Flood Warnings

The Environment Agency does a good job of warning us about potential flooding.
In the low-lying area where Patience is berthed and being on The Great Ouse we naturally face flooding at times of heavy rainfall like the present.

Fortunately on Saturday, Patience was sitting well in the water, with spring lines holding her confidently but not too firmly to her berth.
But the rivers are high - as you can see on The Environment Agency's flood warning map.

This is what it was like last year at Godmanchester.

This is the rear of the Cambridgeshire Education ICT Centre, looking out over the Great Ouse and here merging seamlessly through the trees with Port Holme, the largest water meadow in England.
And this is what you do not want happening:

 

(Kennet and Avon Canal February 2008, from The Reading Chronicle) 

A bilge pump activated by a £20 float switch might have prevented this, though remember that by turning off battery power when you winterise your boat you would also turn off the power that works the pump. 

Other causes could be an ill-fitting weed hatch or a worn stern gland (tighten yours daily!)