Standard stuff, but it is going to be a very busy weekend.

(Boat Flamingo - posted by Alan)

(Overdue post for Friday 23 August - trying to catch up!)


Yesterday we had deliberately pushed a bit harder, to make today a shorter boating day, and to allow plenty of time to deal with any chaos that we might find when we arrived at Alvecote for the event.  

Actually the Alvecote team are very efficient, but we were starting to hear there were likely to be a record number of historic boats this year, and people who had recently gone past were saying "it's looking pretty full already".

Waiting for second lock of the day - I seem to be polishing brass.

Atherstone locks are nice easy ones, though slow fillers, but you really can only progress at the rate everybody else is going.  Today it was not too bad, but we needed to stop at the services at Bradley, to ensure arrival at Alvecote with full water tanks, empty toilet tanks, and without loads of domestic waste on board.  Bradley is a popular services, with just about space for two boats if people are sensible, but only one tap.  We had a bit of waiting to do, (though it could have been worse).
  

Steady progress down Atherstone

It was getting progressively hotter as we pressed on the final miles to Alvecote, and as we got close people on boats coming the other way were all commenting on just how busy it is.  This was supported by the fact that whilst some visiting non historic boats generally end up moored South of the final bridge before the marina there are normally not that many.  This year there must have been approaching half a mile of them.  It is a stretch with badly overhanging trees on the offside, so all the moored boats made life very interesting whenever boats moving in opposite directions needed to pass.  The final approach to the last bridge is on a tight bend, also with badly overhanging trees, and needless to say we met somebody on that bit, taking a bit of shunting to sort ourselves out.

One of the very short pounds between 2 locks towards the bottom of the flight.

Fortunately on arrival, despite nearly all the pontoons for "historics" now being occupied, there was one reserved for Flamingo, and it was empty.  Better still somebody knew exactly which one it was.

I am never a fan of the long reverse back down into the marina - the only way to get full length boats onto the pontoons with their back ends at the end you want them to be. There are always dozens of highly experienced steerers watching, so it is a classic opportunity for getting things wrong,particularly as cross winds often strike and pin you exactly where you don't want to be.  Today it was largely calm, (as unusully was I!), and we got to our allotted space reasonably professionally.

It was certainly time for a well earned beer, and to meet up with old friends.

Atherstone to Alvecote Marina
Miles 6.2, Locks: 6
Total Miles 51.4, Total Locks:28