Victor discovers the 'Bargees' have dropped themselves in it

Published: Sunday, 20 March 2022

I RECKON that the National Bargees Travellers Association have well and truly dropped themselves in it, showing their true colours.

They complained that a couple with a continuous cruiser licence are now unable to spend six months at a favourite spot then go to another favourite spot for another six months just three miles away then back again as Canal & River Trust have made their spot  'no mooring'. That just shows the 'Bargees' contempt for Canal & River Trust and its continuous cruiser rules.

To add further insult these 'Bargees' have even arranged a march to the trust's offices to complain that those with continuous cruiser licences are not allowed to moor for as long as they want!

Hold on a bit. The whole reason for continuous cruiser licences is for boaters who do not want to stay in one place and pay for moorings but intend to cruise, the rules clearly stating after a maximum of 14 days—and certainly not six months—they have to move on.

Plus they must then engage in 'genuine navigation' and certainly not shuttling back and forth between two favourite local moorings.

With the National Bargees Travellers Association backing such behaviour it is clearly endorsing the breaking of continuous cruising rules.

The difference

The broken collar on Lock 7 at Hebden Bridge on the Rochdale was reported on Friday morning and by 2pm it had been replaced!

The contractors finally pulling their fingers out?  No way José. It was CaRT's own team that sprang into action and did a quick repair, instead of the usual Monday to Friday job of contractors.

It certainly show the difference, and not only in time but in cost, for had the contractors been responsible it would have been many thousands of pounds.

But what it shows more than anything was the stupidity of getting rid of the old waterway workers who certainly knew what they were doing and replacing them with contractors—and what has been shown time and time againwho certainly don't.

Common Sense prevailed

So after all the investigations into that report by that Angling Trust fella that a barge killed 100 fish on the Aire & Calder Navigation, it was shown it was all baloney.

All he did was cause a great deal of hassle with an extensive investigation, led by the Trust’s environmental and fisheries teams, with the assistance of local freight operators, that involved analysing silt and water samples taken from several locations along the navigation during pre-arranged freight barge passages.

With nothing that would explain (the exaggerated) fish deaths by the Angling Trust fella, who many believe was attempting to secure the navigation for his precious fish alone by getting rid of the barges—and doubtless next, the narrowboats.

Luckily his ploy did not work.

It will have to go

So sorry about the Google advert that keeps appearing below—we are attempting to get rid of what is little more than an attempt by Google to swamp narrowboatworld with its adverts to make money.

Victor Swift