Our first trip on Slipstream remains something of a mystery. As this is the first year of our share we have had to inherit someone else's choice of weeks and, whilst the second week coincides with the half term holidays the first week clashes with A level exams and we are still not sure when Sean will have to be in school. He definitely has an exam on Wednesday but Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be free but have not been confirmed. To cover all contingencies we have three plans - to the end of the Trent & Mersey and back by Sunday evening, to Nottingham and back by Monday evening or The Erewash and return by Tuesday evening. On arriving at the boat at 1pm we still did not know as Sean was at school and Sandy has to go back and pick him up once we have loaded our gear on board.

The weather on the drive over was poor with rain forecast for the afternoon so that didn't bode well but, no matter, we were on our own boat for the first time and nothing would detract from enjoyment over the next couple of weeks. Once all our gear was on board Sandy set off to pick up Sean and I was shown around the boat by the Ownerships representative at Fradley. Since I had been boating before and had taken the RYA Boat Handling course I didn't need handling lessons but I did need to know where everything was, like the electrical switches and engine filler points. That done I settled down, put a CD in the hi-fi system and mused over the fact that we had actually bought a share in our own boat and would never again have to hire. Excellent! In the middle of my reverie, however, Swan Line decided that they wanted to move their boats around so I was called upon to move Slipstream out of their way. Since we were setting off in the opposite direction to which we were moored it seemed sensible to turn her at the same time, so my first attempts at controlling this new boat involved winding her at a busy junction with half a dozen boats moored either side and in front of the ever present Fradley Junction gongoozlers! No problem, in a short time she was facing the other way and the shuffle of other boats had been completed. Looked like Slipstream was going to be a joy to handle.

Around about 4.30pm the crew arrived and I could find out, at last, which of our three plans we would be following for our first voyage on Slipstream. Sadly, Sean had to go into school on Monday so it was the shortest of the three, up to the end of the Trent & Mersey and back. We were anxious to start and so, at 4.45pm we opened up the gates of Junction lock and set off.

The promised rain had not materialised, in fact the afternoon had turned into beautiful blue skies with pure white clouds and it looked like a very pleasant evening's boating lay ahead of us. We dropped through two more locks before cruising off towards Alrewas and arrived at Bagnall Lock in glorious sunshine to find an idyllic canalside scene with the lock offset by the creamy white of the adjoining buildings and The Boat pub. I had often glimpsed this scene whilst driving along the A513 but from the canal it was totally different and a hundred times better. Past Bagnall Lock, Alrewas was delightful with beautifully kept gardens lining the canal and everything spotless. In the evening sunshine this was a joyous stretch.

Dropping through Alrewas Lock brought us on to the stretch where the River Trent joins the canal for a short distance and then drops off over a huge weir! Although unsure what to expect we pressed boldly on without any problems as the weir was quite obviously cordoned off with what looked like huge red and white painted tractor tyres and there was even a road junction type 'no entry' sign to guide us in the right direction. From here the canal winds its way through pleasant pastures around Wychnor and through the strangely shaped Cow Bridge before dropping through Wychnor Lock to run alongside the A38. I regularly travel up this road and have often glimpsed the canal and thought how idyllic it would be to cruise along at a leisurely pace rather than belt along at 80mph rushing to get somewhere. Well, the canals are certainly better but this stretch is far from idyllic as the noise of the traffic almost drowns out the noise from the engine! Whilst the canal was pleasant enough the experience of the traffic noise for the next half an hour was far from pleasant and we were glad when the canal veered away from the road and we reached our mooring spot for the night just short of Barton Lock. We arrived at 7.15pm and intended to eat at The Barton Turns before our first night onboard Slipstream.