No Regrets
Well-Known Member
The original idea was to take a quick recce down to Tedders, for our impending (doom?) trip au tidal.
But we ended up at Westminster!
After a nice quiet night at the Teddington towpath (£7 a night) notable for having no apparent Weir when we arrived, but a Niagra sized whopper after supper (A new experience!) we set the alarm for 4AM to pick up the outgoing tide, but it was raining so heavily, abandoned the idea and went back to sleep.
By 9AM it looked far nicer, so we set off for Richmond to ask the Lockie the state of play.
He told us to head for Putney pronto, as low water was due in an hour, and so we naffed off PDQ through the wasteland-type beaches full of Birds, Foxes and yesterdays Flotsam, aiming for wherever we ended up, but with a mindful eye to return with the tide, and back at Richmond for 3PM, when the gates reopened.
So, armed with little more than an OS guide to the Thames, a depth-finder and iPhone to check tides, we trundled through Brentford, and the Grand Union canal entrance which was negotiable by car at this stage, past Kew, Hammersmith, Putney, where my old man used to launch us in his Shetland 535 (Small, but had a bigger outboard than No Regrets Perkins!) and the ugly Wandsworth Bridge, when a Police launch passed us, going the other way.
Before too long, it turned and pulled alongside, at which point a nice PLA Lady officer jumped on board and asked us a few questions, before popping off again, leaving us rolling fearfully in her enormous wake!
Before too long, we saw the London Eye, and bathed in sunlight, that freeloaders gin palace they call the Houses of Parliament.
By now, the iPhones speed app said we were losing 2 knots to the tide, and I was running 2000rpm to maintain 6 knots, in addition to the bow-wave that appeared at the briges pontoon, so we reckoned it was time to turn around and hit Richmond on time.
I throttled right back to 1100rpm, and maintained a good 6mph (Ground speed) harnessing the tides impetus and saving fuel in the process, reckoning we would be back at Richmond bang on time, but in fact we arrived 4 minutes before the gates were raised!
Our stats for this three day trip were:
98 miles from Bray to Westminster and back (with a little pottering included)
10 gallons of Diesel used in 20 hours cruising.
10 hours of Sunshine, 5 hours of cloud, and 5 of Rainfall.
5 bottles Wine consumed, and a few cocktails /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
During the trip, we had absolutely no issues, hit two large pieces of wood (neutral selected beforehand, and gear reengaged after wood passed, so no problems) and we were very pleased with the whole trip really.
First night mooring was tedders, which was a pleasant stay, then Hampton Court palace, incredible considering the fact it's free, unlike our next-week trip to St Kats....
Photos to follow /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Thanks to all the people who gave us advice on the other thread, and BCC Members in 'Spanish Eyes' who recomended Hampton Court!
But we ended up at Westminster!
After a nice quiet night at the Teddington towpath (£7 a night) notable for having no apparent Weir when we arrived, but a Niagra sized whopper after supper (A new experience!) we set the alarm for 4AM to pick up the outgoing tide, but it was raining so heavily, abandoned the idea and went back to sleep.
By 9AM it looked far nicer, so we set off for Richmond to ask the Lockie the state of play.
He told us to head for Putney pronto, as low water was due in an hour, and so we naffed off PDQ through the wasteland-type beaches full of Birds, Foxes and yesterdays Flotsam, aiming for wherever we ended up, but with a mindful eye to return with the tide, and back at Richmond for 3PM, when the gates reopened.
So, armed with little more than an OS guide to the Thames, a depth-finder and iPhone to check tides, we trundled through Brentford, and the Grand Union canal entrance which was negotiable by car at this stage, past Kew, Hammersmith, Putney, where my old man used to launch us in his Shetland 535 (Small, but had a bigger outboard than No Regrets Perkins!) and the ugly Wandsworth Bridge, when a Police launch passed us, going the other way.
Before too long, it turned and pulled alongside, at which point a nice PLA Lady officer jumped on board and asked us a few questions, before popping off again, leaving us rolling fearfully in her enormous wake!
Before too long, we saw the London Eye, and bathed in sunlight, that freeloaders gin palace they call the Houses of Parliament.
By now, the iPhones speed app said we were losing 2 knots to the tide, and I was running 2000rpm to maintain 6 knots, in addition to the bow-wave that appeared at the briges pontoon, so we reckoned it was time to turn around and hit Richmond on time.
I throttled right back to 1100rpm, and maintained a good 6mph (Ground speed) harnessing the tides impetus and saving fuel in the process, reckoning we would be back at Richmond bang on time, but in fact we arrived 4 minutes before the gates were raised!
Our stats for this three day trip were:
98 miles from Bray to Westminster and back (with a little pottering included)
10 gallons of Diesel used in 20 hours cruising.
10 hours of Sunshine, 5 hours of cloud, and 5 of Rainfall.
5 bottles Wine consumed, and a few cocktails /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
During the trip, we had absolutely no issues, hit two large pieces of wood (neutral selected beforehand, and gear reengaged after wood passed, so no problems) and we were very pleased with the whole trip really.
First night mooring was tedders, which was a pleasant stay, then Hampton Court palace, incredible considering the fact it's free, unlike our next-week trip to St Kats....
Photos to follow /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Thanks to all the people who gave us advice on the other thread, and BCC Members in 'Spanish Eyes' who recomended Hampton Court!
