Monday 30 October 2006

Narrowboating...

The weekend before last saw seven of us spend a long weekend afloat a narrowboat...

It's a very tranquil experience, apart from the odd grumpy fisherman, forced to move their rod out of the way while you pass, and make a fuss about it. Sorry, but I didn't realise the canals were solely built for fishing in! :[]
You also drift by the generic boat owners, who habitually shout at you, "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SLOW DOWN PAST MOORED BOATS, MORON!", regardless of how slow you actually go by.


This was our vessel: A 67 foot canal boat, 8 beds, 2 bathrooms and even a TV and stereo. (Although I had to fix the stereo)

Inside the craft. The kitchen and dining area with the seat on the right becoming my bed of an evening.
Despite the length, there's not much girth, (yes, I know, fnar, fnar) so you're always up close and personal with your fellow shipmates, so not a lot goes by unheard or unfelt...

Andy, Duncs, Mart, Luke and Amy at the helm.
I love to climb around the sides of the boat and lie on the roof!


The British weather showed us a good performance too. A short, but sharp shower came over when Martin was at the tiller, so he got a tad damp, shall we say.. UNLUCKY!!!

More extreme cow torching... Cow figurehead! Mooooooo

Aww, don't 13 year old children* look sweet when they're asleep?
I dunno actually... Do they?
LOL

The weekend's slight technical hitch: Come on now, the weekend wouldn't have been complete without one now would it!
Somehow, a large piece of fencing wire got wrapped around the propeller, so Andy and Mart tried to get it out, but the use of our junior hacksaw and pliers were futile, so we called an engineer out, put our feet up and cracked open the beers. Problem solved!

My big sis (age, not physical size) enjoying a cup of cha.

I was messing around with the built-in effects on my camera and took this beauty, which resulted in Duncs looking very much like Wilfred from the Beano's Bash Street Kids! :)

An exciting part of our chosen route, was the trip through Wast Hill Tunnel, which takes quite a while to get through as it's an impressive 2.5km / 1.5 miles long!

The whole trip took about as long as this shutter speed I think!

Daylight at the other end! I had begun to forget what it looked like.

...and smile for the camera Luke...

Monday morning was an early start, *cough* 8:30am, as we needed to get the boat back. The sunrise and morning mist was very scenic indeed.


[* Oops, sorry, I get told off if I address her as a child, now she's a rational, mature acting teenager of course, LOL]


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Thinking it was a good idea to introduce some of my new chilli puree to the chicken stir-fry I was making for tea, just to pep it up a bit like, but I seriously underestimated the power of the humble chilli, as I had to give up half-way through eating it, due to excessive nose running and involuntary removal of all taste buds.
I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning's re-entry sequence :-o

Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 5/10

Today's Top-Tip: McDonalds - Make all of your packaging materials green in colour so they blend in with the countryside after they've been thrown out of chav car windows.

16 comments:

kat said...

Oh a real Rosy and Jim boat. :-)
Sounds like you had a good time.
Wonderful photographs!

Kayla said...

Ooooh..this wouldn't do if one was claustrophobic, would it?
No secrets kept here.
I'll bet going through the tunnel was kind of scary, just for the sheer darkness and slow travel time, eh?
How fast do these boats normally go?
I can hear the "moron" shouts now!
When my poor sister drives her car, she gets honked at regularly!
Quite embarrasing to be her passenger, really
Love all the photos, my DoGGa
;-)

Anonymous said...

This looks like sooooo much fun! I’ve thought about renting a narrow boat once, but no one was willing to come along. They all said it was too much like being stuck in a small caravan with too many people. Damn, my friends are a boring bunch at times ;) At least you’ve a group of fun loving people around you. Nice to see you had a good time :) I love the pictures. Thanks for sharing, {{DoGGa}}

McD should make their packaging green and biodegradable :)

karen said...

Noooooooooooo! I forgot to take my cow torch to Greece! I had big plans for a photo shoot at the Acropolis. I'm an idiot. 2-0 to Dogga so far :(
Beeeeeooootiful photos as always, especially that last one. Wish I could have gone xx

Anonymous said...

So...

was there an ass-plosion?

Sorry, did I cross the line there?

Anyway, in regards to McDonalds... It should just go away. The thought of eating it, nauseates me.

Anonymous said...

Great Blog! Good summary of hol!

Fab McDonalds tip!!

Anonymous said...

a brill hol!!

Purple Donkeys said...

YET ANOTHER trip away! I do do hate you! And doesn't Amy look so sweet sleepin! She must at some time i guess HAHA!Will catch up soon! kiss kiss

LindzyPinzy said...

it looks so peaceful We will def. have to do that when come travel over your end..can't wait!

nice photos:)

Anonymous said...

lol@re-entry. chili peppers oh dear, burn baby burn. and i personally prefer girth to length but u already know that :-X

Anonymous said...

What? No-one dressed up as a pirate?

Anonymous said...

I love canal boats...you can't help but relax!

The general rule of thumb as I remember is that if you are creating a bow wave - you're going too fast!

Phil said...

Kat:
Shame the boat wasn't called 'Ragdoll' really! LOL

Kayla:
Can get a little claustrophobic yeah, but it's all good! The tunnel was a little scary at first, as the boat only does about 3 to 4 mph, so it goes knowhere fast... Sorry to hear about your sister! LOL :]

Dakota:
Aww, Canalbaots are really nice, you'll have to show your friends my post and convince them... There was a spare place & bed on the boat this time too Dakota! ;-)

Kees:
Hahaha, DoGGboy is in the lead 2-0!!! Would have been rocking to have taken it, but it would have had to of gone in your hand luggage! Shame you couldn't make it X

Sarah:
LOL, no, no ass-plosion, I got off lightly... Nice play on words there though Sarah!
I very rarely eat it and when I do I regret it! :[]

Big Sis:
Glad you approve Numbah 1! :o)

Niece:
Twas good ya!

Patch Bitch:
ANOTHER trip ayeee... She's very rarely sweet nowadays... mouch, mouch :x

Lindzy:
It's worth a go, if conly for a couple of days. It is very peaceful.
Glad you like the piccies! ;]

Boo:
I now use with caution! :]
LOL I'm glad you've divulged in your narrwobaot preference there Boo, but I thought as much yes! :X
So gald ur back u know...

Hutters:
Now that would have been funny, especially when boat owner let rip! :]

Angela:
Correct, you're a dab hand on the canals I can tell! :]

Anonymous said...

Oh great - Now you tell me! ;)

Kayla said...

Hey up Dogga!
:-)

Phil said...

Dakota:
Well... You will live so far away! :]

Kayla:
Evening Kay!