Meeting Dinner

As most of you will know by now we enjoy good food. So we could miss the opportunity to visit a rare breeds pig farm that we have just discovered to meet the pigs but also to pick up our order of meat. 

The pigs we met are rare breed Berkshire pigs with less than 300 registered pedigree sows in the country. The small farm we visited has 4 pedigree sows. 

The pigs were very friendly and we were quite literally bowled over by just how nosey they were. It isn't every day you end up playing with next months dinner! 

Bank Holiday Weekend - Part 2

 Nitty Gritty heading back downstream.

 Liam keeping a careful watch on the river.

 Very low water at low water springs.

 Still low.

 Nice property on the banks of the Trent

 Heading through Gainsborough

 Naughty-Cal tucked up in West Stockwith basin

 Dinghy ride up the Chersterfield Canal.

 Misterton Top Lock.

 Pretty scene

 Misty cobwebs.

 Misty basin.

 The sun breaking through

 Back on the river.

 Sheep on the banks of the Trent.

Back on the ditch and heading for home.

Bank Holiday Weekend - Part 1

 Setting off upstream on the Tidal Trent.

 PJ on the Trent.

 A busy Cromwell Lock

 Leaving Cromwell Lock.

 PJ and Nitty Gritty on the Trent.

 In a field!!

 Naughty-Cal and Nitty Gritty mooring in a field.

 Ski zone safety boat.

 Ski Training.

 Flyover by the Vulcan.

BBQ time at Dunham Bridge.

Exploring

As Naughty-Cal is too deep drafted for the Chesterfield Canal we went exploring on the dinghy instead. 

I have to say that the short section we have seen is very pretty. Next time we will have to go further! 

BBQ Time

As the sun shone for us yesterday we decided it was BBQ time and what better spot than the pontoon at Dunham Bridge on the tidal Trent. A great spot. 

In a Field

So Naughty-Cal finds herself moored in a field yet again with her buddy Nitty Gritty. 

Grabbing the Chance

Make hay whilst the sun shines they say, so whilst it was forecast to stay dry and actually did stay dry we took the opportunity to spend a couple of evenings in the garden.

It didn’t take too long to make a huge improvement to their appearance. We just needed to clip the hedges, mow the lawn and pull a few weeds from the borders and footpath. The recent rain and warm temperatures had left the gardens looking very lush and green but had also made them grow like crazy. The fruit trees are all full of fruit but are again ready for a good prune, maybe we will wait until they have cropped though before we cut them back though. It looks like we have lots of baking to do to use up a bumper crop of cooking apples and blackberries.

It is a shame we don’t get to spend much time in the gardens anymore because it has taken seven years but all of the plants we have planted over the last seven years have started to mature and the gardens look the best they have done since we moved in. What we need is more decent weather during the evenings we are at home.

Confidence Building

In preparation for next year’s big summer holiday to the Scottish Borders we are getting in as many solo coastal trips as possible between now and then.

We recently undertook our first solo passage from Wells next the Sea to Boston which was a resounding success and are now planning our next solo coastal cruise for the end of next month.

If all goes to plan and the weather stays fair we are planning a long weekend break in Kings Lynn. To fit this trip into a four day break does mean that we will have a long first day of cruising. With the tide times we will be working to, we will need to be at Boston ready to go through the lock for midday on the Saturday. This will mean a long evening cruise on Friday night and an early start and long morning cruise on Saturday. On the plus side this does mean that we should be in Kings Lynn for early afternoon at around 2pm to 2.30pm just as the tide turns, which will help us when mooring on the pontoon.

We have yet to visit Kings Lynn or the Great Ouse for that matter so this trip will also be a venture into the unknown for us. We always enjoy exploring new waterways and new places so this trip will be very much a dual purpose affair.

Now all we need is for the settled weather to continue through next month. Too much to ask?

Almost Ready

After a weekend of hard work we very nearly finished all of the jobs on our list. The new toilet is installed and looks very good in its new home. The engine bay is gleaming and the bilges are clean and shiny.  The transom shower hose has been changed for a new one that doesn’t leak, why we didn’t do this job before now is beyond me it wasn’t expensive or difficult to do. Naughty-Cal  has had a good scrub, both inside and out and ASBO, the tender, has also been scrubbed ready for her outing at the weekend. Lastly we put yet another 60 litres of diesel in the tank which has very nearly brimmed it.

The only job we didn’t manage to complete was fitting the gas strut to the engine bay cover. Well actually we did install it only to find it was the wrong one so we had to take it back off again. Never mind we shall just send this one back and get the right one delivered. It isn’t the end of the world that this isn’t installed and other than that Cal is ready for action.

Next stop Muskham Ferry.

Its In

We have a loo again! 

Its Out!

The old loo has gone. 

New one going in tomorrow once the sealant has gone off. 

It's times like this that you wish your mooring was closer to the facilities block! 

Hi Ho

Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work we go......

After a nice evening in the boat club last night we have just enough time to grab some breakfast before heading back to the marina to start the many jobs on the to do list. 

Here's a lovely sunset from last night taken as we approached Lincoln. 

