Tuesday 8th June 2021 in Goring-on-Thames.
The yellow Iris bordering the river are an absolute picture at this time of year.
Only a very short run to Goring from Cleeve but it turned out to be quite eventful. A quarter mile short of Goring lock in mid stream, MM's engine temperature alarm suddenly went off. A quick check showed that the temperature was dangerously high so R switched off the engine. Luckily "Inkling" was just behind us and we waved them down and tied the two boats together side by side mid-stream.
Then, with the two boats breasted up, Peter drove us into and through the lock just using Inkling's engine. Not easy to steer two boats with all the thrust on one side but he did a great job!
We moored up on the visitors' moorings just below Goring lock and R disappeared into MM's engine room. MM's engine "radiator" is a "skin tank" - a thin tank welded to the hull so that the engine heat is dissipated through the hull into the water. Air had got into this skin tank and, although there seemed to be plenty of water in the engine, the tank was full of air instead of water and so was not workng correctly. The idea is exactly the same as a radiator at home getting air in it and needing to be bled or it doesn't get hot. R bled the skin tank, refilled the engine with water and MM has kept her cool ever since. Still, that is another thing to check in future, does the skin tank need bleeding?
Later we went for a long walk along the Thames Path towards the railway bridge and back.
It was lovely in the sunshine and Inca, Mel and Peter's Hungarian Vizsla, ended up in the river so many times that eventually she had to be put on a lead or we would never have finished our walk!
A very narrow path led us back into the centre of Goring where we visited the "Goring Grocer" run by Caroline who we got to know many years ago. A number of treats were purchased including a very special pork pie for Peter. Delicious!
Finally, we returned to our moorings laden with goodies.
R spent many years working with Abbie, founder of "Capture" in Goring, and Abbie very kindly invited us for supper in her pretty garden. It was very special to spend time with her once more.
Today: Only 1 mile, 1 lock and 1 hour.
Trip: 154 miles, 74 locks and 68.5 hours.
Seems like its Nasi Goring as Shelley calls it, we broke down there in 2018. Lovely to read your blog. We are on The Montgomery at Maesbury.
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