A four and a half hour lock! 18 Jun 2018

Monday 18th June 2018
GOBA moorings, Bottisham to Jesus Lock, Cambridge
6.75 miles, 1 lock

We were off relatively early thankful that the wind had died down and only three layers were required (the layers today went from three to two to one!).  All went swimmingly well for all of half an hour until we arrived at Baits Bite lock at 09:35.

On our way there we passed the public moorings at Clayhythe

and the GOBA moorings at Baits Bite

both of which are probably better bets than where we stopped.

However we were safe where we were and it was certainly quiet.

When I first saw this building I thought it must be The Bridge Hotel, Clayhithe

but no - I have no idea what it is, but those gables and chimneys have to be admired

The Bridge Hotel is a Chef and Brewer Pub and not anywhere near so grand

The Cam Conservancey Depot is also in Clayhithe

At Clayhithe the river suddenly narrows and becomes much prettier with lower banks

It became impossible to leave the back deck in case I missed anything!

There were houses to admire and possibly envy

Some with gardens so long (albeit narrow) you can barely see the house from the river

At 09:35 we arrived at Baits Bite lock

I hopped off the bow, secured the boat with the middle rope which I passed back to Chris.  With my Nav Key (the Environment Agency equivalent of a British Waterways Key) to work the lock.  It was against us, so the first job was to lower the top gate.  Job done I went to the vee gates at the other end.  The instructions were 'push the open slackers button once'.  I did - nothing happened.  I tried a couple more times with the same result.  I went back to the boat - we moored her up and Chris came and had a couple of goes to no avail.  The level was dropping very, very slowly due to a leak through the gates.

A phone call was made to the Cam Conservancy.  'Oh yes', said a cheerful lady 'we know there is a bit of a problem - it is very slow, but be patient, it will empty eventually, she assured us.  The sun was shining, so we sat on the bench and admired the views.

After half an hour when the lock had gone down maybe 4 inches we were about to call them back when the cavalry arrived - the Cam Conservators were on the case

Two men arrived and were soon peering down holes to see what was going on (or wasn't as the case might have been)

The verdict - a pipe to the slackers (paddles) had broken and there was no hydraulic oil, so it was kaput!  Could they fix it?  Well maybe today, but it might be tomorrow.  A boat waiting above the lock was worried about lack of supplies - we assured them we had spare if things became dire.

The men went off to get some spares, came back, had a very quick lunch before they got too oily and then they got down to the serious work.  There was a bit of head scratching, but they worked out a temporary repair and at around 2pm we got the word that the lock was ready for us.

So what did we do whilst we waited?  First we booked a marina and a car hire for a trip home in July.  Then it was a phone call to our surgery to book blood tests and finally a call to the vet to confirm Monty's appointment for his annual jabs.  I then took Monty back along the river for a walk.  I was able to get a better photo of a steam powered launch we had passed on the way to the lock

 

 

We also found that the wonderful house we passed earlier had some new visitors - Mum, Dad and

and their little ones

On our way back I stopped to talk to a man sitting in the sun with artists pad and crayons.  This was his subject

and this his work in progress - he saw colours in that tree that I would never have spotted.  Thank you Richard Kimber for allowing me to take a photo of your work. 

So back to the boat and time to go - there were two of us waiting to go up

There was still some tlc and tweaks required, but we made it through

and the two waiting above the lock would be able to proceed to freedom and, in one case, much needed shops

We were through and on our way under the A14

With nb Meredith following

Now this is where the Cam is possibly unique - you suddenly get signs telling you to keep left (the norm is to keep right).  It is only a short section, but the instructions are that those going upstream (that would be us this time) had priority to cross over

There were so many houses and boats to photo that the camera was working overtime - too many to share.  Sufficient to say this part of the river is just a visual feast and definitely worth visiting.

I guess we would have been disappointed not to see some rowers

including this crew 

from the

Then as you run into Cambridge there is rowing club

after rowing club

after rowing club - they just go on and on .......

Most are Cambridge University clubs with their coats of arms proudly displayed

In this case (for our absent friends on nb Cleddau) Pembroke College

Some even tell you which college they are

There seemed to be miles of them, but we did eventually arrive at Jesus lock, with its very attractive lock gates, which is the end of navigation from April to October - narrow boats and punts do not make for a good mix!

There were a couple of mooring options - either in front of the yellow boat or in where we ended up (above).  The first option had some nasty bolts sticking out of the wall, so we winded and reversed back.  Well that was the plan until the engine cut out.  The boat in front of us above had a crew of young men, but also a visiting engineer with a tray of tools. The engineer went down to the engine room with two of the crew looking on

The rest of the crew leaped off to be ready to take ropes - one stern, one mid rope and one at the bow and we were soon safely moored up

Chris went down the weed hatch and eventually - bingo - one single bed sized dog blanket!

It is no wonder the engine gave up!  Monty doesn't look too impressed either!

The visiting engineer kindly came along to ask if we were okay before he left with the news that the boat in front of us had a serious problem and would have to be towed to whether it was they came from.

A lot later than we expected we headed off for a quick look round and there just above the lock were some punts

If you walk back along the road behind us and cross over there is a reasonable sized Co op.

Then we went across to the other side of the river to a very large patch of grass (Jesus Green) - some well deserved Monty heaven

That was enough for one day.