With the Ever Given now un-stuck on the Suez Canal there are plenty of ships that have been held up in the Mediterranean and Red Sea, one report suggests there have been around 300 ships waiting for the way ahead to be clear. The traffic jam, longer than will be found at Minshull Lock on the Middlewich Branch in a couple of weeks, will take weeks to clear. Doing a Suez is now being added to narrowboat language up and down the country for when you get into one of those situations!
Meanwhile here in Scarborough fingers and rakes have been busy.
Origami paper
A month or so ago I was commissioned by my friends Dawn and Lee of Animated Objects Theatre Company to design a sheet of origami paper influenced by the Yorkshire coast, I was one of six artists to be chosen.
Partially folded
Last week an envelope arrived in the post with twelve squares of paper for me to fold into ships, two of each of the designs.
Ships
These have also gone out to numerous houses and homes along the Yorkshire coast as well as further afield to those who have links here, I know of two sets that have gone to Malvern.
All twelve ships were folded and carefully placed into an envelope to return last Friday when Dawn and Lee came to collect the model buildings I’ve been painting for them over the last few weeks.
Model Buildings for another part of the project
My 12 ships will be amongst another 988, making 1000 which will go on display in various places along the coast in the next few months. This is all part of The Odyssey a project taking place over the next three years. Have a look at their website to find out more about the artists involved.
To launch this phase of the project Dawn and Lee were up very early and down on the North and South bays a couple of mornings last week.
National Day of Reflection, 23rd March. Animated Objects
They busied themselves with rakes and created sand drawings. My favourite was Helen with ships in her hair.
Andrew Percy the local MP has been down to the breach site today. He has posted the following on social media.
Aire and Calder Canal Breach Update. I’ve been up to East Cowick this morning to meet with the Canal and Rivers Trust to view progress on the works to sort out the canal breach. Fair to say, still someways to go before the permanent solution is identified. They had hoped to have the breach section fully drained by now thanks to the cofferdams. However, the water found its way around one of the cofferdams so they have had to pile a further section along the bank to get the seal! They hope to have this completed tomorrow so that they can start to fully drain the breached section and effect the permanent repair. As the canal serves the docks, they are also raising the cofferdam level on the dock side so that the canal level can be raised to provide more water to Goole docks. I will be popping back down once they have the section drained and are clearer about what they are dealing with. In fairness, they have always said to me that the works to actually get the section isolated could be more challenging than the actual repair to the breach. I shall continue to keep pushing!
Our girths may have increased during the lockdowns of the last year, but this post is not about that type of tyre! It is about tyre fenders.
Portholes
Back in 2016 when we moored at Kings Marina in Newark for the winter, we visited the Boat Jumble sale at Newark show ground. Not everything at a boat jumble sale is second hand, I believe we bought some new rope. But what we did find on one stall was a couple of wheelbarrow wheels, the perfect thing for mooring on the Shropie where the underwater shelf can be a nuisance. Local boats all have tyres on their roofs and we’d been wanting a pair for a while.
When they were new to us
At £6 for the pair of wheels this was a bargain. They have served us well through the years since then. They have deflated at times, been repaired every now and again, but it was time to give them some serious tlc, the rubber now perishing at quite a rate.
A touch faded and the rubber perishing
Mick found a company on line who had the right size of tyre and inner tube. Tyre and Tube . Not as cheep as the originals had been, but worth it.
So on a sunny day last week Mick laid the new tyres and old wheels out on the wall in the sun, hoping to make the job easier by warming up the rubber. It helped a bit, but was still a struggle.
All ready for cruising again
But now, all pumped back up, we have two new tyre fenders. We just need to be able to go cruising to be able to use them.
However instead we’ve got ourselves a ticket for the Virtual Crick Boat Show. It’s free. There are boats on show, Crick Radio (playing songs from headline acts of years gone by), relaxation videos, Narrowboat video Channel with Andy Tidy offering history of the waterways, boat sales, chandlers all the usual stuff you find at Crick. However you won’t need to queue for refreshments and they will be considerably cheaper.
