The IWA National Festival at Huddersfield, August 2002
We decided to attend this years National with Gamebird as it was quite far north and Iain had a few days off. We sent off our entry and started to make plans.
Our tow vehicle was a J reg Landy Defender 110 which, it has to be said, struggled a little bit on steep hills when towing Gamebird. This has now been changed for a W reg 110 but with a TD 5 engine which tows like a dream. Most of the route was on motorways and she trundled along at a steady 60mph.
The next problem we faced was where to put Gamebird into the water. Nicholson's could tell us where there were slipways but not what they were like - a slip may be perfectly OK for a 13 foot rowing boat but not quite so good for a 26 foot narrow boat weighing over three tons. In the end we opted for Shepley Bridge Marina at Mirfield who assured us that their slip would be OK for Gamebird.
The first stage of the journey was to cruise Gamebird from her mooring in Ratho six miles to the slipway at Broxburn and get her onto the trailer. We are getting quite good at this now and this slip gives us good practice. The canal here is about 28 feet wide, the slip is at right angles to the canal and the trailer has four uprights which the 26 foot boat has to be steered between. We do it by Iain reversing the trailer down the slip, me on board steering round between the uprights and a neighbour holding a long rope ready to give extra guidance if the wind catches the bows at the wrong moment. Out she came, the water ballast was drained off and we set off for home where she was parked along side the house ready for stage two. This was the engine servicing, pressure washing, bottom blacking, paint touching up, polishing etc to make Gamebird fit to be seen "down south". I must say she looked lovely when we were finished.
The great day dawned! Up at 5am and set off at 6.15 on a beautiful sunny morning - I would have been most upset if it had rained on our way down! With only one driver (oddly enough, any time I approach the driving seat of the Landy there is someone there already) we had more stops than usual and they were longer but no problem, we were on our way. We arrived at Mirfield on the Calder and Hebble and the slip was not ideal. There was a sharp turn into it and there was a shelf a short way down. However, Iain turned the Landy round and attached Gamebird to one of the front tow hooks and we managed (just) to get her launched. It was by now very hot but we got the breakables transferred to Gamebird, filled up with fuel and water, bought a handspike and we were off! The first lock was a mere 50 yards away and fortunately a trip boat was coming through and I got a lesson on how to use the handspike. I worked the first two locks then there was a role reversal. I decided it was unfair to deprive Iain of the pleasure of working locks :-) (they were a bit on the heavy side). We cruised on and moored at the Navigation at Broad Cut Top lock and had a pleasant pub meal. Had we realised that this was to be our last pub meal till we got home, we would have eaten more, I am sure.
Next day (Thursday) we were up bright and early on another beautiful morning and started to retrace our steps. We had to take a side trip up the Dewsbury arm on the principle that if there is a bit of canal it must be boated on and we found another slipway. Our euphoria was short lived however, as this one was used for hauling narrow boats out for bottom blacking etc and there was a pair of metal rails which would have fouled the trailer tyres. On returning to the Calder and Hebble we met up with another boat, Lady Ann, who we locked with to the National. After Mirfield we began to see a few boats going the same way but there was never enough to form a queue at locks . We enjoyed the river sections where we could let Gamebird have her head. She enjoyed that after being leashed in on canals for so long. On turning into the Huddersfield Broad we were welcomed by BW who worked the first lock for us. One of the lockies was one we had met at the opening of the Forth and Clyde canal last year and again at the wheel opening this year, it is a small world. Found our mooring and moored up in a pound where the level was going up and down like a yoyo. Met Peter Robinson on Grafton, another Sea Otter but a younger version. Very smart she looked and I was impressed to hear that Peter had single handed her up from the Thames, stopping of at the NIA on Birmingham on the way.
We set off on foot to explore and discovered that we were moored a long way from the Festival and when we walked past going towards Aspley basin we found that there were boats moored even further out that way but they were at least in a continuous line of boats. We and our fellow boats were separated from the other boats by a long stretch where there was no mooring as the silt was found to be contaminated. We were really out in the country with no obvious means of access to civilisation.
We went to the bar tent that evening (surprise, surprise) and enjoyed meeting friends old and new.
