Just looking up my memories, as I said, we started and ended at Bradford on Avon Marina, bimbled East up the Caen Hill flight (one major obstacle was a family of swans nesting right at one of the top gates, so no-one could get to those paddles). At the bottom of the flight I nearly made a big mistake, having paused for a lock to be made ready, the wind was blowing me onto some moorings so I reversed to get the boat away from them, conveniently forgetting about the orphan bridge pillar right behind me. I remembered just in time and there was no impact, but it was close, too close! anyway, we headed East and the furthest we got was Hungerford (full of antique shops), after a night there we headed further East till I could turn our 70 footer. We then headed back West, turning again at the junction just past the Dundas aqueduct if I remember right.Video evidence of the trip- https://youtu.be/qZJCVaAW7TE, the Caen hill (near) cock up starts around 52 minutes in.pelmut wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:45 pmHungerford is a long way East of BoA, on the other side of the Caen Hill lock flight. I helped a friend down the Caen Hill flight just before Christmas, we averaged 9 minutes per lock, and that included some with only one paddle working.Big and Bashful wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 1:20 pm We were heading West, I think from a marina near Bradford on Avon. We found a place to turn just past Hungerford...
Autumn 2021
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Re: Autumn 2021
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
Re: Autumn 2021
Now, Cep'n Boydseye, here's a Real barge. Not sure of the dimensions, but she's home to her owners the year round. Because of her size she's confined to the Shannon system and would have come there from Holland under her own power, I expect.
Moored at Garykennedy, Co. Tiperary, on L. Derg. (where we sailed to & had lunch)
Tom
Moored at Garykennedy, Co. Tiperary, on L. Derg. (where we sailed to & had lunch)
Tom
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Re: Autumn 2021
Lovely video -- but nobody was wearing a skirt.Big and Bashful wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 2:41 pm Just looking up my memories,
[...]
Video evidence of the trip- https://youtu.be/qZJCVaAW7TE
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Re: Autumn 2021
This is very true, I haven't got that many mates and don't want to put my friendships to the test by indulging in skirtery on these trips. One year I spent the trip in a kilt and one of my mates commented on it, he seems to think a kilt is wrong unless you are Scottish, none of the others seemed to mind. I want to enjoy my trips and don't want to add to any stress levels (for myself or for others) when I can just put on a pair of jeans and forget about them. One other point is that on a windy day, around locks and other canal features, and even on the helm, a skirt can get a bit floaty which could be embarrassing! The most comfortable skirts I have are a couple of skater skirts, downside is that they move a lot in the wind and have no pockets. Much as I would love to wear one while boating, it could be a bad move.
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
Re: Autumn 2021
And here are a couple of restored Thames sailing barges, moored one behind the other at Maldon, Essex. The brown sails and unusual rigging are traditional. They carried all kinds of cargo (coal, grain etc.) along the east coast of England and even across the Channel to and from France.
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Re: Autumn 2021
I wore a hefty brown ankle-length corduroy skirt with a longish warm underskirt for my December day on the Caen Hill flight. We started at 08:00 in clammy mist that hung around all day and sometimes clamped the visibility down to less than two lock-lengths, so I was glad of the extra warmth (damp trousers would have been horrible). The boat owner was quite familiar with my feminine persona and none of the other boaters, towpath walkers or fishermen seemed to notice at all.Big and Bashful wrote: ↑Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:42 pm ... on a windy day, around locks and other canal features, and even on the helm, a skirt can get a bit floaty which could be embarrassing!
Only once was I reminded that I was wearing a skirt and that was when I hitched my boot in the hem whilst climbing the near-vertical steps out of the cabin with both hands full. I had to put something down so that one hand was free to lift the hem.
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Re: Autumn 2021
Geron,
What a beautiful picture and those restored barges are a sight for sore eyes. Now that they aren't ferrying goods for pence it's nice to see the hull shining white.
A few years ago I had the great pleasure of spending 10 days aboard 'LaBoheme', a 130ft 19th Century Dutch leeboarder and a remarkable similarity to the Trad. Thames barge is everywhere apparent on board her. We toured the Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer and paid a short visit to the tidal Wattenmeer.
Hats off the the Dutch for creating the entire landscape from scratch. Everything is man-made. Impressive are the twin locks between Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer, underneath which the motorway is routed so as not to interfere with sailing craft masts.
Tom
What a beautiful picture and those restored barges are a sight for sore eyes. Now that they aren't ferrying goods for pence it's nice to see the hull shining white.
