Some free time yesterday, so visited the Prince of Wales Pub, the rather conspicuous preserved old and attractive looking pub at the back of the convention centre, found the large Tesco Metro on the main shopping street below the city hall and much later went for a stroll round Brindley Place and its canalside bars with Alfie. The place was very crowded and very noisy. Obviously the place to be, but we were the only boat by Tindall Bridge and mindful of the stream of drunken partygoers likely to be returning from the bars late at night I chained the bow rope at the bollard. Bollards are less than ideal in a situation like this as the ropes can easily be slipped off and the boat cast adrift. Sure enough this morning at about 5:30 I felt the boat bumping which it shouldn't have done because fenders were out. The stern rope had been taken off and an attempt had been made on the bow rope by taking it off the bollard and the T stud, however the chain had prevented it from completely detatching from the bollard. It was no trouble to re-attach the mooring lines, but I was reminded of a boater we met on the Thames who had a supply of tie-wraps which he used to crimp the lines at a bollard. A determined vandal, he said, could cut a rope but mostly it is just opportunistic in the heat of the moment and they are easily deterred. Good advice I thought, but never put tie wraps in my tool kit!
There had been thunder and heavy rain overnight and intermittent rain before we left, and once we departed it set in again this time heavy and continuous. So we were thoroughly chilled and wet by the time we reached Lapworth, when of course the rain stopped. Made a pigs ear of the turning onto the Stratford Canal. Really you need to set it up before going through the bridge hole. Enough for today. Lit the fire to dry our clothes.
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