Joelsanders

I only logged in to see if there were any interesting cat photos and all this is going on. I suppose it would be bad form not to contribute. If you haven't enjoyed my previous posts - or blog - it's probably a good idea if you stop reading now. This isn't for you, Firstly, despite what a couple of members might believe, I am not seeking any privileges which are not available to everyone else. I do have an ego and that would definitely have me spiralling out of control. Before we know it, I'll be jumping the queue at water points and attempting to double moor my narrowboat alongside the Queen Mary 2. When I signed up to the forum, I had some communication with one of the administrators about how best to go about announcing / discussing the 'Angry Boater' blog. I was mindful that there might be some 'do's & dont's' .... so I asked. Perhaps as a result of my first post having provoked some debate, I was invited to announce my future posts. That was the guidance I was given so that was what I did. I had no intention of upsetting anyone by subverting the etiquette of the forum. My next post - or at least the manner in which it was made - seemed to traumatise one or two members, one of whom cited a forum rule that I was in breach of. Bearing in mind that I'd already been told my posts were welcome by admin, I didn't resonate with the ruling guidance that this member was directing at me. My reaction arose from the tone in which the point was being made, however, rather than the content of the rule itself. Does anyone welcome a stranger entering their life and demanding that they do things in a certain way? In fact, are there any methods of communicating which come with a stronger guarantee that the recipient will be motivated to do the opposite? Anyhow, the thread was getting a little heated by then and - whilst I was composing my reply - it was locked by Admin. I didn't even get the final word. It felt very dis-empowering. Yesterday, as a result of a meeting amongst the powers that be, I was asked to post future links to my blog via my signature only. Consequently , that is what I will do from hereon.... So feel free to subscribe at http://www.angryboater.com if you want to be informed when there's a new post. I generally aim for one a week. I try not to be contrived though so - if I don't have something that I really want to say - I'll wait until I do. If there is any confusion about my intentions (and there seems to be some), the aim of the blog is not to promote bad behaviour, endorse anger (not that I feel anger is, of itself, a bad thing anyway) , condone violence or have CRT merged with LIDL but to explore boating issues in the wider context of what it is to be human. I try to embrace my own imperfections in that process and scrutinise my own (sometimes bad) behaviour. It's a simple exercise in attempting to be authentic even when I may not be especially proud of something I have said or done. (Some of the others are a bit lighter -eg the one about naming boats). It's not all tantrums and tillers. The reason I chose the name is that there is a myth amongst some boaters - and many non-boaters - that we are all about peace and serenity ( look at how many boat names allude to escaping & dreams etc). However, the day to day reality is that boating - just like everything else - has tensions & problems associated with it. In my perception, there's plenty of repressed anger on the waterways and a lot of angry boaters. Many of us are taught that displaying anger is somehow shameful but I don't believe it needs to be. It's an emotion. It's human. It's all of us. I used to carry a lot of it. In fact, it was a particularly extreme moment that set about a chain of events resulting in me becoming a boater. Not so long ago , I had stage 2 hypertension. Living on the water helped a lot with that but I'd be lying if I said I do not still get angry sometimes. Some of you might now be thinking that the blog is some kind of self imposed therapy that I'm forcing upon others. Well, there is a therapeutic value to writing, of course, but it's not my primary motive for the blog. I've been writing a book for a while and have been stuck / demotivated lately. The blog is helping me tune up my writing skills and sharpen my 'voice' . It also allows me to get valuable feedback on what I'm doing. Obviously, I enjoy hearing that people enjoy my writing but equally I benefit from receiving constructive comments from those who do not. I'll also be launching an "Angry Boater" podcast soon. I wanted to see if there was any interest for the blog first though. Thank you for starting a thread about this, Gary. I was humbled when I saw that someone was interested enough to take the time to do so. If future angry boater posts raise issues that merit discussion, whilst I would love to have engaged with those conversations on this forum , a place where so many boaters and viewpoints already exist, it doesn't look like that is a practical option. However, if you subscribe to the angry boater blog, we can do all that over there instead. Meanwhile, I look forward to joining in many of the other discussions over here, http://www.angryboater.com

Wonder if anyone has moored outside Uri Geller's house and woken up with a bent prop .

I understand that last year, certainly in london, there were some boaters who stayed an extra 14 days after the period of their winter mooring had ended. CRT had not been clear then about this point. Consequently, they received criticism from other sections of the boating world for the "confusion" that their lack of clarity / inconsistency had caused. My guess ,this year, is that they feel under some pressure not to have a repeat of that situation, hence the firm reminders , exclamation marks etc. It's aimed at those who might consider extending their stay a bit longer (and perhaps also for the benefit of those who had criticised them last year to demonstrate that their concerns had been listened to ) . Inevitably, though, that will irritate customers who have paid for a winter mooring as it makes them feel unvalued. CRT -even though i feel that they frequently work to the detriment of continuous cruisers - are often in an impossible position. Many decisions they make (or undertake to make) that will benefit one section of the boating community will - by their nature - upset another. Boaters with home moorings want very different things from continuous cruisers . ... and those hire boat companies with so much alleged clout often want different things again. There are not so many win / win situations if you are CRT. Poisoned chalice syndrome .

Sorry if this is a daft question but since you've been using a chimney brush very regularly , there will now be quite a build up of soot on top of the baffle plate. Have you removed the fire bricks and cleared all that off too?

