Daventry

Here I am Rune

Distance 1.7 miles

Total 1661 Locks 81 Tunnels

Running total mileage 2302 miles

Our first movement of 2016 was a pretty short one but did incorporate Braunston Tunnel, which was the challenge that it always is. The tunnel itself is fine (a bit crooked, by hey ho) but you always seem to meet boats in it that try to make things more difficult than necessary. Today’s gems were first a boat who for some reason best known only to himself, didn’t switch on his tunnel light until he was halfway through the tunnel. I’m not sure what he was trying to prove but it certainly makes things confusing for other boaters. The problem is that in the darkness of a tunnel you can see the shape of a boat ahead in the profile of the tunnel exit. If you can’t see a white light then it is reasonable to assume that it is going away from you so is not a risk. When you get three parts of the way through the tunnel and suddenly this boat switches its tunnel light on you are left to decide whether it is a muppet who has just switched on their light or still a boat going the other way who is now shining a torch at you! Fortunately things happen fairly slowly on Narrow boats so you do have time to eventually work out what is happening. The offending boat however had a very badly set light and the closer it got to us the more I was being blinded by it until, at the point of meeting I really couldn’t see a thing and just relied on the fact that the back of the boat was close to the tunnel wall and hoped that the front was in the same place and we wouldn’t collide.

Having passed the first boat, and now having totally lost any night vision all I can see at first is the tunnel exit portal in the distance. After about 50 metres and night vision starting to restore I then see that there is a ring of light on the tunnel roof but cannot see any headlight approaching. As we get to within 50 metres it becomes clear that the following boat has got his tunnel light on but it is obscured by a large bag or something so that it cannot be seen from ahead. This was fine until we approach one another and the light then starts to appear around the side of this bag, and some light it was, pretty much a searchlight!  So for the second time within a couple of minutes I am totally blinded in the tunnel, we do however avoid a collision (not sure how!).

I didn’t think this tunnel business was supposed to be this difficult, aim tunnel light at roof and steer through avoiding oncoming boats, some people however seem to love to introduce complications!