EA licence con

WE WERE returning recently from the Kennet & Avon Canal to the main system via the Thames, so since we are under a little time pressure we decided that a two day licence would be sufficient for our needs, writes Jenny MacGillivray.

48 hours should be plenty

Last year we had a gold licence and had explored the river quite extensively, but this time we were after all only travelling from Reading to Oxford, so 48 hours should be plenty.

I know we needed an EA licence from going through Blakes Lock, but at 9am it was unmanned, so we bought our licence from the lock keeper at Reading Lock, to quote the certificate 'Registration period No. of days 2 From 02/07/15 to 03/07/15' in case there was any doubt the lock keeper pointed out that this covered us till midnight the next day.

Two day licence—32 hours!

Therefore, unbeknown to us nine hours of our licence had expired before we even entered the river, so our 48 hours was immediately reduced to 39! Also since we needed to find a mooring in Oxford we had planned to leave the river long before midnight, probably more like 5pm, so wasting another seven of our licence hours, so we are down to 32 hours. So that's a two day licence for 32 hours, that's two 16 hour days!

Now I know that some boaters start a lot earlier than us and some travel a lot later, but I don't know of any that travel from midnight to midnight, and yes if you throw down the challenge someone will take it up, but there is no way that the average boater can spend the two days, and only the two days, that they have paid for on the river. You might manage 38 hours and since our licence cost £38, that would work out at a pound an hour!

We have come from Bristol Harbour, there we paid for two days, they ran from 14th to 16th—that's what I call two days.