Having said our farewells to Bill, Jen and Alex at the wharf, we set off for the short journey to Chester Zoo.
Not knowing whether there would be room at the zoo moorings, and we were only looking for a mooring for the weekend, we attempted a few places, without any joy of getting anywhere near the bank, even at the marked 48 hour moorings, halfway between the wharf and the zoo. As we got closer I eventually got close enough to be able to get off, and whilst Jo looked after the boat I walked to the zoo moorings, mop in hand. As I got closer to the bridge hole, the depth was getting deeper. I could see the moorings on the other side of the bridge were free, not one boat moored there, so I carried on to test the depth. The group of walkers having lunch the other side of the bridge hole were intrigued with what I was doing with the mop. It all became clear when I explained that the bands of colour on the handle are not just for decoration, but if the blue band disappears below the water level, then the mooring is deep enough for us to moor in. I returned to the boat and we moved up to the moorings, and settled in f0r the weekend.
Keith.