A float on Miracle - 20ft narrowboat

Midnight Fishing Expeditions

**Dec 15. **
That looks like a quality lock.
The Norwegian is eyeing up the Kryptonite lock in my hand. I think he's impressed that I would own such a practicality.

Yea it should be I smile, they're the best - about 100 quid, but worth it.

Dec. 17.
I've borrowed a Kryptonite from the cafe to determine if the longer or shorter one is what I need to buy, tonight I have the shorter one and I think that its the one that works best. I've owned two Kryptonites in eight years. The first was in a bag that was stolen and the second, after six years finally seized and I had to have the fire brigade cut it off; it took 15 mins once I'd convinced them it was my bike.

They are my lock of choice.

The boat is rocking as I step on, bike over shoulder. I lift it over the back rail and rest it on the cage that protects my outboard. I loop the cheap cable lock through the wheel and frame and spin the combination. *It's not an anti theft device, a pair of hedge clippers would snip it in seconds; its an anti jacqui device to stop me from losing my Jackson to the river. *

I hold the kryptonite and insert the key, the horeshoe side comes free easily and I'm about to put it through the rear triangle. The conversation with the Norwegien flickers in my memory.

*Well, at least I haven't dropped it in. *

In that moment, as if to spite me, I watch as the horeshoe slips from my glove and falls in slow motion into the blackness.

Splash.

*Fuck. *I've just lost 100 quid of lock.

What's worse is it'll cost me twice that as I'm going to have to replace it and buy my own. I can't leave my bike outside without the Kryptonite.

Fuck.

I pull the cable lock and open it. I haul my bike onto the deck. I'll have to bring it in, this means taking of the wheel and makes entering Miracle a bit like a game of Twister. DAMNIT.
With the bike in, I grab food from the cupboards and make my way to the Norwegian's boat. I'm disappointed with myself.

I want a beer.

I've dropped my lock in the Lee, I tell him.* I'm gonna have to buy another one.*

He nods acknowledgement and purses his lips. No.

I look at him.

In that case we'll go fishing. You don't give up on 100 quid of lock like that. You gotta try.

I don't really know what he means but I nod. Ok, we'll go fishing.
I stop taking off my coat.

**He doesn't move. **

Not now, we gotta do it at night.

The rain continues until 10pm and when it stops the Norwegien goes to the back of his boat to his tool room. He comes back with a long bar, duct tape and a peice of metal wire. I wonder why he has these things.. but I am grateful he's got a tool room to "magic" these things out of.

This, he holds up the metal bar, is the magnet.

You've got a hook, yea? We're gonna duct tape my torch to the end and see if we can see your lock. Then we're gonna put the magnet on it and bring it up.

I'm conguring the duck pond game from the town fair in my head.
I don't think it's going to work, but I don't want to say that and appear ungrateful.

We go to my boat and I start my fire before we begin.
He tapes the torch to my hook. He looks like he's going spear fishing. I giggle. He smiles and checks the tape.
Then he shows me that at night with a torch you can see the river bed.

After about 10 mins, he informs me he doesn't see it.

He's already told me he's tired and he's been yawning all night. I feel guilty. He calls me out from making my fire and suggests I do the searching.* Only now, I realise he's been looking for something that he's only seen once. He doesn't really know what it looks like.*

It's about 30 seconds before I spot the silver catch of the lock glinting in the submurged torch light. It's exactly where I'd have expected.

Ok now you gotta lower the magnet onto it. I'll hold the light.

He's on the shore holding the light spear, while I, leanning my lower thighs on the back rail and hanging most of my body over the water try to lower the magnet onto the horsehoe of the lock.

I'm excited. It may just work.

Dipping and laying the magnet on the lock is harder than it looks.
The water here is much deeper than I'd imagined.
The first successful contact brings the lock up right, then it falls off and a cloud of silt blinds us for a few minutes.

The Norwegian sighs, declares that the magnet isn't strong enough and walks back to his boat.

He's got to be up at 6am. I feel terrible to keep him up and when he returns i say this.

He looks me square in the eye, tomorrow they're may be too much silt on it for the magnet to find it again. I got a stronger magnet.

Second contact is a solid one and I nervously begin to pull the magnet and my catch up.

*You're gonna have to get wet now. *

When you get it close enough you need to reach in and get it, so it don't drop off. The magnet may not be stong enough out of the water.

He takes the line from me and I get on my knees and push up my sleeve.
The water is icy. I'm up to my elbow, but I have contact with the lock and grab hold tightly.

I stand up with it in my hand.

That is how you go fishing, he smiles.