After the weekly Skype call back to Perth it was time to wind (turn) Waiouru and head back to Hurleston Junction where we turned left onto the Llangollen Canal for the short run up to join Peter & Margaret on nb Kelly-Louise.
You start to realise just how small the network is when you meet boats you’ve previously met at a completely different location. We found ourselves moored up with nb Bandreyas who we last met at Aldermaston Wharf on the Kennet & Avon where their boat was being blacked. Small world!
We stopped at the top of the Hurleston Flight to dispose of the rubbish and top up the water tank. Whilst doing that a boat passed going in the same direction. Little did we know we’d shortly be following it as it very slowly (seemed less than tick-over) made it’s way towards Swanley. In the end we got sick of going in and out of gear and pulled over to moor for lunch allowing it to go ahead. Thirty minutes later we slipped our mooring and continued the short cruise. A moored hire boat crew saw Waiouru coming around the bend and frantically started untying their mooring lines to get in front of us (?). Heaven knows why because we’re not in a race. Jan got somewhat peeved when we arrived at Swanley Lock 2 because the five male crew members on the hire boat stayed aboard whilst she went forward to lock down the boat from the opposite direction and then assisted the hire boat up. The upper gate was leaking quite badly and the hire boat didn’t have the doors to the cratch closed. The steerer allowed the bow to get too close to the gate and the water poured into the cratch before entering the cabin through the open doors. This resulted in much “flapping” by the hire boat crew!
Shortly after the lock we arrived at nb Kelly-Louise’s mooring where Phil, the landowner had already kindly agreed to allow us to moor for the night on one of his vacant moorings.
So here we are back on the mooring where we were two years ago when Peter & Margaret so very kindly allowed us to live on Kelly-Louise whilst we attempted to sort out the mess caused by the first boat builder.
nb Kelly-Louise on her mooring in September 2011
Peter and nb Kelly-Louise 11 August 2013
Waiouru moored in front of Kelly-Louise
It feels like we’ve finally made it happen! The plan is to have an Indian meal with Peter & Margaret in Nantwich tonight.
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