It Busted

Now moored at Little Venice.

Today Tony and Mary took off to Hampton Court for the day. After they left we cast off for Little Venice which wasn't an easy task as there was a very strong wind blowing down through the basin. As I tried to reverse out of our berth I had to get Dot and Tracey to hold onto the bow rope to stop the bow from wiping out the Tupperware boat moored on the next pontoon. Even they needed the assistance of a passing gentleman to restrain the bow. Once safely clear of the other boat Dot and Tracey boarded at the bow but my problems had only just begun. I had the stern heading in the right direction but the bow caught a sheer wind off the side of the building which started to push me sideways towards the next pontoon. A couple of high revving manoeuvres backwards and forwards and I managed to clear the other pontoon with just a light touch of the bow on the wood work on the end of the pontoon. Another couple of quick manoeuvres and I managed to get the bow heading into wind and finally got the boat under control.

Unusual vehicle for cleaning up Paddington Basin

We moved down to the Little Venice service centre where we refilled the water tank, a slow process as the water pressure here is poor and did a pump out. Well we started to do a pump out and got as far as pausing the pump for a flush out but then the pump stopped pumping even though we could hear it working. Just then a restaurant trip boat moored up behind us and the skipper knew exactly what the problem was and rang BW. Fifteen minutes later the BW man arrived to fix the pump. It turns out that the pump needs replacing but in the meantime they keep persevering with it, repairing it on average about twice a week. There is a sheer pin between the motor and the pump which snaps when too much pressure is applied. It only took 10 minutes to fix before we could finish our ablutions and be on our way.

The trip boat skipper also told us that the wind in the basin can be so bad that they cannot get past the bend leading up to St Mary's hospital even with a 90hp motor and a bow thruster. After hearing this I thought I done very well under the circumstances.

As there were no moorings available at Little Venice I found a friendly couple, Alan and Judy on n/b Lavinia Mary who were quite happy for us to breast up with them which is where we are now . Of course Dot had to go and meet Tony and Mary upon their return to Paddington to guide them to our new location.