Just a Quick Stop in Reading…The Day Our Plans Came to a Grinding Halt

After an amazing thunder and lightning show throughout most of the night, we woke to rain (of course), although I really wanted to believe the weather app, which claimed that it would be a dry, somewhat sunny day.

We left Sonning at 10:15, aiming to get as close as we could to Goring, as we heard it was so pretty and had lovely moorings. We also had friends coming from north of Oxford who would join us as soon as we stopped somewhere. We just needed to let them know where we were moored up or headed to, and they would drive to that spot.

This was becoming a regular and easy thing to do – post your position and friends find you. So lovely.

Patrick had some “intel” (he read it in the River Thames guidebook) about a fuel berth at Caversham, not too far up the river. So that would be our first stop.

Besides needing fuel, I was getting a little concerned about the condensation inside the boat. The outside temperature was dropping most evenings and the boat was getting really damp inside at night. I was wiping down windows and ceilings most mornings now.

This was not a new problem on the boat as winter approaches. Almost all boats have an issue with condensation, particularly with cooking, showering, breathing (snoring in Patrick's case), etc.

The problem of condensation and damp is best resolved by using a dehumidifier. (I am still working on the snoring problem.)

We hadn't brought our dehumidifier with us as it was just too large and difficult to store away when not in use, but it worked a treat when we used it. So I started an online search for stores that sold small but effective dehumidifiers and whether any of these stores were within walking distance of any stops or moorings along our route.

I found one at a store in Tilehurst, Reading, AND there was a marina right there.

So the plan was: fuel at Caversham, dehumidifier at Reading and then onto Goring to meet friends.

Sounds like a simple and easy day.

Fuel, Friends and a Really Cheap Dehumidifier

We found the fuel berth easily enough, as the sun came out. The clue was the large petrol pump on a wooden pontoon. Oh, and a big sign that said “Fuel”.

Another boat pulled up just as we started to fill up – we have two fuel tanks, port and starboard, and we wanted to fill them both. I hoped there would be some fuel left afterwards – we were looking at taking on board 300 litres!

I went back online to make sure the dehumidifier was not only small and effective but also really, really cheap.

The fuel pump was slow, so we had a good chat with the owners of the other boat.

“Boat people” are so lovely and even if you have completely different boats, you will have shared experiences. So, for a few minutes, you get to know so much about each other, only to probably never see them again.

Once we were done, Patrick added diesel-bug preventative into the tanks, we paid and we said our goodbyes.

Off to Reading to get the dehumidifier.

Just Half an Hour, They Said

We came across the marina easily enough, although it was more like a working yard compared to the marina we had stayed at earlier, in Windsor.

There was a wall in front, on the water, where boats were tied up, but it didn’t look like there was space for us and there was no obvious visitors' mooring.

There were, however, spaces across the river on the bank on the right-hand side, so we agreed to stop there and decide what to do – it is so hard to make decisions while the boat is moving.

The marina (and the shops) were on the left of the river but, as there weren’t any open spaces for us, our only option was to haul out the dinghy (tender), pump it up and row across.

Perhaps we should move on and look elsewhere for a dehumidifier.

A man shouted across the river from the marina side, asking if we were planning to stay there, on the bank. Patrick shouted back that we only wanted to stop for a while, to go into the town for “provisions”.

The man, Phil (who we later found out owned the marina yard as well as all the moorings on the wall and directly across the river), replied that we could come across the river with our boat and tie up/raft up alongside a large barge/canal boat that was tied up against the marina wall.

We could stay there for about half an hour if we wanted… Yes please!!

So we untied from the bank and Patrick did a turn in the river so we could come alongside the barge (called Bobbin-Along).

But It All Went Wrong

Rafting up is something we had done many times and Patrick asked me to throw a rope as we came alongside and try to get it (loop it) over the cleat on the front of the barge, bring the rope back onto our boat and tie it off – the line shouldn’t be too tight – and then see if I could get a centre line over the cleat in the centre of the barge. These are always on the roof of a barge or narrowboat.

He is usually in neutral at this point, so we go really slowly. He would then motor against the tied-on ropes and the back of the boat would come in alongside neatly. This is a system we often, and somewhat successfully, use when mooring up.

But it all went wrong.

As Patrick slowly brought Deux Poissons alongside, I was on the bow of the boat, ready with the ropes, but our boat “overshot” the barge, so I couldn’t throw anything. At the time I wondered why he wasn’t slowly creeping forward in neutral. I waited for Patrick to correct this, as he normally does, by reversing. In a worst-case scenario, he would just circle back round and I would try again.

But our engine cut out. Just stopped. But we were still coasting forward.
Moving towards a motorboat tied up in front of Bobbin-Along.

Patrick restarted the engine but it cut out immediately. He then came out onto the deck to grab the side of the barge to stop our boat from crashing into the other boat in front of us.

Which he managed. (I have no idea how, really no idea.) Our boat is heavy!

Then he took the rope, jumped onto the barge and tied off the front line. He grabbed the centre line and got that onto the barge. He then scrambled down the side of the barge and took the aft line.

Finally, we were all tied up and could breathe. What the hell had happened? I just kept quiet.

