Here I am Rune
Distance 14.4miles
Total 2118 Locks 90
Tunnels
Running total mileage 3026.7 miles
I think it would be fair to say that today did not go
exactly to plan. On the plus side, the
weather was exceptional and it is difficult to believe that this is now
September. On the down side however, the boat developed an electric fault. This
first manifested itself as the Inverc light on the control panel beginning to
flash. Tried to find out the cause but without success other than noting that
the alternator didn’t seem to be charging at all. We set off for Lechlade where
the nearest boatyard is located but, on arrival, it seem that they don’t do
repairs. They advised that the nearest boatyard for that was Oxford Cruisers at
Aynsham, 27 miles away. Since we were not charging this made the return to
Aynsham a bit imperative since, without charging, our batteries will only last
no more than 3 days. The original plan to moor in Lechlade was ditched and we
set off back down the Thames (after reaching the Limit of Navigation where the
old Thames & Severn canal went off). Having got back a couple of locks and
the crew then told me that we had no power at all, the lights weren’t working
and the water pump wouldn’t work. This made things a whole lot more urgent so
we filled a spare canister with water so we’d have something to drink and wash
in and set off on our way.
Whilst travelling I was considering our predicament and came
to the conclusion that the only way for all
of the power to be off had to be a fault with the battery isolation switch
since nothing else would so comprehensively shut everything down. At the next
lock I checked it and, sure enough, the switch had broken away and was no
longer connecting. Working on the principal that if you can’t fix something
with gaffer tape you haven’t used enough, I stuck the thing back together and,
for a while it worked, but then separated. This repair was repeated three times
and each occasion the spring loading in the switch caused the repair to
separate. The last occasion, when we moored up for the night is, at the moment,
still holding. We’ll see what happens tomorrow but however it works we need to
get to Oxford Cruisers to get a replacement switch.
As one other near miss today, we also got the closest to a
significant collision that we’ve ever had since travelling around on the boat.
This section of the Thames epitomises the work meander, and some of the corners
are extremely tight. On one such corner, as I approached, well on my side of
the river, the bow of another narrow boat appeared around the corner and
continued straight across the river on a direct collision course with us. I
even called out “We’re going to hit” to prepare the crew for impact, I don’t
know how, but we didn’t and missed the other boat by inches. Since his impact
on us would have been a direct ‘T-bone’ into our side I suspect that something
or other would have been bent or broken, but thankfully it didn’t happen.
Hoping for a better day’s cruising tomorrow!
 | |||||
| The Thames Limit of Navigation at 'The Round House' |
 |
| And having turned, looking back down the Thames towards Lechlade |
