Wednesday 10th July 2013 Hademstorf lk to abv Oldau lock KP15 R. Aller. 33.3kms 4 locks

Coming up in Hademstorf lock. R. Aller

Grey overcast and drizzling when we set off. Brief sunny spells, windy with dark clouds for the rest of the day. The lock was supposed to be open at nine, but the keeper was late arriving. Around 9.25 am he turned up, emptied the lock and opened one gate to let us into the mammoth sized lock chamber (159m x 10m) with curving, sloping concrete walls (his two locks were manually operated). The cruiser went up towards the front of the chamber and clung to a ladder with a pole, we stayed at the back of the chamber, Snail on the left and us on the right, 

Abv Marklendorf lock R. Aller

putting ropes round inset bollards halfway up the wall (lower ones were missing). We used our centre line from the roof and Snails used their bow rope round a side bollard. The keeper wound ground paddles by the top end gates, which slowly filled the massive chamber by 2.2m (the Weser–Handbuch says it should be 1.2m, so that doesn’t bode well for going back downstream!). We’d dropped tyres on cords so they sat just across the bottom chine of the boat and stopped the corner catching on the wall (we’d done this many times before in sloping sided locks). The crew off the cruiser said that we were lucky as the keeper had told them that the WSA were due to start a three-day strike as of tomorrow. 

Below 1st DIY lock Bannetze - glad the crew of cruiser
is working the lock, nowhere for us to get off.

They said they would have to wait for us at the next lock as the keeper would only work the manual lock once. It was nearly 12 kms to the next lock. We followed the cruiser and Snail up the meandering reach. The flow was slow to start with, around 0.75kph but picked up to nearly 5kph as we went further upstream. Under a railway bridge and there were houses all along the left bank, tucked away in the trees, most had small boats moored along the river and canoes in their gardens. 

Entering Bannetze lock

We went under the A7 motorway bridge at 11.35 am and into the lock cut to Marklendorf lock ten minutes later. Both the cruiser and Snail were waiting below the lock, so we tied alongside for a short wait. Again the keeper opened one of the 5m wide gates and we all went in. This time there were no bollards in the walls and the keeper climbed down a ladder to take Anne’s bow line and place it round the top of the ladder for her. Mike went up the ladder our side and put our rope round the top of the ladder. A deeper chamber, so this time we rose 3.20m. As we left we said tschus to the keeper and wished him a good strike. 

Bannetze lock chamber from top end gates

The other two locks were press button electric DIY. Followed the other two up the 11 kms reach to Bannetze lock. A small speedboat came past us at KP 30, but turned round and followed us back upriver, overtaking us five minutes later. When we arrived at the lock the cruiser and the speedboat were already in the lock, one tied to a short floating pontoon the other hanging on to a ladder with a short boat shaft, and Snail was just going through the gates. Oll called Mike on the radio to say that there were two sandbanks below the lock, 

Bannetze lock, full from the bottom end gates

he knew as he’d been sat on both of them and managed to wriggle his way off again! Mike knew where they’d be, on the point where the river flowed across the lock cut and on the opposite side of the lock cut. Knowing this we zigzagged through and into the lock. No bollards, so Mike went up the ladder with our centre rope and put it through the loop at the top of the ladder and he went to take photos while I held the string. We rose 2.2m fairly gently. The speedboat left first and we followed him. The cruiser stayed to close the gates and Snail followed us up the 11kms reach to Oldau, the last lock.

Moored on WSA quay abv Oldau lock

The sun was out and it was warmer for a short while. The cruiser was catching up at a vast rate of knots as it was up on the plane. It slowed down to go past Snail just after I’d taken a photo of it, then it sped off again as it reached our stern and made a huge wash! Kids! The speedboat had tied up at the WMCA moorings at KP21 and the skipper waved as we went past. They had a clubhouse in an old boat on the bank – the biggest boat we’d seen up here apart from the WSA workboats. A canoe went past, then another at KP19.5. The lock was at KP15 and the cruiser’s crew had it ready for us. Again there were no bollards in the sloping walls so Mike went up the ladder and threaded the rope through the loop for me. The cruiser continued on upriver. We moored above the lock next to the Snail on the WSA moorings – Anne asked one of the WSA staff if it was OK to moor there, the initial response was “No” but relented when he was told it was only for one night. An elderly gentleman with two walking sticks pressed the buttons to close the paddles and gates. Perhaps we will get to play with the buttons on our return. It was 5.45 pm.