Using the Ship Canal

AROUND 30 narrowboats took to the Manchester Ship Canal on their return from the IWA Tom Rolt's Centenary Rally at Chester.

These were from the Bridgewater Motor Boat Club with the boats out in force to attend the rally over last week-end, Hillary Foster writes.

Though they travelled from Runcorn in the week previous to the rally, they returned via the Manchester Ship Canal by locking in at Ellesmere Port and travelling in convoy to Marsh Lock to enter the  Weaver and onward to their home base taking the boats up the Anderton Boat Lift and returning along the Trent & Mersey Canal to their home base on the Bridgewater Canal.

The Ship Canal event was organized by Frank Hurst who planned and saw that the boats all had their anchors, navigation lights, life jackets and sea worthy certificates to abide by the tough regulations to cruise out onto the ship canal.

The photograph shows the boats dressed for the rally.