A few years ago I had the great pleasure of spending 10 days aboard 'LaBoheme', a 130ft 19th Century Dutch leeboarder and a remarkable similarity to the Trad. Thames barge is everywhere apparent on board her. We toured the Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer and paid a short visit to the tidal Wattenmeer.
Hats off the the Dutch for creating the entire landscape from scratch. Everything is man-made. Impressive are the twin locks between Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer, underneath which the motorway is routed so as not to interfere with sailing craft masts.
Tom
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Re: Autumn 2021
Netherlands:
Impressive infrastructure with totally flat landscape background and Ireland immediately afterwards....The background is free!
Impressive infrastructure with totally flat landscape background and Ireland immediately afterwards....The background is free!
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Re: Autumn 2021
Tom,Kirbstone wrote: ↑Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:27 am Geron,
What a beautiful picture and those restored barges are a sight for sore eyes. Now that they aren't ferrying goods for pence it's nice to see the hull shining white.
A few years ago I had the great pleasure of spending 10 days aboard 'LaBoheme', a 130ft 19th Century Dutch leeboarder and a remarkable similarity to the Trad. Thames barge is everywhere apparent on board her. We toured the Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer and paid a short visit to the tidal Wattenmeer.
Hats off the the Dutch for creating the entire landscape from scratch. Everything is man-made. Impressive are the twin locks between Ijsselmeer and Markenmeer, underneath which the motorway is routed so as not to interfere with sailing craft masts.
Tom
Those boats look wonderful!
The only time I have ever seen anything similar was while on TS Royalist, in the Solent. The rich folk and their Big class yachts were out and racing, another moment captured on video, quite a while ago so probably lower quality than more recent video: https://youtu.be/W9_Rf4cOnEs
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Re: Autumn 2021
Here is an old photo of a barge fully laden with wool bales at Kirkpatrick's wharf (now my crumbling empire) around 1890. The barges were towed by a paddle steamer.
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Anthony, a denim miniskirt wearer in Outback Australia
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Re: Autumn 2021
Great photo, that paddle tug looks well laden as well as the barge!
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Re: Autumn 2021
That's a nice classic photo Anthony, and zooming in on it, which I did this morning, really brings out a surprising level of detail.
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Re: Autumn 2021
Yep, a proper barge, unfortunately not a narrowboat and would be very limited in the area it could access on the English canals. It would be a fantastic floaty house for someone who was happy to stick to the larger watery bits!Kirbstone wrote: ↑Sat Jan 01, 2022 3:44 am Now, Cep'n Boydseye, here's a Real barge. Not sure of the dimensions, but she's home to her owners the year round. Because of her size she's confined to the Shannon system and would have come there from Holland under her own power, I expect.
Moored at Garykennedy, Co. Tiperary, on L. Derg. (where we sailed to & had lunch)
Tom
I am the God of Hellfire! and I bring you truffles!
Re: Autumn 2021
B&B,
Lock size again. The Ardnacrusha dam lock near Limerick dictates what may enter the non-tidal Shannon. 120 X 18 feet. That Dutch barge looks about 90 X 16 feet.
I met Joe Treacy who rescued and restored Barge 4E. At 60' X 13'6" she can travel the entire connected system here. and they researched the bridge clearances carefully before the rebuild. She has a six-pot 5 liter diesel now. Nowadays his family are replating old craft as a business.
Tom
Lock size again. The Ardnacrusha dam lock near Limerick dictates what may enter the non-tidal Shannon. 120 X 18 feet. That Dutch barge looks about 90 X 16 feet.
I met Joe Treacy who rescued and restored Barge 4E. At 60' X 13'6" she can travel the entire connected system here. and they researched the bridge clearances carefully before the rebuild. She has a six-pot 5 liter diesel now. Nowadays his family are replating old craft as a business.
Tom
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Re: Autumn 2021
Tom... marvellous pictures, and you seem to have had marvellous weather too!
Meanwhile, some possibilities here for a short break in England
https://www.bargetrust.org/barges/centaur/
If you scroll down to the gallery of old photos, you'll see a remarkable inland shot of this vessel at Harvey's brewery at Lewes in Sussex, with her masts lowered. This was because she'd had to pass under a railway bridge during her journey up the River Ouse from the south coast.
Meanwhile, some possibilities here for a short break in England
https://www.bargetrust.org/barges/centaur/
If you scroll down to the gallery of old photos, you'll see a remarkable inland shot of this vessel at Harvey's brewery at Lewes in Sussex, with her masts lowered. This was because she'd had to pass under a railway bridge during her journey up the River Ouse from the south coast.