Real mooring wardens

IT HAS been reported in narrowboatworld that ‘CaRT wants boat wardens'. Well I never! Exclaims Orph Mable.

When I began boating well over 20 years ago you found ‘mooring wardens' on most of the long term moorings and some of the ‘honeypot moorings'. These ‘wardens' were residential boaters, living on their boats. They policed their patch, sent boat movement statistics into the local waterway team, passed out info and generally were helpful to visitors. In return they were allowed ‘free' mooring.

For free

British Waterway, in its infinite wisdom stopped this practice as it wanted to (usually) gain mooring fees for the spot. Now CaRT want to use ‘volunteers' to provide this function for free and still gain from any mooring fee. Cheeky monkeys!

Residential wardens provided cover 24 hours a day 365 days per year in all weathers. I wonder if CaRT will find any ‘mugs' to fulfil this requirement. Will we see little huts to give the ‘volunteers' shelter, springing up? Will we see ‘porta-loos' on all the sites where ‘volunteers' are installed?

More costs

It is a fact of life these days that 'elf & safety' requirements necessitate such things are supplied for volunteers. More cost and more targets for the local yobbery to vandalise in the periods when no 'volunteers' are present.

Another superb 'initiative' from the establishment—I think not!