After 3 nights in Marlow, the last one sober, it was time to visit my mooring in Windsor on my first trip solo human.

Life jackets on

Set off just before 9 and had a few minutes to wait at Marlow Lock for the keepers to set sorted. A little nervous but I ended up helping a plastic hire boat  to moor. They were drifting to the weir which took my mind of the first solo lock. Why did I worry, the training stood me in good stead, I may have been slow but it worked. The trip took 3 1/2 hours with a total of 5 locks to negotiate. At each lock I tried different rope positions until I felt comfortable. The hydraulic thrusters were a God send but I’ll get some short centre ropes just in case. The Lock Keepers were great, very complementary and always checked if I wanted help as they could see I was solo. Angela Dawn performed perfectly.  A few electronic issues, the bow camera needs replacing. Would have helped in one lock with a 2 man canoe in front, what was that noise! The WiFi Router has a problem so I’m writing this in the Boatman pub 20 feet from my base mooring in Windsor, Oh the hardship!!

Navigators bored

The best way to see the M4

First sight of Windsor, another Piper on the left.