Lawn mower on the Cut

The little wounded soldier had a rough night finding the pressure of the bedding on her damaged toe too much to bear, consequentially she spent most of the time dozing in her recliner chair.  It’s a little like having Long John Silver as a crewmate.  The noise made by Jan’s “gammy” foot hitting the deck sounds just like a peg leg!  No… I’m not going to mention the parrot! +

On waking this morning we found the liquid stuff was falling very infrequently and yesterday’s towpath puddles have disappeared.  However it was a rather grey and drab start to the day.  Not much chance of any free solar electricity today!

Mark, from Atlantis Marine, has been looking at my software configuration file to see if he can identify where I’ve gone wrong with the “user defined” connections to the GSM Module.  There are four sets of terminals giving us the option to remotely control by text message any four items of equipment in Waiouru.  I used the first pair of terminals to control the satellite dome.  My efforts were rewarded when I was able to switch the dome on and off by text.  Of course we don’t need to remotely control the dome… it was just a test!  The next three sets of terminals were configured to control the bilge pump, central heater and engine immobilizer.  The problem is none of them work remotely and it’s this that Mark is attempting to resolve.  He has emailed me an updated configuration file which needs to be uploaded into the system next time I have the interface dongle.  Oh, once everything is working the plan is to change the configuration and have remote control of the fridge/freezer rather than the satellite dome.  That way we’ll be able to send two text messages to the boat to turn on the central heater and start cooling the beer!

We were quietly sitting in Waiouru reading and minding our own business when the sound of a lawn mower could be heard outside…. AND on the opposite side to the towpath!!!!!  To our surprise a canoe with three occupants went past at a fair old pace.  On the back was a Seagull outboard motor (OBM).  Maybe some of you will remember the British Seagull engine.

Photo from Google Images

Some further searching revealed the intrepid canoeists are undertaking a challenge.  This from the Kennet & Avon Boating Community Website.

quote

The inaugural 24 hour Seagull challenge

Reading to Bath, March 8th 2013 in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Service

A gruelling test of man, dog and machine.

The British Seagull engine is legendary for being reliable, simple and almost indestructible. The British Admiralty ordered 1,000s in World War II specifying that they should ‘run for 24 hours non-stop’.

Well, three intrepid Kennet and Avon Boaters are to test this assertion in their own unique combination of Wacky Races, Three Men in a Boat and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Floating Machines.

Starting from Reading they will attempt a non-stop cruise of the Canal to Bath in a small dinghy powered by a Seagull engine.

 

Best of luck guys.  Hope you achieve your objectives.