Drunk hirers sank boat

IT HAS  been revealed it was a stag party of boozing hirers that sank the boat in Wash House Lock on the Bath Flight on the Kennet & Avon Canal yesterday, Sunday.

Before it reached the locks boaters were complaining of the way it was speeding past their boats, with its huge bow wave, and the only response was the men cheering at them waving tins of lager, backed up by a crate of Fosters on the boat's roof.

Not capable

The boat's stern was caught on the cill of the lock, and no one of course was capable of realising that dropping the paddles would have saved it. In fact they stood around the lock drinking.  Alan Stower's photograph shows the boat's stern firmly on the cill.

It was Victor Swift who suggested yesterday that 'perhaps a walloping charge for closing the canal and causing problems with delays would be in order, then perhaps boaters would pay more attention to what they are doing'.  For it certainly seems that banning all male drinking crews taking out hire boats has gone by the board.

Perhaps it would be of help if Sue Burchett's suggestion was taken up of CaRT putting the warning on the beam that faces the steerer instead of the one behind.