Sun Jun 15th - 12 miles, 0 locks - York to York Total cruising time 2 hours 25 minutes.
Disaster strikes, all my plans lie scattered around me in ruins - Naburn lock is bu&&ered. Arun was booked to go through Naburn lock this morning at 6.45am, which meant a fairly early start at 5.10am. Got to Naburn at 6.20am and tied up to the lock landing to wait for the lock keeper to arrive. A fibreglass cruiser also turned up for the same locking, out for a weeks cruise on the rivers and canals. The lock keeper arrived at around 6.50am to advise us that something had failed in the downstream gate paddles and that they couldn't get them to seal properly in order to completely fill the lock. Divers would be required to inspect the apparatus and nothing would start before Monday now. This of course means that Monday will be spent creating a diving plan, a risk assessment analysis, a safety plan, a resources management plan - OK I made the last one up, but Monday would essentially be spent doing paperwork. The lock probably won't be operational before Wednesday morning and I'm stuck the wrong side of it. The people on the cruiser were, to put it mildly, less than impressed. They'd got up at some unearthly hour to drive to their mooring, in order to get to Naburn in time for the locking. Much moaning about how BW had plenty of money to create the stages for the fishermen to fish from, but no money to spend on maintaining the locks. Nothing for me to do except motor on back up to York and tie up where I set off from. I suppose there could be worse places to be stranded by a failed lock. Trip reports will therefore cease until I move the boat again. Terry Streeter NB Arun - York
