MATANUSKA MEANDERINGS

Dear Motley Crew, After coming back out onto the main Bridgewater Canal, we holed up for a few days at Moore, under the watchful eye of...

Dear Motley Crew, As we moved out onto the Trent and Mersey Canal, we were so fixedly focused on the Anderton Lift and the River Weaver...

Diear Motley Crew, Note the date – Saturday 5th September. Today, the good ship Matanuska filled up, emptied out and headed off into the...

The 18th of July was rapidly approaching and we were committed to our booking in the marina. We could no longer delay it, so we began the...

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”. I’m uncertain if Dr Seuss...

Five days after having limped into Walsall, we had run out of reasons for staying put; we had replenished our larder, taken care of some...

In her 1992 Christmas message, the Queen popularised the term "annus horribilis" to describe the year that had just been. I think that we...

After a week of travelling along with Mary Jane, we parted company at Hatton Top Lock; she was headed to the Severn River and we were on...

The following video comes with an apology to Led Zepplin ....... and those of you who are proficient in the art of editing videos. We...

Sunday, 14th June 2020 With the prospect of 23 double locks ahead of us today, The Captain and The Commodore were up early. Mrs Chippy,...

Dear Motley Crew, On the 10th of June, we stopped re-tracing our steps and, quite literally, turned a corner. For those of you who are...

Dear Motley Crew, In the words of The Grateful Dead – On Tuesday 23rd May, word finally came through from the Canal and River Trust that...

Redemption is close at hand. There is a perceptible sense of anticipation along the towpath and, if I can be permitted to mix sports and...

* TO ALL CREW – NOTICE OF LOCKDOWN EXTENSION* “On 16th April 2020, the Admiral of the Fleet extended the Coronavirus lockdown period...

Dear Motley Crew, We’re coming to you today from beautiful downtown Banbury which is beginning to feel a little like 6 am in beautiful...

Dear Motley Crew, We have this morning, received some worrying news from The Forward Observation Officers who have observed that we are,...

Dear Motley Crew, Well, here we are, holed up at Banbury on the south Oxford Canal, 52.0629° N, 1.3398° W for those of you who are well...

18th March 2020 Dear Motley Crew, In response to apparent rumblings from below deck re the status of Matanuska and her movement’s...

At long last - some time to get this blog finalised. Apologies in advance for its amateurish nature and what I'm certain will be its many...