Sykehouse Junction to Viking Marina
Sorry Tilly, not this morning, But it’s dead good here! Exactly!
The dungarees went on, a tin of undercoat found and given a very good stir, then it was applied to the grabrail and around the mushroom vent. I plan on doing this a lot neater in the spring, at least this should be better than just leaving the rust to do it’s thing for several months.
Once we were breakfasted it was time to make a move. As someone zoomed across the lake on a board with an inflatable sail we reversed back to the junction to wind, with the assistance of the wind. This morning boaters had gone past Oleanna with bobble hats on, suitable head gear for this time of year, but we now suspected they would be regretting their choices, it was warm, very warm! If it hadn’t been for the wind we’d have taken our coats off.
Bird watchers sat with their big lenses as the cormorants dried their wings, another windsurfer this time with sail attached to their board zoomed across the lake as kingfishers chirped and darted.
Round the gradual curve to face due NORF and Drax, busy working away. Round the 90 degrees to head east at the breach site, almost straight on to Goole. We passed a couple of boats heading west. Near Sugar Mill Ponds a group of big boats has congregated. Up on the roof of one a washing machine and an oven. Maybe they cook on their roof!
At Rawcliffe Bridge the boat normally moored further back sat on the visitor moorings. What was that on their roof? A Peahen!?! It sure was. Was this their Peahen or does it belong to the house that was once the Black Horse pub?
Now we were on the straight for Goole. A zoom in with the camera always a must, but normally deceiving. Red lights at the casson, this closes to protect the docks should a leek happen on the Aire and Calder as did at the end of 2020. I kept zooming in, certain our way ahead was blocked, Mick kept saying it would just be the barges further along into the docks.
No need to say who was correct, we slowed our pace, trod water as the C&RT workboat untied itself and moved across to give us enough room to pass. It looked like they were welding a new stop plank channel into place. The casson is due to close early next year for maintenance, presumably the gates getting work done as during the breach stop planks were dropped in to help retain water.
The Pit Stop is still for sale by the old museum. The cafe at Goole Marina had a couple sat outside, I think this hadn’t opened when we were last here. I got messages through on my phone Kim and Jan from NB Idle were sat inside the cafe and had spotted us, they are currently in the dry dock.
We slotted into the gap by the diesel pump at Viking, we’d just tied up when Laird came out to serve someone wanting diesel. It was our turn soon, 80 Litres at £1.10, later we heard the price would be less next week with the next delivery!
Paperwork needed doing first, a months mooring and diesel paid for, a £10 note handed over in return for a gate fob. Laird had found us a mooring again this year, we may get moved about a bit. He showed us over to the far side where a bankside mooring sat empty. Brilliant and thank you again Laird.
Getting Oleanna into the space was easy, bow in first, yellow water extraction point to the bank. A quick health and safety check deemed the outside to be suitable, yet not for Tilly. Right next to the parking area and one end of the marina filled with pennywort was actually our biggest concern. Sorry Tilly!
Just before the sun went down it was time to sort the mushroom vent out. Everything was dry so a layer of black tack was placed around the bottom of the mushroom to help keep it watertight . Mick then tried to line up the holes. One located, a screw driver lined the others up, except the others didn’t quite want to play ball! Was the black tack hindering the job, or were the holes in the mushrooms base not equidistant? Mick lifted it from the roof, removed some tack from around the screws then turned the mushroom through 90 degrees. It worked! Hooray!! Once screwed down I added some Captain Tulleys creeping crack to the screws. This will do until the spring and hopefully we won’t get a puddle in the bathroom anymore.
0 locks, 6.6 miles, 0.1 in reverse, 80 litres diesel, 1 true Norf, 1 new mooring, 1 coat of undercoat, 1 mushroom, 0 puddle?
