Having escaped the English winter last year we have been living in a La La Land of almost perpetual sunshine for the past nine months. New Zealand had their ‘best’ summer for over 30 years and Britain is experiencing a summer to compete with the extraordinary summer of 1976 (albeit I am writing this whilst sheltering from a torrential downpour)
The downside of all the dry weather is that one by one sections of the canals are being closed to boats to conserve water in the feeder reservoirs – canals that we were hoping to use to cross the Pennines – with the expectation that they will remain closed well into September.
At the same time the sunny weather has encouraged the growth of thick weed in the canals which clogs the propeller and the rudder making progress along some waterways almost impossible. The most visually striking is the Selby Canal where the weed makes the water look like a bowling green but which is actually less problematic than the ‘rope’ weed on the Chesterfield Canal. On one occasion we had to stop the boat three times in the space of ten minutes to clear the prop as the weed compromises your ability to steer the boat and the engine struggles to drive you forward.
ii
People have varying views about the best way to drive through thick weed with some advocating going as fast as you can whilst others say you should travel gently so you don’t suck the weed into the spinning propeller. After trying both methods we have concluded that NEITHER work and have resorted to having one person riding ‘shotgun at the front of the boat armed with a long pole to try to lever clumps of weed away from the bow and create as much clear water as possible.
The Chesterfield weed has given rise to a euphemism to describe the other type of weed, the smell of which is particularly prevalent along the canal banks. Readers may of course recognise Chesterfield as a brand of cigarettes whose tag line was ‘blow some my way’. How appropriate!
Our travels have brought us north to the River Ouse. We have been spending the last few weeks mooching around the wonderful city of York with various groups of friends who have made the long journey north to see us. However we need to think about turning south once again and work out where we will spend the winter – life on the water becomes petty grim during December through February if you don’t have a marina berth. That pressure will be exacerbated if we have managed to sell our house by then and we have no refuge to retreat to – our children are increasingly concerned that we will be sofa surfing in their houses for weeks on end. 😉
The only problem now is to decide how best to do that given the canal closures!
As long as you shake off the weed you would be welcome to stay with us at some of the winter weeks as sofa surfing loses its appeal once you leave your teens!
Flowerpot men said Little. You seem to have Large.
Go safe.