CRICK
Jan. 25
Yesterday, we had a smorgasbord of the
Good, Bad, and the Ugly of canal life. With our boat owner’s blessing we
pressed on through the never-ending ice aiming for the water station two miles
down the canal. Mike once again led the parade doing the hard work cutting a
path through the ice. At times, the ice was so thick (2 ½-3 inches) he would
need to back up and charge again several times.
Along the way, we passed by The Squire which
eventually joined our convoy. The “Bad” was the relentless ice itself and the
effort it took to break through, the time it took to do it, and the affect it
had on our bodies, minds, and spirits. We did eventually arrive at the water
station, filled up, and bravely moved on.
The “Good” was that most of the people
along the way shared our ice misery and wished us luck, some cheering us on,
others telling us about spots up ahead to be aware of and one gentleman
thanking us for cutting a path, “Now I can get some water.” The “Good” was also
the feeling of comradery as we faced such challenges and knowing that we had
each other’s back.
The” Ugly” was a woman screaming at us from the marina about doing damage to other boats. Mike had created a path on the opposite side of the moored boats and none of the ice against those boats was affected. David just said, “I don’t agree. But appreciate what you said.”
But the ugliest was one fellow boater who
became enraged with us. We saw Mike pull over. and we came alongside. Mike said
that there was a man screaming at them to stop and they weren’t sure what to
do. My fearless and determined husband just kept going. The man was then on the
top of his boat standing like a Zulu warrior with a pole held like a spear
pointed at our boat. There was a string of unpleasantries spewed in our
direction. Mike said he actually threw something at our boat, but we didn’t see
that. He must have been thrilled when
two more boats cruised by right after us.
While Mike was waiting for us to cruise
into the breech, a young boater came up to him asking if he needed help. Mike
explained that his neighbor was none too happy with us. The young man scoffed
saying, “But you have the right of way.” Mike thinks he eventually walked down to talk
to his angry neighbor.
The boaters on The Squire contacted David
Dare warning him that he might just receive some angry phone calls regarding
us. He replied that he would be happy to field such calls and that we were in
our rights. He was not worried.
Later that night at the local pub, Wheatsheaf, a couple was at the bar chatting about how they had left their dog on their boat and how agitated it becomes with passing boats. They had heard that boats had cruised by that day which irritated them, and they were on their way to check on their boat and their dog. We wondered if they realized we were the “culprits”.
Again, we were extremely cautious and as
considerate as possible, and we now have provided an escape path for other
boaters who didn’t want to be the first to do it…in a sense, providing a public
service.
We certainly would never want to cause anyone
angst. I have been in our boat as we sliced through the ice and the noise and
vibration can certainly rattle your bones and your nerves, so I get it. I
shared our story of the angry boater to a lock keeper, and he just said, “Don’t
worry about it. You had every right.”
The boaters from The Squire, Adrian and Fi and their trusty dog, Bernie, joined us for dinner at the pub in Crick. They are from Sydney, Australia and have a sailboat moored right now in Norway. They have been sailing around Europe and took some time off to try out a canal boat. We shared a very pleasant evening of lively conversation and laughter. We had been a united front against the trials of the day and toasted our good fortune to have slayed the ice dragon yet again.
This morning was a balmy 41 degrees as we left Crick in the foggy mist for the Watford Staircase Locks where we were told there had not had a boat through for the last nine days. The day before a pleasant fellow at a marina shouted at us that the locks were low and that it took a couple of hours to fill. We learned while at the locks that that same gentleman was a volunteer lock keeper and he had kindly called ahead for us so they knew we were coming and were prepared. Kindness is everywhere.
We were stuck and Mike and Diane came to our rescue to break up the ice.
The ice was thicker in some spots than we
anticipated since the temperatures have warmed. We approached a gentleman who
was leaning out of his side shutters and all I could think was… please don’t
yell at us, please, sir. To our relief, he
was quite pleasant and wished us luck. Another boater thanked us as we passed
for breaking up the ice for him. He was ready to take off.
It was a very long day of locks, ice and
coldness. The last locks were a real challenge with thick ice and heavy gates.
At one of them, a woman came out and said, “You’re the first ones through for a
while.” Then she checked the culvert that goes under her house and ice had
built up and was plugging the culvert causing water to overflow. She was
yelling at us, “Quick, open the other paddles!”
Mike and I did our best to bring her and the culvert relief by diverting
the water into the canal.
She asked us to leave the last gates open so the ice would flow out. Later that evening while walking back to the boat flashlights in hand, a boater stopped David and asked if we had gone through the locks today. She said there was a water level problem with the locks and there was enough water flowing out, that her boat was bottoming out on the canal. Hoping the request to keep the gates open was not the cause. However, The Squire went through after us with no difficulty so who knows.
Diane took on the job of driving the boat
into the locks and was met with challenging sheets of ice. She did a phenomenal
job but by the last lock, we were both a bit slap happy. She threw her line into
the water instead of to me, and I got down on my side to retrieve it. I grabbed
it but was laughing so much I couldn’t get on my feet and her boat was drifting
blocking David. I couldn’t get the line off from around a vent on top of her
boat and Diane kept saying, “Give it slack. Come on rodeo girl. Give it slack.” I was doing the opposite. It was a comedy
show.
We have been beaten up today. We are off to
a pub in Braunston for some therapy.
We walked along the muddy tow path to The
Admiral Nelson Pub by Lock #3. Our host was Adam who had returned from Cambodia
where he once had an adventure tour company and was doing enormously well. When Covid hit, he lost it all and returned to
the UK.
At a
table nearby there were two people from the Isle of White. The woman was part
of the Heritage Foundation which takes care of historical buildings. The
gentleman was an instructor at a very prestigious sailing school on the island.
They were heading through the locks tomorrow toward Crick. They thanked us for
breaking the ice for them. “Someone had to go first. Glad it was you,” they
said. The evening was filled with interesting encounters.
As far as cribbage goes, we are now tied. Mike and I have lost our mojo. Diane had a 28-point hand tonight (29 is a perfect score). How can you compete with that?
In the last three days we have been videoed
and photographed constantly as we punched through the ice. I am not all that
comfortable being the subject of the boating paparazzi. We Yanks may have unintentionally become infamous in “Canal
world”.
Comments
Post a Comment