Today

[250dtt]

Well,
For the first time this year we have some Thames water reaches WITHOUT red boards.......So I hope all you wannabee boaters are going down to the river today and have a trip out.
Yes I know it is in the middle of winter.
YesI know there is a light coating of snow
Yes I do have some warm clothes and gloves
It's been a long time...............
Dave

[consumedbynature]

Just had our first trip of the year on the River Avon in Worcestershire yesterday. It was cold but I was just glad to get a day out between floods

It's good for the soul

[admin]

Mad!
Completely barking....

Its freezing here - today the Solent coast guard have a "in the water" survival rate of 10 mins (without survival suit)

Not sure a bobble hat and scarf will suffice. but enjoy boys...

[250dtt]

Mad!
Completely barking....
Its freezing here - today the Solent coast guard have a "in the water" survival rate of 10 mins (without survival suit)
url=http://yoursmiles.org/t-cold.php][/url]

Sue,
I'm sorry that you mis-understood me...........I was talking about staying in the boat......... not going skinny-dipping

Anyway we got to the boat, it seems strange stepping down onto the deck compared with stepping up three feet or so as we have had to do for the last couple of months!! We started the motor (first time...as any 2-stroke will do (Dave in G??). While it was warming up we swept the little layer of snow off and defrosted the windscreen. Cast off, reverse out and away we go...............................

Well....... all I can say is that most of you must be sunny-day boaters....loads of fishermen, ducks, geese, swans, herons etc etc but guess what???
not a single other powered craft to be seen.
Plenty of waterboatmen (and waterboatwomen) down the uni-straights and, looking at them, it could not have been that cold as we must have seen a dozen or so female crews in Lycra with NO GLOVES.....maybe the guys were wearing gloves but we did not notice............
On we go and I assume the EA have been doing some work on the river as there has been a fair amount of tree lopping done. The bankside also seemed cleaner/clearer but that could be down to the recent flooding and I suppose all that clutter and rubbish is probably now down at Marlow or Teddington
Iffley lock is still closed (until March).Unfortunately this meant we could go no further so we were left with no choice but to call in to the Isis pub and sample a beer or two. It amazes me that in this day and age with 40 pubs closing a week how the Isis is nearly full, in the middle of winter on a freezing cold day, a pub that has NO roadway to it only a river (with NO boaters) and towpath!!
After forcing down a couple or three beers the time came to take the 4+2 back home and get her ready for bed. The fishermen have gone home, the waterboatwomen are still going strong.....back to Osney...moor up ( it used to be' park-up' until I learned these fancy nautical terms).
The end of another almost perfect day..............
Dave

[stanfolds]

Late last year I changed my mooring to a finger mooring on my side of the river. I no longer have to launch and scull a 6 foot dinghy across a busy river and climb aboard my boat, difficult and dangerous at my age and with my mobility problems.

So far this year I have had 4 trips on the river, often seeing only a handfull of other boats on the move and it has been great. The new mooring costs more than twice that of the old one but has proved to be worth every penney.

Stan