FURTHER to Cecile Bowers' email regarding CC's being moved on. I'd just like to add support to her recent 'positive' experience of the enforcement team, writes John Howard.
Here on the Southern Grand Union I have always found that with polite and sensible communication between ourselves and the local enforcement team, we have always received a 'common sense' response to our requests regarding mooring.
Managed it
I do find however, during these times of un-predictable weather (as we near our 14 days limit) that keeping an eye on the BBC Weather app on my mobile phone, I'm mostly able to pre-empt my planned move date. As we did this weekend—moving a day earlier when it promised a slight reduction in the winds during the morning. We did manage to get moved and get our 'hoops and chains' around the Armco at our destination before the 40+ mph winds returned yesterday afternoon.
What I do find alarming is the number of boats who still venture out (often at full throttle in order to maintain control) in these very scary cross winds. Even apparently experienced boaters, who I would have hoped would know better and would have been prepared to sit tight irrespective of any possible pressure from an enforcement officer. Walking the dogs on the towpath is challenging enough on some days.
In the dark too
We've even had some mad devils (and I mean several over the past week!) who not only travel in the winds of 25+mph but also choose to do so in the dark. I can only assume that they have a really pressing engagement somewhere else, and hope that this is not in response to any over zealous local enforcement officer. I know some people prefer to travel at night, for lots of reasons, but with the obvious potential hazards of moving a narrowboat in strong winds, adding to this the lack of visibility of the rain and the dark, in my opinion its a very brave man (or silly one—take your pick) to travel with these combinations of 'boating challenges'.