Patrick went back onto Deux and started her up. She started but immediately went forward. He put her into neutral and she kept going forward. Reverse, and the engine cut out. Stalled.

I thought it was faulty fuel – diesel bug? Fuel problem? Why would the engine cut out? Patrick said no – it seemed like a gearbox problem. She was stuck in forward, and as soon as he tried to reverse, the engine cut out.

This did puzzle us as we had the gearbox reconditioned about three years ago and we haven’t used the boat much since that time. Patrick estimated less than 100 hours. It should not have broken.

Phil, the owner of the marina, came over to see what was happening. Patrick explained and showed him what was happening with the engine and he agreed that it was possibly the gearbox.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay where we were – tied up on Bobbin-Along – as the owner would be back soon (he was also out shopping) and the barge needed to move. Bobbin-Along had a permanent mooring across the river and the space he (we) were taking up was reserved for other boats that would be back either that day or tomorrow.

God, what a mess!

A Tow and an Unexpected Mooring

But Phil was so lovely.

He offered to tow us across the river, back onto the bank that we had first stopped at, and we could stay there. He had a small little “ferry” boat he uses to shuttle people around the river, so he could tow us over.

He also has a son who was the marine engineer at the marina, and so he would arrange for him to be down to the marina early tomorrow and to come over and check out our engine/gearbox, and we could take it from there.

So we offloaded our bikes from the boat and locked them in the yard and got back onto the boat. Phil and friend John towed us over to the bank and we secured our boat up there. They were both so lovely and kind.

We later found out that John owned the boat in front of Bobbin-Along, that we nearly crashed into, and he often loves to just come down and stay over on it, enjoying the river and nature.

If Patrick hadn’t stopped our boat, it would have made for a very different ferry ride back to our boat – I would have been mortified.

As a reminder, our boat has a steel hull and a very sharp bow. John’s boat is “plastic”.

Emergency Provisions and Other Priorities

We quickly called our friends to let them know what had happened and they agreed to come down to Reading to see us, but they would be a few hours still. We grabbed some grocery bags and got John to ferry us back to the marina so we could take our bikes into the town to do some grocery shopping.

As tempting as it was to pull into the first pub and stay there, we were sensible and headed to the supermarket. We piled up as much beer and wine as we could into our grocery bags, secured them tightly to the back of the bikes and slowly cycled back to the boatyard/marina. We locked up our bikes again, as it appeared this would be our mode of transport for a while, and John helped us load our provisions into the ferry boat and took us back over the river.

So for now we had a place to stop and stay. How long, we didn’t know. Our pressing concerns were… power and water.

Patrick works Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on a laptop, so that needs to be kept charged. We have solar panels which will keep the fridge-freezer going, so the beer and wine will stay chilled. We have a little portable camping gas hob, so we could boil a kettle or a pot/pan, so we are unlikely to starve, although our shop earlier hadn't focused much on food! We hadn’t filled with water when we did the fuel stop, so we were getting low on water.

And the biggest crisis was the dishwasher was half full and would need to go on at some stage. Or I would need to hand wash :(.

Scones, Prosecco and a Little Less Trauma

But our friends had arrived and were standing on the bank waving at us, with a HUGE basket of goodies. John appeared out of nowhere and bundled them up into the ferry boat and brought them over to us. I was thrilled to find that the basket not only contained homemade scones and all the bits that go with them but also bottles of prosecco.

It was lovely to have friends over and we relived the drama of earlier, by explaining what had happened and hashing out all possible causes and solutions. The related trauma was significantly dampened with each sip (gulp) of prosecco.

They stayed for a few hours and then were bundled back into the ferry boat and waved goodbye as they set off back home.

We tidied up the boat, something I have to do a couple of times a day otherwise it becomes so cluttered and feels overwhelming. We had filled up on scones and prosecco, but agreed that a little dinner was needed.

So we ran the generator for a while, charged up the laptops and phones, and I got us some dinner done using the air fryer.

We forfeited our showers for the dishwasher, but if we were going to be staying here for a while, we were going to need a way to get water onto the boat. Using plastic jerry cans would be our best bet.

It was an early evening, and despite all that had happened we were in a lovely spot for the night – what felt like right in the middle of nature, as long as you only looked out the starboard side windows!

Oh, and the Dehumidifier…

As we settled down for the night I remembered that we hadn’t bought the dehumidifier.

With the words “broken gearbox / repair or replace / lift the engine out / very old gearbox / no idea what could be wrong / no idea of costs / recently reconditioned” all running around in my head, it didn’t feel the right time to discuss the purchase of a dehumidifier, even if it was in the store just round the corner of the marina.

So I thought I would sleep on it and bring it up at a later stage – choose your battles and all that.

