ready to take it out - but the weather has other plans

It is the middle of December, 2010.

I managed to get the Canoe safely all the way back from Basingstoke to home, and borrowed a paddle.

So I am ready to take it out for its first test to see if it floats, and I don't fall in the water.

The local Grand Union canal is only a few miles away, and it is as good as any water to test it out.

The forecast for the weekend is sunny, so that is good, but...the temperature is dropping fast. So fast as a matter of fact that it is going below freezing point, which means that the canals are freezing over.

I venture out to the local canal for an inspection, only to find it covered with a few cm of ice. So I have to put my launch plans on ice (...) for a while!

We went back for a nice walk after Christmas. By now the ice was so thick that horses were walking on it. We'll have to wait for a while to try it out.