The Herbie Award for 2010's worst bit of canal

This is a tough one.  Not because we have encountered much to complain about this year, but because I like nearly everywhere we go.  However, certain bits of the waterway in certain weather conditions or times of the year can be a real pain.

Let's start close to home.  The dear old Slough Arm.  I love it really and as you can see from the picture I use at the head of the blog, it can look very pretty.   Not bad at the other end either except for a bit of graffiti.

Remarkably clear water, loads of fish, greenery and waterfowl.  What's the problem?  The dreaded blanket weed that's what. Every summer it becomes nigh on  impassable because of the weed.  Us boaters are surely to blame because the densest weed growth is alongside the boats at our yard at Iver, and when I say dense I mean really dense.  Great thick blankest of green cotton wool that seem to clog the whole width and depth of the waterway.  It can clog a propeller in seconds.  That is the one thing that I shall not miss when we move Herbie to Crick next year.

Next contender.  The Regents Canal south of Islington.  That Regents Canal? Yes, I know it is lovely through Madia Hill and Regents Park, and great fun at Camden market but . .

It all starts at City Road lock just beyond the Islington tunnel.  A nice enough spot, but it has the most frustrating lock I think I have ever encountered.  It seems that whatever you do, the bottom gates want to swing  open on their own.  You walk round and shut one, and then you charge round the other way, leaping over balance beams  and nearly falling into the adjacent unused lock, but its no good.  By the time you reach the other gate the first one has swung open again.  To add insult to injury, not only do these gates swing open, they are real pigs to shut.  Something is seriously out of balance.  There are some heavy gates further down this stretch too and beyond Ducketts Cut  a number of places are really vulnerable to side winds, so the poor person waiting on the boat while you do the gates gets blown into the far bank.  Drab too, this bit.  And so on through to the final lock at Commercial road which seems to have permanently broken paddles and takes ages to operate.  But what is even worse, it nearly always seems to be terrible weather when we go down there.

After that I'm struggling to think of another really bad bit on our travels this year, although quite a few locks in the  chilterns do suffer from gates that swing open, they are not in the same class as City Road.  So I'll declare here and now that the Regents Canal takes the biscuit  Award for Worst Bit of Canal in 2010  .

So what was the scariest moment of 2010

Do you know what people are generally most afraid of?  I once saw the results of a survey and there was clear winner.  Way above, flying, spiders, getting mugged and all the rest was public speaking!  I reckon it all boils down to fear of failure of of embarrassment.  And so it was with my scariest moment of 2010.  Not the sudden adrenaline shock of Herbie's engine threatening to blow up, but the slow inexorable approach of a moment when disaster might be revealed.  A bit like those people who can't watch their football team in an important match.

So my choice of  the Herbie Scariest Moment of 2010 has to be the removal of the masking tape at the end of the paintfest.  Months of planning, weeks of work and stacks of money, all resting on the pull of a piece of tape.  It was truly scary.  Now you know why the masking tape was a contender for best DiY product!

But there is an upside this type of fear.  If the event passes without the dreaded worst happening, then the result is often complete euphoria.  And in this case it was.

Coming soon

2010s worst bit of canal
The Best boater's accessory,
and a mystery Special Award

Award logo mark II for the taking

As I suspected my lovely award logo was too wide for the job, so following an idea from Sue here is Mark II.

Herbie Award

for FORTITUDE

Just copy the jpeg and type in the citation below.  Is that OK?

Scariest Moment Award nominees

As a firm believer in discretion being the better part of valour, I'm a fairly risk averse person, which is I suppose what makes me such a dull chap.  However it seems that operating a boat does unavoidably have it's scary moments, so how about an Award for the scariest moment this year.  Here is my shortlist.


1. Starting Herbie's engine after bleeding the fuel and having it instantly run away to what seemed like ten million rpm because I had replaced a broken governer screw without adjusting it.  I had fleeting visions of the engine exploding as I was in the engine hole alongside it.  I still get palpitations at the thought.


2. Mooring up in a very strong sidewind at Campbell Park in Milton Keynes.   I was on my own and there was no-one ashore to catch a rope.  I quote from my blog post at the time.


There was one mooring spot, just long enough, and there was a stiff breeze blowing offshore. My first attempt failed and I overshot. Then I got blown into a rather smart boat opposite. I backed off and had another go, pointing the bow of the boat at the centre of the gap and in forward gear just ticking over, I ran along the gunwales to the bow and jumped of with a rope just as we were about to crash. Not a textbook manoeuvre but it worked. I pulled the boat parallel with the bank and leapt on to the stern to apply reverse gear to stop us just before we smacked into the boat in front. 


