Victor: Restricting the AGM

THERE were a few 'fireworks' at the Annual General Meeting of the Canal & River Trust last year, so surprise, surprise, attendance this time is rather limited and not too easy to obtain.

 From it being a rather 'open invitation' in the past, not only are tickets required but registration is needed for its AGM on the 21st September at Birmingham, and it is not easy to find out how to get them.

I managed to get through to someone after a bit of difficulty, but was told there are now very limited places, as of course the 'public' meeting is swamped by the hordes of Cart's weird and wonderful managers and the like.

No doubt it will perhaps guarantee a quieter meeting...

Will they ever learn?

Walking along the towpath of Sawley Cut over the last 20 years time and time again we have seen narrowboats sporting generators, gas bottles and the like that are downright dangerous, with the one in the picture a real hazard, with its generator obviously permanently fixed in the bow next to the door.

As this week we learn of yet another boater killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, do you wonder, when you see such installations? A tragedy waiting to happen.

I wonder why?

I expect that most of you will have seen the flag of five gold anchors as 'awarded' to some marinas by the RYA, but I was not really surprised to be told recently by a manager of one rather leading marina that there was no way he would tolerate it at his marina.

Mind you, it is easy to see why, as it means bugger all.  I know of one marina, that shall be nameless, that flies the flag—three of 'em in fact—and it's sorely lacking in both facilities and service and hardly deserves any award, but the gold star one comes rather easily, which is why perhaps many marinas will not tolerate it.

No problem

Canoeists have been very much in the news lately, but I have to tell that I have no problem with them whatsoever, with many giving the boat a wide berth and our slowing down whilst we pass.

There is that 'clutch' of children canoeists we have met a couple of times on the northern section of the Staffs & Worcs, that pull into the side until we pass, with a cheeky "Aye, Aye, Captain!" as we pass.

Perhaps it is the organisation that administer them that is the problem—pushing for them to use our tunnels, that really is not too sensible.

The new policy

I well remember my comment that the policy of Cart is now to 'wait until it breaks then repair it', in relation to the maintenance of its waterways, but I see some stoppages are attended to rather quickly these days.

Three times over the past couple of weeks a repair causing a stoppage has been attended to very quickly indeed, in one case the same day, so obviously Cart's solution to the increasing stoppages—though of course it still can cause a problem to boaters, particularly hirers, who are stopped in their tracks.

Victor Swift