Gloucester and Sharpness Canal

We had a lazy last morning in Gloucester.  We were eating up food in the refrigerator but just needed a load of bread to finish up our last two days of meals.  We walked around the marina shops and found an ethnic grocery store.  We picked a nice-looking loaf and one tomato and crossed our fingers they would be nice.

We had planned to eat lunch at the marina before pushing off.  We selected a café/pub and found a table.  We were warned that food takes 40 minutes to come out.  We accepted.  Our food arrived within 20 minutes, but I was not complaining.  When finished, we headed back to the boat and prepped for takeoff.

We embarked on our final voyage back to the home marina along the Gloucester and Sharpness canal.  It is an actual canal with a towpath but is extra wide and deep because it has commercial traffic off the River Severn.  There are no locks on the route but about five lift bridges operated by lock keepers.  The first and second bridge was no problem; the lock keeper started the process as we approached.  The third bridge was different, with no sign of a lock keeper in his little hut.  I called the phone number on the chart and got another bridge.  He said he would make some phone calls and get it open. Meanwhile, I was fighting a little breeze keeping the boat in mid-channel.  About 10 minutes later, a lockee arrived, and the bridge opened. 

The next bridge went smoothly, but the lockee asked us to travel slowly as he had to drive ahead and open the next bridge.  That worked fine, and we were in the home straight.  The last bridge is right at our turn.  The procedure is to go through the bridge and past the turn, turn around in the basin, head back towards the bridge, and make the turn.  The turn is too tight to make it from the other direction.  It was a light turn, and many people sat around enjoying the day to watch if I made the turn nicely.  I did, and just one last challenge.

We turned into the home marina.  I had called ahead to see if I could get fuel.  They said it was 3:55, and closed at 4, so it was too late.  I must moor up in our slip and go to the fuel dock the next day.  The challenge was that the slip was the last space, and we needed to back in so we could exit the boat more easily.  All this with no room to maneuver, and the locals would all be watching.  I nailed it.  30% skill, 70% luck.  Can I repeat it tomorrow?

We secured the boat and got the shore power figured out with Steve on the phone to assist.  The huge marina must be hundreds of narrowboats stored needly in boat slips.  We took a walk to explore what was available at the marina.

Merry did her usual miracle, making dinner single-handed.  No TV reception, so we played cards and had a glass of wine before bed.