A slowday on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

When I came to look at my shots for back blipping I was astounded to find I had only two shots for the day. A blurred shot os a Black Headed Gull and this one. Why!!! Then I looked at clickychicks blip which explained it.

Soon after we started cruising Chippy who had the tiller lost steerage. We managed to make it to the tow path. The n Chippy and I spend quite a lot of time with our arms full length down the weed hatch (remember we had been ice breaking only a day or so ago). We found a large amount of very tough polythene sheet wrapped round the propeller.

The problem wasn't solved! It was a good job we have membership of the waterways equivalent to the AA/RAC (other recovery services are available). The situation was complicated by the fact that Fredah was with us and at 85 feels the cold easily and at that point we ran out of gas. No heating no hot drinks. What to do? Well we realised that with the engineer unable to get to us to start finding what the problem was until 1:30 we were unlikely to be able to make it to Stone Boat Builders the next places selling Calor. CC rang Stone Boat Builders to check closing times etc and hearing of our predicament they volunteered to deliver the gas to the nearest bridge. What heroes! So Chippy and I carried the cylinders the 4 or 5 hundred yards down to the boat and at least we could have hot drinks and keep warm.

The engineer arrived early and identified the problem as lose of fluid from the hydraulic drive. It was decided the strain of the poly sheet round the prop had caused a weak seal to give way. The seal was replaced the fluid pumped out of the bund under the engine and we were on our way by soon after 3:00.

So the reason I had so few shots became clear I had been too busy and we hadn't moved far for me to see much to photo.

Back blipped into the period when I was a guest my blipping started 17.12.13