Fountain

This was Henley at 10am this morning.

The day started off well enough. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out and the wind wasn't excessive. Enjoyed a nice leisurely cruise down to Hambledon lock. Again, the lock keeper saw me coming, and kept the gates open. Wehey! Tieing up on that windy layby is normally a nightmare. But, thankfully, I didn't have to do it today.

Got through the lock OK, noticed that the weir stream was a bit fierce, and then things went a bit pear shaped. There was a 6ft high fountain of anti-freeze and water jetting out of the header tank! Glanced down at the engine temperature gauge, and saw that it was reading over 100. *GULP*. Which meant that the fanbelt must have snapped and the wheel for the water circulation pump wasn't spinning anymore. It took me 3 attempts to ram myself into the bushes. Eventually managed to tie the stern up to a twig, so that I could turn the engine off and put a new belt on. Each time I tried, the current pushed the bow out into the stream. Big worry was that the engine would seize, and I'd end up being carried away downsteam sideways. But, thankfully, that didn't happen today, either.

The handy bush (near Medmenham).

I got there in the end and made the repair. Chuffed.

As it was only lunchtime, I was able to do a tickover speed cruise downriver, and still be at the Temple lock moorings in plenty of time before nightfall. I kept checking and rechecking the temperature gauge all of the way down. But everything seems fine again now.

Currently tied up safely for the night.