Coil From the Fixed End

We arrived at Henley-on-Thames to find last week’s crew smiling like the cat that stole the cream. It took them some time to load all the trophies into a car where they took up most of the back seat – Best Working Boat, Best Steam Plant, Best in Show! Live up to that!

The Thames Traditional Boat Show looks a cracking event. It features a huge variety of craft including, for example, several of the little ships which went to Dunkirk. The whole lively atmosphere was a refreshing change from the ‘Boat Sales Events’ which seem to predominate elsewhere.

The price of beer at the local hostelry brought us down to earth - £3.50 a pint! Not much time for socialising though as our schedule called for nine hours twenty minutes ‘on the move’ every day to get the boats to Braunston by Friday night. So early Monday morning found us turning and doing a final ‘run past’ the show site and on up the Thames towards the wilds of Reading.

What a contrast with the River Nene! The Thames is a lazy man’s river; all locks are mechanically operated and have lock-keepers in attendance for long hours. It is also, per force, a sociable river with lots of traffic and the need to share locks with a wide variety of other craft; many of them a shade wary of “President”. The main skill required from the crew is rope handling. Don’t forget – coil from the fixed end (this really works). A wide deep channel allowed “President” and “Kildare” to travel breasted up and at a respectable pace.

Rather to my surprise the Thames has long ‘country’ stretches with only the air traffic to remind you how close you are to London. Not quite the remoteness of the nowhither Nene but still plenty of room for wildlife. For example kingfishers seem abundant.

With on board catering in the capable hands of Penny Clover and Harry Stoopman we ate well and did not need to re-provision until Abingdon. By then we had passed the entrance to the Kennet and Avon canal; which seemed to call us towards Bristol and the “Great Britain”. Also the iron footbridge bearing mute testimony to the nolong defunct Wilts and Berks canal; however all is not lost as it is the subject of an ambitious restoration scheme.

At Oxford Captain David Speer had chosen to travel through the town rather than along the Duke’s cut. Problems at a sharp turn within the city provided a warning of shallower waters to come but we soon reached the unassuming “Waterman’s Arms” provided excellent food on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday morning we said goodbye to the Thames and set off up a very different waterway. The Oxford canal near that city is very much a linear boat park. Ideal for the boat spotter, no doubt, with a wide variety of craft both new and old; mainly old. For those with a timetable to keep it represents something of a frustration, I never thought I would wish for the sort of massive marina that ‘adorns’ the Grand Union.
Beyond Oxford its latest bypass features a multiplicity of bridges over canal and rail. Thereafter the Oxford is little altered from when I first travelled it in 1970. The typical lift bridges are still attractive to the eye but a challenge to the helmsman. Many of them are best held in place by sitting on the balance beam; a location affording a ‘different’ view of our boats as they progressed steadily north. The Oxford’s narrow locks demanded much more crew effort; providing healthy exercise for the likes of Dave Trencher.  They kept us busy as we travelled through timeless countryside and historic villages.

Bow hauling through the flights of locks meant that we all spent some time on the towpath. Over-bridges proved a major challenge. “President” stuck on several occasions and it was necessary to feel for unobstructed deep(ish) water. Away from these delays we progressed at about our planned pace but it gradually became clear that Braunston on Friday night was ‘a bridge too far’. In the event we got as far as Napton-on-the-Hill by twilight on Friday leaving a half day trip to Braunston on the Saturday morning.
Just in case we thought the week was over Driver Andy Holbrook supervised a tube cleaning exercise. Not an exercise for the faint hearted! Think cleaning the teeth of a fire-breathing dragon which has not seen a dentist for some centuries. The quantity of soot removed was prodigious.
Then on Sunday we abandoned “Kildare” to take “President” on a tour of the locality which seemed well appreciated by the numerous spectators. Leaving only a full rocking blow-down and general tidy round to complete the week and leave the boats ready for the next crew.

Chris Smyth