Heckle and Jeckle

I've mentionned that this summit canal and locks are closely controlled by the British waterways guys due to the shortage of water at the summit. Etiquette and the Rules of the Road (plus common sense) dictate that to conserve water you move two boats with each lock-full if at all possible and this tends to mean that you pair up with another boat and go up or down together.

As two boats were booked out of Sowerby Bridge on the same day, and both due to cross the summit on the same day, this made it inevitable that we were "stuck with" the other boat for at least 3 and a half days. Needless to say you want these to be "nice" people or it can ruin a holiday. We were lucky then to be paired up with a couple from Leeds with whom we could get on (ish).

Ish? She was an absolute diamond, ex vet, now accountant, rescue dog owner and a demon around the lock-wrangling. He was just a tad less "easy" - a bit of an un-reconstructed old boy with a high, nasal Leeds voice that had you reminded of George Formby and who our lot were soon making sly comments about Ukulele players.

Totally useless domestically, apparently (we blame the parents) and given to expressions like "t'Dragon" (every time he was talking about "t'wife", and while totally glued to the back deck and his tiller, very generous with his advice on what she should do differently, an all round "expert" on everything. We were all waiting for a proper "domestic" to break out, but it never did.

These two were secretly named "Heckle and Jeckle" and the name stuck.

Deefer

Deefer's Log 3 Sept 2007

3rd September 2007

Did I mention yesterday that this holiday was not only "us" but also the Silverwood family - Mum's sis' (Mrs Silverwood), and her hubby Em, plus the 2 girls Em-J (9) and J-M (7) plus Baby-M (18 months). That was the need for the 56 foot, 8/10 berth "Northumberland" we chose.

We were in for an early start as Dad wanted to get clean round the M25 and out onto the M11 Northbound before the traffic. 04:00 alarms for all, and all the packing done the night before. Anxious times for Haggis, who is convinced, as soon as he sees packing happening, that he is to be deserted. Never has been, but that's not good enough reason, as far as he's concerned.

A long ol' drive North, but Mum and Dad share the driving and we get let out for a scamper about at a Motorway services / rabbit sanctuary up on the A1(M). We get to Sowerby Bridge in good time - we can't join the boat till 2pm - and the Silverwoods are there before us (they've only come across from Morecambe this morning). So there's plenty of time for a walk round the town, a chip buttie and a pint of Thwaite's (we are in Yorkshire after all!)

Then starts the serious stuff. They don't just stick you in the boat these days and off you go. There was a training book and a DVD to read/see before you arrived, you had to sign loads of stuff allocating jobs etc, and there was a 3 hour training / familiarisation session where the humans were shown round the boat (engine, gas, electrics, safety etc etc) and the talked through and shown steering and locks.

When jobs were being given out, Mum knew you had to allocate a Skipper. I volunteered but Mum said it had to be a human, and everybody else ducked quicker than Dad, so there he was (my Hero!). Em and Em-J became "Lock-wranglers", Mrs S was Bosun and Mum opted for Galley-slave and Baby-M wrangler.

More tomorrow - but my pics today are of.....

1) A rather smart one of me and J-M's stripey tights

2) We three dogs on the first day (still on leads- that wasn't to last!) looking over the edge from the aft deck in fascinated horror at the maelstrom of water filling the lock when the gate paddles are opened!

3) Tuel Tunnel in Sowerby Bridge, leading to the bottom of the Tuel lock, the tallest in England. It was made when the canal was brought back into service for the likes of us - it had been locks 3 and 4 but when the canal fell into dis-use, some perisher built a road over lock 3, so now they have to get all the rise from the original 2 into 1 lock - so it raises you 20 feet!

More tomorrow

Deefs