Thursday 31 May 2012

Not A Great Start!

Thanks to the slow moving and pretty incompetent Maritime & Coastguard Agency, we were delayed in setting off on our trip by several days, which seemed like several weeks.

Before we left we needed the all important Part 1 Registration Certificate, which proves we own the boat and has to produced to foreign maritime authorities. Their website was not entirely clear on what forms were needed in our situation and what the fee would be, so Stephen rang to check, explaining the circumstances carefully, then sent what they requested.

There then followed several weeks of waiting, chasing, being sent more forms, replacement forms and requests for further fees. None of which had been requested or even mentioned in that original phone call.

Finally, we got so fed up waiting, we agreed to pay their "expedition fee" of £180.00. Still no certificate. Next day, still no certificate. Had they sent it recorded or special delivery? No, apparently "expedition" only means first class post. Would they issue a duplicate? No.

It finally turned up, three days late, having been sent by second class post. I have asked for my £180.00 back. They haven't replied yet.

Anyway, we were, at last, underway!

A wonderful trip in glorious sunshine from Caversham, through Henley, on to Windsor (stopping for a trip on the Windsor Wheel - wonderful!) then to Kingston-upon-Thames, where my Dad met us (having driven to ours to collect the Certificate I talk about above - thanks Dad!).

 Emma waiting to go on the Windsor Wheel

The Windsor Wheel - 60 metres high

We planned to leave Kingston at about 7am the next morning, get through Teddington lock, onto the Tidal Thames and then through Richmond lock. We had a mooring space booked at South Dock Marina, but you can only enter two hours either side of high tide, so we needed to make good time to get there, as it's about 4-5 hours from Kingston.

So, we were up early, only to find thick mist. Couldn't see a thing. So, we waited nervously for half an hour and it cleared a bit. We were underway but our 30 minute contingency was gone.

On to Teddington lock, and the engine starts to heat up. And get hotter. And hotter. We get through the lock and the engine won't switch off. We repeatedly press the stop buttons. Nothing. Stephen climbed into the engine area and switched off the fuel. Still it kept running. He stopped the air getting to the engine but that didn't stop it either. Finally he located the stop lever buried on the side of the engine itself and that did the trick.

Luckily, we have a wing-engine, so we limped, with considerable difficultly, to Swan Island Boatyard where we moored next to Simon & Nunzia's Dutch Barge and the wonderful Joe Eves came straight aboard and spent the whole morning fixing the boat with Stephen.

Stephen fixing the boat

Apparently the two problems were completely unconnected and it was just bad luck that they happened together. The overheating was caused by a disintegrating impeller (although what caused that, we don't know) and the non-stopping engine by an electrical fault.

Simon & Nunzia kindly offered to let us moor against them overnight; an offer which we gratefully accepted!

Simon & Nunzia's Dutch barge

Next stop - right through Central London!

Wednesday 9 May 2012

The Pershilla Cookbook - Nanny's Cheese Straws

Today is Pershilla's moving day. Stephen is down in Watchet and has just phoned to tell me that the Lyndon from Davlyn Marine was there bright and early and that Pershilla has now been loaded onto the lorry and is about to set off on the journey to the Kennet & Avon Marina, her temporary home.

So, boat on lorry & heart in mouth, hoping she fits under all the motorway bridges.

Therefore I need some distractions. Shall I take all the boxes of books to the loft, or shall I make a batch of cheese straws? Cheese Straws it is.

These are known in my family as Nanny's Cheese Straws, as she is the expert at making them. She's just moved into a new residential home, so isn't doing her own cooking any more, so I am baking these on her behalf.


This photo is about a year old now, but I think it's a great one of Nanny, Emma & I.

The ingredients are all kitchen basics and the equipment you need is pretty minimal. I know this, as I decided to make them having spent yesterday packing up my kitchen. So, where I would normally have used a mixing bowl, I used a casserole dish and a highball tumbler substituted very well for a rolling pin.

Ingredients
225g self raising flour
100g lard                             )  the exact proportions & type of fats aren't important
50g marg/butter                    ) just make sure you use 150g in total
125g strong cheese, grated
1 egg
Large pinch of: salt, pepper, paprika, mustard powder
Milk
Optional: Poppy Seeds

Thrifty tip: Use a bit less cheese and a bit more mustard powder - mustard powder always brings out the cheese flavour

Method:
  1. Weigh fats and flour and place into bowl. Rub in the fat until it looks like breadcrumbs
  2. Add the salt, pepper, paprika, mustard powder and (if using) poppy seeds
  3. Stir in the cheese
  4. Mix egg and add milk a little at a time until it is stiff enough to roll out
  5. Cut into strips or use cutters, as you prefer
  6. If you want to, you can brush the top with egg or milk and sprinkle with more grated cheese
  7. Bake at about 200c for about 13-15 mins

This is what it will look like after step 4, with some additional cheese sprinkled on top.


And this is the finish product!

Hope you enjoy making & eating them; I'm off to shift some boxes into the loft!



Tuesday 1 May 2012

Out of the Water and Onto the Hard

We have been seriously thwarted by the April weather over the past few weeks. We needed to get Pershilla craned out of the harbour marina at Watchet and onto the hardstanding for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the underside needed to be inspected, pressure washed and new anodes fitted. Anodes are either aluminium or zinc and are fitted to the underside of the hull to reduce corrosion of the hull itself.

Secondly, and more nerve wrackingly (is that a word?) the overall height of the boat needed to be measured.

Pershilla is currently at Watchet on the north Somerset coast. Now, I love Watchet, but it's a long way round the coast from there to the Thames and Channel ports, which is where we want to start the trip from. It's a beautiful coastline and there are fabulous places to discover all along it.

But, there is a very important reason why we like inland waterways rather than coastal trips - we get seasick. Really, really seasick.


So, Pershilla needs to travel to the Thames by road. But we had no idea whether she would be low enough to fit under the various bridges between Watchet and Caversham.


With George at the helm of the crane (BTW, George features in Shane Spall's book - The Voyages of Princess Matilda, as seen on BBC4) Pershilla was lifted slowly and carefully up out of the harbour



Up and over the harbour wall and safely onto the hardstanding



You can see that the radar hoop has now been hinged, so it can be lowered, reducing the height, but we weren't certain that would be enough, so it was out with the tape measure and a few more nervous moments before Stephen worked out that it was just (and we are talking a few centimetres) within the maximum measurement given to us by our boat transporter, so thankfully can be moved by road, which will take a few hours, rather than by sea, which would take 7-10 days and a lot of seasickenss tablets!

So, packing goes on apace at home (I feel I am living in cardboard city!) and our new estimated date of departure is mid-May!