We’d been hoping to go to the show this year as we’ve not been for a number of years. At the moment there is a possibility the show will run later this year, but for now the on-line version will have to do. If you do go, don’t forget to vote for your favourite boat.
Well Canal and River Trust have been busy with notices. On the website yesterday they posted the following
Update 24/03/21
The Trust and its contractors are in the final stages of making the cofferdam watertight, to enable the cofferdam to be dewatered. We anticipate that our engineers will be able to carry out the first detailed inspection at the breach site shortly after Easter. Water levels continue to be carefully monitored. While passage through Goole Caission is not possible at present, the Trust is working hard to ensure boaters can once again pass between Pollington and Sykehouse Lock. We intend to operate this on a booking only basis from 12 April (in line with the Government road map).
Certainly the levels in Goole were much better yesterday. But another ten days before engineers carry out a detailed inspection!
Then today notices regarding assisted passage have been coming through.
From the 12th of April access through Whitley Lock will be possible twice daily at 10am and 3pm.
From the 12th April, we shall be permitting a once a day access through Pollington Lock and Sykehouse Lock at 10am daily to allow boats to transit between Pollington Lock to Sykehouse Lock.
Mooring and overnight staying along sections between Pollington and Sykehouse Locks is not currently permitted.
Passage through these locks needs to be booked 48hrs in advance by calling 0303 0404040, Mon to Fri 9am – 5pm
Why assisted passage? Because they need to control the water levels in the pound where the breach is and should two locks full of water be let out at the same time, the wave created would likely overtop the cofferdam.
This is all very exciting. Except we still can’t get out from Goole!
A is Viking Marina B Ocean Lock onto the River Ouse
But should we be able to escape out onto the River Ouse we would be able to turn left and head up stream to Selby.
C Selby Lock
Turn in at Selby lock onto the Selby Canal.
D Tankards Bridge, E Beal Lock
You can only pass under Tankards Bridge, the last on the canal, if you are under 7ft high as currently scaffolding is being used to reinforce the parapet wall which suffered damage last September when a vehicle struck it. From there along the River Aire where a width restriction of 10ft 5″ is in place due to silt build up behind the lock gates. Thankfully neither of these would be a problem for us.
F Whitley Lock
Once up Bank Dole Lock we would re-join the Aire and Calder Navigation and turn left heading eastwards towards Goole. We’d be able to pass down Whitley Lock one morning.
G Pollington Lock, H Sykehouse Junction, I Sykehouse Lock. J The breach site
Then down Pollington Lock the following day, turn right onto the New Junction Canal and up Sykehouse Lock. Then and only then would we have successfully escaped!
According to Canal Plan if we did this route it would be 40 miles 1 furlong and 8 locks, normally taking 13hrs 45 minutes. But with current restrictions it would take us 3 days waiting for locks to open.
A Viking Marina, I Sykehouse Lock
Without the breach in our way Canal Plan has the more direct journey at 8 miles 3/4 furlong, 1 lock, taking us 2hrs 45 minutes.
Yesterday afternoon we picked up a hire car and gathered things together. This morning it was a very early start which included a girl look upstairs upstairs for a suitably sized piece of wood to cover all of Oleanna’s batteries in one go. I came up trumps with an old shelf from some cupboard somewhere which had a couple of spring clips on it, but it was the perfect size.
Then we set off at 7:30 for Goole. A couple of rain showers made me glad I’d left an upturned crate for our veg box to be left in as we’d not be home today when it was delivered.
Plenty of daffodils were out on our route through Driffield, but the big roundabout between Foxholes and Langtoft and the one at Bainton are still yet to show off their abundance of yellow.
A normal view out of the windows!
At the marina we were very pleased to see that the water level was much improved. No pontoon view out of the windows and no need to sit on the pontoon to undo poppers on the cratch cover. Today she was just a slight step down, the highest she’s been since before Christmas.