Entertaining Again

So we found ourselves entertaining again last night for the second time in as many weeks. Liam’s sister, her husband and her four kids descended on us yesterday evening for a spot of dinner. It has been a while since we last saw them so it made a pleasant change to see them all and feed them.

Dinner was dealt with by way of a huge lasagne served with salad and garlic bread followed by apple and custard strudel for desert. All of which was eaten with none left over. It’s nice to feed kids that are not fussy eaters.

The kids soon tired themselves out running around outside in the garden and at about 9pm peace and quiet was resumed as they all piled into the car and headed for home. Tired out ourselves it wasn’t long before we had both hit the sack!

We Have Done It Again!

So we have gone and done it again. We have left a long list of jobs until the very last minute before we go away.

We have just one weekend left to:

• ·         Install the new toilet
• ·         Polish the shower room
• ·         Fit the new shower curtain
• ·         Install the new shower sump float switch
• ·         Install the new shower sump box lid
• ·         Install the new LED light in the bathroom
• ·         Wash out the engine bay
• ·         Install the new transom shower hose
• ·         Install the new engine bay cover gas strut
• ·         Wash the boat
• ·         Clean the interior
• ·         Refill the diesel tank

It is going to be a stretch to get this little lot finished in time for our extended four day bank holiday weekend cruise. Thankfully it is only a local cruise this year to Muskham Ferry and Dunham Bridge but it would still be nice to have the boat in full working order in time to go. We much prefer it when everything is in full working order.

It is doubtful that we will get much cruising in this weekend other than a run into Lincoln on Friday night for a few drinks in the boat club. No doubt Naughty-Cal will enjoy the break though and enjoy some TLC. 

Kings Lynn

Over the weekend Kings Lynn officially opened its new visitor mooring facilities. Previously moorings opportunities in the town were very limited with just a few mooring buoys midstream provided by the Great Ouse Boating Association. Berths alongside the quay could be provided with prior arrangement from the harbour authority but required a watch on the boat at all times to keep an eye on the lines as the tide rises and falls.

The new facilities provide a safe place to moor for visiting boaters and make the trip from the wash through to Denver Sluice and the inland waters of the Great Ouse a much more appealing option for salty water boaters. The new moorings should also help to bring more tourism to Kings Lynn as more boaters visit the area.

The only downside so far is that that the pontoon isn’t very long and will fill up quite quickly, rafting is possible but large commercial vessels do turn quite close to the moorings.

Kings Lynn is now high on our list of places to visit for next year. If we get the chance later this year we may even squeeze it in during our last trip of 2013, however this will very much be weather dependant.

The following pictures were taken by the crew of Luro on the opening day of the Kings Lynn pontoons. 

 The new visitor moorings close to the fishing quay.

 Looking out towards the sea from the pontoons.

Short pontoons. Three 30ft cruisers and the pontoon is full!!

An Apology

This post is an apology to Bridlington. It would seem that there have been many recent developments at Bridlington Harbour which have made the port a much better prospect to the visiting boat owner.

The harbour have installed rows of floating pontoon berths for both resident and visiting boats with full electricity and water available on the berths. Whilst some of the berths will still dry out on certain tides the new pontoons should mean that boats will dry out level and safe.

These new developments have very much made Bridlington a possible stop over point on our trip next year. Hopefully more boat owners will now see Bridlington as a viable destination rather than a port merely for shelter from storms.

The calm before the storm

It's the calm before the storm! E Pontoon have ventured out and are currently moored, well most of us we have a few stragglers, at Saxilby Village where tonight we will be having a BBQ party. 

Currently everyone is sat on their own boats chilling out before the fun begins. 

Eye Spy for 2014

What ever did we do before the advent of Google Earth and Google Maps? We use them so much now for planning our cruises that it is hard to imagine what it would have been like before their launch. 

We find it useful to look around the harbours we intend to visit so that we can see the entrances, check out where the visitor moorings are located, where the office is located and where shops, pubs and transport links are located in relation to the various ports of call.

So here is a little look at some of the ports we intend to visit during next summers big trip.

Grimsby. The first port of call. Now familiar to us and a much appreciated stop off point with a friendly club house and easy access into the marina.

The next stop on the journey North is Whitby. The harbour overlooked by the ruins of the abbey. We have yet to visit this port byboat as our previous attempts were thwarted by bad weather.

Next stop Newcastle city centre and the recently opened Newcastle City Marina right in the thick of the action and in complete contrast to the previous port.

After a couple of hectic days in Newcastle the peace and quiet of Amble should be a pleasant break and a way to relax and unwind.

Eyemouth is the most Northerly port we intend to visit in the Scottish Borders. Still very much a fishing port and another quiet little place to chill out and unwind.

After the relaxing few days away from it all Hartlepool should bring us right back into reality.

 It would be rude not to visit Scarborough on our south bound leg of the trip. A typically british seaside resort.

 We know we are well and truly on the home run when we pull into Hull Marina. Again by now a familiar sight. By the time we reach Hull we will know we are home safe and sound.

We may well stop at other ports and marinas along the way. If we are blessed with nice weather and flat seas we may well venture further into Scotland. But as with all of these long coastal trips a lot depends on the weather and sea state at the time.