And if you wonder why I don't have a photo of this, you don't really understand the situation!


3. On the Stort , lifting the engine hole cover to see why it had stalled and seeing this.

Nuff said.  It was alright in the end.


4. Taking off the masking tape at the end of two weeks of painting the boat.   The whole business of the boat painting was scary because there was so much at stake, and it's not until the end that you know if it has worked. You see, before you pull off the tape, you have this.

The paint looks OK but would half the paint come off with the tape? Would it have bled all over the place and the nice sharp edges be all ragged? After two weeks hard graft  and a thousand pounds spent, these are not trivial matters.  I happy to say Rick did the peeling for me while I held my hands over my eyes and squinted  through the gaps between my fingers.  

The result - brilliant, and probably my best moment of the whole year!


5.  Another painty one.  Never having done any signwriting before, putting the first brush strokes of Herbie's name on the lovely shiny newly painted panel. 

Now there was no going back.  Would it be a disaster?  Would it ruin the whole effect of the new paint job?  I was very nervous, and shaky hands are not what you need when you are signwriting.  Hence all the masking tape.


Do these seem scary to you, or am I just a whimp?

Your Award logo?

Award Winner Sue suggested it might be nice to have Herbie Award image that recipients might proudly display on their web pages.  A great idea but not all that easy when you try to make one small enough yet still legible.

Are either of these any good or do I need to make it simpler so it can be smaller and still be read?

Don't forget if you are a continuous cruiser and sticking out the freeze like Sue and Carrie, then this award is for you too.

A very special award

Late last night I decided I would make a special Herbie Award.  I'd been reading some other boater's blogs and messages to Canal World Forums about life for those frozen in on their boats.  In particular those continuous cruisers who are stranded in the countryside away from sources of fuel and water.  Once their water runs out, and their logs or heating oil are finished, they are in real difficulties.

It was all summed up well by Sue of No Problem in her post yesterday, concerned about fresh water supplies and the treacherous walk to fetch it.  Not that she was really complaining, for anyone reading her blog over the years will know of her adaptability and stoicism.  Real continuous cruisers (rather than continous moorers) have my respect at this time of year.  I wonder if after this winter some will decide the floating life is no longer for them.

So I decided to make a Herbie Award for Fortitude and dedicate it to all those brave souls struggling out there at the moment.  On their behalf I will give it to Sue and Vic on No Problem (seen here in warmer days)

Sorry Sue and Vic, this award has no monetary or any other value.  Just recognition of the stoicism of you and your fellow CCers.  I hope you will accept it on their behalf.

And the Best Mooring Stop is . . plus Best Waterways Event

Well, I've surprised myself.  My choice for Favourite Mooring Stop 2010 is Fenny Stratford lock!!  By no means the prettiest or the most exciting, I've just had to admit that I aways enjoy staying there, whether it's doing jobs, walking down into the shops or along the path behind the hedge, or just sitting out by the water chatting to passers by.  As an additional bonus, it's a safe place to leave a boat unattended for a few days as we did in order to go to the Braunston Boat Rally..  A pleasant old chap from one of the houses opposite was deputising for the mooring warden there last summer and he did daily checks on the boats.  I would suspect that other boaters might find this choice surprising, but each to his own

Now what shall we have next?  having just mentioned Braunston, lets have an award for Best Waterways Event.

This year we attended three.  Here they are in chronological order

1. IWA Cavalcade at Little Venice at May Bank Holiday.  For a number of the liveaboard boaters at our yard this is their annual outing, so we joined in the convoy.  When you arrive on the Friday evening it is very chaotic as they sort out which boat goes where.  For those lucky enough to be booked into Brownings Pool it is well ordered.

 For the rest of us moored up the main line it is definitely not.  You just grab what spot you can as the boats moor up three abreast.  This is one of those festivals that is an annual gathering of old friends, so the organisers don't seem to feel bound to explain the goings on to newcomers.  Black mark.

There are of course some lovely boats there.  The artwork on this one  looks suspiciously like the work of a certain Mr Speight.

