First Narrowboat to reach Llandogo since 1992

[@growthy]

Great stuff, miss you going through Upperlode my seasons finished, love the banter, you were the only boat I felt comfortable letting through at high tide.

[@TheByard]

Well done, and thank you for the trip, it brought back memories. I worked on the CEGB Severn - Wye cable tunnel construction project and was based mostly at the Beachley site. Thursday evenings and Sundays in the summer a group of us would waterski off the old ferry slipway next to The Ferry Boat Inn. Now I know how fast the river runs after falling off many times, we did wear wet suits that helped keep us afloat. Sometimes we would ride the tide to Tintern, the tourist would watch us nutters ski-ing, then drag ourselves up the bank and go and have a pint in the pub waiting for the tide to turn. I also rafted down from Monmouth to Brockweir on the Rugby Club charity race, great fun till someone started throwing sheep dye bombs at us from the bankside. One poor chap was completely covered in red dye, he didn't see the funny side of it as he was a Bank Manager. I hope the return journey was even better.

[@secretsymphony]

Great video and achievement. You deserve more viewers!

[@llessibm]

I really enjoy your videos and your focus on the Wye is unique - a great unsung navigation only separated from the canal network by the width and a bit of the Severn - I can’t understand why every boater looks to crossing the Ribble to reach the Lancaster (ok it’s the northern most point) when the beautiful Wye is on mosts doorstep - is it the Severn crossing that puts them off or is the Wye just not catering for boaters i.e moorings and services aka not a tree 🌲

[@blackwaterhousecork5182]

Congratulations. Let us Hope that the Next Narrowboat won’t Wait quite so long.

[@andymathias6261]

Nice one Frank

[@markjones4704]

hi frank im using a alias this is p jennings i remember mooring up there at llandogo there was a old wharf there some of the stones were still visible not sure if i went with him in summer of 92 must have been a earlier trip went too browns shop and pub the sloop i think if i remember

[@CP140405]

Please forgive the naïve questions, but I'm from the other side of the pond with only four days aboard a canal boat ( a hire boat out of Sowerby Bridge last year) but why has there not been more canal boaters making that journey in the last 26 years? You mentioned tides running, collapsed weirs and bars... is all just due to a combination of water level/flow and time of day?

[@WyeInvader]

Thanks for your interest. You've really answered your own question, Narrow-boating in the UK is normally for leisure purposes on canals only but some more experienced skippers do undertake river journeys to move between or access canal systems. Under the River Wye And Lugg Navigation Act of 1727 all the locks were taken out of the River Wye to make the river a 'Free and Common river for all to use free of tolls'. The River Severn, used to access the River Wye has the second highest tide in the world and can really only be attempted by very experienced narrow-boat skippers with suitably equipped narrow boats (marine radio, lifejackets, flares etc). You can see at 09.06 on our video kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWrTeWZ_m9ppfrs what can happen when navigating the River Wye, and again on our video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqrLpY2fftariKc how difficult entering Sharpness from the River Severn can be! As can be seen from our video kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWqvfqeKeL-Xgqc Wye Invader Two has a very experienced skipper who successfully navigated the River Wye to Hereford with a 124 foot Dutch Barge (Wye Invader) in 1989 over a 6 month period and then returning 23 years later to Sharpness.

[@CP140405]

Thanks for all the information. I look forward to seeing the video of the return journey!

[@mysteriousmelon7250]

Do you think a narrowboat (~3' draft) could get all the way to Hereford?

[@WyeInvader]

Probably not possible any more. Wye Invader took over 6 months in 1991/2 to make the trip to Hereford and then again in November 2012 several months to make the trip back downstream to Sharpness, arriving in March 2013. Both trips took extensive planning of tides, weather and flood conditions and many recce's beforehand. Consideration would also be needed to those who oppose the navigation of the River Wye by anything other than canoe or row boat.