Big increase in continuous cruisers
THE Canal & River Trust (CaRT) has updated the information available regarding the number of boats without home moorings—continuous cruisers—on its waterways, writes Allan Richards.
Notes from a meeting published on the National Association of Boat Owners (NABO) website update the figures that Marketing and Fundraising Director, Simon Salem, provided in a report to both Council and Board in September 2012.
Boat numbers down
The number of continuous cruisers (boats without home moorings) has risen from around 3,200 (2007) to 4,400 (July 2012) and 5,400 (December 2014). It is worth noting that whilst the number of continuous cruisers is increasing, the total number of craft on CaRT's waterways has declined by 9% in recent years according to BW/CaRT Annual Reports (35,241 (2010/11) down to 32,018 (2013/14).
The latest figures purport to show that about two thirds (i.e 3,600 out of 5,400) of those without a home mooring are currently cruising within a range of less than 12 miles This appears to be an improvement on the 2011 figures which suggested that about two thirds of continuous cruisers (2,000 out of 3,200) were moving within the smaller range of less than six miles!
The latest figures also show that 16% (860 out of 5,400) of those without a home mooring have moved less than three miles. This compares with the July 2012 figure which showed that 13% (600 out of 4,400) moved less than three miles.
500 miles a year
According to Association of Waterway Cruising Clubs (AWCC) National Chairman, Paul le Blique, his association and IWA are in broad agreement as to how far those without a home mooring should move. It's 500 miles a year, with a minimum distance of 50 miles per month and enforced no return rules. (That 50 miles per month is 600 miles per year. Perhaps this gives an indication as to how much thought by these two associations has been put into this!)
The AWCC/IWA suggestion is, of course, an order of magnitude above what is being currently recorded and goes against the views of three other boating associations who suggest that it is up to the Trust to say what boaters must do to comply, not boating organisations.
How far?
For years, CaRT (and BW before it) have been telling boaters without home moorings that they don't travel far enough and then often will not say how far is ‘enough' when asked; the law not requiring any particular distance or movement pattern.
Now, Richard Parry has agreed that the Trust should develop a clear response to the question ‘how far should I travel to comply?' One suspects that, unless the Trust is prepared for the adverse publicity of making thousands of boaters homeless, the figure has to be a lot lower than 500 miles!