Cookham to Sonning

After an evening of tasty snacks and even tastier wine, 10h30am felt way too early; but off we went – into the fog.
We passed more beautiful huge houses, impressive, with boat houses we could live in.
At Marlow lock we dropped our mast as we had a few low bridges ahead and the mast wouldn’t make it.
As we made our way to our next stop, Sonning, we shared the river and the locks with the same boats, travelling in the same direction. This almost always what happens; boats travel at the same(ish) speed, so you arrive at the locks together. If the locks are busy, you tie up outside the lock together and wait your turn or together work the lock. Then you enter and tie up inside together and wait for the lock to fill before you can continue with your trip. So there is a lot of chatting and “hello again”. You have time to learn about each other and share stories and advice. You just pick up where you left off at the next lock and for a while these are “your people”.
And then you go separate ways. You stop and stay somewhere and off they go, or vice versa. There is this strange joy when you see them a few days later, possibly tied up somewhere and you wave madly, like you have seen an old old friend. If you’re lucky, you meet again in a lock and can finally hear what happened to Aunt Susan on the hike in the woods or if Uncle Gary did win a prize in the vegetable growing competition. Today our friends were the owners of a sweet small day boat called Little Annie, who they purchased in Poole – our old sailing ground. The beautiful varnish made me quite envious and every time I looked at Patrick he was giving me that knowing/accusing stare – yes I needed to get on with my varnishing so Deux Poissons gleamed like Little Annie. (I think the clue as to the discrepancy in our varnished woodwork lay in the word “Little”).
We also shared the locks with Princess Marina, a very large old tourist boat. Today her guests were happily sipping cocktails and sparkling wine on the foredeck in the sunshine while some friendly ladies were cooking up a storm in the galley, which was in the aft section, with large windows. Princess Marina went into the lock first, every time, and we managed to squeeze in behind her. The first time I made a comment about the sliding windows in the aft section / galley being perfect serving hatches - we all just “laughed”. The next lock I greeted the ladies again with the normal somewhat “cheesy”… here we are again ladies. This time they held up chicken hamburgers and asked if we would like one? Mmmm. YES PLEASE! I was starting to regret the tasty wine from last night and hadn't had a chance to grab any food yet. I was starving.
I almost threw Patrick onto the bank to grab those burgers before the lock opened or someone intervened (like the captain or whoever was paying for the trip). The boat, however, was too far from the edge and Patrick couldn’t reach the prize, but he took one look at my face and quickly instructed the ladies with a plan. Using an oven tray they created a “bridge” and Patrick was able to secure the goods. Best tasting chicken burger. EVER. Thank you to the queens on the Princess Marina.
We passed through Henley-on-Thames which was really pretty. It was quiet with a few row boats practising but it was easy to see how crazy it would be here during the Royal Regatta in July. Established in March 1839, the regatta lasts 6 days and about 300 000 people attend each year.
We passed through Marsh Lock at 13:50 and got to Sonning about an hour later. We found a space on an Environmental Agency bank and grabbed it, which was lucky as there was a constant stream of boats for about an hour after, slowing down and looking for a mooring. We seemed to have got the last one. Princess Marina turned around before the lock, so we had said our goodbyes and thank you. Little Annie came through through with us and went on ahead. I am sure we will see her soon as they were headed for Abington which is where they lived and they were looking to take a few more slow days to get there. We are headed in the same direction.
My daughter, Amy and partner Tom drove up and joined us for a delicious dinner at the pub nearby, Bull Inn – was delicious, although the Princess chicken burger still rated 10/10 for me.
It wasn't too late to bed and as we settled down, the thunder and lightening started. It went on for ages and was amazing to watch and see. I did hope that this wasn’t the start of the rainy season just yet, as we were having such fun.

