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A wig-wag is the traffic signal with the soild amber warning light and then alternate flashing red lights used to denote a location where you must stop because to pass puts you in immediate peril, railway level crossings being the most common usage, but also moving bridges and fire station exits.

Good luck to all this weekend, cracking weather for it. Well done to Captain Pegg for jumping in at the deep end. Sad we cant be there, but work, ailing parents and Kathy's illness has made us take the time off we get to slow down at present.

At least some path improvements do prioritise trees and nature.

That is the really frustrating bit when you have to keep going out of gear or bursting reverse to try to stop catching them up, then when they get even slower at a bridge 'ole it is even more annoying.

I am the OP and was impressed the way my first post was going!

I’ve been up to Titford this morning and the level is recovering. The boats are now afloat and the pumps are still running. All looks good for the weekend.

It is not about rushing, it is about going along at a normal pace and not seeing virtue in going as slow as possible and holding up people as much as possible. Yes there can of course be unforseen events such as trees down and other stoppages, but these are not within the power of boaters. Holding people up unnecessarily, and causing frustration, is within the power of other boaters and I just think it is a shame that some people relish wielding that power to control how other people conduct themselves. As I said, I don't want to force other people to go faster than they want, I just don't want them to force me to go slower when they could let me pass. As to your final sentence, well thank you for your opinion on whether or not the canals are suitable for me. That is a phenomenal display of arrogance and it is easy to see why you think it quite OK to force other people to go along at your pace.

Absolutely fine unless we see a Noah like deluge which really doesnt look like happening for a while yet. It's a doddle.

Daft nonsense. It's a bit like the Stenson Lo k half paddle because of the boats moored below nonsense. Problem is, unless someone challenges these rule makers, it becomes the norm.

I don't know, am i still blocked @IanD

On the Thames I have seen several wrapped with tape to allow use at higher than intended flow rates.

Worst thing I've ever had to remove was an old rucksack - loads of tightly wrapped nylon webbing and straps, much of it with steel reinforcement wires running through. Sometimes, rather than just cutting, it works better to grab some of the offending material with some grips and then manually rotate the prop to unwind stuff. Ditto previous suggestion of junior hacksaw, but a regular hacksaw blade wrapped with a bit of rag to improvise a handle makes a pretty useful tool.

Are there any boaters nearby willing to help? I have seen a mattress successfully removed by tying a rope to it and pulling with another boat.

I had one once, luckily only a couple of hundred yards from the boatyard mooring. We craned the stern out of the water by the slipway and I set to work with bolt crops. 20 mins later and it was gone, I fear you may not be so lucky. Might Wyvern Shipping be able to help? Just a thought.

Just get a new one, these deliver.

It certainly was - it was the year of my first canal holiday, although my grandparents had taken me on the Rivers Cam and Great Ouse in the early 60's, but I was too young to appreciate much of those holidays.

It is, it's where the footballers wives stay when glamping

There are some facebook groups which might be worth posting in, Lea and Stort boaters, London Boaters, probably more. I understand that they would probably not divulge but would either pass on communications or seek the individuals permission first

Just to add to the above, Mike Anson, BCNS chair, has asked CRT if they have any issues with boats navigating to the Pools this weekend and had not received a repsonse as of yesterday evening. Hence as things stand it's business as usual but we are keeping an eye out for any communication. I'll know more later today as I'll be there in a couple of hours from now.

Lost bet 1 just seen a cart member of staff who told me what has happened. There are four pounds all of half a mile or more so even getting enough water into this one is going to be an effort. Cart are doing it. If it was shorter I would have done it but I'm not walking that far.

That I think is because one of the anti-vandal locks isn't working. Probably won't fix it but they might put a blue sign there saying "Better with water"

Maybe someone's mistaken it for a chinwag?

At that speed difference you probably won't get past as they will get sucked along and end up stuck alongside.

Originally made from hemp fibres reclaimed from the sealing gaskets in old gasometers.

Agreed. It's odd when those....who think it is not a race/why the hurry/take the train if you're in a rush... are themselves sufficiently short of time to preclude letting me by

You seem to be at great pains to make the case that overtaking is somehow difficult and rarely practical. I wonder why? Of course there are plenty of stretches of windy narrow and shallow canal where overtaking isn’t really on, but equally plenty of stretches where it is. No-one expects to overtake on blind corners etc but I think it is reasonable to expect co-operation from a slow boat in front when circumstances permit.

It's a plan, not a great plan but it is a plan.

CRT don't have the power to close it, hence the current situation. Although there should be a stoppage notice. I don't know the official BCNS position and what if any discussions they may have had with CRT but as you know the BCNS is an organisation that works hard to improve the canal environment so I don't think they'd want to be complicit in creating a pollution incident that killed a lot of fish (which is allegedly what would happen if navigation were allowed). The real damage was done when the Black Country spine road was allowed to sever the Wednesbury Old Canal rendering the stub fairly pointless. Although I suspect even that wouldn't have happened if there was appreciable usage. It's one reason that usage of what is available is encouraged and the whole point of the Challenge.

The competitors for this year's Challenge are already aware that the event is being filmed for an episode of Cruising the Cut. I've taken David - who makes the series - through the activities that might be of interest such as the opening of the envelope with the questions just before 0800 on Saturday, the energy that goes into the first locks, the hunt for the clues that give the answers to questions, the night time cruising on the northern reaches, the horribly early start on Sunday and the attempts to nurse tiredness and hangovers while fighting with low pounds as boats converge on the flights of locks that lead to the finish, and then the finish activities themselves. I shall also be asking David to assist with the award of the Trolley Trophy and assigning points to all those crews that make an effort to decorate their boats. Other than that we're pretty much all set. Vulpes is currently loaded up with the kit to set up a mobile bar at Tipton, it's just the beer that is still to be collected. I shall be in Birmingham on Saturday morning to meet David and do a short piece for his episode before he heads off with some of the boats and I head for Tipton. We've even booked six boats worth of participants in for a curry on Sunday evening.

Blimey! How many people are you expecting?