Month: March 2025

Guest post by Susan

It was another great day, albeit still somewhat chilly. The day began for me with a brief early morning walk along the canal. TBH I missed most of the sunrise but it was worth it as I got an extra hour or so sleep. The sun was glorious and the canal alive with birds, ducks and swans. Once we headed north out of Fenny Compton, the trees lining the canal disappeared and we had views of large fields, hills, occasional manor houses, and sheep for most of the day. After descending a series of locks into Napton, we continued on, entering that the wider portion of the canal where the Oxford and Grand Union combine briefly.

Here are some favourite pictures from Tuesday.

Today was a lovely day.  We had a late start and stopped for lunch out in Croperdy, then continued up the Oxford Canal.  Lots of locks, and a few other boats underway.  We were lead boat in a group of three all afternoon, and all stopped here.  We’ll probably see them at dinner at the local canal side restaurant.

These narrowboats are narrow for a reason.  There are lots of narrow passes and bridges where we get through with inches to spare on either side.  Turnaround areas are infrequent and much of the time the canal is not much more than a ditch.  It’s remarkable to be traveling slowly through the countryside on a 20 ton boat.  We were easily overtaken and passed this morning by a group of recreational kayakers.  That’s how slow we are traveling.

Our plan is to get to Coventry by Friday.  Mallory and Miles are meeting us there Friday afternoon for a few days.  According to the online planning tool we’re using that’s about 5 hours per day travel time.

Weather has been overcast with daytime highs of about 8C.  Not unpleasant, but not warm.  The next three days are forecast to be sunny and warmer.

These are our favourite pictures from today.

Guest post by Susan

The narrowboat, our home away from home for the next few weeks, was chilly on Saturday night. At least, I was cold in my bunk. I think that’s why I awakened before dawn, though I had slept little the preceding night on the overnight flight to London.

I knew that the forecast was a low of zero and that frost was likely. Despite this, when I woke shortly before 05:30, I quickly went outside to experience, and photograph, the sunrise in Aynho.

I have had frustrating sleep issues for the past several years, but one of the few benefits is that I have seen many a glorious sunrise. It is a promise of the new day. Sunday morning was no exception – the bird song and beautiful vistas surrounded me. I was delighted when I realized that I could see sheep and lambs through the barbed fence near our boat. Even though I stayed too long in the freezing cold, I managed to snap what I think are beautiful pictures of frost and the sheep.

The last few shots I took were of a lone sheep who looked me in the eye, and then appeared to regally sit down. It was almost as if she was the queen of the sheep, and she was giving me permission to photograph her flock.

I hope readers enjoy these early morning pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

This is fun.  Susan tells me we’ve traveled about 15 miles so far – about 5 yesterday and 10 today. 

We’re tied up here just above Banbury.  We stopped there and got groceries, and Susan preferred a country setting to sleep so we continued up here.

The locks are a hoot.  I’ve got Susan closing the top gate now, but I was doing it all myself, which is a bit of work.  Tie up at the bottom, walk up to the lock, drain and open the bottom gates,  then walk back to the boat and drive it in.  With Susan closing the top gate I can just pick her up after I’m out of the lock rather than tie up.

Here is a selection of my favourite pictures of the day. Susan will post some of her favourites (sheep!) in a separate post.

Susan and I flew from Toronto to Heathrow overnight and had no issues picking up our rental narrowboat.  This afternoon we headed north from Heyford on the Oxford Canal.  This canal dates back to the mid-eighteenth century.

Tonight we are stopped at Aynho Wharf, where we’ll eat supper out and get an early night.

The canal, bridges and locks are all just big enough for our boat, which is under 7 ft wide and 58 ft long.  Lots of fun maneuvering.

Addendum by Susan early Sunday a.m. – As I have found to be often the case, Jeff underplays his skills. On day 1 of our latest boating (canalling?) adventure, i was reminded of two things:

(1) while some days I have moderately severe anxiety caused a degenerative disease, I am, deep down in my soul, calm when I am on the water with Jeff. I think this is because I am fundamentally aware of the skills and wisdom he brings to each task.

