Checking canal depth

Bad news- and good news! With Covid and the prolonged closure of the canal at Westleaze preventing any boat usage of the canal near Kingshill for over two years we had no idea whether any silting up had occurred that might prevent Dragonfly resuming her proper trips as & when the blockade is removed. But now we have a pontoon there, we were able to do some depth sounding so we can be sure.

The bad news is that although silt as such isn't a problem, there are two 'alluvial fans' of small stones that have been washed into the canal during heavy rain over the years. These are now almost meeting in the middle, making it impossible for Dragonfly to pass. But the good news is that our work party, wearing waders, feel they can probably clear them enough for Dragonfly to pass. We had marked the pole I was using with the draft (depth) of Dragonfly, so it was easy to see at a glance what was going on. We can only be finally sure once Dragonfly has actually been right along, but the omens are good. There will also be a lot of plastic bags etc in the canal, which can be cleared only by being caught in Dragonfly's propellor as she passes, so we will need to do several dummy runs before we can announce the resumption of trips.

All this can happen only once the canal is reopened, of course so watch this space!