Friday, August 03, 2007

Happy Birthday to me! 51 today and not looking a day over - well, 51 I guess.
Started well with an enjoyable 8½ mile run, but while I was getting things ready for today’s cruise I dropped my digital camera. Turning it on resulted in no activity at all. It is about 5 years old, so is due for retirement.

So I took my phone up to the lock to take pictures while we were filling it.
Shared the lock with another boat, then it was about a mile downstream when I realised that the phone was no longer in my pocket!

A quick U-turn took us back to the lock, but a thorough search of the lockside revealed nothing. Trying to call the phone from the back-up resulted in a “number unobtainable” message, so I guess it finished up with the fish.

O2 were pretty efficient, however, and a ½ hour of telephone conversations has me expecting a new phone to be delivered on Monday. Then I’ll have to rebuild our contact list. Luckily I’d transferred the image files onto my laptop recently, so have only lost half-a-dozen pictures.

Going back to the camera, I stripped out the memory card and batteries, then put it all back together and it booted up! So I needn’t have been carrying the phone after all! Ah well, such is life. At least I don’t have to fork out for a new camera.

Anyway, we were through the last 3 locks on the Soar by about 13:30, and turning RIGHT for the first time for the Trent and points north.

Our introduction to the big river was marred by waiting for over an hour in a queue for Cranfleet lock, then we were off again for another 3 miles or so to Beeston lock, where we’ve stopped for the night.

Beeston lock mooring and the weir to the right
The waterway is wide and deep, and flowing quite fast. I reckon we were doing about 6 MPH over the ground at 700 revs.

Near Barton Island
In “Davy Jones’ Locker” (can you call it that on inland waters?) in the last 12 months :-

1 peg bag
1 old towel (used for the dog)
1 small screwdriver
1 watch
1 chimney (later recovered)
1 piling hook (ditto)
1 baseball cap
1 tiller pin
1 pair specs
1 mobile phone

I think the fish are winning, all we’ve gained is an assortment of balls for Meg…

Locks – Soar 3, Trent 1, miles - Soar 5½, Trent 5½

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