ICE!
On Friday I visited the boat to prepare for the weekend cruise. This meant principally flushing the water system of the MPG antifreeze, filling the water tank and warming the boat up. The weather was cold but happily only a small margin of ice visible at the sheltered inlets on the water. Flushing the water system takes quite a time, so no chance of doing it on the Saturday before departure as we have some time constraints for me to get to a meeting in Watford. All in all, including lighting the stove, it took about 3 hours. I topped the stove up before leaving and set it to slow burn to keep the boat warm. Telepmetry later showed that the boat wat at 23 degrees that evening and 10 degrees next morning at 6 am.
Arriving at the boat on Saturday, the whole marina was iced up, the only clear water being at the entrance near to Widewater Lock. The ice looked thin enough and I judged that the river sections of the canal would be clear anyway - which turned out to be the case. The hardest part was getting out of the marina. Thin though the ice was, reversing and winding the boat was very difficult. In reverse the ice determined which way the boat wanted to go, and in forward gear it just carved a straight line. No amount of rudder worked. It was necessary to use the pole to smash ice, working the boat back and forwards to get turning room. We found the as the ice was in fact quite thin, carving a track forwards and then powerful reverse broke up the ice sufficiently to turn, but inly when we had the freedom to go forwards in the first place. Once on the canal we had no problem until Lot Mead lock where we came up behind two Hillingdon Canal Trust boats awash with small crew. They had needed to smash the ice up in the lock to get in and the ice in the pound up to Common Moor Lock looked much thicker. They were going to Apsley, and carved a path for us up to Iron Bridge Lock where we wind and moor. No trouble above the lock, it is a river section. We passed Guillemot at Iron Bridge Lock on the way to Limehouse. They reported that the ice above the next two locks was very thick and they had been stuck for a while. Probably just as well we stopped here.
What will the ice be like on Sunday for the return trip. Watch this space.
Comments