When we woke this morning it was dead calm, the wind sock at the chemical works hanging limp. We were due to lock out onto the Manchester Ship Canal at 11-20 this morning, By 11 the CRT chaps were there so we started the engine , untied and positioned ourselves in front of the partly open gate, it was like that when we arrived yesterday.
First they tried closing it which eventually happened, then they tried opening the other one, that didn’t work, so they reopened the first one just wide enough for us to get through.
Once in the lock the next job was to get the gate shut again, apparently one of the two battery powered power packs failed, once that was shut attention moved to the bottom end, the valves for the drain were opened and eventually the bottom gate started to open, there was a narrowboat the other side waiting to come in. I was happy for him to come in before we went out but the lock keeper
told him to wait and get out of our way. It had taken us ¾ hour to clear the lock
Its essential that you don’t cut the corner when leaving the lock, the bush on the far bank makes a good sight line. We slipped through the part open gate and past the chap treading water outside.
Eventually I turned left, I don’t think Diana thought I was going to go the right way and we headed towards Ellesmere Port.
It all started nice a calm but after a couple of miles the breeze picked up to about 20mph but it was still nice and warm. There are a couple of buildings on the island between the MSC and the river Mersey, I have no idea what they are.
We passed a large flock of very mixed geese swimming around, I suspect there are a lot of cross breeds there with domestic geese, there must have been 50 or 60 or them, they split both sides of the boat.
I think this is the dredger that was following us along the canal when we were going to the Weaver, the one that was moored here has disappeared.
I didn’t slow down and he didn’t shout at me. The chemical gas tanker was on the same berth as when we were last here, I don’t know if its been here all the time or is on a return trip.
I called Eastham Port Control just before we entered the section of canal through the Stalow Refinery as we passed the cliffs. They are fully grown trees on the top, not bushes.
One section of the bank between the canal and the river is just a row of piling with a walkway along the top.
On our way to the Weaver we followed a ship that was turning off to moor, today there was a different tanker in the berth.
It was now time to keep an eye out for the light house, this stands on the corner of the entrance to the Port, the entrance is between that and the block of apartments.
The entrance from the MSC is at right angles to the canal and doesn't look much, I wonder if any boaters miss it? The lock up to the Port is at right angles again, to the left and parallel with the MSC.
There are two people to man this lock, the CRT volunteer lock keeper to open and lock up the lock for us and a man from Cheshire Council to operate the swing bridge, in reality he also has a windlass and gives the CRT chap a hand.
There are then just two locks up through the museum, the top one has to be left full and they leave a top paddle up to ensure it doesn't drain. As we came up these locks a chap opened the gates for us and got chatting, he was waiting to transit to Manchester to support the “Fund Britain's Waterways” appeal, He kindly gave me a banner to display.
We continued on the Shropshire Union Canal until we found a spot a little further from the motorways.
Today’s Journey 10 miles with 4 locks in 3½ hours
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