Some good craft stalls, a decent supply of ales and cider, a very good band one night, and a fine if somewhat hilarious parade of old boats.  Hilarious because of the problems of processing very big boats through very small spaces.  We had a grandstand view from aboard Simon's diminutive Nb Tortoise, and felt we were going to be demolished on one or two occasions.  The weather was nasty, a very cold wind and some heavy rain taking the shine off many events.  The best bit was meeting up with James and Amy from Nb Lucky Duck,  Sarah and Jim from Nb Chertsey and of course Simon and Carrie.  Lots of chat and a fair bit of cider if I recall correctly.

2. Braunston Historic Boat Rally 24 June

Another first for us and we really enjoyed it.  Leaving Herbie at Fenny Stratford we got buses and trains up to Rick and Marilyn and went with them to the rally.  A lovely hot day.  Free entry - just a modest car park fee. Crowds of people.  Lots of lovely old boats.  Complete chaos on the cut as they all crammed in together,

this is the main line of the Grand Union Canal!  A bit like holding a vintage lorry rally on the middle lane of the M1!  They have a fine boat procession with a good commentary on the tannoy.  It was especially good to see Sarah on her first showing of her newly restored Nb Chertsey.

Cogniscenti will also spot a pair of Ducks sitting just forward of the cabin. The rally also had a good craft and canal bric a brac tent and the beer tent sold the right stuff.  Once again we ended up drinking and chatting with the Ducks, the Chertseys and the Tortoises.

3. IWA National Festival at Beale Park  August Bank Holiday

In reality mostly a trade show although there are chances to attend a workshop or a talk.  Now you might see a pattern developing here because I have to confess that some time was spent talking to Simon in the beer tent.  As to the exhibits, there seemed to be a lot of people selling high value items such as engines and boat windows, but a disappointing shortage of chandlery stuff.  Of course various IWA branches had pitches, as did restoration groups.  There were a few show boats to look over too and a small number of historic boats.  I'm not at all sure the IWA have worked out what this show is really for.  It seems to me to be a bit of this and a bit of that and have no proper focus.  I suppose I could add that despite taking my camera, I didn't find a reason to use it.

Now, dear reader, from my comments I'm quite sure you can work out the winner for yourself, so I won't make you wait overnight.  So the Herbie 2010 Award for Best Waterways Event goes to the rather splendid Braunston Historic Boat Rally.  Well done them. I shall endeavour to return in future years.

Talking of which, as we are moving to Crick next spring, we shall have a free ticket to the Crick show, so that'll be one we'll get to in 2011.

Best Pub announced plus nominations for favourite mooring stop

What an agonising choice.  Our shortlist of pubs all deserve a prize, but only one can win so it has to be The Rising Sun at Berko.  Architecturally it is no great shakes, and the decor isn't anything special, and you can't moor outside the door, but it wins because they are so good at what they do.  Simply providing lovely things to drink.  And its not by accident.  The landlord is always keen to ask your opinion of this beer or that cider and they really do try to have a selection of unusual and delicious stuff.  Its the equivalent of fine dining.  This is fine drinking. Its also a real pub.  A place to have a conversation with people you never saw before.  As for their little beer festival, it was small but perfectly formed.

And now for something completely different.  The award for Favourite Overnight Mooring.  For this year's selection I have decided to go for places that give me pleasure just to be at.  They may not necessarily have handy shops or a pub or other attractions.  Just nice places to sit on or near the boat and enjoy being there.

So here we go with the shortlist.

1.  Kensal Green, London

The last bit of proper greenery before you get into the city centre, although it is only ten minutes walk from the Portobello Road.  There is always room to moor here, and you can have a picnic or a BBQ and watch the ducks and geese.  Joggers and cyclists go to and fro on the towpath, but it has a nice air of calm.  Even the huge gas holder nearby is attractive, and there are some fascinating boats in the area like this one that chugged past us.

2. Grove Park - Grand Union 

We stopped here on a glorious summer evening and walked around taking photos.  The canal here is actually a bit of river and has a gentle current.  I suspect this place is a bit genteel and manicured for some tastes, but you can't deny its beauty.

3.  Winkwell  -  Grand Union

  The very next evening from the Grove, we stopped at Winkwell just above the swing bridge.  This is the northern outskirts of Hemel Hempstead. You can see the Four Horshoes just down the cut, a popular pub for sitting out by the water.  The towpath runs alongside a little stream at the foot of some attractive house gardens.

