The June Rose: Wednesday 12 August 2015

Beautiful morning – why can’t it be like this every day! Our pilot called to say that we were on for the passage to Sharpness this afternoon locking out of the Marina at 3.00pm. We had a coffee with Peter and Jan in the morning then did some shopping to replenish the food supplies and waited for Carl, our pilot.

Back out into the channel with Liza following us. You feel so small in this vast expanse of water. It is 19 miles from Portishead to Sharpness and took us 3 hours. It was a little choppy when we first left the Marina but once you get out into the main channel it calms down and we were carried on the tide. We went under the Second Severn Crossing then the Severn Bridge – both impressive structures. All the years we went to Cornwall on the M4 never would I have imagined that one day I would be chugging underneath the Second Severn Crossing on a narrowboat! And just as crazy that only this time last year when I was completing my boss Anne’s expenses for her crossings on the Severn Bridge to one of her cases in Pembroke, did I think I would be going under that very Bridge on a narrowboat!

In between the two bridges the tides and currents swirl and cause what they call Eddies – it looks like you are in a huge bowl of mud soup coming to the boil! We probably didn’t need Carl telling us at this point that a life jacket would be of no use to us whatsoever if we were to go overboard at this point...

Now we have the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside on both sides of the Channel. It is very strange looking ahead to see where Sharpness is over on the right hand side and we are heading directly for the bank on the left side, then before you know it we are heading straight for the right hand bank and the lock entrance is straight ahead – Carl assures me that he knows exactly what he is doing, not that I doubted that for one moment and I am very pleased that he is on board. Oldbury Nuclear Power Station is on the right which has an underwater reservoir, no vessels are allowed in this area and Carl tells us that a narrowboat got stuck on the reservoir wall last year and sunk in no time at all – thankfully the guy on board was rescued.

Then we are heading straight for the Victorian pier that is the entrance to the lock but because of how quickly the tide is pulling us we miss it and go straight into the lock. Here they have to throw ropes down to us front and rear for us to hold onto until the lock fills up – the lock is massive and it takes about half an hour to fill. We are now in Sharpness Docks where there are some pretty big ships moored. We had to go through two swing bridges and then there is a mooring where we stop for the night overlooking the Severn Estuary – stunning sunset.

In the lock at Portishead Marina - we tie onto the floating pontoon which comes down with the water.

Carl on board, the lock is empty - waiting for the lock gate to open.

Leaving Portishead.

In the channel - hard to believe facing this angle that we go between the two marker bouys!

The Second Severn Crossing (M4) and the Severn Bridge in the distance.

Over there is the River Avon that we came out of on Monday.

Liza going past the River Avon Entrance.

All vessels have to pass through the centre channel as the bridge is built on rocks - to the right the rock is called English Stones and to the left the rock is called Black Bedouin.