Sank their first boat on first day out

OWNERS of their first ever narrowboat will forever remember their first day out, getting it caught on a lock gate cill and sinking it.

This tragic occurrence was left to River Canal Rescue to raise the 70ft boat from where it sank in Lock 12 of the Bosley Flight on the Macclesfield Canal.

Four man team

RCR Operations Director, Jay Forman comments:

“Speed was of the essence to clear the waterway—we were notified of the sinking the afternoon of 19th July, by early evening we’d assessed the site and at 10am the next day, a four-man team began to raise the vessel.”

As is typical for this type of rescue, RCR drained down the lock, sealed the boat and set up water pumps to prevent water ingress when the lock re-filled, with Jay telling:

Lost everything

“As the owners lost everything, we put them up in an hotel for the evening and ensured they had money for food etc. This is a tricky lock flight, particularly for people new to boating—we’ve had to raise three boats from here in three years.”

River Canal Rescue reports that yet again this year, the number of call-outs it’s received over the summer season so far has reached unprecedented levels. During the two months from 1st June to 31st July, the breakdown and emergency assistance firm responded to 902 call-outs and undertook 223 major rescues or repair jobs.

During the same period last year, RCR attended 833 call-outs and 208 major rescues/repairs.