Hitchhiker.

9 Locks, 14 miles, now moored at Bridge 127 Oxford Canal.
Total of 284 locks and 360 miles and 16 Tunnels since 5th Nov 2006

This morning we went and said au revoir to Mike and Liz on n/b Snecklifter before we ventured out onto the Southern Oxford canal.

There was a light drizzle to start off with which got steadily heavier until we reached Napton bottom lock when the rain stopped.
Along the way we picked up a hitch hiker in the form of a mallard duck who flew in as if we were an aircraft carrier. She marched straight up to the sliding hatch in front of us more or less demanding to be fed. When nothing was forth coming she strode up and down the boat looking for tit bits and came back and stood in front of us with a “Are you going to feed me or not look” and then after a few minutes just flew off the way she had arrived.

Going around Napton on the Hill we spotted the windmill on the hill top which because of the way the canal meanders back and forth it was visible for quite a long time.

We had a slow trip through all of the locks due to the fact there were more boats heading to Oxford than there was in the opposite direction.
Not long after we cleared Napton top lock the wind started to get up and the temperature dropped with ominous black clouds circling. By the time we got to bridge 124 the rain became very heavy but I was determined to get to bridge 127, our scheduled over night stop. By the time we reached bridge 125 there was thunder and lightning and hail stones coming at me at great force.
Eventually we reached bridge 127 and found a mooring spot.
Within 15 minutes of mooring up the rain and wind just died away completely, wouldn’t you just know it?
After a change of clothes and a hot cuppa it was down the engine hole to re-fit the Mikuni heater. This went relatively easily and then I had to refill the header tank with a diluted anti freeze mixture. After running just the pump and bleeding the radiators it was time to fire the beast up properly to see if worked OK. Everything went well except the heat wrap around the exhaust was smoking but as it was disintegrating I will have to replace it sooner or later.
The maintenance on the boat is now all up to date ready for a busy summer.