Supposedly it was going to be hot and there were going to be thunderstorms this afternoon. So far the thunder hasn’t materialised but the heat did.
I got an early start to what was promising to be a bit of a marathon. Today was really all about locks. First, another set of 5 at Adderley and then a flight of 15 at Audlem.
A lot of people comment about how hard it must be doing locks on my own. Honestly, it isn’t that much harder than doing locks with a crew when the weather is this warm. Yes, there is nobody to share the work with and everything takes longer. But you do get into a rhythm.
As a result, today was a bit of a blur. And we got finished by lunchtime, which surprised me. We did have help on the way down Audlem. More often than not, this was from friendly walkers and gongoozlers. One of the few times I actually had to work a lock completely on my own was when there was a boat waiting behind me and one waiting at the bottom. Both crews were more than happy to sit watching me do all the work, rather than come to offer any help. I hope they enjoyed the entertainment. The middle section of the Audlem Flight does get a bit relentless. Very short pounds with very fierce bywash flows. One of them sucked the boat so hard onto some silt , I thought I wasn’t going to get off. As usual, reversing off was the solution.
Tonight’s mooring is a little way north of Audlem. Wide open views, just right for viewing dramatic thunderstorms. That’s if they really do happen tonight.
