The lock keeper opened up a bit early this morning, so we were entering the automated lock some minutes before the official 9.am opening time in company with nb Claro who would be turning upstream at the junction with the River Severn. As we joined the Severn, I called Upper Load Lock to advise the keeper of our intentions. The lock lies on a bend in the river and the keeper thus has no visibility for any distance upstream. Moreover, the lock is vast and takes ages to fill, so even though the traffic light was flashing red, we still had a 10 minute wait before the gates opened and we got the green. The lock has wall bars, so securing the boat is easy. After a while, the water level had dropped about 4 feet, and with an initial creaking sound, the bottom gates opened and we were on our way. There isn't much to say about the 3 hour run down the Severn at what must be the widest part of the generally navigable river. Haw bridge is one landmark and the slowly eroding Wainlode Hill another. At the Upper Parting, 3 miles out from Gloucester Lock, we take the East Channel and call the lock. We were told that the lock would be readied for us, but as we approached it was evident from the R/T traffic that we were going to have to wait. Running down river, the GPS was registering 5.0 mph at our usual canal cruising engine settings, and in the East Channel this went up to 5.2 mph. Evidently quite a current running, but running towards the lock mooring wall, it seemed low. We caught a wall chain to the stern of the boat well back from the lock and tied up the boat. The true level of the current running then became easily visible. Even so, when the lock emptied, the surge was such as to push the boat backwards, hence the warning to keep well clear of the lock in this manoeuvre. The picture shows a boat exiting from the lock with the bridge lifted. The historic Gloucester warehouses can be seen, now converted to commercial and residential premises. We were asked to wait in the lock for 5 other boats to join us, so all in all we were waiting an hour before we found our mooring. Tomorrow, we have a rest day before moving on to Saul.
Comments