On the move again

Jim and tw joined me to start off our boating season, by moving Eastwards to give the weather a chance to warm up a bit and for the River Avon to become a little more placid after the winter rains. Each time Jim and I have been in Bath, we have gone down to Pulteney Bridge to have a look at the state of the weir and we've seen the river comfortingly coming down a bit each time.

We rendezvoused at Avon Cliff Station around wednesday lunchtime and decided that lunch in the Cross Guns was a much better idea than starving on the cut.

Lunch over we decided it was too late to visit 'the pie shop' and about time we got moving. Which we did. But not too far just along to Bathwick and the George Inn where we moored on the 48 hour visitor moorings.

After lunch at the 'Cross Guns'

The three old men [for now, tw is an honourary member of this club, with impecable credentials since he, long ago, renounced lager and took on with enthusiasm what he used to regard as 'swamp water'. His 'honourary status' will be reviewed as tempus fugit'].

The three old men were not very impressed by 'The George' which had recently been gentrified and de-cluttered with a tasteful Farrow and Ball paint job with nowhere for simple drinkers to sit, cogitate, pontificate and laugh. [Some wonder at the demise of the English pub]. BTW if you want a decent and proper pub in Bath, go to 'The Bell' on Walcut Street, just down from 'the pie shop' all that a pub, and a 'pie shop', should be.

In the morning we were surprised by a knock on the roof with a CRT volunteer asking us for Cribbit's registration number 'because you have two different ones displayed on the license plates'. Some consternation at this as we have had the 'new' plates for well over a year...decided that I must have put one of them upside down, but even this did not resolve the problem into a consistent set so will need to replace them. This reminded us of tw's driving licence which had come back re-newed with two errors, see if you can spot them, he used to live in Weoley Castle.

An illegal document

Another illegal document

How is it that faults mysteriously appear when a boat has been left un-used and un-touched over the winter months? Like when the stern tube greaser spreads grease everywhere but in the stern tube. So our first little job of the morning was to repair this item. Tw soon had the offending pipe off and discovered that it had sheared off completely. Cj disappeared below decks and returned with a length of pipe, unfortunately this was gas pipe and not water pipe so could not be persuaded to fit. We didn't have any new olives of the right size either so had to try to rescue the original, always a trying job but achieved after much tapping, reeming and filing.

Js and cj trying to persuade the old olive to go back on the pipe.

Suddenly the idea of an early spring skake-down cruise before we ventured onto the swollen waters of the Avon seemed like a good idea.

Millbrook swing bridge 179

Cleared Dundas aqueduct but not much drive from the prop, diagnosed as low oil level in the gearbox so another unscheduled stop in perfect time for lunch.

Tw sent below again to top up the gearbox.

Tw not sure about the multi-use receptacle, us not sure about what it contained either.

Moored up close to Avoncliff aqueduct and then drove back to Bath to recover my car and pick up essential supplies [pies] for our supper. Alas there were no pies left when we got to the shop but we made very well do with an immense scotch egg, huge sausage roll and Mediterranean vegetable flan.

Then for a round of Piston broke beers from the Box Steam Brewery at the 'Cross Guns' before we headed back for our last night aboard.