It’s post Christmas, which we spent back in Switzerland in central heated homes, that was quite a treat. On top we received a very suitable present from Adnan’s brother, the treat of the treats! Le mini Raclette, candle powered. We both love this typical Swiss cheese dish, especially on a cold winter day. Thank you Nils & Amy!

We headed to Limehouse Basin and were lucky enough to find a spot overlooking the basin. As Natascha said in an earlier post, cruising through London is full of joys and that one definitely is. Easy to reach friends and work and the view is fabulous.

Then one night we wanted to charge the batteries by running the engine. Well, the engine simply ‘died’ after jolting for a minute. Adnan tried again, full throttle, nothing – nada, nichts, niente! What on earth happened?! We needed the energy as during winter our solar panels don’t produce anything, of course, so quite frankly: What the fuck?

We went out for a meal nearby and, whilst charging our computer in the restaurant, Adnan had an ‘enlightening’ moment. Diesel, maybe the tank was empty. Though we filled it up to the brim in November and that should last for a good six months if not longer. So, we went back and we took out the measuring stick and there was the result: empty tank! Somebody must have emptied our tank at some point, there are also pirates on the British Waterways, no doubt and somebody had a little refill for his/her boat.

We called Dominic, the owner of the coal, gas & fuel barge whether he will come down to Limehouse any time soon. Luckily enough he did, the following day he had to come down to refill the barge with supplies for us boaters. We got our tank filled and Dom’s advice was to get a lock for the fuel tank – we will for sure! This was perfect timing as in fact we had to move on, else, the CRT enforcement team wouldn’t have been happy.

The joys of London cruising is unlimited and when you end up in a place like Three Mills, you either love it or hate it. There is nothing in between. Adnan loves it, Natascha hates it. There you go, a proper relationship dilemma.

It’s a hyper industrialised location where the visitor moorings are and on the other side of the canal is the Blackwall Tunnel Approach, meaning: cars, cars, cars – the air pollution is, quite literally, breathtaking.

Below some photos from the view of our mooring spot:

On 2 December it was time to move on despite strong winds. Adnan wasn’t around and it was Nat’s turn on the tiller and with those strong winds it wasn’t exactly the best moment for a ‘first time alone cruise’. Luckily it was really a very short trip, and not conform to CRT rules, but hey, sometimes you have to break them.

She crashed into the already moored boat, of course, choosing the beginning of Hertford Union canal proofed not to be suitable, the winds got properly channelled and Nat lost control. On top the neighbour complained that she doesn’t like if boats double moor on hers… well, that’s boaters life in London, darling. But it had to do for the night. We don’t like it either but as the boats increase there isn’t any other solution. Unless CRT would install more mooring, but that is another discussion.

Adnan came back and we moved the boat near to Anton’s. We ended up opposite where hot tubs were installed along the canal. On the one side this is our view:

On the other side, that strange Arcelormittal Orbit, which illuminates the misty Londoner night sky somewhat nicely.

But if you know the story behind this steel sculpture, then one wonders whether it was really necessary to built it in the first place. Anish Kapoor’s sculptures are usually sublimely beautiful, but something went wrong here. Maybe because Boris Johnson was involved?

It was getting cold now as can be seen in the photos above, nights were nippy. Still during the day the sun managed to come out and did light magic inside the boat:

The birds gathered and discussed it seemed. Was there another storm on its way? Was this the sign? Autumn at its best with a number of storms criss-crossing the UK.

And so it was, the second storm coming down on us. It’s a different matter to experience wind on a boat, even if it’s on a narrow water way, it pulls on the ropes, things fly through the air if not tied down, even to keep the camera steady is a little bit challenging.

It was a misty London day and on our journey to Upper Clapton we passed Springfield Marina and saw this:

A large traditional barge, quite possibly with fixed mooring. In London.

That looks tempting. Shall we? As in calling and ask for the price? We did and the asking price was £150’000, too much for us at the moment. Financing a boat is way more difficult than a house, you don’t get a penny from the banks for a barge. So we had to let go off this fantasy immediately and stick to our Quintessence.