Well the trip to Little Venice (actually Paddington Arm because its nearer the railway station) and the crew shuffle worked beautifully. We were off the mooring at Teddington at 6:35am, had to wait 5 minutes for the lock keeper and were on the River at 6:55. We were told off for not, and asked to pay, the overnight mooring fee of £5.50. Honest I didn't see the sign, Guv! Without really trying we were in at Brentford at 7:45 and carried straight on through the gauging lock.
The journey down the tidal river is quite straightforward. The lock keepers will advise on the correct time to leave and remember also that Brentford Thames Lock must be pre-booked if arriving outside the hours of 8:00 to 18:00. Once past Richmond Town bridge the next two bridges appear offset and it is important to line up early with the second arch from the right, marked as the channel with two yellow lights, to avoid being swept up onto the pier by the now fast running tide. In the next picture
(click on thumbnail to enlarge) Nuggler is about to pass through the second bridge and the lights are clearly seen. Beyond is the Richmond Weir which is lowered two hours either side of high tide to allow unobstructed passage.
The extreme right hand arch houses the lock which is used at lower tide and the next is marked as closed by the three red lights forming an inverted triangle. The arch we must go through is the right hand of the two marked with the yellow channel markers. The left hand one is for upstream traffic.
It is easy to miss the entrance to Brentford Creek and be forced to turn too late for the tidal flow carrying you on down the river if your engine is not powerful enough. I have been there and it is a struggle to fight the tide. This is the view you get as you near the turning. The post actually marks the entrace to Brentford Marina. The next photo shows how the entrance is hidden. Don't turn to early either, I have seen a sand bar on the corner and the tide can push the stern round so that you hit it or the piling.
Once safely in at Thames Lock, and the electrically self operated Brentford Gauging Lock (BW Key needed) we adopted the lock wheeling approach without the wheels and shot up the Hanwell flight, turned right at Bulls Bridge and carried on, taking lunch in shifts, the idea being to get to Paddington before the rush hour. We (including Grannie and dogs) were on a 36 bus by 15:10.
I will now rest, restore the boat to its pristine condition and await crew for the trip to Limehouse on Saturday.
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