Victor: It's not a mooring licence

Published: Sunday, 24 December 2017

THOUGH we have often given the National Bargee Travellers Association publicity, it having proved to help its members when in difficulty, it taking court action over a disabled member to get a less strenuous cruising pattern, when Canal & River Trust had already done so, was pointless.

Many boaters are aware that the main thrust of the 'Bargees' is to convince the public that its members—and of course their children—are being victimised by having to move away from moorings where work and school is situated, though they are all aware their contract with the Trust is to continuously cruise—it's not a free mooring licence as they seem to use it.

If only the Trust would make an effort to get a stipulated distance of movement over a fixed period in law, all would be solved.

I don't get it

Black Prince tells us that it has been selling narrowboats for 25 years and are proud of its reputation for quality boat sales and excellent after sales service. Fair enough.

But adding 'meaning that many customers who buy a narrowboat from us return to us year after year' seems very strange indeed.

Surely the boats last more that a year.

And surely if you buy a boat one year you don't want to have to replace it the next—and the next...do you?

Don't do it

Every year Cart adds to its number of visitors to its waterways now at a completely ridiculous 440,000,000, but please resist adding more, it makes you look silly.

I have often pointed out that the current figure equates to 630 visitors to every mile of waterway today and every day. Is anybody going to believe that?  

It was the then British Waterways Chief Executive Robin Evans who told there were 3.600,000 millions visits to the waterways in a year.  So where did the extra 436,400,000 suddenly spring from?

Obviously the figment of someone’s imagination.

On auto

There were a couple of other marinas that are also holding an illuminated boats competition over the holidays, and have sent us photographs as a result of the one we published.  But, oh dear!  They have obviously pointed their cameras at the boats on 'auto' as so many do nowadays. but alas it was dark, so guess what?

All that can be seen are blurred images of a myriad of lights, that are certainly not good enough to publish. So now they know why nothing has been included.  To my mind the art of photography has gone, taken over by very inadequate electronics, that are simply not good enough.

Happy Christmas

The compliments of the season to all readers of narrowboatworld, and particularly to the many contributors who make it what it is—Your Voice of the Waterways.

But what would perhaps be more in keeping—here's hoping that next year your cruising is uneventful and less of a struggle as it has been for many, us included, over the past few years.

Victor Swift