Better by water? Not unless pre-booked!

IT APPEARS CaRT are still going full steam ahead with anything that inconveniences boaters, writes John Coxon.

It seems as if you can't get anywhere now-a-days without having to pre-book it online.

Anderton booked on-line

Now, among others, the Anderton lift has to be pre-booked online even if you are moored next to it!  The on-site booking office appears to be closed with CaRT now stating 'All passages must be booked in advance, we will not be able to take bookings on-site...'.

You can get a free lift if you ask for the next available one otherwise you are charged a no refundable fee, so if you are late you not only lose your fee but your booked slot as well!

Could be a problem for hire boaters who have no idea how long it will take them to get there.

Boats going so fast to get there

We'll just end up with a state where boats will be going as fast as they can to get to their next pre-booked lift, tunnel, lock flight etc. that has to be booked on-line, with no regard for etiquette, the fabric of the waterway or good manners towards others.

Activity like that will just destroy the banks of the waterways with the excessive wash and damage the infrastructure even more because boats will just collide with it due to inappropriate speed and inexperienced boat handling! Just another badly thought out policy from CaRT?

And what about those boaters who do not have access to the internet? Are they just being cast aside?

Better by water?  Not unless you've pre-booked it, it seems...