Retirement with No Problem

Nr Upper Ringstead Lock to Woodford Old Rail Bridge, River Nene, 3 miles, 3 locks

It wasn’t that windy when we set off, but for sure it was much colder of late. Our first lock of the day was Upper Ringstead Lock, another of the ‘diy’ type, where we met another boat coming upstream on the way to the Leeds and Liverpool and further afield for the summer.

Whenever we do actually meet people, and there are not that many.. very few boats on the move down the Nene, they fill me with so much information of what is ahead, I can’t take it all in! But one thing I have taken in is the very low bridge just before Titchmarsh Lock, a farm bridge. Comments such as “Oh you will have to take that lot off your roof” to “You won’t get under that with your boat” makes me think that we will have to perhaps stop before hand and drop a tapemeasure down from the bridge to the water and just see whether we are going to make it! er

Willy-Watt Marina is just before the next lock… the Environment Agency say there are visitor moorings there, but there are none, and not even anywhere to be able to just get into the side either… through the lock, mechanical this time, we looked out for the well advertised Woodford Riverside Marina… we need water, and we also need to do the loo cassettes. With no facilities at Willy-Watt, the next Marina is a must for us.

I saw it to the left…. Woodford Riverside Marina.. and here a separate blog will describe the next couple of hours .

We had hoped to stop at the errrrrr ‘visitor moorings??’ in Woodford, but they were non-existent. Supposingly just before the church – nope no chance on getting in there. Just past the church are some very smart private moorings. Plenty of room there, just one narrowboat occupying a large area, but the signs all round it definitely sounded as if it was sacred ground to some rich person, and we passed by.

It was at Woodford Lock that I got into trouble….. the wind by this time had got up a lot, and was very gusty. I should have done it differently, I should have called Vic to hold the front rope on the mooring until I had undone the back and got aboard. I know that, but I thought it would be OK. We had already had difficulty mooring at the pontoon with the wind broadside on. Had to tie the boat up hard to hold her in.

The lock was ready, and I went back to the boat to move in. I took the front rope off and rushed back to undo the rear rope, but by this time the front had already gone 15ft out from the side, as I let the back rope go to jump on, the wind was so high, the back end got away too, so I had to use all my strength to haul her back…. managed to get on, and tried desperately to stop the front from swinging… the weir was on the far side. I wasn’t bothered with that too much as there was not too much stream… but I didn’t want to get stuck on the boom across it, because nobody would be able to get to me to help!

I just managed to shove the front of the boat into the jaws of the lock, and held her there throttling forward while Vic managed to clamber onto the gunnel to grab one of the centre ropes, he couldn’t get the front one!. I left the boat in forward gear and went down the other side and managed to get the front rope and throw it to Vic. At that time another boat had arrived coming upstream and the crew ran to help.

With three people on ropes, we eventually managed to put No Problem safely in the lock.

This narrowboat is a real pain in the wind…. very difficult, blowing all over the place. We found a place to moor very shortly after the disused rail bridge below that lock, here ‘my backyard today’

… deciding that we would not be travelling along this River unless the weather was calm.