They say trouble comes in threes and the day started out well, a bright morning. We left in time for the locks at Camden to be open. No real problems. The fencing at Lock 2 makes it a nuisance for the single hander as a neat exit down the steps is practically impossible. It just means a slower and more tedious method. We were astounded by the increase in the number of permanently moored boats on the way to St Pancras Lock, and indeed in places thereafter.
Even if these are genuinely moving boats, they are clearly moving back and forth and they can never be moved away and reduced in numbers. What has happened in this short time to change the environment so since Canal and River Trust came into being? Effectively these are all housing units and look like they will increase in number to the point that the canal is blocked, unless radical action is taken. I have no idea what that radical action could be, but do Londoners want a sort of waterway shanti town to continue to develop. Some form of innovative affordable housing has to be thought of. We had no problems making our journey, but we were not expecting to stop en route. Arriving in Limehouse we moored temporarily to visit the harourmaster's office and then moved the boat. It was then that the alternator packed up. Well it stopped generating. This is the domestic generator which keeps all our services running, so we have 24 hours to get it sorted before the fridge runs into trouble. Frantic phone calls got an engineer on site from River Canal Rescue, but it means the alternator has to be sent away and our plans are now in the bin. We will not be able to leave on Sunday as planned. We have to get this sorted and so while here we have the potential benefit of shore power, but once gone we lose it. Coupled with that we have the issue of tides if we wish to continue the journey via the Thames. The days are shorter now and the tides limit departure and arrival times to daylight hours. If we do not leave on Sunday, Tuesday becomes the next likely departure date.
Post script: The issue of shore power at Limehouse is a bit fraught. One after the first 24 hours of free mooring on the "wall", a fee of £25 per night is payable to Canal & River Trust, but collected on its behalf by the British Waterways Marina Ltd (BWML)staff. There are no facilities there apart from an agreement allowing boaters to use the water point and pumpout on the marina pontoon. In view of our situation, the harbourmaster kindly allowed us to move to a vacant marina pontoon on Saturday for the sole purpose of charging our batteries up on shore power, then moving back to our original mooring.
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