No big step down today
We arrived with plenty of time to swap the wood protecting the batteries out for the new piece, put batteries back into the CO and heat detectors, all were checked. Windows and side hatch opened up along with the cratch cover rolled right back for ease of access and the bow rope was tightened.
Mike arrived a little early, but we were ready and relaxing with a cuppa in hand, sat on our folding chairs on dry land. Current guidance is that you shouldn’t be on board whilst the inspection is carried out, understandable as it’s impossible to be 2ms away on a narrowboat if someone wants to pass you. In the sun it wasn’t too bad but the breeze did dip the temperature.
Mike in heated debate
The gas locker was checked, the cut off found in the galley. We had to point him towards our third fire extinguisher which lives behind the bathroom door (still fixed to the wall). He went out the back, lifted the engine board, checked here and there, counted mushroom vents. At the same time he chatted at length with one of our neighbours about current affairs, they knew each other and have very different opinions on matters.
We were then asked if we had a copy of our RCD certificate. Now where might that be? Apparently there wasn’t a copy on line for Mike to check against. We hunted through our boat files, the bible that came with Oleanna, but I had an inkling that it had been emailed to us and we’d never printed it out. Without a lap top to check back four years on emails we were a little bit stuck, but we found some information he needed in the bible. Only downside to this is that he has had to date our new certificate with todays date, loosing a few weeks.
Then the verdict.
She’d passed, no required items, no advice items, just one observation regarding the CO alarms.
YES!
When Oleanna was new CO alarms were not part of the BSS. She came with two heat sensors on the ceiling. We’d questioned this with Ricky from Finesse, when they came to fit the new batteries they came armed with 2 CO alarms which we’ve fitted one in the galley the other near the stove/sofa at gunnel height. The heat sensor in the bedroom has been swapped out for a smoke and CO alarm by us during the Beast from the East in Nantwich, this is on the ceiling above our bed.
Boat lift on the move
Mike was happy with this and we have plenty of detectors for CO that we may create on the boat. However the one in the bedroom would not really help us should we have CO come in the window from other boats and their stoves. Having a sensor nearer to our head height would be better, but there isn’t really anywhere to put it as we have a cross bed. We will look into positioning one above a bedside table which would be at the same height as our heads when in bed.
Strops being positioned under the cruiser
But she passed with flying colours. Invoice handed over and all paid online within an hour of him arriving. Hooray!
Take off
Now what? It was still before 11am. We did a couple of jobs. I dug out a box of fabrics that I haven’t touched in four years, the space can be used for toilet roll. Yes we have a stash of it as we’ve started buying recycled toilet roll on line, minimum order 48 rolls! So we can stock up the boat with it.
Life jackets for servicing
The life jackets have also come out of storage so that we can service them. A new gas bottle was bought and stored in the locker, we ran the engine.
Just as we were tucking into our pack up Al tapped on the roof to say hello. So we had a chance to thank him for keeping an eye on Oleanna when we’ve not been able to come down.
Level nearly normal
Before we left Goole we drove down to the caisson gates. Here was pretty much as it had been two weeks ago, just that the level was higher. There are still stop planks across the cut but there was quite a flow of water over them in towards the docks.
Someone’s headed for freedom
A narrowboat was moored where we tend to moor when visiting Goole, they’ve possibly escaped from one of the marinas for some space and to save on some money in fees. Maybe when we’re allowed to stay overnight we’ll have a jaunt out and join them.
See you soon
0 locks, 0 miles, 0 winding, 6am alarm, 76cm by 32cm, 1 automatic, 2 to 3 weeks before yellow totally takes over, 3 inches down, 4 alarms, 3 windows open, 1 hatch open, 1 masked surveyor, 1 heated debate, 3 one side, 1 the other, 1 pass with flying colours, 1 little wiff of gas, 1 big wiff of diesel, 2 butties, 2 mugs of tea, 1 boat crane, 1 freedom seeking boat.