4. Fenny Stratford lock - Grand Union near Milton Keynes

I bet a lot of people would be surprised at this choice, but I love it.  The moorings lie  against a hedgerow behind which is a footpath with a surprising abundance and selection of wild flowers.  Grace stayed with us here and she loved the walk. On the other side of the canal just some suburban houses and the streets leading over the hill to IKEA, B&Q et al.

Its a really good place to do a spot of gunwale painting as the bank is low.  This time I used it to do the signwriting on the starboard side.  That bottle you can see is white spirit.   The little high street nearby has food and a great hardware shop.  Most of all though it is a pleasant place to sit out at night.

5. Hertford Town moorings - River Lea

 A nominee in previous years too, I have a soft spot for this place as it was one of the first places we took Herbie.  The river here is clear, narrow and gentle and across the towpath lie the town allotments.  Despite being only a couple of hundred yards from the town centre it is quiet.  Just the odd person strolls past.  Mostly just out for a gentle stroll.  Hertford is such a nice old town, so even after hours, a short walk gives you lots of fine old buildings to look at.  If the wind is in the right direction you have the added bonus of  the aroma of hops from the nearby McMullen's Brewery.  In this picture we had taken the last spot.  Further back, the grass verge is wide enough to sit out on.

Writing these up has given me a strong sense of nostalgia for our cruises this year, and they remind me of why I love cruising.  I have no idea yet who I will choose for the winner.

Best Town Waterfront announced and Nominations for Best Pub

I should have invited the local mayors and the press for this one but I couldn't afford the banquet, so here goes anyway.  The Best Town Waterfront on our 2010 cruises is: (drum roll, tearing open of envelope, camear shots of anxious contestants)  Berkhamsted.  Very well done Berko, always nice but this year better than ever with bridges decorated.  I've even spelled it right today.  Maybe they'll put up another plaque.

And so on to one of the premier and most important awards.  Best Pub 2010.  This is of course the subject of diligent research and frequent sample visits, and I have to say it is a very difficult choice.  So what do you have to do to be nominated?

1. Be close to the waterway.  The closer the better.
2. Be friendly and welcoming
3. Serve very good real ale, preferably an interesting selection
4. Have atmosphere
5. Have locals that will talk interestingly to you

That rules out quite a few I can tell you.

So here is the shortlist

1. The Grapes at Limehouse - last year's winner, seen here from rear as the little balcony overlooks the Thames

The Grapes scores most highly on Atmosphere, and Ale.  One of the great old pubs of London, featuring in all the guides.

2. The Rising Sun at Berkhamsted.

A vastly improved pub since the present, very keen, landlords took over.  Known locally as The Riser, this small but perfectly formed it sits adjacent to the bottom town lock, and serves an ever changing range of real ales and real ciders.  We were lucky enough to be passing when their summer beer festival was on, and it was a delight.  No food except on special occasions like the festival when we had an exceptional ploughmans lunch with carefully selected speciality cheeses and English apples.

3. The Old Barge at Hertford

In a quaint spot right by the river Lea at the head of navigation.  This largish pub serves a super range of very well kept ales and has a good food menu.  Inside it is comfortable and it has character and a lively clientele.  Extra points for having newspapers too.  They do a particularly good Sunday night quiz although we missed it this year.  This is the sort of pub you could sit in all day reading the papers and not feel in the way.

4. The Anchor and Hope on the Lee Navigation at Upper Clapton.  What can I say?  A little gem that has somehow survived through the years whilst the surrounding area has been rebuilt.  I took this photo from the train as we passed bound for London on a day off.

Regular readers will recall our tale of being helped over the fence by the barman as we tied up outside.  It has a tiny bar and usually three real ales and no food.  Sadly we've never been there in the evening, but at lunchtime it seems to have people popping in and out for a quick pint and a chat.  Good conversation can always be had here.  This is a real old fashioned local.  Totally unspoilt.

5. The Black Horse at Greenford

Here we are moored outside.

The Black Horse is a big pub, but still friendly and, I have to say, often really helpful.  A friend of ours with an allergy had her meal specially tweaked by them at no notice.  At the end of a very cold day on the boat we called in for a nice hot dinner and were dismayed to find that kitchen staff had called in sick and they couldn't do food for us.  We did manage to get fish and chips up the road, but returned for a pint.  The landlady came over to apologise about the lack of food and gave us a voucher for a free Sunday lunch next day.  The Black Horse has comfy sofas, newspapers, a balcony overlooking the garden and the canal, and unfailingly superb beer.  It has served the best pint of Fullers ESB I have ever tasted.  In fact one of the best glasses of beer I have ever had.  It is also just about half way between our home moorings and Paddington , so a perfect stop for us.

