & via Limehouse to the London Canal Museum
I cooked breakfast, then Wendy retrieved & cleaned the barbecue. John helped her get it onto the boat. There was a lot of restoration of bits and pieces onto their right boats. At 10:18 we did a boat-juggle with "Ernest" then set off behind "Galatea" & "Rhino" to do the Bow Back Rivers loop from south to north. "Arun" was planning to do the loop in the opposite direction before heading for Limehouse where they'd lock out on the evening tide. "Ernest" was going to tow "Panacea" back to St Pancras. We had an uneventful cruise round the loop. As hoped the dredged depth is staying OK now that Bow Locks have been modified to keep the tide & silt out of this stretch, There were a few very small patches of floating pennywort still around, but without the former large silt banks it doesn't appear to be spreading. In the old River Lea we met "Arun" coming the other way on a bend and had to take to the bushes to avoid a coming-together. Fortunately there was depth and no grot under the bushes. When we reached Old Ford junction and rejoined the main Lee Navigation, "Galatea" & "Rhino" were working up the lock, so we decided to go via Limehouse - that way we wouldn't be immediately behind them all the way. On our way back towards Three Mills, we met "Ernest" & "Panacea" breasted up. We passed Bow Locks and took the Limehouse Cut to Limehouse Basin. We had a mixed road (mainly good) up the Regent's as far as Duckett's Junction, after which we were behind "Rhino" & "Galatea", out of sight somewhere ahead of us. As we were rising in Old Ford Lock, "Ernest" & "Panacea" came out of Duckett's to follow us. By City Road lock, they were right on our heels. It was a very hot afternoon and we were working lowly - only working one side of most of the locks. While waiting below Sturt's lock, Wendy had to contend with strong surges from the lock & by-wash trying to turn the boat round and only just avoided getting jammed between the towpath and a mooring pontoon on the off-side. When, at 16:02, we arrived at Battlebridge Basin, "Chiswick" was on the mooring having been doing the museum's boat trips all day. So we waited outboard of her until she was ready to leave then did a boat-shuffle and took over the mooring. We went to "The Driver" hoping to eat, but their kitchen had closed at 18:00 (in future they plan to extend their Sunday cooking time until 20:00). DAY'S RUN 9.5 miles, 8 locks in 5 hrs 44 min IN DUE COURSE, AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THIS TRIO REPORT WILL APPEAR ON MY WEB SITE. -- Mike Stevens narrowboat Felis Catus III web-site www.mike-stevens.co.uk Defend the waterways. Visit the web site www.saveourwaterways.org.uk
