Ready for the off…

I gave the engine a thorough going over, fluid levels, belts, throttle and gearbox cables and linkages. Then I cleared the prop of debris we’d picked up over the last few days cruising. There wasn’t much, some unidentifiable piece of clothing and some weed. I’m glad, the water is extremely cold!
Lifejackets are checked, the anchor warp is connected to the fore-end tee stud and anything loose on the roof is lashed down.
Meg has had a haircut, I’ve had a haircut and beard trim. Not entirely necessary for the trip, but needed.

So we’re all ready to head off up the Trent in the morning. An early start to catch the flood tide, we’ll be waiting to go in Keadby Lock at 08:00.

The Trent this morning, still running up 90 minutes after the start of the flood.

It’s a neap tide, so moderate in height, and should give us a good shove for the first couple of hours. There’s not much “fresh” on either, will low rainfall for the last week, so we should make good progress to our overnight stop at Torksey. By Sunday afternoon we should be in Newark.

Locks 0, miles 0