Windsor to Cookham

After 3 days in Windsor Marina, we looked forward to being on the move again. We had made arrangements to meet up with friends from Fareham, who were going to drive up and meet us where ever we stopped next. Our plan was to head to Sonning or somewhere closer if necessary. It was going to be good to stay somewhere new and I was looking forward to chatting to someone else, besides Patrick.
We left Windsor at about 10:20 passing some gorgeous huge houses and really pretty boats along the river. How the other half live!
We reached and entered Bray lock at 10:58, a manned lock and the keepers were very friendly. For a while I thought this was going to be our next overnight stop, with Patrick equally happy to chat to someone else, besides me. Especially when one of the lock keepers came out of their beautiful little office/house carrying doughnuts and tea. However, despite some shameful hinting on both our parts, there was no offer to share the tasty looking doughnuts, so we undid our lines and waved our goodbyes. (To be fair, I am not sure I would share either)
As we approached Maidenhead, the discussion turned to the lack of tasty snacks on the boat, the reasons for the lack of these snacks and what to do about it. We had friends coming round. For tasty snacks and drinks. A quick google search and we identified a couple of shops and supermarkets in Maidenhead, as well as a public mooring spot.
So we squeezed in between two large barges, locked up the boat, unloaded the bicycles from the back and set off. As I was now re-acquainted with cycling, I was tempted to reassure Patrick that the old phrase stands: “once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget how”. However, as I watched him ahead, weaving in between traffic and up and down pavements to avoid red traffic lights, I thought to myself; well you can forget how to ride a bike …. a sustainable head injury will do that…
But we made it there and back to the boat. Patrick also learned that the phrase “your eyes are bigger than your stomach” also applies to shopping and how much can fit into the carrier bags on the back of the bicycles. I did warn him….. Once back onto the boat and snacks packed away, we set off again.
We reached Boulters Lock at about 13h00 and tied up on the side to wait for it to open. Locks are either manned with doughnut-eating friendly locks-people or they are self-service. You know which it is going to be because there is a sign up on the side. Well the sign at this lock said “closed”. What? Once we were tied up Patrick went off to investigate. He came back with the news that the lock was broken and they were waiting for an engineer. No idea how long this was going to take.
So we found stuff to do while we waited. You cannot leave the boat on the moorings at lock entrances so we had to find stuff to do on the boat. I poured myself a gin and tonic. Patrick had a look at the To-Do list we had been ignoring for a few days now.
He settled on the ice-maker job. Our ice-maker is in a drawer and the plug and socket is behind the drawer, so the ice-maker is constantly on stand-by because you can’t reach the socket to switch it off. Personally I didn’t think that was a problem at all and “stand-by” seems to be a logical position to be in, as an ice-maker. Patrick assured me that switching it off at the socket wasn’t going to delay the making of ice, when needed and may also increase the longevity of the machine. I stood aside and let him continue. He took the drawer out and fitted a socket on the inside of the drawer. Another tick / crossing out in the To Do list.
At about 15:30 and three four gin and tonics later, the lock opened and we were waved in. All fixed, we were on our way again. We passed some beautiful overgrown areas and it was so peaceful.
We checked the map again and agreed that it would be Cookham for the night. We could have made it to Sonning but we would have got there at about 17h00 and the risk is that we don’t find a mooring. Ideally we try for an Environmental Agency (EA) moorings. They are free for 24 hours so get taken very quickly. Alternatively we have to take a council one. We spotted a mooring alongside a really green pretty space, so we grabbed it. It wasn’t EA, but council, but we were happy to be there.
FYI – Council moorings are owned by the local council. The moorings are marked with signboards and sometimes have bollards or rings on the banks to tie on to. If not, then you need to use your own spikes. They charge a fee of between £6 and £9 for 24 hours. The fee collectors are the fastest people on earth, as they appear out of nowhere as soon as you stop.
We had a little wander around Cookham village, which was so pretty, while we waited for our friends to arrive and enjoyed a beer in the sunshine outside a pub. Our friends made it as it was getting dark and we had a lovely evening catching up with all that had happened since we left and enjoyed all of the tasty snacks.

Windsor Marina Day 3

Woke up to rain…. the perfect reason to stay in bed, drink coffee, read a book and waste away the day.
But it was a work day for one of us, and it felt like there was an unspoken expectation for the other person (me) to also do something other than lay around in bed reading. So I reluctantly got up after about an hour or two.
I asked Patrick if I could get him anything, while secretly praying he would say that nothing was needed; but he asked for socks because his feet were cold sitting in the galley working. I was happy to do that – I could manage to throw him a rolled up pair of socks.
But all of the socks and other bits in one particular cupboard, below the front windows in the forepeak, were really wet. As it had been raining for a few hours, I thought it was a leak. We have battled leaks ever since we got the boat, so I wasn't surprised. Except these things were really wet and we hadn't had that much rain.
I took a pair of socks to Patrick, as requested, and let him know that everything was wet. He said …. lick your fingers. He really did say that. And I really did lick my fingers. Salt…. How strange.
Patrick explained that before we set off we had had a lot of dry sunny days. So any tiny cracks that we hadn't got round to filling or varnish over (hmmmmmm, felt like an accusation) had expanded and got bigger as the wood shrunk. We then we had two days of travel when sea water came over the deck and up against the front windows. These were when we travelled from Ramsgate to Queenborough with 4 hours of waves and water. And the other rough water day involved Pauline (see earlier blog for reference), so he wasn’t surprised that water had somehow leaked through. He also explained that the water would have made the wood swell, so any cracks would probably be closed up now. However, that did not mean I didn’t need to varnish as soon as the weather cleared up (ugghhhh).
As it was coming up for a week that the socks had been marinating in the cupboard, they were beginning to smell and desperately needed washing. So my slow relaxing day now involved another trip to the laundrette as there was just too many socks and other bits to hand wash and we don’t have the space to hang that much to dry. I also had some questions about why Patrick actually had so many pairs of socks on the boat as he only EVER wears flipflops….
So, as not appear like some crazy sock lady, I stripped our bed and added all our bed linen into laundry bags and called for an Uber to drive me to the laundrette - the rain was relentless.
Once back on the boat with clean dry socks and bed linen, I spent the rest of the day doing boat chores, slowly. With Autumn on it way, a full day of rain and the last lingering smell of wet socks, I was quickly reminded of how important damp control is on the boat. And the usefulness of vacuum bags. So I packed all of our extra towels and linen into vacuum bags and stored them away in plastic crates. I fill the bags after I have put them, empty, in the crates and then vacuum them once packed. This way everything fits well in the crate and it also means I can drag the crate out when I need something rather than drag the bag out. I have split the bags on a few occasions, probably because they catch on the doors or a piece of wood.
I also did some research on dehumidifiers. We had one on the boat before, but it was so large and difficult to store when not being used so we didn’t bring it with us. But it had worked so well and we were getting to the point when we needed one. The boat steams up quickly now that it is getting colder, especially after showers and cooking and the inside of the windows are often wet in the mornings.
We are setting off tomorrow for Sonning and friends will join us on the boat, so we will look to see if there are any dehumidifier shops near there or on the way.

