We couldn't get out!

IT'S OKAY CaRT telling boaters they can now get back to their moorings, but many of us never got out in the first place, writes John Smedley.

Stuck

My boat was stuck between two closed flights on the Leeds & Liverpool for months and my friend's boat on the Rochdale was in a similar situation as both were closed throughout our entire holidays so we could not go anywhere, but we now get the cheek of CaRT telling us we can get back to our moorings. What planet are the people there living on? It's not ours that's for sure.

Both of us are consulting solicitors, as we are told people cannot charge for a service that is not supplied, and the service is cruising the 2,000 miles of waterways not less than 20. No wonder CaRT have six lawyers, as they are going to be busy.

Not happy bunnies

I spent some of my time cycling the towpaths of the closed northern canals and made a point of speaking to other boaters and I can tell CaRT they are not happy bunnies having to fork out huge sums yet nowhere to go.

I am told it was an Act of God having no rainfall, but it was no Act of God the reservoirs being so silted-up they only hold a fraction of the water they should, and neither is a an Act of God allowing all the leaks to waste so much water. Both through sheer lack of maintenance.