Thu 13th August Fradley Junction
We went to see the two ladies and their cruiser. It seems that they had parted with cash for a boat that wasn’t even the one in the advert. It had no beds, no seats, no working fridge, no water supply. All these things had been advertised. The sink was not connected and didn’t even have a waste pipe. The guy had left all his belongings on the boat, so the ladies had nowhere to put their bits and pieces.
He had told them it didn’t need a Boat Safety Certificate or licence. The roof let water in.
We helped them clear his belongings off onto the grass so that they could get into the boat more comfortably, and we borrowed a wheelbarrow from Canal and River Trust so that we could take his clobber to the bins.
Ed from Canal and River Trust
We brought the ladies a meal, as the only cooker on board was a one-ring camping hob.
No boating today
Fri 14th August Fradley Junction
We had called Babs, as the local Waterways Chaplain, and she came on Gabriel for breakfast. Meanwhile, she had alerted Ray, a local boater who was very practical.
When we went to see the ladies, we discovered that they had felt water coming in overnight, and the boat was sinking. Inspection revealed a large hole in the bows. The guy had left his things in the stern to weigh it down, so the hole in the bows stayed above the waterline. When the heavy stuff was removed, and the ladies went forward in the boat to sleep, water came in.
Ray thought he could repair the hole, so James borrowed Babs’ car and drove with one of the ladies first to Lichfield to buy some fibreglass filler, and a flea bomb, as the boat was full of fleas. Then, on finding that the local branch of Santander was closed down, they drove to Tamworth where the branch was open. She managed to get some funds. We then called in at Aldi for some provisions.
Back at Fradley, Ray set to work filling the hole, and mopping out the inside of the boat to make it completely dry. He did a very good job, putting a fibreglass sheet over his repair work, and smoothing it all off. The engine worked, but the battery was flat, and the gear cable needed replacing.
Meanwhile, Sue and Eric (BCF) had arrived on Remus, and we had tea and cake on board. They invited the two ladies for a meal later.
We gave the ladies a plastic tarpaulin to put over their roof to stop water coming in. They also had a tent which they put up to sleep in while the boat was drying out properly.
We had made several journeys down to the facilities, to dispose of the guys rubbish. There were fishing rods, DVDs, a fish tank, a glass decanter full of brandy as well as sacks of clothes. Eric said he was going round the corner by boat in the morning, and he said he would take the rest of the stuff, including heavy waterlogged rugs.
We had a zoom meeting with Tim and Hilary to give them advice on the tidal Thames from Limehouse. We have done it seven times each way.
No boating today
Sat 15th August Fradley Junction to Hopwas
After breakfast we reversed to the water point, and took two cassettes down to the facilities, as well as our own rubbish. Fuel boat Auriga came past, so we bought a gas cylinder. One of ours had run out last night. We then loaded all the rest of the other guy’s clobber onto Remus, and went down to the facilities to meet them, and offload it all into the bins.
With a farewell to Eric and Sue, and also to Ray, we went to retrieve our chairs which we had lent to the ladies. They said they had found lots of credit cards in different names hidden on the boat, so we guessed the guy had also been stealing. We were able to pray with them, leaving them some literature and our contact details before setting off. We knew Ray would keep an eye out for them, and Babs was due back in the morning.
After a mile or two, we met Malcolm and Pat Willis (BCF and Waterways Chaplains) on Tranquillity Too, and we phoned them to make them aware of the situation. It is so good to have a network of Christians on the waterways.
We carried on past Streethay Wharf, Huddlesford Junction and Whittington, where we saw Eric Wood and had a brief chat as we passed. He is over 90. We once sang in his garden during a mission.
We stopped for the day at Hopwas, and put up the hood, as
rain was forecast. We had been in touch with Terry and Chris on Grace,
who are coming in our direction, and we arranged to meet in Fazeley.
0 locks, 8 miles
Sun 16th August Hopwas to Fazeley
We waited for the rain to stop before setting off. We paused first at the damson tree just before Hopwas School Bridge. We collected some damsons, as well as some plastic sheeting on the prop. It was just over an hour, with slight drizzle to dampen everything. There was mist on the hills.
On arrival at Fazeley, we spotted Firoza, but Derek
and Judy were not on board. We then saw Faithful, with John and Gill Speight,
last seen when they helped us up the Hatton flight.
We didn't say a proper hello until later, as we all had various online church services.
When those were over, we had two new BCF arrivals: Terry and Chris on Grace, and Andy on Wand’ring Bark and The Jam Butty. His wife Helen was waiting for him at Whittington, so he moved on after selling us some jams and pickles.
We briefed everyone about the two ladies at Fradley, and it seems as though on Monday with Grace, and Tuesday with Faithful, they will now receive cooked meals and phone charging opportunities.
In late afternoon, the six of us gathered on the large piece of grass near our mooring to consume fish and chips. David and Mary Litchfield joined us (David by canoe). It was a good time together, cut short by rain soon after 6pm.
Night reflections
0 locks, 3 miles. Dep 0845, arr 0955.
Next: Farewell to BCF friends as we head
further along the Coventry Canal towards Atherstone and Nuneaton. Possibly also
the Ashby Canal, but they are short of water at present.
