We woke at about 6.30 on Christmas Eve morning. The atmosphere was electric with the anticipation of getting through Denver Sluice. I don't think that I have ever felt so excited or scared at the same time. We were all ready to make a move by 7.00, so John went to see if he could raise the lock keeper. Luckily he was already about and took John to look at the water on the other side of Salters Lode. He explained that we were at the optimal time and that the going should be good, then he explained slightly worryingly that the tide had already turned and we needed to move NOW!. Luckily we had got everything ready and within minutes of John returning to the boat we were off.
We were in the dark, cabin lights still on, headlight on and the moon was still out. We got into the lock without any difficulty, we had turned the boat around the night before, so we were facing the right direction and in doing so we had broken up some ice, so everything went really smooth. This time in the lock was completely different, as the keeper opened up one of the paddles, the force of the water entering the lock was incredible (if not a little scary) in comparison to our previous experience this actually felt like it was going to work.
The lock was full and we only just managed to scrape under the walkway of the lock, now we understood why the keeper had told us to clear everything of the roof. The gate was lifted and it was full throttle out into the middle of the waterway. We pulled to the right with no problem at all and with a quick wave to the keeper and a shout of 'Thank you' and 'Merry Christmas' we were on our way again! At this stage I know my heart was beating twice as fast, I looked at John and I could see the pure concentration on his face. This was it - if this didn't work, we would be stuck again and that was not going to happen - not on this trip - not again!
We really went for it, John told me to hang on tight. Jade was inside with the dogs, I think she was holding her breath too. We came up to where the silt bank was and John shouted again to hang on. I think he was so determined to clear the bank, nothing was going to stop us. He did ease of slightly for fear of not being able to stop at the sluice, but without any incident at all, we just glided over the problem silt bank and came to a very professional stop at the pontoon. We tied up quickly and both of us just whooped and jumped for joy. We would be home for Christmas, the feeling was indescribable, I could have cried.
We had a short wait for the lock keeper, he didn't work the same flexible hours that the keeper at Salters Lode kept. While we waited, we got talking to a fellow boater who was waiting to come through the other way in order to get to where we had just come from. It was going to be close as the tide was going out fast and you could see the level drop before your eyes. Our fellow boater, a wide-beam was joined by another narrow boat and it was important that they get through the lock first, we were happy to wait as we knew that we were clear and would be home by the afternoon.
Unfortunately, the narrow boat got stuck on the bank even though he came out of the lock first, we told him to keep to the left, maybe he didn't hear us. The wide-beam just made it across but we heard that the narrow boat was stuck there all night and only got clear on Christmas Day morning. We did feel a little guilty, but we couldn't have gone back for him, the tide was going out so fast, we couldn't afford to get stuck as well.
After the Denver sluice excitement, the day went really smoothly, with no problems or hitches at all. Was this the same journey? after all we had been through, this was a piece of cake. We knew some of this stretch, we had had a holiday some years previous, but it did look a little bleak this time of year.
Seeing Ely Cathedral was something else, I can't tell you how I was feeling. This was like all the problems we had had on our months journey just drifted away and all I could focus on was our new home. We moored up where the marina had instructed, filled the water tank up, emptied the cassette loo, hooked up to the electric and took a huge sigh of relief. This was now going to be our new home. We we safe, the boat had got us there and after such a horrible rotten time of it, we could finally start our new life as liveaboards. Wow what an adventure we have just had.
We were in the dark, cabin lights still on, headlight on and the moon was still out. We got into the lock without any difficulty, we had turned the boat around the night before, so we were facing the right direction and in doing so we had broken up some ice, so everything went really smooth. This time in the lock was completely different, as the keeper opened up one of the paddles, the force of the water entering the lock was incredible (if not a little scary) in comparison to our previous experience this actually felt like it was going to work.
The lock was full and we only just managed to scrape under the walkway of the lock, now we understood why the keeper had told us to clear everything of the roof. The gate was lifted and it was full throttle out into the middle of the waterway. We pulled to the right with no problem at all and with a quick wave to the keeper and a shout of 'Thank you' and 'Merry Christmas' we were on our way again! At this stage I know my heart was beating twice as fast, I looked at John and I could see the pure concentration on his face. This was it - if this didn't work, we would be stuck again and that was not going to happen - not on this trip - not again!
We really went for it, John told me to hang on tight. Jade was inside with the dogs, I think she was holding her breath too. We came up to where the silt bank was and John shouted again to hang on. I think he was so determined to clear the bank, nothing was going to stop us. He did ease of slightly for fear of not being able to stop at the sluice, but without any incident at all, we just glided over the problem silt bank and came to a very professional stop at the pontoon. We tied up quickly and both of us just whooped and jumped for joy. We would be home for Christmas, the feeling was indescribable, I could have cried.
We had a short wait for the lock keeper, he didn't work the same flexible hours that the keeper at Salters Lode kept. While we waited, we got talking to a fellow boater who was waiting to come through the other way in order to get to where we had just come from. It was going to be close as the tide was going out fast and you could see the level drop before your eyes. Our fellow boater, a wide-beam was joined by another narrow boat and it was important that they get through the lock first, we were happy to wait as we knew that we were clear and would be home by the afternoon.
Unfortunately, the narrow boat got stuck on the bank even though he came out of the lock first, we told him to keep to the left, maybe he didn't hear us. The wide-beam just made it across but we heard that the narrow boat was stuck there all night and only got clear on Christmas Day morning. We did feel a little guilty, but we couldn't have gone back for him, the tide was going out so fast, we couldn't afford to get stuck as well.
After the Denver sluice excitement, the day went really smoothly, with no problems or hitches at all. Was this the same journey? after all we had been through, this was a piece of cake. We knew some of this stretch, we had had a holiday some years previous, but it did look a little bleak this time of year.
Seeing Ely Cathedral was something else, I can't tell you how I was feeling. This was like all the problems we had had on our months journey just drifted away and all I could focus on was our new home. We moored up where the marina had instructed, filled the water tank up, emptied the cassette loo, hooked up to the electric and took a huge sigh of relief. This was now going to be our new home. We we safe, the boat had got us there and after such a horrible rotten time of it, we could finally start our new life as liveaboards. Wow what an adventure we have just had.
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