West Stockwith to Keadby on the Tidal Trent
Friday 14th August 2020
We'd booked to go through West Stockwith Lock out onto the Tidal Trent at 5pm this evening. This was when the tide would be best for the cruise to Keadby.
We pulled into the lock around 4:15 and waited for narrowboat Annie and the lock keeper to arrive.
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| Sal closing the side hatch prior to locking down at West Stockwith |
The lock began emptying around 4:30. By 4:55 we were heading out of the lock towards Keadby.
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| Picture kindly taken by John aboard nb Annie |
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| Picture kindly taken by John aboard nb Annie |
Sal drove pretty much all of the way, while I kept my eye on the charts. Thankfully this stretch has very few hazards for shallow draughted boats.
We cruised with the pram hood up, to give us some shade from the sun, though it was a lot cooler and more windy than we had bargained for. The hood stayed firm but the water was a lot choppier that we expected. I tried some filming from the bow but the camera got splashed a few times so I thought better of it.
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| Sal enjoying her time at the helm. |
As we came under Keadby Bridge we caught sight of our first massive boat. A sea going ship called Nautica from Latvia, a whopping 88m long and 12m wide. Shows the water's nice and deep round here.
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| Latvian ship Nautica |
As we approached Keadby Lock it was very difficult to actually see it as the opening blended into the concrete and steel so as to hide it until you're almost upon it. Thankfully we knew nb Annie was going to turn to starboard (right) just as they passed the lock entrance, so that confirmed where the lock was for us. Then Sal could take aim and do the same manoeuvre. She did a great job getting into Keadby lock, even though my heart was in my mouth. She didn't even hit the sides.
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| Locking up with John and nb Annie in the relative safety of Keadby Lock |
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| Sunset at Keadby Power Station |
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