The forecast for the next few days spurred us on to make a move today. Strong winds and more rain are coming. Todays weather might be the only decent day to cruise for a while. We’d been planning on reaching Selby by Sunday night, a big push to get there today would have meant leaving the marina early and keeping going to get onto the Selby Canal and off the Aire. Looking at river levels they may have dropped enough to be in the amber, but then tomorrows outlook was not good. Decision made, we’d move to give Tilly some shore leave, but not too far so that we’ll be near shops and the station. 

The dirty linen drawer was emptied into the machine and a final wash put on, followed by the tumble dryer. Our gate key was handed back in at the office and the water tank topped up. By midday we had finished with shore power and unplugged, pushed back and left the confines of the marina.

On the mooring with the stupid deaf dog another boat had moored with it’s own dog peeking out of the wheelhouse. They could keep each other company. Dutch Barge Linton had been mentioned on the radio last evening and been told to stem the tide whilst two commercial boats came down the lock onto the river. We’d not heard anymore about them before we turned the radio off, they’d obviously made it up off the river.

We pootled up past all the big moored boats and the museum. The stretch of moorings opposite by the railway were free, so we pulled in. It took a while for us to tie up, there are bollards intended for much much larger vessels than ours which are placed a long way back from the cut. No chance of getting a rope back to the boat to tie off here. The length between the bollards were just a touch too close together, our lines being innies but nearly straight. If anything big were to come by we’d be all over the shop. So Mick got creative with his macrame skills and put a couple of spring lines out. We had just enough spare rope to get to the bollards from the fender eyes on the side of the gunnel. 

We wondered if they would be heading out to Hull today as the antennas were being put back up, but they slowed and pulled in alongside the other big boats on the permanent moorings.

Now that we knew we were secure on the bollards we headed to the shops. At almost a mile and a half we wouldn’t be doing a big shop, just enough to keep us going for the next few days until hopefully the weather has passed.

The crew from Exol Pride had locked up the boat ad were clambering over the others to get to dry land. They had been delayed by a day as the River Don had been in flood. As they brought their car out they offered us a lift to the end of Albert Street, but we were happy to walk.