Today was mainly about ascending the staircase locks at Grindley Brook. OK, full disclosure requires me to inform you that there were other locks to enjoy today. But there is something special about a staircase. This is where the top gates of one lock form the bottom gates of the next one up. This gives some potential additional complications. This is especially the case at Grindley Brook as there are no side ponds. Some other staircase locks, such as Foxton on the GU Leicester Line, have side ponds. These make operating the locks easier and provide somewhere for excess water to be stored temporarily. With a staircase like Grindley Brook, the locks have to be set correctly to avoid overfilling the lock chambers.
When there is a risk of this, CRT usually provide lock keepers, like the two we encountered today. They are there to help inexperienced boaters, manage traffic at busy times and make sure the locks are operated correctly. So, it was a bit surprising to be in the middle lock of the three, with water cascading over the bottom gates and beginning to flow over the lock side. The two lock keepers were deep in conversation and hadn’t noticed, until it was pointed out. No great disaster, but it is encouraging to know that the experts can get it wrong sometimes.
The weather was variable today. This was what it looked at its best. All blue sky and fluffy clouds. It tried to rain a few times and managed it for around 3 minutes. What it really managed white well, was wind. The wind strengthened throughout the day, eventually making accurate boat positioning a bit of a lottery. Unfortunately for many novice hire boaters, this was probably the first strong wind they had encountered. There have been a lot of boats drifting sideways this afternoon. The worst case was at the 90 degree turn at Ellesmere, where an unlucky boater had been caught out and ended up pinned against another boat. I hope they managed to get off in the end.
If you have followed this blog, you will know that I tend to notice boat names. Earlier this week, it was the tenth example of a Black Pearl. Today it was Rupert, complete with a picture of Rupert the Bear. I was given the Rupert annual every Christmas for many years. When I think back now, some of the story lines now seem distinctly weird, possibly even drug inspired. So I’m not sure I would ever want Rupert on my boat!