Last week on Wednesday we drove to Gloucester to collect our new boat. It was to be craned out of the water at Sharpness on the following Wednesday morning.
The boat was moored in Gloucester Dock, we moved aboard with enough clothes for ten days, enough cutlery and crockery for the two of us, two folding chairs, two bar stools and a nectar mattress.
The bar stools were a bone of contention between us as there were already two bar stools on the boat but CHS was adamant we needed them.
This meant that every time CHS said 'why didn't you bring the ......' I replied ' because the car was full of bar stools'.
I drive a Nissan Note and it was as full as it could hold.
On Thursday we found a nearby Aldi and went shopping for food, we also found Dunelm as although the bed is the same size as our previous one, the nectar mattress is too deep for the sheets I had with us so we bought some deeper ones. In fact the mattress is so deep we had to buy a stool for me to climb in to bed!
There was no way CHS was well enough to manage the journey from Gloucester to Sharpness so on Saturday DS2 and a friend drove to Sharpness, I met them at 7am showed them where we had arranged for them to park, we left DS2's car in Sharpness and drove back to Gloucester.
DS sailed the boat from Gloucester to Sharpness, there are no locks and all the bridges are manned so he made it in five hours. Sharpness marina managed to squeeze us in so we moored there to await the crane.
DS2 then drove me back to Gloucester to collect my car, he and his friend drove home to Reading and I returned to Sharpness and parked my car in place of his. We stayed in the marina, it was only £12 a night and we could plug into shore power so we could have the heating on, much easier than a bankside mooring as the weather was pretty ropey.
Everyone on the marina was very friendly and helpful, another boater took lots of video of the boat being lifted out, I'll post some next week when I have my laptop back. We stayed in the marina as there was quite a lot to do to get the boat ready for road travel, we had to remove the pram and cratch covers and remove the solar panels, the cupboards and drawers had to be taped closed and all loose items secured. We were up at 6 on Wednesday morning waiting for the lorry and crane to arrive, the boat was loaded by 10 and the lorry set off to transport the boat via road to Caversham, we followed in the car.
By the time the boat was back in the water we were many ££££s lighter and totally knackered, we trundled along to Tingdene marina and stayed overnight, we were planning on moving along the Thames today but it has rained on and off so we stayed out. We can't stay for too much less longer, we are paying £29.50 a night here as it is very posh.
7 comments:
What a week! Well done on it all.
I am exhausted just reading of all this activity - you should have had Eric with you - he would have summed up all that hard work with a few well-chosen words
Darn! I wish I'd known - I live in Gloucester (a few hundred yards from the canalside, in fact - and maybe 3 miles from Gloucester Docks) - I could have helped in some way, even if with driving around or pointing you in the direction of places to go. You'd have also been welcome here for a meal or whatever .
Sounds like so much work! I hope you will be very, very happy with your new boat!
You have certainly earned a rest. I hope the new boat will make life more comfortable for you both - and looking forward to some photos once you are settled. Take care.
Wow, I'm surprised you remembered what was what and where you were supposed to be, it all sounds exhausting. Hope this new boat is a brilliant home for you both. xx
Sounds exhausting, but fingers crossed you will be able to settle down soon. Try not to brain CHS with a bar stool.
Post a Comment