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Quinquireme's Travels (September 2004)
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We met Mike and Di Bridges at Poynton shortly after their Heron boat Quinquireme had been launched, and though we have not run across each other in person over the following two years, they have kept in touch with us regularly over the internet.
This email from Mike is the latest update on their travels.
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Mike and Di on their gleaming new Quinquireme -August 19 2002
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“Another summer has come to an end for us as we languish in Pyrford Marina waiting yet again for the Basingstoke canal to fill up with water!! The organisation of this canal does leave a bit to be desired - apparently problems with rogue boats and vandals at the Woking end of the canal. I think these are excuses. Anyway, not to dwell on the down side. I'm sure all will come right in a couple of weeks.
Our trip to Bristol proved to be a very enjoyable journey and although the K&A can be a bit arduous it was well worth it. We had a few notable escapades on the way down. Di got bitten by some sort of insect on the ankle while we were at the Hampton Court Flower Show and that turned very angry by the time we made Windsor and a hospital visit was necessary for some antibiotics and anti-histamines. So we had an unscheduled two day stop. The engine stopped working under Runnymeade Bridge which after a call to Isuzu turned out to be a bad connection in a block connector to the electric diesel lift pump. We pressed on and made the K&A after an overnight stop at Sonning - actually outside Yuri Geller’s house — we usually put a sign on the boat here as we have stopped previously: "Please do not touch the boat!" Just past Reading we picked up a guy named Steve in his boat Nene Trader and he turned out to be a real butcher’s dog, helping no end as we made our way to Frouds Bridge marina for our first lay over - back to work for a week.
The next week we waited for our friends coming down from Stourport who were to join us for the rest of the journey to Bristol. At one of the swing bridges I had just passed through and was mooring to pick up Di when I slipped off the landing stage and took my first full baptismal immersion - so much so that all that could be seen was my Jimmy Black aussie hat floating on top of the water. It is very difficult getting out of a canal. The landing stage was too high to pull myself out with sodden clothing. Di rushed over and grabbed the boat to stop it drifting away and thanks to the Heron rudder design with the cavitation plate I managed to step onto that with ease and then onto the back of the boat. However, I was quickly ushered to the bank where Di had placed the old foot and mouth tray where I was to disrobe before entering the boat for a shower.
Once past Hungerford the canal takes on a different style altogether with long uninterrupted stretches and tight together flights more to our liking than the lock a mile from Reading to Hungerford. We made Bath and through the 19'6" tomb before the River Avon and on to Bristol where we stayed for the Bristol Water Festival and after that for almost three weeks moored on permanent moorings next to the Thekla. As we live only 12 miles from Bristol it was the perfect chance to have a stack of friends up for days out around the harbour. We thoroughly enjoyed it although it was a bit hectic.
The journey back has been a much more leisurely affair. We laid over for two days in Bath and moored by Poultney Bridge - a lovely setting. By the time we had got to Foxhangers, the Caen Flight had been restricted to two hours per day and once into the system there was no stopping until Lock 50. Apparently, the back pumping pumps at Foxhangers were out of action and spares were in waiting. Again we laid up at Devizes marina for a week as a birthday party was calling us from the South west of France. Once on the move we were again very lucky to pick up with a couple on a boat called HB II - a couple of Australians and he just happened to be the Olympic coach for the women's rowing team. He turned out to be an even fitter butcher’s dog than the guy we met going - his cycling prowess between locks needed to be seen.
A leisurely run down the Thames saw us to Shepperton and on to the River Wey where the daily grizzly with the Basingstoke Canal Authority continues to get ourselves up lock flights to Odiham. Will be in touch when we finally make our base.”
Mike Bridges
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Part II
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"At last we have just made it back to our permanent mooring at Galleon Marine in Odiham at the top of the Basingstoke Canal - not without its fair share of the usual obstacles. On or about the 28th October we were informed by the canal authority, that the canal would be opened again on Monday 1st November. Immediately I booked passage to commence on the Saturday morning. Duly we arrived at the first lock at 9am and awaited the ranger to arrive.
Now in my naivety, I thought I might be able to convince the ranger to let me up to the start of the Deep Cut 14 lock flight by Saturday night. Wrong! He shrugged his shoulders, sucked in through his teeth and pronounced that he doubted we would get through the deep cut flight for another week, due in part to further vandalism and the canal authority decision to replace lock gates at lock 16 and therefore having to drain the pound. In my protestations I told him this was totally unacceptable as I was now committed, having been told by the head ranger that the canal would be opened on the Monday, and that hell or low water we were going to proceed.
So by the Sunday night we moored at lock 15 to await passage the following morn. A gang of rangers arrived at 9.30am to allow us although, again, they were of the opinion we may not get through because of the low water levels. My demands for an explanation as to where all the water had gone to were largely ignored and off we set. It took us until almost dark, as now the clocks had gone back, to get up the 14 Deep Cut locks using a system of borrowing water from the higher pounds to get me over the lock cills and into the locks. We eventually made it but were totally knackered from a combination of mental and physical overload. We stayed the night at the top of the lock flight and then headed off on the Tuesday morning for the five hour journey to Odiham. It was good to be back and so wonderfully quiet and serene, broken occasionally by the need to reverse the prop to clear the leaf build up, but we got home. Four days! Crazy."
Mike Bridges
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