Windsor Marina Day 2

We woke up at a reasonable hour as Patrick had to get to the “office” today – two steps up, across the main saloon (avoiding the bar as it was probably too early for a drink [?]) and down one step. Then he was at work. I took advantage of the big empty bed and spent a bit of time reading my kindle. Then the guilt set in (a little) so I got up and packed away all the laundry from yesterday. I checked what we needed from the supermarket, which was across the road from the laundrette I “visited” yesterday. My plan was to cycle to the supermarket rather than walk.
As everything I was going to purchase needed to fit into the cooler bag, which I would then strap onto the back of the bike, I was about to experience some real self-control, shopping wise. Might also be some big decision-making too – bread, milk, salad, vegetables, toothpaste, soap, gin, tonic.
I did a little practice cycle in the boat yard/marina and to my delight I found I could still ride a bicycle, so I set off to the supermarket before I exhausted myself. On my way there I wondered if I could somehow hitch Simone (the granny trolley / therapist) to the back of the bicycle for excessive shopping expeditions as the cooler bag seemed a little small. Something to think about.
The supermarket wasn’t too far, despite what Simone and I had discussed endlessly yesterday, but unfortunately there wasn't much to see on the way. We were in Windsor area, a beautiful and historic area, but it seemed all the old beautiful houses and estates (and the castle) were not situated between the marina and the supermarket. Perhaps a sightseeing cycle was needed before we left. The history of Windsor Castle is fascinating, dating back to William the Conqueror who began building at Windsor around 1070 and took 16 years to complete the Castle. About as long as it has taken us to get the boat ready for our trip! (You can read more here)
Once I was back from the shopping, having survived the cycle and the busy roundabouts I unpacked the goods. Then I needed a rest before doing anything else. While it wasn’t blue skies and sunshine, it wasn’t raining either, so I took my kindle, a cold beer and relaxed on the back deck, watching the paint from yesterday morning dry. This was an important job and I would have argued with Patrick if he had disputed it. When I was completely sure that the roof was dry, my glass was empty and Patrick had finished work, I went indoors to challenge him to a game of backgammon. Something I regretted as the 3rd game and 3rd loss came round. Besides that, it was a good day albeit exhausting from the cycling and watching paint dry.

Baths Island to Windsor

As the next three days would be work days, we prefer to be in a marina, so we headed to Windsor Marina, where we had booked in for the three nights. This way we would have shore power (for laptops) and we could fill up with water. We could also do a little boat maintenance and catch up with any chores/shopping that needs doing.
So we set off from Baths Island at about 08:30. We passed a large buoy left by the police divers, which would indicate where the sunken car was. We were through the lock at 09:00 and tied up in the Marina at about 09:20.
It turned out to be such a lovely warm day. I did a few hours work and packed up my granny trolley, who I have named Simone. It is a French name, so fitting with our French boat. It means “to listen”. Simone and I spend hours together and she listens to me moan a lot! Today she listened to me moan all the way to the laundrette. A thirty minute walk there and back.
Patrick was busy in meetings all day, so once I was back from the laundry and put Simone to rest, I got on with boat maintenance / work.
Before we left Portsmouth, which feels like years ago now, we had planned on painting the roof. I had diligently taped up everything to protect the varnished wood from the paint, but never got the painting done.
The yellow masking tape had survived Pauline (see earlier entry), a trip through London and a lot of rain. As we had carried the paint all this way, I got on with the job. We will need a second coat but at least the first one is on. We have been carrying two solar panels with us all this time and these will go onto the roof as soon as the second coat is complete. I cannot wait for that to happen as these solar panels are always in the way.
We have also been carrying our bicycles with us since Portsmouth, but haven’t been able to use them as we don’t have a bicycle tyre pump. So my final job for the day was to source a pump from someone in the marina. After a few tries, I finally found one. We don’t have a puncture kit, so I was thrilled to find that the tyres pumped up and stayed hard. Now to find out if I could still remember how to ride a bicycle! That would be tomorrow’s task as my trip to the laundrette had led me past a large supermarket and we were low on food and undoubtedly beer.
As we were in a marina we took advantage of the shower facilities. Our shower on board is lovely but I am always conscious of using too much water. Tonight I got to just stand under hot water and enjoy it.

