First boat away this morning was H and his crew on Jjinad who slipped their moorings just before 6am. the rest of us followed at intervals for the next four hours. H lived and worked on commercial narrowboats all his life as did two generations before him and various relatives. Jjina is a replica FMC 'Star' class boat built by Barry Hawkins before he went bust the second time (he has since achieved the hat trick). The name is not a rare piece of Brummie dialect but the initials of his grandchildren in chronological order.
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We set off at 7.45 and when we arrived at the first locks at Minworth there were three boats already waiting. As boats stopped for water or got stuck in mud we changed positions over the day
Spagetti Junction may be what motorists call it but to boaters it is Salford Jct where the stables used to be for the horse drawn working boats.
I wish I had seen the stables before they were demolished in the 1960s to make way for the M6.
But more was in store as the water level declined as we climbed up the flight. About four locks from the top I ran aground in the thick black mud after leaving this lock and trying to pass a descending boat in the very short pound. This photo shows how far the water was below its usual level - look at the water line in the channel alongside the lock.
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