Sunday, a short ride from Limehouse up the cut to St. Thomas Creek (since the towpath from Bow to Old Ford is currently inaccessible) then sneakily around the Backs and onto City Mill River towpath.
There was another scooter in the Limehouse cut. A pretty red one this time.
The towpaths through the Olympic Park aren't all open yet. But there were a few more to cycle around West Ham Island. So that's nice.
Sunday, one and a half hours.
Monday, a journey to Enfield to meet up with RE and move Jena to Bow Wharf.
Jena was proving recalcitrant. Her gauges had all been reconnected, so the rev counter and voltmeter were working fine. A fitter was there to replace her tiller bearing, but it turns out Jena's swans neck was welded to the tiller and couldn't be removed (without an angle grinder) to fit the new bearing. So the fitter just changed the filter on the black water tank's vent instead.
We set off. And as per usual, overheated within 10 minutes. Cue much swearing and letting off of steam and threatening to turn around and go back to the yard.
After some persuading, Jena let us move again.
We met up with CK at Stonebridge and had fun playing serious lock-keeper with the controls there. I took some photos of safety ladders as we headed down towards East Wick.
If you ever fall in the cut, you may be grateful for one of these and the railing or chain next to them to hold onto to pull yourself along.
We pumped out Jena at East Wick and filled up with water too. Then we headed for Bow Wharf, where we tied up alongside Sophie and headed home. One thing more I noted at Bow Wharf was the Vespa from below the Hertford Union Middle Lock, now drying out amongst the other rubbish pulled from that canal.
6 hours.
Tuesday we completed Jena's journey to Kings Cross for the St. Pancras Lock Open Weekend. We gave out some maps and goodies along the way to gongoozlers at the locks. Then I took Jena through Islington Tunnel, regarding this as a test of my skills after the RYA training.
I didn't hit the sides. 🏆
Then we did a 360 degree turn in the basin at Kings Cross, so we knew that could be done, and then test-moored Jena between the pontoon towpath and stop-lock, just to be sure we could.
Finally, we tied up at Camley Street garden, earning the ire of the supervisor there. Apparently no-one had informed them we'd be leaving our boat in those moorings, and we weren't entirely welcome. Having little choice we left this to be sorted out by phone.
4 hours.
In the evening I went to the 'induction'/briefing for volunteers for the St. Pancras Lock Open Weekend. There were a lot of people in a small room. But there was also pizza.
1 hour.
Do come to the open weekend.
If you're lucky then the £5 chunks of lock-gate wood won't have sold out by the time you get there (I want one!)
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