4th - 6th April. Lift Out and Blacking at Riversdale Marina.

Graham has arrived with the trailer. Are we going to be safe up there?

The trailer goes right under water, with guide posts to show where it is. Do click on this one to enlarge it. The tractor wheels are half under the water too.

The boat having been steered forward over the trailer, it was a careful pull by the tractor to get it safely up the slipway.

What a relief! We are safely on to the trailer and up the slipway.

Our first job was for Andy to pressure wash the whole of the blacking, removing all green slime and any loose bits of paint.

I had to scrape off any zebra mussels, which were living on the boat. This is just a sample - there are lots more underneath. I had to lie on my back and wriggle backwards under the trailer to get to them, which was not very comfortable! We are guessing that The Netherlands do not want any of these imported by us!

Next it was time to touch up any bare metal with red oxide anti-rust paint.

The slipway here is also used for the ponies to have a paddle.

We used a roller to apply the main coat of blacking. This is the first time that we have used a roller for this and it worked very well, only needing a brush for any corners, and fiddly bits round the edges.

These steps make access to the stern of The Puzzler very easy, while we are up on the trailer. Everything is thought of, here at Riversdale Marina.

By Saturday evening all the blacking was completed and we are now ready for our continental adventure! We leave on Tuesday morning.

1st - 4th April. Spring on the Shannon Erne Waterway

The spring lambs are growing up, in this field alongside the water. We are on the Woodford River here, which is part of the Shannon Erne Waterway.

These retaining posts were sunk into the river bank many years ago, to help combat erosion by the water of the River Woodford. They are not working as well as they used to here, as all the soil between them has been washed away.

Andy is waiting below Ballyconnell lock, while Shannon and I prepare the lock for him.

This is one of the deeper locks on this waterway. Once the gates are shut, water is let in to lift the boat about twelve feet, before we can carry on above the lock.

There is a lovely walk from Ballyconnell, down by the river and through the woods. This canoeist tried in vain to go up the rapids towards the weir.

We were quite late leaving Ballyconnell, so only went as far as this mooring beside Bridge 26. With just room for one boat here, it is always a quiet place to be. We stayed here for two nights, as it never stopped raining on Wednesday.

These cute donkeys watched us pass by. Well, two of them did. The grey one seems to be asleep!

At last we reach Haughton's Shore. This will be our last mooring in Ireland, as The Puzzler is to come out of the water tomorrow.

We have fitted a new flagpole on the roof. The Irish flag is our courtesy flag, with the Dutch Barge Association burgee below it. Our red ensign will fly from the tiller. ( Thanks, Declan!)

Our favourite spot at Haughton's Shore is the jetty on the right, but the water level is too high for this to be comfortable.

We left Haughton's Shore soon after seven on Friday. The reflections on Garadice Lough were as impressive as ever.

On arrival at Riversdale, we tied up to two other barges, until the trailer was ready for us.

15th - 17th October. Keshcarrigan and Shannon -Erne Waterway to Riversdale Marina

Having come up eight locks, we are now on the summit level of the Shannon - Erne Waterway. We moored on the end of Keshcarrigan jetty, behind a cruiser. With a penichette hire-boat beside us, we feel very small!

The dinghy from the boat in front took a liking to The Puzzler!

From Keshcarrigan we moved on to moor above Ballyduff lock. There is always room to moor above these locks, still leaving space for any boat which may be using the lock.
Monday was very wet but we were due at Riversdale Marina so had to carry on in the rain. After going through Ballinamore we entered Ardrum Lock, where the rain became torrential. Having exited the lock, we tied up on the lower lock mooring for an hour, until the rain stopped. During that hour the water level rose by about a foot!

The weir at Aghoo lock, the next one down, is immediately above the lock, making it difficult to get to the lock mooring, because of the pull of the stream. The east side of the Shannon - Erne is definitely a waterway, as opposed to a canal!

We decided to turn The Puzzler round and go down the lock backwards. It was wonderful to be in the lock, and away from the power of the river water.

Once out of the lock, we continued backwards down the river, so that it was then easy to turn against the stream into Riversdale Marina. Andy is nearly level with the entrance, to his right, here.

It did not take Graham's man long to remove the damaged taff rail.

Great care was taken to make the new port taff rail match the starboard one, while protecting our paintwork. We were very impressed with the work done, and would recommend Graham's Marina at Riversdale to anyone.