Dry Dock

We're still here at Portland Basin Marina and today we moved into the dry dock. Normally we share the work blacking the boat between us by taking a side each, but this time Roger will be doing all the work. We'll be in the dock for two weeks so there's no rush and the work will fit in around my hospital visits.

This is the dock, it's covered and enclosed on two sides.

We were pulled in backwards by hand as using the engine to reverse in would have dragged in a load of mud and rubbish which ends up on the floor of the dock. This way very little flotsam found its way into the dock.

Once we were in position over the trestles the gravity drain was opened and the water emptied out in about 15 minutes.

While the final dregs of water were draining out, Roger started using the high pressure power washer to blast  all the loose blacking and other crap off the hull.

It's so long since we did any cruising that we had an underwater garden growing on the hull. 

The power washer quickly got rid of any weed and loose blacking and we were pleased to see that there is very little pitting in the steel plate.

Health and Safety is a big thing here at Portland Basin Marina and our walkway is extremely sturdy. Ever since we got stuck in the floods last year Chico's been very wary of walking down planks but he was quite happy walking on this. In fact he liked it so much I had to put the gate up to stop him wandering off to find Roger.

The planters have been taken off the roof so it can be painted and in the meantime we've lined them up alongside the dock. The tomatoes are growing well and have lots of flowers on them. Providing the slugs don't get to them while they're on the floor we should have a good crop this year. That's one major benefit of having a roof garden; the only pests we have problems with are caterpillars.

Vintage Cars

Portland Basin Museum is only a few hundred yards from where we're currently moored and today they had an exhibition of vintage cars.

Gardening Done

When we lived in the house I never bothered much with the garden. As long as the grass was cut and the perennial bushes were tidy that was enough for me. It's different here on the boat though and I really enjoy our roof garden. I know it's not very big but I always manage to grow plenty of cherry tomatoes.  This year, as well as the 3 trailing tomato plants, I've also potted up marigolds for instant colour and geraniums and lobelia which should flower in about a month. I planted the herbs and lavender when we first moved onto the boat and are still growing well 3 years later.

Roger screws the planters together in pairs which serves two purposes. Firstly they are more stable and don't blow over in strong winds and secondly they are more difficult to steal.  This had happened to a boat we met at Marple the other week. We bought the bedding plants and tomatoes from Asda. They have some really good deals on at the moment and all these plants only cost £16.

Baking Day

I thought I'd better post a blog just to prove I'm still alive and kicking.

We're still moored in Portland Basin Marina and the sun's been shining all day. I haven't got anything interesting to write about but thought I'd share a photo of today's baking session.

We'll have the barm cakes with home-made burgers tomorrow. If the sun's still shining we might even break out the BBQ.

Portland Basin

It's been a while since I've written my blog. The last dose of chemo really hit me hard so we've not done much cruising. We spent 10 days in Bugsworth Basin and bumped into quite a few friends while we were there. At one point two boats we'd built turned up, Asphodel and Dawn Owl, and it was nice catching up with their owners.

We spent the Bank Holiday weekend at Lyme Green and then made our way up the Macc. again, back to Maple where we spent a very wet and windy night before coming down the locks on Friday morning. I drove and Roger worked the locks. The rain was quite heavy at times but even in the miserable weather it's one of my favourite flights of locks. It's just so pretty.

We passed three boats coming up the locks. They were helped by three volunteer lockies which was a good thing as the pounds between the last 4 locks were very low.

Before we descended lock 2 I let Chico off for a wee but he slipped as he jumped to get back on board and fell in. Lock 2 leaks so much that by the time I'd grabbed his harness and yanked him out the level had dropped by more than a foot.  He spent the rest of the journey huddled under his towel.

We're now moored at Portland Basin Marina and will be here for a few weeks as Roger has a couple of jobs to do in the area. As usual, we were made extremely welcome by "the Management". We've known Guy and Sandra for years, he's a Boat Safety Scheme examiner and she runs the chandlery etc.

First locks of the year

Yesterday we had a day out, driving into Manchester to help our friend David bring his boat up the Rochdale 9. The weather could have been better but we had a good time none the less.

I know it's very built up and there's always quite a bit of rubbish in the water, but I really like this section of canal. There's always lots to see and always something new each time we pass this way. I particularly like the way it keeps disappearing underneath the tall buildings but I wish these tunnels didn't smell so bad.

This reed shelf looked new

A clever Canada Goose had built her nest in a very secure spot, about 6 feet above the canal and in direct view of a CCTV camera.

So what do two men do when they've not seen each other for months?  Stand around gossiping, leaving me to hover in mid channel until they notice that the lock is empty. Every lock was set against us and by the time we got to the top both men were starting to ache. Perhaps the Rochale 9 aren't the best ones to do as first locks of the year.

I really enjoyed steering Wye Knot. It's been a long time since I drove a 57ft boat and it was much easier getting the shorter boat onto the landing stage in Canal Street than it is in our 65 footer.

We'll be here for a while

Our cruising plans have had to be altered again as my next chemo session has been brought forward 4 days. We'd planned on leaving Bugsworth after the clinic today as our 48 hours was up, but when Roger explained the circumstances to the "harbour master" they've given us a permit to stay a while longer. The last few times we've visited, every boat was recorded as it arrived and then "reminded" to leave after the 48 hours was up.  Quite often if you mentioned Bugsworth Basin to other boaters they'd say how unwelcome they'd been made to feel. It certainly seems to be a lot more relaxed and welcoming now.