The River Trent

From Goole we sailed to Doncaster to give Brent III a local run to check all was well after her lift out.   Whilst on the moorings Kev started the engine but it cut out twice indicating a problem.   Kev suspected fuel flow problems and, sure enough, a check of the diesel filters revealed a sediment blockage in the in-line fuel filter; probably the result of disturbing the sediment in the fuel tank.  To be safe we changed all the diesel filters and then were ready to sail back up to Bramwith and east to Keadby. 

When the Keadby moorings came into view we were surprised to see a line of fishermen occupying all the moorings.  They clearly weren't very pleased to see us but we only ousted one of them from his place and as the Lockie had come down to meet us there wasn't any grumbling.  Apparently the fishermen can use the moorings during winter opening hours but risk having to move if a boat arrives.  

On Friday the 13th we locked out of Keadby onto the Trent and had a very good run down to Torksey, arriving 4 hours later.  We had been advised to leave Torksey after noon the next day to make the best use of the tide to Cromwell.   Unfortunately high tide wasn't high and it didn't give us any help at all, most of the time we were chugging along below 4mph.  It became obvious we weren't going to arrive at Cromwell before the Lockie finished for the day and we spent the night on the pontoon outside the lock in the company of two cruisers who wanted an early start in the morning.   The current from the weir and the wind made it a rocky experience and we were pleased to moor at the top side of the lock in the morning.  

One of two sunken barges supporting the bank at a disused gravel wharf.  The signpost gives the distance in kilometers to Meadow Lane Lock, Nottingham where boaters wishing to continue south turn on to the Nottingham Canal.

There was just one other boat at Newark so we were able to hook up to the electric.  We are currently dieting so Kev didn't pay his customary visit to Just Beer and consequently we didn't stop at Newark for long.  The electric card readers can be temperamental and on this occasion our electric card with it's remaining credits was swallowed instead of being returned to us.  Cheryl in the Newark CRT office arranged for an electrician to retrieve the card and will post it back to Rotherham for us, luckily we have some spares if we need them.   

During the winter opening hours the locks on the non-tidal Trent are unmanned so it's 'do it yourself ' using the control boxes at the side of the lock gates but we had some luck.  At Newark Town Lock a maintenance man arrived as I was walking up and he happily locked us through.  At Gunthorpe we were almost at the lock jetty when we were surprised by the lock light suddenly turned to red and green, indicating the lock was being prepared for us.  The Lockie had been equally surprised to see  us as he'd just gone up into his station to prepare for a training session with a volunteer.  

The overcast cloud of the previous days cleared to give us a good view of the eclipse at Gunthorpe.  Kev and I took it in turns to look like Darth Vader, wearing the welding helmet, as the moon crept over the sun.  The temperature dropped along with our solar power as the disc of sun was reduced to a slim crescent.  

With the solar spectacle over we moved on, heading towards Holme Pierrpoint.  When we arrived at Holme Lock we found the turbine construction works had taken over the lock.   A temporary bridge crossed the channel out of the lock and this had to be moved to allow boats through but the workers had it ready for us so there were no delays.   We had intended to stop at Holme Lock but there were no suitable moorings so we continued on to Nottingham and moored up near Sainsburys.  


Our journey from Goole to Doncaster and then Nottingham