S-tony

Save Our Waterways

I GIVE UP. After campaigning vehemently for them for 18 months, all over the country, with banners on my boat, and distributing leaflets by the thousand once they were produced, I can see no future for Save Our Waterways. Now that the economic recession is upon us, the waterways are a long way down the priority list. Had we continued with the protest momentum last year, when Save Our Waterways was prevaricating by email about a constitution and a committee, we might have won something. Now it is too late.

I can't see that Save Our Waterways is offering anything that the IWA, NABO, RBOA, and the DBA is not already offering. At their 'strategy' meeting last month, I had hoped they would come up with something useful. My recruiting promises depended upon it. But no. All they had to offer was an online site to help us compose letters to our MPs (as if we are all stupid and can't write letters for ourselves) and a mission statement designed to unite all the waterway organisations with one voice. I should have thought that the existing organisations, who have been around a hell of a lot longer than Save Our Waterways, are quite capable of doing that without being guided by what is effectively, an upstart Inland Waterways Association break-away club.

Last year I was very disappointed by the lack of progress of Save Our Waterways, and even thought of forming an alternative strident protest group called 'Waterways For All' (borrowing an old slogan from the Inland Waterways Association). I was persuaded by Save Our Waterways' chairman not to go ahead with this. It isn't a good idea to split the opposition. I should trust him. I did. I wish I hadn't. It's too late now. I have resigned from Save Our Waterways and have rejoined the Inland Waterways Association of which I was briefly a corporate member. I urge Save Our Waterways to stop confusing the issue and do the same. All they are achieving is splitting the opposition, the very thing they accused me of doing.

Location location

THE answers to the image posers in my last column are as follows:

1. Weird balance weights. Peros Bridge, Bristol Floating Harbour.

2. Olds Ricky boat in winding hole, twixt Deepcut locks 27-28 Basingstoke canal.

3. Lockside seat plaque, western Kennet & Avon canal. Lock number? Can't remember!

4. Structure behind towercrane manufacturers, near salt works, Middlewich, Trent & Mersey.

5. Official graffiti, western Rochdale canal.

6. Double Arched Bridge No 161, East Marton, Leeds & Liverpool canal.

7. Old balance weight childrens' maze. Anderton Lift.

8. Tarlton Sea Lock gates, Leeds & Liverpool canal (Rufford Branch).

9. Bugsworth Basin, Upper Peak Forest canal.

10. ditto plus Sophie.

Congratulations Martin Bowers of Camberley, who got most right. But then he should've done. He was crewing with me some of the time when I took these shots from the back of the boat!

Images

IN NO particular order, I thought I'd share a few of the more unusual waterway images that have been downloaded from my camera during the sponsored Ten Point Cruise for Save Our Waterways, so far. See if you can identify these locations, just for fun. Answers on an erudite email please.

Picture 1 (above)

Picture 2 (above)

Picture 3 (above)

Picture 4 (above)

Picture 5 (above)

Picture 6 (above)

Picture 7 (above)

Boating on Aire

LAST month, the new Mrs Drifter and I hired a Dutch barge on the Shannon-Erne waterway in Ireland for two glorious weeks. It was the happiest and most rewarding two weeks of boating I have ever enjoyed. I thought I had died and gone to boaters' heaven.

Windlass? Not needed. Just a swipe card. The locks are hydraulically operated by pressing buttons. Licence fee? None. The only charge is for the lock cards. Each lock costs about 65p, and we only went through five in two weeks. Hire charges? About two thirds of UK costs. Ridiculous health and safety legislation? None. There is no BSS. Pump out? Free. Moorings? All on floating jetties with water available, and also free. Staff? Never far away and keen to help. Maintenance? Ongoing and immediate. Infrastructure? Like new.

Scenery? Absolutely brilliant! Can you imagine boating across loughs where you can see the curvature of the earth in the water? Can you imagine weaving through a maze of inland islands, some with ancient ruins? Can you believe that there are so may facilities that no-one has to bother about not mooring overnight at waterpoints?

Do you know pubs where the landlord will come to the boat in his car to pick you up? The only question is the weather. We were lucky.

We only had a couple of days of storms, when the loughs became raging seas. But it was good fun fighting the breakers. I just can't wait to take Dreamcatcher over to Waterways Ireland, either by road or sea. Anyone fancy joining me? A safely escorted convoy perhaps? The Ribble to Douglas IoM, and thence to the coast of Northern Ireland, picking our calms very carefully. Or am I mad?

The Shannon-Erne waterway, and Loughs Upper and Lower Erne cross the Irish border. United the Irish are working overboard to build up the waterways as a joint tourist attraction to their beautiful country, which is their greatest asset. The Shannon-Erne waterway can be seen as a hugely successful peace initiative.

How else could we Brits have been sitting in an IRA pub in Balliconnell, drinking Guinness and taking photographs of the bullet-holed artifacts, with their blessing. Even that is part of the tourist attraction now. The welcome was more than friendly. Ireland is on a new, peaceful tack. All that competitive energy is now being turned to backing their sports teams, it seems.