Welcome to the 24th and penultimate edition of 2018! With just three and a half weeks to go you'll find inspiration for boaty Christmas gifts (if you need it), an important safety reminder and about the work we're doing in the Midlands this winter along with the usual roundup of news, events and stoppages.
Welcome to the latest edition. The inevitable march of time means we’re at that point of the year when many of us are planning our Christmas festivities. In this penultimate edition of 2018 you’ll find two articles in that vein – one giving a boaty slant to the time-worn 12 Days of Christmas while the other is a reminder of water safety ahead of the Royal Life Saving Society’s ‘Don’t Drink and Drown’ campaign, including one boater’s cautionary tale of what nearly turned into a Christmas nightmare.
Elsewhere you’ll find a more detailed look at what work we’re doing in the Midlands and Wales as part of our massive winter repair and restoration programme as well as what our direct services team have been fixing over the last month. The regular roundup of other boating news, stoppages and events are, as ever, there for you too. If there’s a particular topic you’d like to see in a future edition then please drop me a line.
Happy boating,
Damian
In this edition:
Over the last couple of weeks you may have heard, or seen, that:
Below I’ve picked out some festive highlights to see and do over the next fortnight. Of course there are plenty of other activities and volunteering opportunities, many not Christmas related, if you’re feeling a little bah humbug. Just visit the events section of the website to find the perfect one for you.
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While most of us wouldn’t turn our noses up at five golden rings I can’t imagine, even on the widest of wide beams, where your average boater would put three French hens and two turtle doves, let alone the eight maids, nine ladies, ten lords, eleven pipers or twelve drummers.
So, unless your boat is a cross channel ferry, it’s apparent that using the 12 Days of Christmas song as a shopping list for your boating beau is a non-starter. Helpfully, and with the help of breakdown assistance and recovery firm River Canal Rescue (RCR), we’ve come up with a much more appropriate 12 Days of Christmas gift list…
If none of the above fit your ideal gift then perhaps what RCR describes as ‘the world’s first truly environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter’ might?
Named ‘Bilgeaway’, it uses a non-toxic solution to extract hydrocarbon contaminants (petrol, diesel, engine oil etc.) from water and render them non-reactive, leaving environmentally-friendly contents in a cartridge which can be disposed of and the housing re-used.
It’s apparently simple to install and for use with a conventional bilge pump so if the recipient of your gift is keen on environmentally-minded presents then it just might do the trick.
PS What is a calling bird anyway and what would you do with four of them? Answers on a postcard…
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As a boater you’re likely to be more aware than others of the risks of being three sheets to the wind and on or around water but if there’s only one article you read in this edition then I’d say it has to be this one…We’re supporting the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Don’t Drink and Drown campaign which urges people not to walk home near water after they have been drinking. This is obviously much harder to do if you are a boater, even more reason to take extra care and look out for fellow boaters. Tragically there have been 1,581 accidental deaths over the last five years in the UK and almost 30% of the victims had alcohol in their bloodstream*.
Debbie Lumb, national advisor for health and safety at the Trust, said: “Having a few drinks in one of the great waterside bars and pubs in is a great way to enjoy the festive season. But when you’re on your way home, particularly in the dark, please take extra care. If you and your friends have had a few drinks, walk back to your boats together and be extra careful when getting onto your boat.
“We're all really enjoying the build-up to Christmas and we’ll all have a Christmas party or two to attend in the next few weeks. On your way home after a fun night out, you and your friends and colleagues need to be much more careful. We’re really pleased to support RLSS UK with its Don’t Drink and Drown campaign and its important message – find a #BeerBuddy and get home safely."
Di Steer, RLSS UK CEO, said: “People tragically die each year because they’ve entered the water with alcohol in their bloodstream, either deliberately or completely by accident. Drinking near or in water can be a dangerous and deadly cocktail. Alcohol can seriously impede your ability to survive in water.
“When walking home from a night out always stay with and look out for your friends.”
Stay Safe this Christmas:
Don’t Drink and Drown was launched in 2014 following a string of tragic drownings of young people. Research indicated that around a quarter of all adult drowning victims have alcohol in their bloodstream and RLSS UK were keen to prevent more tragedies by promoting the dangers in hot spot areas.
