Saturday 8th April 1989, 10.00am. The river had lost more than a metre of water overnight, there was now just over 2 metres available, we cast off and followed the left bank through Redbrook Bridge then moved to the starboard side so as to be able to follow the channel close to the bank and squeeze past some large stones that were still submerged a few hundred metres upriver.

The first full day we set about securing Wye Invader in her temporary mooring so she could move up or down with the tides. We had to wait for a high tide of about 9 meters at Sharpness and about 3 meters of flood water in the Wye Valley measured on the Water Level Gauge at Redbrook, backed up with 2 meters at Monmouth and 2 meters in Hereford, this would give enough volume and depth of water for long enough to get past and over the rocks and shallows on the corner below Redbrook before we moved up to Monmouth…..

From Chepstow bridge we spent the next 3 hours feeling our way along the Tidal Lower Wye on a rising tide and we were almost at the top of tide, the tide times and heights are almost the same as Sharpness, the river has a deeper channel close to the right bank starboard side but anymore than 6.5 metres plus the air draft would be to much to pass under the rail bridge….

On the 28th March 1989 around 8pm and just after last light, Wye Invader came up the River Severn on a rising tide then turned to Port (left) and passed over the 5 metre Sandbar into the River Wye and on up to Chepstow, the start of the 75 miles of navigation to Hereford where Wye invader was to become a floating restaurant.