Boatmove / Rumpus Fun Cruise May

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Tour 2001

Boatmove / Rumpus Fun Cruise May / June

3- Birmingham to Bodymoor Heath. Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. - Including Oozells Street Loop.

Wednesday 30th May 2001

Neil eventually moved from his pit by passing of lone boated nb Sparrowhawk starting down Farmers Bridge Flight. Neil had other ideas first! Shoved off at 06.35 and after clumsy wind in entrance to Cambrian Basin, retraced steps to Monument Basin, up Main Line, just passed social housing.
Decide to do this un-done basin and touch bow on far wall (06.50). Reversed out and preceded back into Brum, set up to go down Oozells St Loop (very angled entrance pointing towards Wolverhampton) - Start Loop at 07.04 and exit other end at 07.07. Arrive back at Farmers Bridge Top at 07.10 to find Linda in much better mood. She has set the first 7 locks and caught Mr Sparrowhawk having breaky in lock! 08.20 Farmers Bridge Bottom Lock, so no records here! . . . but lovely sunny morning, shorts weather right from the start.
08.35 Aston Junction and pulled over for first boat up that morning, Brum bound. Mr Sparrowhawk ambled down Aston in front of us, but we were not in record breaking mode. A lot of new gates on Aston Flight, since last Summer, no dry pound problems. Still in desperate need of dredging at bottom of Aston Flight (10.00)- and the B&F all the way to Minworth Bottom!! Got to Salford Junction at 10.20 and had no problem turning. B&F beyond still very stodgy and crept along to avoid dragging bank.
It was just down from junction that we met the happy Salford fisher folk. Neil now remembers a similar situation last year. They all seemed to come out of the same mould and be telepathically connected. There was wholesale agreement with them that we were apparently speeding and doing 5mph! Neil suggested to the last one that he was a pillock and that we back up and then we could show him on GPS that we were doing around 2mph. Did not have too much problem crap wise through Minworth Three Locks, but caught something below second lock. 10 minute removal jobby, to remove rather flailed anorak - Neil even had to resort to new bladed Stanley Knife.
Emerged into now suddenly deeper and crap free pound at 12.05. Arrived at the sad remains of Curdworth Top Lock at 12.45. New lock construction had started a couple of hundred feet upstream from the old, to gain height for the BNRR bridge. A new temp cut had been constructed around the new lock site and the perfect BCN cottage sadly flattened . Yet again this pleasant lock flight has been bu**ered by another bloody road. Tied up for night at 14.10 - (what only a half day???!!!) just below Lock 8 of Curdworth Flight. Fair amount of room, but Neil had anti-social plans.
While Linda had an afternoon snooze (must have been over 24 degrees C!) Neil got out angle grinder and arc welder. One of the front deck drain cover plates had been neatly ripped off (was bolted on) during either Spon Lane Exploits or by Linda's less than perfect turn into W&B, from N. Stratford. Neil found a bit of scrap plate and welded a patch over this side. First tacked on plate dropped off into and under boat, so found another. Eventually found this lost one with Sea Searcher and moving boat back a bit. Second one held up while Neil then managed a reasonable job, leaning over (non towpath side of course) and holding shield visor. This spectacle amused some of the other boaters, who came up to ask what was being done. Eventually cleaned up with angle grinder and the blacked. While black was out, Neil had a fair touch up round bow.
A well deserved shower and clean up followed. Dinner and pint tonight in the packed Dog in a Doublet pub. Still as good as last year- reasonably priced pub type food, well prepared, but a rather long (but warned of) wait. On form Bass.