Day 8 - Waltham Abbey to Limehouse

Thursday 7th May 2009

On Friday evening, we need to be moored at Limehouse Basin for a safety brief at the Cruising Association before heading out on to the Thames on Saturday.

Our options were to stay another day at Waltham Abbey, do the run to Limehouse in two sections (possibly mooring overnight at Victoria Park) or head straight to Limehouse.

Having not previously been to Limehouse, I decided to telephone the Harbour Master.  He confirmed that although there are only visitor overnight moorings at Limehouse, he would be quite happy for us to stay longer.  With this news, we set off at just after 10:30, stopping en-route for lunch at Stonebridge Lock (Tottenham), where we refilled the fresh water tank, disposed of rubbish and emptied the chemical toilet.

Shortly after setting off (with a very cloudy sky but no rain - yet), we saw a fleet of 12 helicopters flying overhead.  Not sure if it was welcoming committee, we kept a low profile and hid the anti-aircraft guns.

We found out later that the helicopters are part of the HMS Illustrious Fleet which is currently moored at Greenwich (on the River Thames) - more about HMS Illustrious later.

Returning down the Lee Navigation, I took no further photos until we reach the junction with the Hertford Union Canal.

The northbound photos can be seen on a previous posting.

On Tuesday we had joined the Lee Navigation from the Hertford Union Canal (to the right) to head north (to Waltham Abbey).

Construction at the London Olympic site

As we entered Old Ford lock, we were joined by five policemen in two inflatable launches.  We struck up a conversation which prove to be very interesting.  They are responsible for patrolling all the waterways within the M25 boundary.  Having heard that HMS Illustrious is currently moored at Greenwich to celebrate the 100 anniversary of naval air flight, it transpired that they escorted the aircraft carrier up the Thames just the other day.  As we will be cruising out of Limehouse to the Thames Barrage on Saturday, all being well it will coincide with the planned 14:00 fly pass.

In terms of her ‘vital statistics’, Illustrious is an impressive 209m long, with a beam of 36m and a displacement of 22,000 tonnes.  She has 1400 compartments and 15 lifts, and she is powered by 4 Gas Turbine Olympus engines (a marinised version of Concorde’s), giving her a top speed in excess of 30 knots.  With a Tailored Air Group embarked she has a full complement of over 1000 people, and can operate with a range of both rotary and fixed wing aircraft from the Harrier GR9 to troop-carrying Chinooks.  Her roles can vary widely, and include everything from Maritime Strike to Evacuation Operations; all of which she has ably demonstrated herself to be very much capable of fulfilling.

Of course compared to nb Tastoma she fails in one distinct area - she cannot fit into a canal lock
Continuing down the Lee…

Past the blocked entrance to Bow Back (leading into the London Olympic site)

Three Mills

How quaint…

Spratt’s Patent Limited

Entering Limehouse Basin

Limehouse lock onto the Thames - it’s an open and shut case!

And lots of pictures from around the Basin and the Thames (where we will be heading on Saturday) …

That’s nb Tastoma in the middle…

This entry was posted on 07/05/2009 at 05:00 pm and is filed under Cruise - May 2009, Holidays, Voyages. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.