You can read more information about the Don’t Drink and Drown campaign and liveaboard boater, and licence support advisor at the Trust, Debbi Figueiredo, has blogged about her own festive near-miss – it’s a cautionary tale that’s well worth a read…
*National Water Safety Forum Water Incident Database (WAID) of which RLSS UK and Canal & River Trust are members. Data is used from 2012-2017, including accidental and natural cause records only. Adults aged 18 years+. Alcohol records are suspected or confirmed cased, based upon Coroners and emergency service records, court records.
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Work starts this week on a five-month, £612,000, project to repair or replace 11 worn-out lock gates, missing brickwork, masonry, culverts, lock ladders and other vital tasks at various sections along the 66-mile canal through Cheshire and Shropshire.
Before each separate lock or section is drained, fish will be rescued and transported to another part of the canal which remains in water. All the new lock gates are hand-crafted in oak at our special workshop using traditional skills. The old gates will generally be craned out and the new gates craned in as part of a spectacular lift movement.
A free open day at Northgate Locks in Chester in February will give people a chance to get up close to the repairs, enjoy a rare opportunity to walk through a drained lock chamber and talk to canal engineers.
Work includes:
Ged King, construction manager with the Trust, said: "This canal repair project is really important. We’ll be emptying millions of litres of water from the canal, moving thousands of fish and lifting multi-tonne lock gates through the air into place.
"Although the Shropshire Union Canal is nearly 200 years old, it’s thriving just as much as in its freight carrying heyday, when it was constructed to move goods between the West Midlands and the port of Liverpool on the River Mersey.
"This beautifully rural canal is one of the most popular waterways in the country with boaters. Its wooden lock gates typically last around 25 years and allow thousands of boats to travel from place to place each year. Each new gate is made to measure, weighs several tonnes, and is handcrafted from seasoned oak so that it fits perfectly in the lock chamber. Once in place, the new lock gates will help us conserve water and keep boats moving along the waterway."
Meanwhile, over the border…
Teams from Glandŵr Cymru will be carrying out works at seven locations to help keep the canal watertight; replacing and repairing lock gates at four locations; and improving towpaths at key spots along the waterway. Many of the projects will require water to be drained from stretches of the canal with further thousands of fish carefully rehomed before the engineering work is carried out.
The Llangollen Canal in north Wales is home to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and its UNESCO World Heritage site. Works here will include railing improvements on the aqueduct and upgrades to the 175-metre long Whitehouses Tunnel.
Richard Thomas, Glandŵr Cymru director, Wales and South West, says: "The canals in Wales are among the most beautiful anywhere in the world. The massive, five-month, project we’re carrying out costs over £540,000 and is vital. There’s a huge variety of things to do such as rehoming thousands of fish before we can drain sections of the canal and then manoeuvre huge, brand new, lock gates into place. It is a great example of the type of work we do to improve the canals, which are so important for the economy, as well as supporting everyone who lives on, cruises, works on or visits the waterways.
"The canals are two centuries old but arguably as relevant as ever for today’s society. As boaters know, they offer an amazing, tranquil space, where everything slows down. So they’re great places to escape the pressures of modern life.
"We know from research that people are happier and more relaxed when they are by water, and the activities the canals support means they can help contribute to improving people’s mental and physical well-being. While we’ll be working on some key sections, the remainder of the canals are still open so I’d encourage everyone to come and discover all they have to offer."
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As the above article explains, we have a big winter programme of repair and restoration jobs that we do while the canals are less busy. Of course, if you’re out cruising on a regular basis then you’ll know that not everything goes to plan – we sometimes have to fix things urgently.
More often than not our direct services team step in to save the day. If nothing unexpectedly breaks, leaks, ruptures or collapses (wouldn’t that be nice?!) then there’s always something else that they have to get on with. Below, in what will become a regular feature, is a brief summary of what the team did in October:
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Many boaters go the extra mile in helping to keep canals and rivers in good condition by volunteering or donating. As you’re such an integral part of what makes waterways so wonderful I thought you’d like to know about other ways you can get involved:
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As someone who’s out on, or by, the water more often than most you’ll know that there are times when we need to fix things that unexpectedly break. So, below, you’ll find a list of anything that’s happening that may seriously affect you if you’re planning on a cruise this weekend. Of course, now we’re into our winter stoppage programme (see above!) there’s a hive of activity repairing and restoring a variety of things. Below you’ll find, by canal or river, those that may affect your plans this weekend:
When any restrictions to navigation happen, we get them up on to our website as soon as we can – always best to have a scan before you set off for a cruise. If you have any questions about a specific closure then you’ll find the email addresses for our regional offices on our contacts page.
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Last date edited: 30 November 2018
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