(2) Jeff and I, and other members of our family, share a wildly practical, sometimes doggedly pragmatic, sometimes ‘unreasonably confident’, belief in our approach to problems.

Mid-afternoon, we encountered a narrowboat heading south. Its captain conveyed through barely understood words and gesticulations that they had turned around because the passage away ahead was blocked by a ‘stuck’ canal boat. Needless to say, we blithely carried on, me silently wondering when and how we would turn around in the narrow waterway, with Jeff opining that perhaps we (he) could help the boat become unstuck. When we encountered the boat a few minutes later. Jeff, with the help of a man biking along the canal, quickly realized that it was unoccupied, and that its position was likely the result of a failed stern line. With some careful maneuvering, they managed to reposition the boat so that the canal was clear. It probably took less than 10 minutes, and as usual, Jeff provided a simple, highly effective solution to a fairly pressing problem.

Here are some of our favourite photos in no particular order.

The trip is over, for me.  We made it.  Tomorrow Dean will drive me back to Ottawa IL in a rental car and pick up his incoming crew in St Louis. They’ll continue south in a week or so.

Yesterday we had a pleasant ride up to and through Kentucky Dam, and stopped at Lighthouse Marina.  Nice quiet spot with groceries and a decent restaurant close by. And hot showers. Today is sunny and warm, and I’m enjoying sitting out while addressing some minor issues on the boat.  The Marina is deserted.  It’s still winter here.  They turn the water on Wednesday on the docks.

That was a fun trip.  The boat did fine, and I’ve come away quite impressed with it.  At 35 years old it’s holding up very well, and all the original systems and interior details were very well done. 

The dogs were fun to travel with.  We had some concerns about denying them shore access for days at a time, but they did their business on deck when they had to.  No major fuss.

Dean’s food planning and cooking was first rate.  His promise of good food was a large part of my motivation to go, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The only real disappointment was discovering that we did some damage to the rudder in the ice.  We hit solid ice in reverse getting out of Ottawa, and I can see now that it wedged between the hull and the top of the rudder and peeled away the skin on the top of the rudder.  The top foot or so will need rebuilding.  Dean has plans to haul in Mobile.

Safe travels Seaquel!  I’ll be home for a day or two then off to the English Canals.

We had a nice relaxed run today.  Sunny and calm, chugging up the Ohio River at about 4 knots.  We’re tied up in Paducah and the dogs have had a good run ashore. 

This is very close to mile zero of the Tennessee River, where it flows into the Ohio.  Tomorrow we head up the Tennessee about 20 miles and through a lock to get to Kentucky Lake.

We traveled 110 miles today, and are anchored here close to Cairo. 

Not much to report.  We took a bit of spray in strong headwinds and now have a layer of Mississippi mud over everything. 

Tomorrow we climb the Ohio River to Paducah.

We stopped for the night here, tied to the floating lock wall.  Nice spot.  I haven’t stopped here before, but it’s popular with loopers.

Today was a nice day, sunny and warmer.  Weather looks great for the next few days. 

We stopped at Hoppy’s for fuel.  40 gallons to come from Ottawa, about 320 miles at 6.5 knots boat speed.  The current helped, but that’s decent mileage. 

The river is docile.  We hit a log below Mel Price  Lock that I missed with the sun in my eyes, but there is almost no debris.  Current in the middle is 2.5 – 3.0 knots.

Current plan is to arrive at Green Turtle Bay on Sunday, where I’ll disembark and Dean will carry on with a new crew.

We came into Alton Marina at the end of the day Tuesday.  3.5 days to cover the 265 miles from Ottawa.

Apart from a brief stop in Peoria to let the dogs ashore we were on the boat.  Anchored out on the river each night.

Today was very windy with snow and sleet this morning, so we stayed put.  Tomorrow we head down the Mississippi, and expect to make it to Green Turtle Bay Marina in four days.  Weather and river conditions look good.