The next day, we spoke to BW, the IWA and in fact a anyone who would listen to us about alternative slipways but we could get very little useful information and when Norman, a fellow Sea Otter owner, offered to take Iain by car to check some out, he jumped at the chance. By the time they returned with the news that both Sowery bridge and Hebden Bridge looked OK I had negotiated a change of mooring (much nearer the site) and had almost got Gamebird there on my own - if Peter can do almost 300 locks on his own, I could do two, I reckoned. Knowing that the slipway was arranged, I could at last relax and enjoy the show, and enjoy it we did.
It was great meeting people we hadn't seen for ages and catching up on news and we at last met several fellow Sea Otter owners. We saw over three newer Sea Otters but we still like Gamebird best. We find that with two of us and the two dogs she is just perfect. Did I omit to mention that Meg and Mirk were with us? We liked the upholstery on the show boat and as ours, which is pink, is not the most practical colour, we have arranged since we came home to have new covers and curtains made.
We offered the crew of the Lavender boat tea and coffee on Friday morning and they must have liked it as they stopped off every morning for a cuppa. It was a pleasure to make it for them and enjoy a few minutes chatting before they continued with their very important task.
As there were a few Copperkins owners (past and present) at the festival we had to have a rehearsal for our big celebration in November - we have shared her for ten years this year, and the venue was Gamebird on Saturday evening. We also invited all our new Sea Otter friends and some internet friends and this proved yet again what a super little boat Gamebird is. We had twenty two people and two dogs on board and as we were spread between the stern deck, the cabin and the front deck, it didn't seem too crowded, OK, maybe just a little bit in places but it was cosy. It was a very pleasant evening and not entirely unexpectedly, the hard core still there at ?? were Copperkins folk. I am not entirely convinced that it is a good idea to start on red wine and move onto whisky but everyone seemed fine in the morning so perhaps that is they way to do it. In the photos of the party, you will observe a parasol over the back deck - not very nautical but it does keep the sun off the steerer. When I made reference to the parasol to fellow Sea Otter owners it met with much laughter and comments about sun and Scotland not going together, somehow. After that we just had to erect it for the party. It must be said, however that we only use it if the sun is extremely hot so it gets about one outing a year :-)
As we left the show on Monday morning before eleven (our allotted locking time) we didn't know till later that we had not won an award for our journey there. We thought we might have as we must have been the only boat there who has used the Falkirk wheel (up and down twice) and travelled on new waterways, the M74, M6 and M62 to get to the show :-)
We were locked out of the Huddersfield Broad by BW - I did like these red polo shirts the boys were wearing but all my requests for one fell on deaf ears. Pity, it would have matched the one I have from Scotland's Lowland canals. We turned left and again cruised on waters which we had never seen before. What magnificent scenery there is in that part of the country. Steep sided valleys with houses made of beautiful light coloured stone clinging to the hillsides. We moored in Elland that night where we were joined by Peter and Grafton.
Set off reasonably early next morning and explored the Salterhebble branch before going on to Sowery Bridge where we said good bye to Peter. We had a look at the slip way there and although we reckoned it would be OK we decided to go on to Hebden Bridge as this would let us cruise a bit of the Rochdale and go through Tuel Deep lock. This is a BIG lock! It is nineteen feet four inches deep and you feel very small in deed when you are sitting in a Sea Otter in the bottom of it.
We reached Hebden Bridge and attempted to find out who we should speak to about parking the Landy and trailer at the slipway to avoid getting them clamped as the notice threatened. The answer was that no one was bothered and although the Council own the ground they never enforce the clamping. We got a taxi to Mirfield where we collected the Landy and trailer and brought them back to Hebden Bridge ready for the morning when we had to drive home.
Next mooring we had a trouble free retrieval - just as well as we were being videoed, and after making sure that everything was secure we set off on the six hour drive home again.
The very last stage of our journey was the following Tuesday when we launched Gamebird and took her back to her moorings at Ratho where she is sitting waiting her next outing on Friday when she will be part of a flotilla of boats taking members of the Irish IWA up the wheel and on to Linlithgow. It was nice to get such a welcome from the BW boys when we stopped to fill up with water and from our fellow moorers at Ratho who were out in force getting their boats ready for the trip to Falkirk.