6. Lastly, the lovely old Globe Inn at Old Linslade on the Grand Union.

You can moor right outside the door, and on summer nights the outside tables are a good place to chat with other boaters.  The staff are friendly, the food very good,  and they always have a couple of interesting ales.  This is a picture postcard pub, and very popular.  I can't ever remember passing without an overnight stop.

What a great selection, every one a winner, but not this time.  I have to choose just one.  Results tomorrow.

Best gadget revealed plus nominations for Best Town Waterfront and some of the worst

And the best boaters DIY gadget is  . . .( stupid 15 second pause (don't you find that really annoying on the telly))

Brush Mate (see yesterday for details).  It wins because it really works, it's really useful, it's not expensive and as far as I know it's unique.  If you use oil based paints, you should get one.

Now for the Next Award - a new category for 2010.  It goes to the town which has made the best use of it's waterfront in terms of amenity and most of all attractiveness.  Bear in mind that this year we have only done the Southern GU, London, and the Lee and Stort.

And the nominations for the top three are:

1. Milton Keynes (yes really).  It takes a two or three hours to pass through MK and I can't call to mind one grotty bit.  It is relatively free of derelict boats too!  Practically a linear park, the canalside is extremely well looked after.  It's hard to believe you are passing through a city.

2. Berkhamstead.  Strangely, more urban feeling than Milton Keynes with building often right against the canal, but they've made a good effort to recognise the canal and make something of it.

I bet you never thought of it as a port.  It also has good moorings opposite the park and handy for the shops. A very popular overnight stop.

3. Ware

Thanks to a determined local effort they have preserved the old waterfront gazebos which make this place special.

This bustling little town has good moorings, and a very neatly maintained lock.  Strangely the lock is maintained by the Environment Agency rather than BW, something to do with the New River I suspect.  Ware used to be a major centre of the malting industry and several of the old maltings have been tastefully coverted rather than demolished.


Honourable mentions also go to  Hertford with its lovely riverside cottages, Apsley (if you like smart modern), and at a pinch, Rickmansworth which has a lot of good mooring space.

I'm tempted to add a couple of brickbats for towns that could learn something from the top three.  Firstly, and most importantly London.  Don't get me wrong, I love London by canal because it's interesting, but for such a major city they have made poor efforts in making something of the waterfront.  Apart from Kensal Green, Victoria Park, Little Venice /Paddington, and Regents Park, and Limehouse (What have the Romans ever done for us?)  it looks pretty drab.

Although Bishops Stortford was an important destination on our autumn cruise, I didn't even bother to take a photo.  Sure, there are adequate moorings, but you wouldn't go there for the view.  The waterfront feels claustrophobic to me.

As to Slough. Words fail me.  The most common remark made by the few who venture as far as the Basin is "Is this it?"

Tune in tomorrow to see who wins.  I need to sleep on it.

Perhaps I should do an award for Worst Waterfront.  Slough wins it.  Easily.

Also tomorrow, nominations for Best Pub

Best DIY gadget

And so to our first Herbie Award for 2010 - Best DIY gadget (surprise surprise).  Please excuse me if these are rather painting orientated this year, but they would be wouldn't they.

And the nominations are

1. Craftmaster low tack masking tape - amazing stuff that leaves a razor sharp edge and no trace of where it had stuck.  Especially good for cheating at signwriting if like me you don't have a steady hand.  Click the picture up big  to see the edges I got here in this part finished stage.  No bleeding anywhere and no residual marks.  Good for coachlines too.

2. Craftmaster coachpaint (No I don't work for them).   - more amazing stuff.  I'm sure other leading brands do as good a job once they are on, but this stuff is so easy to put on compared with the rest.  It flows like milk straight from the tin even though it has a higher percentage of pigment solids than other paints.  Here is me with the roller and Rick close behind tipping off with a nice Purdy brush.  Note how well this first coat is covering and look at the gloss.  We could do one side of the boat in about 40 minutes if I recall correctly. There's that masking tape again  (the red stuff)

3.  Brush Mate .  I mentioned this a couple of years back when I'd bought one but hadn't used it yet.  Now I have, and it's brilliant.  Here it is.

