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Saturday 7 March 2015

Saturday 7 March 2015 Whittington

We arrived at the boat in glorious sunshine at 1400 hrs today, the wind was light but one boat was having great problems dropping back into their slot.

After unloading the car, we had called at Morrison’s in Lichfield on the way it was time to get things up and running. Electrics on, main water valve on tank open, start pump to hear a funny bubbling noise. A  few words of advice, if you disconnect the plumbing on the pump to make sure there is no water left in it, then re connect it before turning the water back on. The bubble noise was it pumping air while the tray it sits in fills with water. That sorted we filled the system with water, letting air out of the taps while lighting the stove, see I multi task. When the water stops but the pumps still running as you bleed the air under pressure in the bathroom, turn the pump off. It could be that you didn’t reconnect the discharge properly and under pressure its blown off so you are now pumping water into the tray the pump sits in. That sorted and things dried for the second time it was all systems go, apart from cleaning up the blood spots from my finger where I cut it reconnecting the pump.

1400 hrs its 16° C outside and we drop the ropes off and sail off into the wide open waters of the marina, out through the entrance and sharp right towards Fradley. Woodend Lock is against us but as we open the bottom gates a boat approaches, so no need to close up. Just before we get to Shadehouse lock we pass “NB No Problem” moored up, a blast on the horn and out pops Sue who walks down to the lock beside us, again its against us, but as we drop down a boat is coming up the next lock so we both leave the gates open and pass in the pound. Diana walked on from Middle Lock, I thought she would cross Bottom Lock and walk round to open the foot bridge on the Coventry, but there was no sign of her so I had to stop and open it myself , thank goodness CaRT haven’t got round to fitting a lock to it yet, once through the lock I pulled over to close the bridge and find out where Diana was and she turned up looking for me. She thought we were going to Alrewas and I thought we were going to Streethay and I was driving. Sorted.

We stopped at Streethay to discuss getting some work done, I need a new rudder bearing and while its out we will have it blacked, I also fancy a rudder like Kevin Blick had fitted but that was a lot of money. Anyway we are booked in for June.

We continued on in the sun shine, but by now the breeze was chilly. Along this section of the canal the railway runs quite close apart from a small section on the far side of Whittington by Whittington Bridge, the bridges are named now and not numbered as we have just crossed the boundary between the Coventry and the Birmingham and Fazeley canals., so at 1730 hrs that is where we have stopped for the night.

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