Catching up

IT IS DAYS like these, cold, windy and pouring with rain, that remind me that there are times when it's good to be in a marina, on mains hookup, writes Ralph Freeman.

The hookup allows me to run the computers as much as I like without having to keep one eye on the Amp-Hour meter. Days like these are useful for catching up with what has been happening in the world of Canal & River Trust. In particular I read the results of the boaters survey and downloaded PDF's of the big CaRT meeting held late September.

The official line

In the report presented at this meeting, there are statements suggesting that overstaying on moorings is now a serious problem. Blame for this is laid fairly and squarely at the door of non-continuous cruisers. Where is the evidence to support these statements I ask?

There is no doubt that there are problems in locations such as London, the Kennet & Avon and Oxford, but ignoring these well known hot-spots, which require specific solutions, what about the rest of the system?

Mooring been easier

I have to say in the regions I've cruised in the last two years I've found mooring (outside the 'silly season') to have been much easier than the previous seven. There have been fewer boats about in general which of course directly influences the mooring situation. For instance I was able to find a mooring on the moorings by Brewood Bridge (Shroppie) in late afternoon. I've never known that before!

An area known to me

If we take the Trent & Mersey Canal from Stenson to Harecastle as an example. According to the data produced by CaRT itself, and seen on its map, it shows the density of boats not deemed to be continuously cruising as 1 to 2.5 boats (per Km?) throughout the length mentioned. The only major 'hot-spot' is at Great Haywood.

Note the time period chosen, November 2011 to April 2012! The time when movement is more difficult due to stoppages and weather conditions. I was frozen in for three weeks at Aston Marina early 2012. (No doubt if I'd been out on the towpath I'd have received a patrol notice for overstaying, the way things are!)

If these boaters clog up specific mooring locations then yes it is a problem. However, what if the majority of non-continuous cruisers spend most of their time moored out of the way 'in the sticks'. Is that such a problem? After all, now we have no lengthsmen, someone has to keep an eye on things during the quieter parts of the season.

The problem can be fixed

Based on my observations when John Telford and the enforcement team at Central Shires had a purge on the Trent & Mersey, these local issues can be sorted fairly quickly once the over-stayers realise they 'can't get away with it'. So why all this fuss about continuous cruisers?

I would suggest what matters most to boaters on the move is the availability of 24 hours or 48 hours moorings near to shops, bus routes and of course pubs! I have searched through endless documents to try and discover who it is that is commandeering these moorings for long periods but can find little real data (just accusations).

One important question is, are these types of mooring patrolled more often than the twice a month, referred to in most CaRT documents, for the towpath in general? Other facts, such as how many boats per year receive overstaying notices when on 48's, are on my list of questions too. It would be interesting to know how many of these are continuous cruisers, or how many are cruisers with a home mooring? At the moment it seems to be possible to stay considerably longer than 48 hours without risk of detection simply because the patrol rate is so low. To make matters worse, patrols are often done to a pattern i.e. on the same day of the week.

Random patrols

At mooring hotspots such as Great Haywood, I would suggest random patrols at frequent intervals. That would ensure fair access to all classes of boater, which I'm sure is what boaters want? Earlier in the year, there was a rumour circulating on the towpath that patrolling would be scaled down during the transition from British Waterway to CaRT. Could that have had an effect in some parts I ask?

There is evidence that some boats were moored on restricted moorings in Stone for four months at the end of 2011 before being told to move on. How come it took so long to spot the problem? It's a shame that we have to have patrols to ensure some people 'play the game' but I suppose that's life?

More rules?

We have had suggestions of 'no return within 28 days' on some moorings but how will that be enforced? Would hire boats and shared ownerships be exempt? If a simple 48 hours mooring rule cannot be enforced rigorously at the moment then how can anyone expect more complex rules to be policed effectively? My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to step up patrols at busy 48 hours moorings during the season. (At this time of year many are completely empty which raises another issue.)

Face facts

CaRT must face the fact there is a small hard core 'sod you' brigade that have decided rules are not for them. At present I see the same boats year after year 'getting away with it'; why is that? Until CaRT have dealt with them and put into place a fair and efficient patrolling system, then I suggest any change to the present rules is just playing with the problem for PR reasons. Being 'seen to be doing something' is of course all the rage these days.

If the 'harassment' of continuous cruisers is designed to force them onto moorings simply to raise more revenue for CaRT, or marina owners, then that of course, is an entirely different matter.

Where are the boats?

I cruised up from Great Haywood to Aston at the end of October and passed less than five boats on the towpath during the eight miles trip. That made me feel rather sad. Normally at this time of year there would be boats I know moored out in the sticks. In the off season there's always time to stop and pass the time of day. I may not know their surnames but I am sure if I had a problem they would do what they could to help me out. The reverse is of course true.

In the new CaRT era will that comradeship be killed off by commercial considerations? If so we are losing something money cannot buy, and that is a sense of community. A Cut without the folk that live out on the towpath will be a much poorer place in my opinion.

I'll leave you with a quote from the great Spike Milligan:

Everybody has got to be somewhere'.