It's just a tall plastic box with some hooks inside to hang up paint brushes.  The secret is in the chemical pad inside which produces a vapour which prevents the paint from drying on the brush.  Next day you just take out the brush and carry on painting.  No brush cleaning, no wrapping them in cling film or dunking in white spirits.  And the amazing thing is it works for months and months.  I keep a brush with black paint in it and if the gunwales get scratched I can just take out the brush and paint over the scratch.  The paint is still wet on the brush six months later!  Another good thing is you can hang a number of brushes side by side, each with different colour paint.  It works for all oil based paints.

4.  My Bosch lithium ion portable drill. At last a battery driven drill that has some welly and the batteries stay up for ages.  If like me you only use a drill occasionally, the lithium ion batteries make a big difference because they hold their charge over  long storage.  As for the welly, well when I was making my solar panel frame I used it to tighten up a bolt.  Unfortunately I held on to the wrong half of the assembly and when the bolt reached full tightness the long bit of the frame was swung up by the drill giving me a smart smack on the head!  I still have the mark.

Not really a gadget, but a special mention for the High Line Yachting wet dock at Cowley.  A super place to work with good heat, light and ventilation and at a very competitive cost.  I haven't seen better.

There is one thing I have not nominated, because I don't have one.  However I reckon it would have been a boon on many occasions this year.  A head torch.  Perfect for working in dark or gloomy confined spaces leaving both hands free.  I think plumbers use them these days.

Who will win? The golden envelope will be opened tomorrow to reveal the winner, and we'll move on to the next thrilling category.

Herbierama review of the year

... and you can see a repeat of Strictly Come Boating on Sunday.   And now, it's December the first, and as a scene setter for the Herbie Awards season coming soon on the Herbie channel, tonight we have a special edition of Herbie-rama featuring a review of the year.  Coming up right after the break.

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Cue Dramatic synthesizer music


Herbie-Rama Review of the year 2010

Hello good evening and welcome to this special edition in which we remind ourselves of the boating events that have shaped Herbie's year.

It all began, as it ended, with a big freeze.  The canal was inches thick with ice and Herbie wasn't going anywhere, but it was DIY time.  Yes, with the help of our viewers readers and the miracle of the Google Sketchup drawing software Herbie got the design for a new folding cratch table which was manufactured and installed later in the year.  But the big DIY plan was for one of the major events of the year.  The Herbie Paintfest.  In this two week makeover special in April featuring a cast of the finest available artisans we saw the boat transformed from a blue, pock marked and scratched body to a shiny grey and grey masterpiece.  While the skies above Heathrow (and Cowley) were clear of aircraft owing to an unpronounceable volcano erupting in Iceland, our expert team worked round the clock with angle grinders, several miles of masking tape and tins and tins of paint.  The only relief came from the fact that it co-incided with the Wetherspoon's Beer festival forcing us to make nightly trips into Uxbridge to ensure the quality of the beer.

The rest of the spring continued without incident until Herbie made her maiden outing in her new livery.  This time to attend the IWA cavalcade at Little Venice, where she was well and truly outdone by all the posh boats in Brownings Pool.  Hmmph!

June saw the first of our only two lengthy cruises in 2010 when we climbed the mighty Chilterns in search of the mystical city of Milton Keynes.  On the way some serious research was done into locating new hostelries to nominate for the Herbie pub of the year award.  The return journey was broken with a couple of lengthy stops in which Herbie's magnificent  passable new signwriting was completed and another half a mile of masking tape consumed.

For the remainder of the summer. Herbie lay resting like an unemployed actor while her owners stayed near home waiting for their daughter's hospitalisation which actually didn't happen until September.  Hmmph again!  The gap was filled by . . more DIY of course.    New domestic batteries, new LED lighting and a solar panel, complete with novelty tilting frame.

And so to cruise number two, in which we travelled the entire lengths of the Lee and Stort, Herbie's engine all but caught fire and we had a city break in London.

So there's our background for the Herbie Awards.  A year featuring limited cruising  (and nowhere new) but a lot of artisanery.  Pundits expect this years awards to have a drop or two of oil or paint and sawdust on them.  Will they be right?

You can see the 2010 Herbie Awards series starting soon on this channel.

Roll credits
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Advert:

Film of lots of people dancing around a telephone shouting "We buy any boat" and other inaudible phrases
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 Announcer:

And now another chance to see  a three year old episode of QI . . . .