Rode Heath

 

Here I am Rune

Distance 6.5 miles 

Total 5273 Locks  432 Tunnels

Running total mileage 7,966.8miles

 

Since we had to be up early for the 9.00am Harecastle Tunnel passage, we’ve made the most of the day and cleared just over half of ‘Heartbreak Hill’ locks (14 so far, 12 to go) as well as obviously getting through Harecastle Tunnel. Although we were on time for our passage, I did get a call from the tunnel keeper asking where we were at about 8.40am. The problem was were were behind a boat also heading to the tunnel but had a really slow tickover speed, so slow that all I could do was put into drive for short bursts then drift as I kept catching them up. In a wonderful gesture, when we got to the tunnel they said that we should go first as they were just ‘dawdling’. So we had a good passage through the tunnel at normal cruising speed taking about 38 minutes. Since I was already a quarter of a mile into the tunnel (7 minutes ahead) before the following boat entered it, I would guess that by the time I exited, they were between 15 and 20 minutes behind, they were just a little dot in the distance within the tunnel (tunnel light). The trouble with travelling slowly in a tunnel is that you then don’t have much steerage so the boat will be zig-zagging it’s way along.

Once out of the tunnel there was a quick ‘pit stop’ at the Lidl at Kidsgrove and then onward to tonights mooring. The only fly in the ointment was that the Elsan at Red Bull Services was closed, but we currently only have one full Thetford Cassette (out of three) so whilst it was inconvenient, it isn’t a disaster.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is rubbish, so we’ll have to see where we get, if anywhere.