Sunbury-on-Thames to Baths Island

We left Sunbury at about 10h00, heading to Windsor and I mentally prepared for at least 7 locks. We were getting quite slick at this now and a lot of the locks are manned, with a lock keeper opening and closing for us, so that was a relief. The challenge for me, almost every time, is the last minute indication/decision as to whether we (or I) would be tying up port or starboard once in the lock. The locks almost always have bollards port side and starboard side. The challenge is when you are coming into a lock behind a boat or two, as they tie up first and we need to fit in the available space, so we only get to make the decision as we enter, albeit very slowly. So I usually stand on the bow with rope in hand and have the aft line lying at the back ready for me. As soon as we can identify which side to go, I quickly get the ropes attached to the cleats, if possible both forward and aft and then lasso the bow line onto a bollard. Patrick will then come out and sort out the aft line. We have discussed having ropes ready on cleats both sides, but that's a lot of rope lying around getting underfoot, and so far we have managed with the last minute scramble.
Our first lock of the day was open as we approached, and we slowed down to let a boat ahead of us get into the lock and tie up. As we got closer, we saw the state of the boat. I was certain it was either going to break down in the lock or sink (in the lock!). Then we saw the owner. I wasn’t sure which was going to come to grinding halt first. The boat or the owner. He was so old and bedraggled. He also couldn’t get his rope onto the bollard so he was drifting sideways across the lock, jamming his dingy behind him. He eventually got this front line on, but was stuck sideways. The lock keeper helped him and we then got to go into the lock. Once the lock was filled with water and the gates opened this old boat wouldn't start and so we had to patiently wait. Finally we were through. Patrick quickly overtook him as we had 6 more locks ahead and this was likely to be a recurring situation.
We stopped and tied up at Chertsey Bridge as I needed to return an old work laptop, which meant a quick walk into town. Patrick stayed on the boat rather than lock it all up.
As I crossed the bridge, I looked down at Deux Poissons, in the sunshine and I thought to myself how wonderful that we have finally started to enjoy her full time. As I stood there, an old dilapidated boat, with an old dilapidated dingy, driven by an old dilapidated man passed under the bridge and slowly made its way past Deux Poissons. It was the old man from earlier. So his boat hadn't sunk, he was still very much alive and headed in the same direction we were. I looked forward to meeting up with him in the next 5 or 6 locks!
Once I had delivered my laptop, I returned to the boat and we set off. This was such a beautiful part of the river, the houses just got bigger and more beautiful.
At lock Romney, the second last lock before our destination – Windsor Marina - we were told that we probably couldn’t get to Windsor as the river had been closed by the police because there was something sinking in the river! I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was an old dilapidated boat that had sunk and I hoped the old man was ok.
We set off anyway, checking out possible moorings on the banks in case. The lock keeper was correct. As we approached the A332 bridge we saw a lot of blue flashing lights and police on the bank of the river. The told us to stop and turn around – there were divers in the water. There was a CAR in the river. It had probably driven down the slip on the side of the bridge, went too far and couldn’t get back out. The car then seemed to have drifted a little in the river and then started to sink. There was no indication that there was anyone in the car, but we still couldn’t go past. So we obeyed the law, turned around and tied up on moorings on Baths Island. There were already a few other boats tied up who were also planning to get to Windsor, so we had a chat about all the possible explanations for the sunken car. Then we cooked hamburgers on the back deck, using the gas stove and enjoyed the evening. We were certain we would be allowed through tomorrow. I did wonder what had happened to the old man and the dilapidated boat…..

Thames Motor Yacht Club to Sunbury-on-Thames

We said our goodbyes to the kind people of TMYC, promised to revisit the club on our way back down from Oxford and set off for Sunbury-on-Thames. We had arranged to meet “Steve the fuel man” in the Sunbury area. Steve delivers fuel from his fuel barge, so he claims to deliver to wherever you are. I was interested in how this was going to work, particularly as we had asked for, and were assured that he could deliver 300 litres of diesel. So we kept out eyes out for a suitable place to stop. We use a book/guide of the Thames River which has very informative maps as well as an app on our phones, both of which will tell us where boats are allowed to moor up. A lot of moorings along the Thames are privately owned with some very stern warnings if you dare tie up on one. This is different from travelling on canals, where you can basically stop and tie up anywhere along the banks.
We found a mooring bank and space, near a cute pub and decided this would work. However, for the first time, I had to jump onto the bank with the rope and hold as best I could, without any bollard or even a tree to help me. Fortunately Patrick is really skilled at this, so he slowed the boat down to almost no speed, and the bank wasn't too far away, the drop was not too far down nor slippery – all the things my imagination convinced me would lead to a catastrophic outcome.
As there was no tide and on that day, no wind, the boat just stayed where she was. I was able to hold both centre line (rope) and a forward line and left an aft line on the bank. Patrick jumped off and he hammered stakes/pins into the ground and attached the lines.
A friend of ours had kindly given us a ground anchor, which was basically a “screw-in stake”, marketed by the company Roughneck. He said to try it out as a mooring stake for the boat - something that this ground anchor was probably not designed for. Patrick was impressed in how easily it screwed in and how secure it was. I wasn't sure what to say, so made suitable appreciative noises, but agreed that we would definitely be using it again, and would probably buy another one or two.
We were all secure and ready for the day.
We called Steve the fuel man, let him know where we were. As we were now tied up to a bank, we had no electricity so I set up the little gas stove and made us some toast and coffee. After a few hours and no show from Steve, we locked up the boat and went walked into the town, with my new shopping trolley. It was a hot day, which required ice-creams and an agreement that it was BBQ for dinner. We filled that shopping trolley up with all the necessities and made our way back passing some really old houses.
As the day drew on and still no show from Steve, we gave up on him and Patrick did some research on fuel availability along the river. There were plenty of stops for fuel.
The river got really busy so we had plenty to watch – some beautiful boats and some we thought we would never see again! Just as we got tired of it all, a really small little boat with a family – two small girls, caught our eye as they seemed to want to moor up in the tiny space between us and another boat. They were, however, coming in at a speed and we heard them say that the outboard engine had no reverse, so they were going to just come to the bank, in neutral. As they tucked in between us and the boat behind us, Patrick and I jumped off our boat and asked them to throw us their forward and stern lines and we would stop their boat from going into the back of our (steel) boat. The wife leaned down and picked up a tangled lot of rope which was still attached to a steel ground stake and was about to throw it to me – her husband who was trying to steer also attempted to do the same to Patrick. I quickly said “no, don’t throw that”, just lean over and either hand it to me or throw it on the bank! Patrick managed to grab the rope from the husband and between us, stopped the boat. Patrick calmly explained to the man that next time it is best to undo the rope from the steel stakes. The man loudly replied that there was NOT going to be a next time. This was his brothers boat and he was done with the day and with his brother. He then got off the boat and onto the phone to his brother – we didn’t hang around to hear what happened next.
As it was such a lovely warm day, and it had been more than a week since I had varnished anything, I decided to remind myself why I never want to varnish again. I only did the handrails, but it was enough to trigger all the trauma. But nothing that a cold beer couldn’t sort out.
We never did hear from Steve but we did have a lovely BBQ. Just down the river a birthday party was getting into full swing as we sat down to eat. Then the karaoke started and Patrick and I both agreed that we were only able to identify 1 out of 6 songs, within the first two lines. The rest took at least half the song before we were even close at working it out.
As it got late, the mosquitoes arrived so we closed up everything and ran our mosquito repellent machines for a few hours, on the inverter. It was the first time we had used them on the boat and they really worked well. The water that had heated up when the engine was running was slowly cooling and we didn’t want to run the generator to heat up water, so we both had cool showers. I was thrilled to find that the karaoke had stopped by the time I got out of the shower.
We checked out our route for tomorrow – Windsor and it would be a marina as Patrick was working Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I might be over my triggered trauma by then and so may do some more varnishing. As long as there is beer.

