Saturday 18 August 2012 Aldreth

Last night we moored behind Holt Island. We didn’t have a bad night but we did have people talking until very late outside the boat. This morning a local boat we know came up and was surprised that we spent the night there.

After topping the water tank up, well we were moored by (not on) the water point it seamed silly not to and then reversed back out of the arm onto the main river. At the junction with the river a rower had capsized and was trying to get her boat back across to the boat house. I find it surprising that these clubs don’t have a rescue boat on the water when rowers are out, all sailing clubs I know do. Once we were clear of her and she had safely made her way back to the club house we headed upstream to Hemingford lock before winding to come back down stream.

Below St Ives Lock we passed the Rush gatherers three punts moored to the bank where their Landrover had been parked on Friday.
We were going to stop for lunch at Holywell but there were three cruisers already there and the only space was at the shallow end so we continued on to The Pike and Eel, where we actually managed to get onto the pub moorings, even if there were a couple of boats circling to see if we would get in. We had a very enjoyable lunch sharing a sea food platter for two and a couple of pints of Black Sheep bitter. We then carried on to Brownhills Lock where there were about 8 oldish teenagers jumping off the structure into the tail of the lock and also the discharge from the staunch, about the most dangerous spot on the river with wicked currents. They all climbed out as we were about to leave the lock but as I went forward one jumped in right beside out bow. I stopped and he started to climb out up our bow onto the deck, he only left when I was half way down the gunwale to discuss the matter with him.
I had intended to tell the locky at Hermitage but when we got there he was nowhere to be seen, he was on a Black Prince Narrowboat in the lock as they were topping up their water tank. By now there was a cruiser behind us so when the BP boat came out I went right in to the end of the lock leaving the cruiser at the back by the locky and it went right out of my mind. 
We carried on along the Old West to the GOBA moorings at Aldretch which were not full but tight due to the way some people had moored, luckily a Narrowboat was moored right at the end by the rough grass and we could get in behind him, the cruisers where spread out along the mown section two together at one end and the other right in the middle of the remainder so even another cruiser couldn’t get in.'