Three day Thames cruise of 63 miles in a 7 foot polythene dinghy. Below is a photocopy of the record I kept on a McDonald’s hamburger wrapper whilst sitting in the craft.

Tuesday 29-5-90 Lots Ait, Brentford. Took motor to slipway & hid in bushes, then pulled the dinghy down on wheels. Tide turned at 7.30 am. Going against tide. I suppose that’s why one mile took ¾ hr.

9.15 am Teddington. Have used 1½ litres petrol. Less than ½ litre from Eel Pie. Weakening of motor near the bog weir! Bled carburettor. Tried tuning throttle. Ate food past Teddington. Restart 10.40pm. Filled tank up sitting on the bank.

Hampton Court. Filled up under the road bridge. Engine trouble. Bled carburettor. 12 midday. Film finished at Kingston Bridge.

Hampton. Saw Constable’s Boatyard where I hired a rowing skiff three weeks ago, and Thames Voyages which has burnt down. The boatmen at Turk’s boathouse laughed at me because I hired one of their boats a fortnight ago (for an hour).

Sunbury Lock. (14 miles) 7½ hours. (Lock keeper asked for my licence for my boat. 2.10 pm (20 miles). Refuelled, 7 litres left, must have used 3 litres about 5 miles an hour. Actual 2 mph, so can only do 30 miles a day (Windsor is 30 miles — can get there). Attacked by a swan at Weybridge. Ran out of petrol 3.40 pm at River Wey Navigation entrance — chased by a swan. Shepperton Lock refilled. Chertsey Lock 4.50 pm (9 miles). Refuelled Staines Lock — will I reach Runnymede?

Runnymede. 7.45 pm. Bell Weir Lock runout. There were rowers and a Chinese Dragon Boat with many paddlers and a man beating a drum all faster than me. Camped Runnymede. Bank too steep to pull boat out to use as a tent.

Wednesday. Must buy a film, food, water, petrol. Go to Windsor. Left Runnymede for Windsor 12 pm. 7 miles. 3 litres. Asked a boatyard for petrol. Little Chef Station moored to pontoon, 2 pm. 10 litres petrol purchased. Tank filled, ½ litre put in, outboard angle made more vertical. Carburettor bled — motor weak. Hit bottom. Pump blocked? Propeller bent? Cleared weed from inlets. No spanner for pump. Found I could remove the water pump with the engine still on the dinghy, from the pontoon. 7 litres petrol used up to now in 26-27 miles, 18 mpg. Engine goes better, but with choke out, refuelled Old Windsor. 7 pm resting on bank past Batchet — shaved. A man was having a house built there. The land cost £240,000 and the house £180,000 — he said he was a canoeist. I ate food there. Ramsey Lock was unmanned at 7.30 pm. Went through with a cruiser from Wales. I went down the weir cut by mistake, perhaps because I was sitting sideways. Arrived Windsor 8.45 pm. Did 31 miles from Runnymede. Took photos of Windsor Castle from boat. Found spark plug loose. Engine trouble may be spark plug or spark plug lead loose. Seems OK now. Refuelled past Windsor — getting dark. Looking for a campsite 9.15 pm. 9.45 found ideal campsite up a tributary. Can get boat out and use as tent — did, because of rain.

Thursday 6 am. Fine clear morning. Refuel. Go to boatyard for provisions, spanner and film. Photograph boat with Windsor Castle. Romney Lock unmanned 7.30 am. Went through with a narrowboat. Back in Windsor 7.20 am. 9.30 am Windsor Old Lock. Take painkiller for back. Water pump discharging water. 5 miles done on tank. 11.30 am Bell Weir Lock. 100/1. May be insufficient mixer or plug loose. Photographed geese and boat and children round boat. Bought petrol. Refuelled 12.30 pm with 50/1 mixture, may be better. Penton Hook Lock 1 pm. Chertsey Lock 1.45 pm. 2 pm ran into trees, then got flooded by three cruisers going together. Had to bail out. Boat full of leaves. Shepperton Lock: man in an inflatable told me he had come from Lechlade. 2.55 pm ran out of petrol — had to paddle into the lock. Sunbury Lock. Girl lock keeper. Spoke to people in cruiser Dancing Girl. Said they’d been seeing me all day. Had a look inside Walton Marine, past Walton Bridge. 4.15 pm. Saw fire — skiff boat clubhouse on fire by river. Fire engine came. Explosions! Hampton Court Lock (Moseley Lock). 6 pm. Engine nearly fell off. Found one clamp fell off just before Moseley Lock. Tied with cord. Hope all right to Brentford. Two rowers with a woman cox overtook me. 7.35 Teddington Lock. Went through the very narrow lock. Got water for Aspros for aching from lock keeper. Refuelled. Need to make a back rest. 9.05 Kew Gardens. At Syon Park, amongst trees, got green plastic bag round propeller. Had to saw it off.

Half an hour from home and it was getting dark. Journey Teddington to Brentford was against tide. The six miles took two hours. With the tide it would be 1½ hours. 9.30 pm Lots Ait Brentford. Went up River Brent to Thames Lock. A powerful tugboat made big waves. The tide was at the bottom of the slipway as I took the boat out. Heavy carrying the engine and petrol and pulling the boat on its wheels 250 yards to my address. Cut the wheels off a pram. Kept indoors.

Itinerary: Left Brentford 6.30 am Tuesday, 25 miles Reached Runnymede Tuesday 7.30 pm, 7 miles Reached Windsor 9 pm Wednesday, 31 miles Returned to Brentford slipway 9.30 pm Thursday.

Boat: Sportyak Polythene dinghy. 7’ 6” long, 40 lbs weight, double skinned, very buoyant.

Engine: Johnson 2 hp outboard. Weighs 24 lbs. Tank only takes 1 litre

---0---

Found this information at a boat club just below Teddington Lock, where I ate.

Weil’s Disease The Leptospirosis Ref. Unit Public Health Laboratory County Hospital Hereford HR1 2ER, tel 0602 691944 Give blood test results in 2-3 hours with Elisa test.