Teddington Lock to Thames Motor Yacht Club

We woke up late today – we had settled into “go slow” very quickly! Our plan is to head up to Thames Motor Yacht Club, at Hampton Court later this afternoon and stay overnight there. We were not in any hurry now, so we took a slow walk (staying in our new groove), back into the town as we needed a couple of bungee cords to secure the bikes to the back railings. I also wanted to find something to secure the cushions to the outside seating and we needed to grab some fresh produce. First stop was a small little shop that sold everything. Including a shopping-granny trolley!
The shop keeper offered to put it together for us so we could load it up with the two other small bits we had bought. After watching him struggle for almost 10 minutes to attach two wheels, I got to watch both him AND Patrick struggle for a further 5 minutes to attach two wheels and the handle. Eventually it was all done, two wheels and a collapsible handle. I was assured that it was all secure – and I hope so, as this trolley’s first task would be to carry an undisclosed number of bottles of wine back to the boat.
We had passed a chandlery on the way into town and so we stopped on the way back to buy a 3 pound hammer. Up to now we have been staying in marinas or we have tied up on a bank that has bollards or rings which we tie on to. But that is not always going to be the case. There will be times when we have to tie up on a bank where there is nothing, and so we carry pegs/pins/rods. These will need to be driven into the ground securely and then we tie up onto those. Hence a very large heavy hammer.
On the way back to the boat we passed this old church and stopped in to have a look. Old church buildings and the stained glass is something we love to look at and to learn more about the history. It was worth the stop.
Then back on the boat and Patrick did a little engine check and tightened up the stern gland. He also took the time to give me a comprehensive explanation of what this meant. All I asked was “what are you doing?”). So it seems every day IS a school day. And I learned not only all there is to learn about a stern gland, but also not to ask questions if you have other plans in the next hour or two. But at least my teacher was a bit of eye-candy!
We called up Thames Motor Yacht Club (TMYC) to ask if they could accommodate us for a night and once that was out of the way, we set off. I am always in awe of some of the properties along the river but even more amused by some of the little things. Patrick nearly slammed on brakes (imaginary ones) when he spotted a keg of Pussers Navy Rum just sitting on the edge of a pontoon.
We got to TMYC in no time and were met by the commodore who invited us up to the club where there were a few members enjoying a beer or two. Sounded like our kind of place. Turned out to be an amazing afternoon of learning more about our boat.
We have a badge attached to the “dashboard” which states that the boat is registered with Thames Vintage Boat Club, which we showed to the commodore and members. The next thing we were on a call to the secretary of the Vintage Boat Club, who knew Deux Poissons and her previous owners well. We also met a gentlemen who had done a survey on her some years ago. They were all so pleased to see that she was still “alive” and being used and were very interested on what we had done to her in terms of restoration. It was almost like she was coming home (for a visit).
We called a “fuel man” to arrange a delivery of diesel tomorrow and then went for a walk into Hampton town for a look around and dinner. We had a little poke around a vintage / junk shop and Patrick got himself a vintage, Edwardian beer tankard – will definitely be a regular feature in our lives. We had a great Italian meal and a slow walk back to the boat – you could see her all lit up from the distance. As we were able to connect to power at the mooring, we both had a lovely hot shower and into bed.

