A Day of Many (fortunate) Meetings!

Sunday 30th August, 2015 in Huddersfield.
A quiet, still morning. Sunday service on the nearby railway line meant that very few trains crossed the bridge.
We set off mid morning and the character of this canal soon became clear; attractive old  brick bridges bordered by endless modern industrial units - in this case the whole width of the picture.

The Huddersfield Broad Canal is only 4 miles long and it has nine locks. It is called "Broad" because the locks are broad at 14ft wide - but they are only 57ft 6in long, so getting a 60ft boat into them requires some manoevring. The length is measured to the edge of the "open" gate - but when the gate is closed there is an extra 2ft 6in or so of length available. So, the strategy is to enter the lock with one gate open and one closed and then slide behind the closed gate so that the other gate can be closed. We had been doing this successfully on the Calder & Hebble locks, which are the same length. On "the Broad", this worked fine on the first five of the nine locks, but when we came to Lock 6, the pound (the static water between the locks) was a good 18in lower than normal and this led to problems for us.

Normally, MM's prow rides up over the "cill" at the front of the lock, but because the pound was low, the prow did not go as far - and, with the front pushed right forward, the stern was still touching the gate. The fender sticks out behind the stern and the only way to get through was to take the fender off. It is very heavy, awkward to get at and held on by three steel chains.

The two chains on top were easy to undo, but the one underneath was not. In the end, R had to saw it off. You can see below how tight it was - the bow is hard against the front of the lock and the stern tight against the gate.

Even then, we couldn't get behind the gate. A delightful young man named Marek, who was out fishing, had stopped to help and it was his suggestion to take MM out of the lock and see if we had any better luck with the other gate. It worked! Only a fraction of an inch to spare but we were in the lock. Thank goodness, because the only alternative would have been to reverse MM back down the canal through all five locks to Coopers Bridge, as there is nowhere where we could have turned round.
With Marek's help, we filled the lock and retrieved the fender (R had tied a rope to it so we didn't lose it).

 Marek, if you are reading this - thank you so much for your help! It made it so much easier; we probably couldn't have done it without you.
The last three locks presented no problem and soon we came to the last hurdle before arriving in the middle of Huddersfield - "Turnbridge Loco Lift Bridge". The roadbed of this bridge lifts straight up horizontally. M viewed it with some apprehension, never having seen one like it before. It looked intimidating but in fact was fairly straightforward to operate, despite its Heath Robinson appearance!

The bridge was built in 1865, so it is 150 years old this year and still working well. M hastens to stress that the date on the drum is the date of the bridge's construction, not her date of birth!

What a relief to moor up in Aspley Basin! We were fortunate enough to have met a lady called Sue on nb "Annabel" at lock 7 and she very kindly said that we could use her mooring in Aspley Basin as she would be away for a few days. It is a lovely mooring and the other people on these permanent moorings are delightful.

R is sure that M will need to get a "few bits" tomorrow - but for once we won't have to carry them far!

After a well deserved cuppa, R went down the weed hatch as it was clear that we had picked up some rubbish on the propellor over the last mile or so. This time it was rope and a woven strap as well as the usual plastic.

Having done that, he set to work to refit the fender, no mean feat given its weight and the difficulty of reaching down from the stern between the tiller and the taff rail supports.

M was ribbing him while he was doing this and was puzzled by his gesture - perhaps he was indicating that this was the second time he'd had to work on the fender today????

In summary, today was a day of Many (fortunate) Meetings. Firstly, at lock 3, we met Alan walking on the towpath. He is the Manager at Aspley Basin and gave us a wealth of good advice; also he will arrange a "pump out" for us on Tuesday. Secondly, we met the lovely Marek, who so patiently helped us through Lock 6 and finally, we met Sue at Lock 7, who very generously allowed us to use her mooring space (and her electricity!) in Aspley Basin.
Today just goes to prove what we have always maintained about the canal community - a remarkably kind,  and friendly bunch of people, always willing to help.
Today: 4 miles, 8 locks and 4.4 hours.
Trip: 276 miles, 173 locks and 177.8 hours.