With the deadline of the tide and the need to top up on shopping, we left Cowley at 07:45. At Bulls Bridge Tesco I topped up the water tank whilst Pat did the shopping, then we were off again. Having spotted a narrowboat pass us at speed whilst moored on its way towards Brentford, we knew that the Hanwell flight would be against us. Our plan as usual is for Pat to walk ahead setting the locks, guard the opposite top gate as the boat enters, then open a bottom paddle and immediately walk on, leaving me to see the boat through the lock, closing the bottom gate on exit. Using this pattern we had caught up with the previous boat and joined them for the last two of Hanwell. This boat, crewed by novices who incidentally thought that the lock was not big enough for two boats, was in turn slowed by a cruiser in front which did need the full lock. Moving on from the bottom of Hanwell, Pat reported via the CB Radio that there was a problem with the cruiser ahead at Osterley Lock. The bottom gates seemed to be leaking badly and they could not get the lock to fill. Because of the River Brent and its weir just above the lock, this lock attracts an enormous amount of rubbish and there was a tree trunk behind a bottom gate and a large amount of general rubbish including large branches. We advised emptying the lock and flushing it out, which worked and using a boat hook, we succeeded in getting the tree out with the cruiser. The new BW Offices at Brentford Basin are now open, and there is a card operated pump out facility there. What a pity though that the pumps used in these units are so feeble. The flow is intermittent and the pump timing not long enough to empty our holding tank. What it needs in my view is something like a large wet vacuum cleaner.
Once on the exposed Thames reach above Brentford, the wind which was much stronger than we thought and the water, with wind against tide, was the roughest I have seen it. In spite of this, the trip was uneventful apart from having to raise the Teddington Lock keeper by telephone after thinking there was nobody there. Really, we should have stopped at Hamton Court. There were plenty of moorings there, but having in mind that we should be able to get to Walton on Thames (The Anglers) I carried on. However, Sunbury Lock keeper had gone off duty on the dot and we had to self work the lock in company with a work boat and our favourite moorings by the Anglers were full. The next spot is where we are now, on public moorings at the bend below Shepperton Lock, opposite the weir and in a strong flow. To be on the safe side I dropped the anchor as well, as a fail safe should our pins get pulled out with or without help from a local.
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