Queenborough to Teddington - through London

Woke early this morning, even before the alarm - we were going to pass through the centre of London today….!! It felt like such a milestone for us.
I put the kettle on for a quick coffee while Patrick checked to see if our neighbours alongside had seen our note. If not, they were in for a rude awakening and I didn’t want to be the “grim reaper”. He found a note on our door saying they would be awake and ready for the move at 04:45 (phew). I stowed away much of our “loose” stuff as I was still partly traumatised by yesterday, although Patrick assured me today was not going to be anything like yesterday. We left our mooring at 04:59 after a quick thank-you to our neighbours, who were very sweet and understanding. Patrick was correct, the water was much flatter, with the occasional wake from passing ships. We passed through a lot of industrial areas for a while and then it became more residential. The river was really wide so we couldn’t get a good look at the houses / snoop.
I was just settling into a comfortable state when Patrick said to prepare for a very large wake from a carrier ship, “Pauline” heading towards us. We couldn’t avoid it and I was tempted to ask Patrick if we could turn around and “out-run” it! (I didn’t ask because I suspected he would say that was ridiculous – even I knew that). So I just watched it approach us, I didn’t even reach for my camera - honestly you could surf on this. While I am writing this retrospectively and there is the risk of my overactive imagination contributing to this, we both agreed that this was the steepest wave we had climbed with the deepest drop and then up again into the next wave! We could not avoid it and for a few seconds we were looking down into a deep trough.
Deux Poissons handled it like a champ and Patrick and I were silent for a few minutes after that. We had no words (even my overactive brain went quiet).
Fortunately that was the only one like that for the rest of the trip, although I kept an eye on every wake behind approaching ships, until we were in a “no ship” area.

We got a little chatty again once we passed under the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, recalling Patrick having spent years either crossing the bridge or just sitting on it in traffic (more the latter).
We had a chart (map) of the Thames and Patrick used a headache tablet as an indicator as to where we were – fairly useful on all counts and I was tempted to grab that tablet a few times.
And then a little after 09:15 we saw the Thames Barrier ahead and Patrick radioed for permission to cross. At 09:26 we passed through the Thames Barrier. If surviving “Pauline” hadn’t made me want to reach for a celebratory drink, this really did make me want to celebrate. We were on the Thames River heading towards London!
The water was really flat now, so I popped out onto the foredeck and was so disappointed to find that the camera I have put up on the mast (thankfully after the “Pauline” incident) wasn’t recording. It had been giving us trouble anyway but I had hoped it would have recorded some iconic first moments for us.
We are going to be passing back down this way in a few weeks, so I will have another opportunity to record then. And more importantly, “Pauline” will hopefully be docking in some far away land.

We passed Greenwich and Patrick pointed out that we had effectively crossed over from travelling in the East and were now travelling in the West. He clarified with the words “hemisphere”. I wasn’t sure if I should be feeling any different.
A little after 10h00am we saw Tower Bridge ahead. It was surreal to see it from this angle after having been on the banks of the Thames so many times. It really is magnificent. The span is 61m between the two towers and is split into two equal parts (I have been told they are called bascules). These bascules weigh about 1,070 tons each and are counterbalanced to minimise the force needed to raise them. They open completely within 5 minutes, which is crazy to think, considering their weight. Traffic on the bridge needs to stop for less than 10 minutes to allow ships to pass once the bridge is open.
It did occur to me that less than 10 minutes wasn’t very long for practically all of London traffic to stop and that we were important enough and big enough for the bridge to open for us – get the real London Bridge experience. Patrick reminded that we were neither all that important nor that big (I think with reference to Pauline). So I was happy with the experience of slowly going under her, real close up and personal with the towers.

By now I didn’t know which side of the boat to sit and look out of – London Eye, Houses of Parliament. It was so amazing. I was equally amazed at how many residential houses are along the Thames, not just flats and apartments and how green it was. There were so many huge old trees in gardens.
We moved through some beautiful areas – Chelsea, Richmond, Twickenham and passed under some stunning bridges – each one different. We agreed that our favourites were Tower Bridge and Hammersmith, although the Albert Bridge was really pretty. Albert Bridge was pastel green for years and then repainted yellow. Now it is pastel pink, blue and green, apparently to make it more visible during foggy weather (95% of the time in London). Over 4000 LED lights were also installed to illuminate the bridge at night – but we were not hanging around to see that.
Once we were through the centre part of London, Patrick and I reflected over the experience. Overall passing through London was not as challenging as we thought it was going to be (except for “Pauline”) – maybe sometimes a little rough and choppy with the water taxis and tourist boats. This is what the crew from the Little Ships of Dunkirk had said last night, so we were glad we took their advice.

We finally reached Teddington Lock quicker than we thought we would and overall the whole trip had been about 7 hours. Once through the lock we were officially on the Thames River proper – which is more like a canal. Slow moving and no tide. We got through the lock easily and tied up on the bank not too far up the river. We popped into the office at the lock and purchased a license to be on the river for a month.
What an amazing experience!
We had some lunch and then took a stroll into the town which was just over the river. It was such a hot sunny day and we felt we needed a moment to sit and enjoy what we had achieved. A cocktail and a beer was exactly what we needed! We then headed back to the boat for a BBQ on the front deck and to set our bodies into “slow-mode”.