Three Months ago today we learned of the breach on the Aire and Calder. The canal was doing a good job of emptying itself into fields, the flow of water heading for the villages of East and West Cowick. That all feels like a long time ago.
This morning my computer binged at me, a message from Mark Penn with new photos from the breach site. His initial comment was that there was no change. This was right in some respects, no progress on emptying out the cofferdam ready for inspection. But on the other hand there has been quite a bit happening.
20/3/21
Four days ago we received the notice from C&RT regarding a temporary fix to where the cofferdam meets the piling on the south eastern end. They would be implementing a more secure seal here, which is in progress and visible on Marks photos.
The first thing noticeable is that the floating pontoon is back on site. It had been stored through the other side of New Bridge. The pipes pumping water round the breach have been extended towards Goole, meaning that the pontoon and workers wouldn’t be drenched whilst working.
20-3-21
Water is actually being pumped into the cofferdam from the western end. This at first seems strange, pumping water in to where there is a breach, only for the water to flow out and into the drain below.
20-3-21
But thinking about it, it must be to help relieve pressure on the cofferdam whilst they make a more robust seal. We all know that lock gates open easily when the water level is equal at one end of the lock, yet the water pressure at the other end is immense. So keeping the water level between the cofferdam and the canal will mean less stress on what they are working on.
By the pontoon you can see a lot of new piling being put in along the bank where aggregate had been added last week. The void has been filled and now they are reinforcing the piling where it meets the cofferdam.
20-3-21
The above photo shows this better. A better fix than some blue tarpaulin and a roll of gaffa tape would do!
20-3-21
From above you can see the new piling lines up with the dam and the aggregate. Here’s hoping that this fix is nearing completion and that no more voids will hold up the cofferdam from being pumped out fully next week. Then the investigations can start and the engineers can get to work on a solution.
20-3-21 A boom has been positioned downstream near the bridge
A year ago we had arrived in Nantwich to stock up before continuing northwards. Little did we know we’d be there for months. The world was a different place, everyone getting used to what social distancing was, panic buying and hand sanitizer were new things. Supermarket shelves were empty and queues were long.
Tomorrow, Saturday, we’d have our first Geraghty Zoom.
21/3/2020
In all our minds back then we knew lockdown was coming, but only imagined it would last for a few months. Then life would return to some form of normality. Kath, Micks sister had left a plant on her office desk hoping it might survive, she’s not been back.
Theatres closed their doors on the 16th March 2020. A year later it was apt to have a panto meeting. Showing my white card model to the creative team and producers was a little strange on a Zoom meeting. Mick had enabled my phone to be an extra camera so that I could show people round my model whilst giving them motion sickness! A good meeting.
Muddy Cows
On Wednesday I caught a bus up to Scarborough Rugby Club where I joined the queue for the local vaccination centre. I’d last stepped foot in this building eight years ago when collecting old rugby shirts to be used in the premier production of John Godbers Muddy Cows at the SJT.
SRUFC Vaccination Centre
This time I left with my vaccination card and a sticker. My photo on social media has caused some unrest from those who didn’t receive one. Mick is miffed and so is Kath from Herbie along with numerous friends. Sorry!
This morning I have received my NHS vaccination letter, I’m glad my doctors had everything in hand as the nearest hub to us is Saltburn 31 miles away. The 3.5 miles on the old railway line is much better. Just a shame I’ve had a few side effects, hopefully todays vertigo will pass soon.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 dam filling up, 1 reinforced joint, 2 boaters still with fingers crossed, 3 months, 53rd Geraghty zoom, 1:25 scale white card model, 18 rugby shirts, 1 jab, 3.5 miles home, 1 sticker controversy, 1 wild flower bed planted, 6 more houses to go, 2 thank you’s to Paul (Waterway Routes) and Dave Scouts for blog advice, 1 map from last year to check it still works, 1 window open all sunny day for Tilly, 1 Mrs Tilly stamp of approval.
This morning we woke to an update regarding the breach from C&RT.
