Intermittent cruising

Published: Friday, 13 March 2015

REGULAR readers will know in the past I have tended to spend the busy month of August 'in hiding' on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, writes Ralph Freeman.

Mooching between Curdworth Bottom Lock and Fazeley itself and carrying out maintenance work on the exterior of the boat, weather permitting. It's a quiet stretch of canal as from Kingsbury Water Park onwards the destination is the BCN some 30 plus locks away. The 'ambiance' once Minworth is reached is nothing to write home about either, so the only people using this stretch are hire boats doing a ring or die-hard BCN enthusiasts!

So let us explore this scenario:

At the end of July I travel from Aston, near Stone to Fazeley a distance of approximately 30 miles and eight locks, or 38 lock miles.

I then moor my boat opposite the CaRT offices at Fazeley. I then take a time/dated photo or better still arrange for a member of the CaRT enforcement team based there to look out the window and verify my boat is actually there!

Question?

Am I now 'bullet proof' enforcement wise and free to cruise (or not), as I like for the next 12 months only subject to the 14 day rule, 48hr moorings etc? After all I have well exceeded the 20 miles, or should that be kilometre range/distance per annum requirement? If so I don't really see what the proposed changes have to do with continuous cruising, the key word there being 'continuous'! Surely then the licence needs to be changed to Intermittent, not Continuous, Cruising?