Goole/Scarborough

Thankfully the club closed not too late, well it was a Sunday night. The price board outside this morning suggested why everyone was getting so rowdy! £2.50 a pint!

We were up and had enjoyed some toast with peanut butter by the time Gary and Glynn arrived. First they had to move the boat that was due to come out this morning, the owner had been too keen despite having been told not to leave it on the slipway.

We rolled back the covers ready, put the tiller on then climbed down onto terra firma.

The tractor was brought round, all the vents, exhaust etc covered in tape, bow thruster grills bolted back on, the scaff poles were added to the trolley and the tractor was hitched up. All ready.

Gradually they backed her down the slipway.

Her stern getting closer to the water.

Then it started to get wet.

Had all those vents been closed off properly?

Deeper she went.

The stern deck just dipping under the surface

Before the stern decided it would rather float.

Thank goodness!

A quick check in the engine bay. The prop was turned for Glynn to check the stern gland packing, all good. As the office was closed we would have to return later on to pay, time to get out of the way.

We reversed up to where there was a gap in the moored boats. Mick popped Oleannas bow into the gap and brought the stern round. Without the stern button on he had to be careful (paint still curing). At one point he thought that he’d got something round the prop, but a big blast of reverse sorted that and we continued to turn.

Back along the lines of cruisers and out onto the cut, across the short distance before we turned into Viking Marina.

We carefully pulled back onto our pontoon and tied her back up again. Job done.

We’d timed our walk back round quite well as a ship had just reversed back into the docks and they were passing ropes down to moor up. Looked like the ship would be off loading the way it was sat in the water.

Now for the painful bit, paying! With the slipway in and out, jet washing, grinding the original blacking, 3 coats of 2 pack, new anodes and the stern gland repacked we were nearly into four figures! Ouch!!!

The boat that came out of the water this morning was having a survey done. Two people were walking round it, measurements and hull thicknesses jotted on the boat in chalk, a few rings around pitting. The boat is for sale, I wonder if the survey turned out how the prospective purchaser hoped?

We said our goodbyes to Gary and Glynn then walked over to see if David and Karl were at home for a chat with regards to escaping. There are quite promising tides this coming weekend, but other boats are aiming for the next set of good tides to head up to Selby. The route from there still isn’t possible after a lorry recently struck the swing bridge out of the basin. So people are likely to be heading back onto the Ouse and heading for Trent Falls.

Mick wanted to know if there would be enough time to reach Selby, leaving Goole an hour before high tide, then high tide at Selby being an hour later than at Goole, thus giving us a couple of hours to cover 16 miles. David seemed to think that we’d be fine, keeping with the tide all the way, hopefully arriving at slack water. Handy to have someone who’s done the trip before to talk to. Mick will still give the Lockies at Selby a call.

We moved the car back round to Viking Marina. Tilly’s Houdini shelf was sanded down, cleaned off and a coat of Danish Oil applied. Things that were in the fridge went in a cold bag and we were good to go back to Scarborough.

Back in Scarborough the afternoon took a slightly worrying turn. Tilly came to greet us when the front door opened, she’s normally chatty but soon gets distracted by things outside or decides that a snooze would be a good thing to do. But she kept talking to me, not leaving me alone. My fishfinger sandwich smelt ever so good for a cat who never ever ever has human food. I soon noticed when she sat still for long enough in her hyper state that she would start to shake, have tremors.

A call to the vet was made. Some pills we’d got to help her calm down for her up coming journey to the boat might have been to blame. But after the vet had been conferred with they were classed as not the problem as they only have natural ingredients in them. I made an appointment for her to be checked over.

The vet checked everything and only found that maybe her teary eye was a bit gungy. Everything else was just how it should be. She thought the twitching might be behavioural, had anything changed? We’ve been away most days, which she isn’t used to. It was decided to see how she was tomorrow and if I was still concerned they would do a blood test.

Back home Tilly calmed down and curled up on a cushion for the evening, thank goodness. Despite the vet suggesting we should continue with the calming pills I decided to not give her one today and see how she is tomorrow, then maybe try again. We do however have some eye drops for the next 7 days.

An expensive day, blacking, vets bill and a new C&RT licence!

0 locks, 0.19 miles, 1 very wet stern, 1 wind, 2 lefts, 2 rights, 1 boat back on her mooring, 2 boaters considerably poorer, 1 theatre designer looking for work, 3 hours of a hyper cat, 1 busy afternoon, 12 month license, 7 days eye drops.