Update on 16/03/2021:
The downstream seal of the cofferdam has been fixed temporarily with downstream water levels stabilising. A robust fix is currently being implemented to secure the seal.
Dewatering of the cofferdam is now programmed for week commencing 22nd March with breach investigations to follow.
15-3-21
Mark went back to the site yesterday. Plenty of vehicles about the place and a delivery of diesel for the generators looked like it was happening.
15-3-21 Wonder when the crops will start to show themselves
Some of the new pumps look like they might be adding to the water levels.
The level on the downstream end is certainly higher. It is helping to keep the cofferdam topped up again too.
15-3-21
It may be possible to raise the piling here to help keep the water out of the breach along with keeping the levels higher towards the docks.
Obviously water is still draining out of the cofferdam into the drain below.
15-3-21
This photo I find the most interesting. Just above the blue tarpaulin, on the left hand side, is the hole in the grass that has been visible from early on. This at one time had been filled with aggregate. But working left from here, along the piling edge, it looks like there are three more holes as the canal widens out.
It’s been almost three months since the breach happened. Here’s hoping that the cofferdam does get drained next week and that there are no more hold ups. Then the engineers will be able to assess what will be needed for a permanent fix.
Thank you for the comments about our move. It does seem that other peoples blog rolls are not showing our latest posts though and at the moment I’m having difficulty seeing statistics regarding views, maybe I’m just looking in the wrong place. You know how I like numbers!
Thank you Mark for the photos again and thank you Mick for sorting the blog.
Well Mick has had a very busy afternoon making sure everything moved over. This took more doing than he’d originally thought as he couldn’t just use a plug in to do it all for us, mostly because we’ve been skin flints and been on the most basic package, so to do this we’d have had to upgrade and pay more money!
Hopefully everything has moved over and other than changes we do to the appearance of the blog you shouldn’t notice anything different after a couple of days when the dust has settled and the internet catches up with us.
Apologies if you happened to look this afternoon and got a message, ‘Your connection is not private’ ‘Attackers might be trying to steal your information from oleanna.co.uk’ This was because our security happened to go faulty just as we moved. It has all been sorted now.
Thank you Mick for all your hard work in moving us.
This will be the last post before we move hosting sites. If all goes well this post will move along with the other 1239 posts (Mick’s already moved these) I’ve written over the last four or so years. Hopefully this blog will still appear on blog rolls and that we will have a blog roll that moves with the times again along with other benefits.
The recent storm has stopped Mark from flying his drone recently, but this morning he deemed the wind speed was just about okay to go flying again.
14/3/2021
The cofferdam looks like it has drained by itself again, although maybe not quite as low as it has done before.
The pictures today show where the leek happened that has now been mended.
25/2/2021
25/2/2021
These photos are from 25th February. In the bottom right hand corner where the pipes gently curve away from the bank there is a grassy gap showing where the cofferdam piling meets the existing piling and there is a bridge over the pump pipes.
7/3/2021
Then these from the 7th March. The area is much darker than before, this is because there is a hole there.
7/3/2021
It looks like you can see the back of the bank piling and then another layer of piling is close up to the pipes, you can see the corrugations in this second photo.
14/3/2021
Today the hole has now been filled with aggregate, the chalky surface quite obvious and there may also be more clay than before by the cofferdam piling.
14/3/2021
The second raft for the pumps to extract more water (at the western side) have been plumbed in, but there are no extra pipes at the eastern end.
14/3/2021
The level between the breach and Goole caisson is being kept about a foot lower than normal so that the level doesn’t over top the cofferdam. The removal of the top section of stop planks helps with this, draining any excess water that is pumped round the breach into the docks to help keep the level up there.
At some point this week we will be changing our website hosting. Readers shouldn’t notice anything different and those who get an email each time I post should still get one. I will do my best to inform you of the last post before we move, JUST IN CASE!
Where were we
2020. Betton Wood Bridge, Shropshire Union Canal. LINK
