We finally sold our first boat 'Hareni' on Tuesday. We had mixed feelings. We were glad that at last somebody was going to take her away and use her again. It has never sat well with us that she has been laying idle all this time but sentiment made us reluctant to sell. She will be transported to the Lancaster canal to have a new life. I hope she likes it there - I think she will. I don't think we would have sold her if we had remained in Goole, in fact we wouldn't have sold anything and we wouldn't now be on this crazy new journey with Elephant Daze! We have had some great times on Hareni starting from the day we collected her from York with our experienced boater friend and took that first trip on the Ouse, blissfully unaware of the dangers that lay ahead. We survived the floods, the rain and eventually the snow. We walked miles for a new battery at Knottingly when we realised the one on board was completely useless. We washed in freezing cold water and listened to the water dripping from the roof at night. We won't mention the incident with the on board porta loo (still full from the previous owner!!). At Brighouse we had a visitor during the night or so we believe. We awoke to a snow covered boat with footprints leading to and from the boat, the canopy was also open. We all remember hearing someone moving on the boat but all thought it was one of the others......! Maybe it was someone looking for somewhere warm to sleep - they must have disappointed! We continued our journey through one of the worst snow storms of that year. People were getting stranded at work and we were working our way through the locks of The Calder and Hebble! We finally reached Elland and could go no further. The locks at Salter Hebble were closed for 'essential repairs'! So we hit the pub. The Barge and Barrel. I remember sitting in front of the open fire drying our feet - yes they really did steam! It was heavenly, for a while. The work on the locks were set to continue for some time and in the end we had no option but to start walking to work. Just a short hop - 5 miles or so....! We eventually moved the boat back down to The Colliers Arms where we made good friends with the landlord. He was such a lovely chap we had a great time. He didn't mind if we made a pint last a couple of hours just so we could get warm! We survived those first couple of months without electric or running water (We went swimming a lot...!). The only form of heating was a small gas fire, illegal now I might add! This created lots of excess moisture on the roof when lit so we had two options, freeze or get wet! Mornings were a nightmare, we would both try to get out of being the first one up to light the fire and warm up the boat. It was a case of get up, run to the back of the boat (essentially outside!) run back in, light the fire and get back into bed for at least 30 minutes before the arctic conditions began to melt (literally sometimes!). It sounds terrible, but we loved it! It was our first home together and we were very proud to call ourselves 'boatowners'! When we finally arrived at Sowerby Bridge we got electric and an oil filled radiator courtesy of a Christmas bonus from my then employer. We were warm and dry at last! It's funny but we never even thought about T.V. We had plenty to do without it! So followed four fabulously crazy bohemian years! We spent the summers having boatyard BB Q's sitting out telling tall tales, going to scooter rallies and having lots of parties in general. In the winter we would all meet up in the various pubs around Sowerby Bridge and talk about as much sense as we did in the summer! It was a very special time, needless to say I can't quite remember all the details......! It was a very comfortable existence, maybe too much so for me. For me having a boat was about travelling and I eventually persuaded Martyn that it was time for a move. That move resulted in Hareni ending up in Goole. For us that journey was as epic as the one we have just undertaken. We were still relatively clueless about boats then, we knew where was good to have a drink or a kebab in Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge or Halifax but 'long range' cruising was a different matter. Don't get me wrong we took her out on weekends and short holidays but this was different. When we left we had a crew of five with us, a crew made up of very special friends from the boatyard. First stop - The Barge and Barrel at Elland - very fitting we had our last party with them there before embarking on our journey into the unknown. It was time to grow up and start learning, which we did, very quickly! A trip on the river Trent makes you realise there really is a whole new world of boating out there. Hareni took us to Lincoln (still one of my ultimate favourite boating spots!), Boston, Newark, Nottingham and Leicester eventually taking us back North to York and right up to Ripon. It was an adventure I really wish we had documented better - blogs didn't exist then! Fate finally led us to Goole, well really Martyns brother announcing his last minute weeding plans led us to Goole! We needed to stop and earn some money and Goole for reasons I now forget ended us being the place to do so. The rest as they say is history.....! So Hareni, she has been a very good friend to us and deserves a little TLC now. Her new owner seems very nice, I couldn't have sold to her somebody I didn't think was....! She will never be a closed chapter in our lives just a source of fabulous memories.
Thanks Hareni. XXX
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