Back to Adderley

The 3 signal here at the foot of Adderley Locks is a bit off and on, so I'm just doing a quick "we're all still here" post today, and I'll hopefully be able to do a better one tomorrow when we're in a better signal area.

It was still very windy this morning, so we hung around at Coole Pilate for a couple of hours until it moderated, and then set off. We had a good run up Audlem, with almost all of the locks with us, finishing by around ten past one, when we stopped for lunch.

We thought about going on to Market Drayton this afternoon, as it was now very pleasant, but decided not to risk a Saturday night there. Just as well as it happens, as we got well stemmed up just before getting to Adderley. There'd been a lot of veg clearing from the offside, but no matching dredging, so that the channel was nowhere near where you'd expect to find it. In addition, the pound was a bit down, and Sanity Again ended up aground and slewed right across the cut.

Just shows, no matter how much experience you've got, you can still get caught out. About half an hour of trying various dodges failed to move her. In the end, I put a very long line from the stern to the towpath, and by heaving on this, and letting the bow swing into the middle of the cut, she finally came free. We were very relieved, but now, after 15 locks and then this, quite knack tired out.

It's been an interesting 24 hours; last night we re-moored a BW mud hopper at Coole Pilate, which had pulled its pins out and was drifting down the cut towards us in the howling gale.

Tomorrow, through Market Drayton and on to Goldstone Wharf, at least.