The
Maiden Voyage - 16 to 19 December 2004
(Rugby to Calcutt - 17 miles, 6 locks, 8.9 engine
hours)
This maiden voyage had two
purposes, to move Per Angusta to her permanent home and to have a 'snagging'
trip. We were planning to take a leisurely cruise starting out on the
Thursday afternoon and ending up at the marina Friday evening. We needed
to take all the internal kit (bedding, saucepans, plates, cutlery, etc)
up to the boat. On our way up to Rugby we were going to leave 
one
car at the marina so that once we got there we could get back to the boat
yard to pick up the other car.
Thursday morning, we started loading kit into the estate car - it didn't all fit! We had to use both cars to transport everything to Rugby. It also took a lot longer than we thought to get everything loaded. The end result was that we didn't get to Rugby until 3.30pm. But there she was out on the canal waiting for us.
We began loading
kit - 
believe
it or not, there was even more than this - the back loo and the whole
of the bedroom were covered with boxes and bags.
Once we had everything
on 
board
we still had to get one car down to the marina and then move the boat
to somewhere to moor for the night. Time and the fading light had beaten
us for the day so we decided to stay at Rugby for the night.
I think Darren had hoped to wave us on our way, but the change of plan meant that he handed the keys over and we stayed put!
Settled down to cook dinner after doing the car shuffle and discovered that we had forgotten a really important piece of kit - the corkscrew!
We didn't have a good night's sleep - the bed was lovely and comfortable, we were nice and warm, but there seemed to be a lot of noise outside and there was quite a lot inside as our two boys were not that happy with the strange new surroundings which kept on swaying - Jasper spent most of the night trying to get into our cabin.
As
you will have gathered, things weren't quite working out as planned. Friday
17 December dawned but it wasn't bright and sunny. The boys were nervously
waiting to see what was going to happen.
I had hoped to take pictures of Per Angusta as she gracefully cruised off up the cut. However, her stern, rather than her bow, was pointing up the canal so the first thing that had to be done was for Ian to reverse the boat and turn her round in a narrow shallow canal with boats double parked - not any easy manoeuvre in normal circumstances but your first time steering an unfamiliar boat takes some doing.
Having successfully turned the boat, Ian then had to steer down the narrow arm which was lined with boats on both sides and again double parked. We travelled very sedately up to Hillmorton Locks, getting used to the feel of the boat. We were very pleased with the way she handled, how responsive she was. She looked very elegant cruising through the water, despite the fact that the rain was coming down most of the time.
The dogs were very unsure of what was going on and we kept them in their cage most of the time.
We
stopped for some lunch and to let our nerves relax a bit. Also to catch
up on a bit of sleep from the night before. What with that and the stress
of the first few hours cruising getting used to the boat, it all took
it's toll.
Our plan was to get to the marina by nightfall so we set off after a short break but were forced to stop after only 10 minutes due to absolutely torrential rain.
By the time we
had moored up, both Ian and I
were soaked to the skin. Oh the joys of boating!
After about 30 minutes the rain stopped and, as we continued on, the weather got slightly better. I took the boys ashore to give them a chance to stretch their legs but it was incredibly muddy. Still I was able to get this shot of Ian and Per Angusta during a dry spell.
We hadn't been
able to get any diesel, we weren't sure how much we had - the diesel gauge
was still to be calibrated - and we wanted to make sure that we had sufficient
for the heating that night. So we pushed on to Braunston Marina and took
on fuel. Another few tricky manoeuvres here, turning into the marina,
then having to reverse out in the dark by now. 
We
moored up by the Braunston Stop House and made ourselvescomfortable for
the night. I could tell Ian was beginning to feel at home - his slippers
had found a place to wait for him.
We had a few more homely touches - like the flowers from Darren and a card and bottle of champagne from our friends Chris and Allen.
After a slightly better night's sleep, we woke to dry weather. Our first 'snagging' item had been the waste on the kitchen sink which was leaking so we planned to call at Midland Chandlers to see if we could get some gaskets - that way we could wash up in the sink rather than the bucket! We set off at about 9.45, but the tow paths were in a real state. We stopped at Midland Chandlers and I felt we were 'proper' customers this time, with our boat moored up on their jetty.
Some fantastic manoeuvring by Ian to get round the Braunston Turn - Per Angusta seems to go back in a straight line (which we've heard is pretty unusual for a narrowboat). The cruise from Braunston to the Wigrams Turn was uneventful and I had a go at steering. I could see what Ian meant about the boat being responsive. Turned right at Napton with Ian on the tiller and we found out how good the engine was because we met a boat coming out of the turn. Ian put Per Angusta into reverse and she stopped quickly.
Having got round the Turn, I went ashore to walk the dogs and go ahead to Calcutt Locks. It's a shame I didn't take the camera, because the boys were really enjoying the tow path and we were being followed by this very elegant boat with the sun shining on her.
Put the dogs back on board whilst we took the boat through the three double locks. These are the locks which have been closed for gate repairs for the last two weeks. The gates were so heavy, I almost couldn't move some of them.
Well, with the locks behind us we now had a relatively short cruise along the Grand Union to Per Angusta's new home. Successfully turned into the marina but had some difficulty backing Per Angusta onto her mooring pontoon because the wind had picked up and kept taking her bow. Ian had to do a couple of circles before he got the reverse angle right. We were home!
After a cup of
tea, we sat down with the marina staff to go through the paperwork, sort
out the electricity, etc. Later in the day we went back to Rugby to collect
the car from the boat yard - the car journey only takes about 20 minutes
and it had taken us the best part of
a
day and a half to make the journey by boat. Still, that is part of the
attraction of boating - the slow pace.
All our plans
had changed. Kirsty, Steve and Toby were due to have come up Saturday
and Sunday, but after the awful weather on the Friday and uncertain forecasts
for the weekend we had all agreed to postpone the visit. Which meant Kirsty
& Steve had to eat all the Welcome Aboard cake they had got for us.
We decided that we would go home Sunday morning but when we woke up the
weather was gorgeous (if cold). We had breakfast enjoying the fantastic
views in the morning sun from our 'veranda' (or 'conservatory' - OK the
cratch, really)
We took the dogs for a walk along the tow path, chatting to the boaters
going up the locks. 'Ajax' was off down the Grand Union to meet up with
owner's son and his family on their boat around the Milton Keynes area.
The two families were going to spend Christmas together on board their
boats. Back to the marina and it was time for lunch - served again in
the cratch, with Tris trying to ensure that he got his share of the hot
soup!
In the afternoon, Ian decided to take advantage of the dry, bright weather and have a practice at getting the boat on to the pontoon - plus we got some good photo opportunities.
As the light began
to fade, we began to pack up and put Per Angusta to bed after her first
powered voyage. Despite the weather, we had a really good time and are
delighted with the boat. Darren has a few more days work to do to finish
off the interior and then we shall crack open that bottle of champagne!