Nottingham to Stoke Lock

nb The Lair has broken down.  For some reason the electric is getting to the starter but all of the instruments refuse to work.  I did offer to turn around and give them a tow back to the Castle Lock but they were happy enough where they were and would wait for rescue.

Off out and back on the Trent. The speed of the water does help one along very nicely.

Under the bridge there was some really good graffiti.  It seems to be a load of names but has RIP in one corner and as you can see DAD as the overall motif.

The skyline in Nottingham is changing completely.  Another brand new block of what looks like apartments.  I can't see offices having balconies with table and chairs on them. Very smart.

On to Holme Lock and the National WaterSports Centre at Holme Pierrepont.  The large bridge affair are the flood sluices.

The White Water Course looks really impressive.  The water comes in from the Trent before the mooring and drops down to below the lock.  Its not far in height but it certainly gets the water flowing.

During the morning the canoeists came down a couple at a time.  A lot of time was spent dashing in and out of the white water.

There are some great places to sit.  Grassy banks all around and there is also a spectators area.  The place is a delight.

The little stubby canoes are highly manoeuvrable and I watched one person do somersaults in the wave. 

By afternoon the white water rafting started.  The boats had four, six or eight in them and today they, along with the canoeists,  must have been the only people that were not sweltering in the heat.

The mooring is only metres away from the course.  From the grassy knoll I was able to see the sailing boats coming down and to get a rather nice cool breeze.

At the start of the course you are able to get right up close to watch the people fall in as they go down the first of the roughs and fall in they did.

It all looks superb fun and once at the bottom the crews pick up the raft and take up up to launch again by the mooring, paddle past and on the the entrance to the course.

The other side of the White Water  is the rowing course.  However it is not quite as exciting and fast as the rafting or the canoes.

A couple of water buses went down stream and on the return of this one I ended up with a prolonged burst of astern.  You guessed - the prop shaft disengaged.  I ended up on the other side of the channel and went below to fix it.

I am in the engineroom up to my elbows in grease and this pratt comes over and tells me that I can't moor there cos it private.  I told him basically to go away.

Soon underway again and heading down river.  It isn't long before the railway bridges at Radcliffe on Trent appear.  

The view of the mooring.  I shall have to spend some time tomorrow looking at the damn shaft.  That knocking is there again and one thing I do know and that is its not the depth of water this time.