Friday 3rd June
It’s been a bit hectic today. Well, things started off ok, we had booked to go up the Tuel Lane locks at 1 pm so in the morning Ken changed the oil and I did a bit of much needed cleaning on the outside of the boat. Then we all sat round having a cup of tea and chatting to passers by. At 11am we decided to head for Tuel Lane.
We arrived at about 12pm and we were then going to pop into The Moorings for a quick one while we were waiting when I heard that the lock keeper was already at the top lock. I went off to find him to see what was happening. I spoke to a lady who was waiting to come down the locks and she said they were booked for 12-30pm but as the lock was already down we would be coming up first. She didn’t know if we would be brought forward to 12-30pm or not. She also said the lock keeper was having his lunch.
On the way back I spotted the lock keeper coming out of his little hut so I asked him what was happening. He said the boats waiting to come up would be going first, ie. now. He had no idea there were 3 of us waiting (there was a boat called Narrow Escape which had been moored up near us last night, also booked for 1pm, now moored in front of us) and couldn’t decide who to send up first. Because B and B and we were together he really wanted Narrow Escape to wait until later and come up with another boat and us 2 to go up now. I pointed out that he had booked before us (we had established this the day before) and may not want to wait until 3pm but we (Ken and I) didn’t mind waiting. In the end the lock keeper said he wanted us to go up with this chap, because we were moored up behind him and he would let B and B go up after the ones that were waiting at the top had come down about 1pm.
So it was all a bit complicated but we got underway. We had the 2 locks to do before the tunnel so I and Mrs Narrow Escape went off to get the first one ready. We thought that as the lock keeper was there he would have unlocked them but he hadn’t and neither of us had our anti-vandal keys with us. So she went off to get hers and her husband, now being in the middle of the pound, threw her key to her. Unfortunately he threw it too hard and it flew past her and down the bank! She scrabbled about for a while looking for it but to no avail. By this time the lock keeper had appeared and I got him to unlock the lock.
With the boats finally in the lock we were further held up by the fact that we couldn’t shut one of the gates. After some pushing and pulling and prodding about under the water with a pole it was obvious a rake was required so the lock keeper went off to get one. He laid on the back of our boat and Ken had to go backwards and forwards until he located the blockage. During this time our engine stalled – there was something round the prop! The lock keeper extracted a large lump of wood from between the gates and we pulled our boat back in to the lock and shut the gates. Ken then went down the weedhatch. While he was doing that the lock keeper also got out the concrete block which was stopping the other gate from opening properly which had been in there a week.
So what was round our prop then? Well it was a black boiler suit, but not just any black boiler suit, oh no, it had a logo on it. A British Waterway’s logo! And it belonged to the lock keeper who was with us at the time, he had lost it last week! I got photographic evidence and he was really embarrassed!
After all this titting about we finally made it through the tunnel and out of the top lock at 1-30pm. We then carried on to Mytholmroyd where the next lock is. This is another subsided one and only for single boats so I helped Mrs Narrow Escape to get their boat up and then we went up and moored up to wait for B and B. When they finally arrived they moored up as well. It is a lovely spot but being between 2 locks does suffer a bit from fluctuating water levels.
We were sitting outside having a drink when a cruiser came along and the chap went and set the lock then came up to us. We thought he was just coming for a chat but instead he asked us why we were moored up where we were. We said why not and he had a go at us for being continuous cruisers. We pointed out we weren’t and asked if we were in his way and he said we weren’t and walked off sticking his fingers up at us! Mad! Later on we met a couple on a hire boat who had had trouble with him earlier in the day. So it wasn’t just us he took exception to.
Later on all Hell broke loose as the hire boats which had come out of Sowerby Bridge that afternoon reached the lock. There were 4 in all and as it is a single lock and the first one they had all done on their own it all took some time. After the first two Barbara decided to help out with the third one. By this time the pound had gone down quite a bit and we were sitting at a jaunty angle.
When the last hire boat arrived, with 8 girls on and we decided to ask them to wait while Barbara to let some water down from the next lock. They moored to the BW barge which was (not very helpfully) moored in the lock approach but someone didn’t tie the back up very well and they ended up at right angles across the canal. Then they couldn’t start their engine and were grounded. I got Ken who pulled the boat off and they eventually got into the lock. Barbara let some water down and they were off.
We then helped them through the next lock and let the water down so we re-floated. By this time it was gone 8pm and Barbara was missing Eastender’s! It was a lovely warm evening so Ken and I continued to sit outside as we don’t very often get the chance because it’s normally too chilly. Wonder if tomorrow will be as hectic!