A bit mentholly when you first get it going ... But then it's ok

My experience too. If you stick with a proper lead it should charge fine . Non branded equivalents often won't do the job. Anyone know if that's specifically a boat issue ?

Excel is my favourite . Homefire comes second. Whenever I switch to a different type, I find I have to fiddle with the airflow to get the best out of it. Usually takes a few days before I find the ideal levels.

Some of you might be aware of the ongoing conflict between residents on Noël Rd, Islington and boaters. It's a VM area but the residents have been trying to change this for a while. Some of them have council connections and they recently won a small battles - double breasting has been banned until the end of March). Boris Johnson is one of the residents there although -as far as I know -he's kept out of the debate. Mooring space is ridiculously limited in London and this is one of the nicest spots going. I'd hate to see it compromised any further, The other story this thread brings to mind is Sonning on the Thames. Uri Geller bought the mooring space outside of his (huge) house and has outlawed mooring there. I suppose if you have paid the right people, 'no mooring' signs can be legally enforced. Either way, he's made sure there is nothing outside to moor onto. I thinkthe residents in Islington and Geller both cited the health risks from carbon monoxide as their justification.

Well apparently this is not your site so why do you feel entitled to inform me - especially in such a derogatory manner - of how I should discuss my boating blog here? Do you not trust the site administrators to be able to make their own judgement over whether a member is breaking the rules? Disagreeing is fine, of course. I welcome it. A small number of the earlier comments were solely abusive though without engaging with the content. That's trolling, right?

Hello Lady Muck . Please message me privately if you are involved with managing the site and we'll figure out the best way forward. I'm new here and I haven't figured out which of the negative comments here are bonafide, which are from trolls and whether any of them have any official backing - so it's hard to know what I should embrace and what should be deflected.

Thanks Barry / Bazza. That was a fabulous read. Ultimately, we're all very similar in terms of what drives us - the emotions are there within us all: we seek out experiences which make us feel validated and we avoid experiences that cause us to feel shame, fear or guilt. Some of us have figured that out consciously; other do it subconsciously. Some of us express our feelings; others repress. Most of us do a bit of everything. For myself, boating started as a bit of an escape. I have come to realise that is true for a lot of people (just look at how many boat names allude to escaping, freedom, serenity, dreams etc). Speaking for myself, I had very high blood pressure and - within a few months of getting into boating - it dropped drastically. Now that boating has become 'normal' for me, my blood pressure sometimes gets high again. It's nowhere near what it was but that's because I started looking at other areas of my life too, slowly made lifestyle changes and learned to understand myself better. As you alluded too very openly, I also make an effort to examine myself when I get a reaction to something. If that 'something' happens to be related to boating, I turn my 'angry boater' brain on and explore it through writing about it. It's partly an excuse to focus my mind on staying self aware. In some of the 'confrontations' (if that's what they are) I've used as my blog as starting points, I've seen aspects of myself in other boaters - aspects I don't necessarily like. Despite what some of the more self aggrandising comments to my post have alluded to, I'm not generally being critical of the other party when I document a tense encounter with one. Ultimately, I'm not being critical of myself either really. I accept my vulnerabilities and understand the benefits they have brought to my life as well as the drawbacks. When other forum readers react with aggression to my blog or comments, it's quite likely that they are experiencing some kind of denial. Perhaps something I wrote has triggered something they do not want to deal with. On the other hand, it could just be blowing off steam for the sake of it. The anonymity of the internet makes it easy to speak to people in ways that we seldom with have the courage to do face to face - to dehumanise the other party so to speak. Ultimately, that all sounds very serious but it isn't necessarily. I usually find my reactions to things and the awkwardness that sometimes ensues quite funny . A good squirm can be delightful Thanks again for your comments. David From your tone (unnecessarily sarcastic as it may be ) I am assuming you are the site administrator? Is my assumption correct? I see that you are a long standing member. Please clarify. Thanks

Yes, obviously some people will get hacked off - and others with be appreciative. As long as enough people seem to welcome my contributions, I will feel motivated to contribute. As for.... "posts that have no purpose other than to drum up readers for your blog are inappropriate and not permitted under the forum rules" .... of course that is not my only purpose. I read other threads, will contribute elsewhere if I feel I have something to add and - since my blog is about boating issues that are of interest to me (and seemingly others) - linking to my blog and engaging with any ensuing discussion about it - seems to be an ideal way for me to contribute to the boating community. That said, I understand that too many samey posts might be annoying to a few and I'm mindful of this, hence limiting myself to no more than one a week. So thank you for pointing that out. Point taken.

You're a great testament to our species. I hope, someday, to be able to demonstrate such poise and wisdom myself. It might appear to do the opposite if you read it. That isn't what I'm trying to do and I doubt that it would come across that way to anyone who has given it more than a skim read. Your comment, on the other hand, is incredibly discourteous and confrontational. Another example of seeing in others that which we judge most strongly in ourselves, perhaps.

You were very unlucky to bump into someone so self centred , I think. Boaters in london happily double moor all the time.

You are correct. I shall leave the error as it stands though as a humble reminder of my imperfections.

Oh dear. Please tell me that was ironic Ah I see ! There are always boats there though -usually double moored

Perhaps I could have done but - as a single boater -I would have had to line the boat up, run through the boat to the bow and hope that by the time I got there -the wind hadn't blown me away from the landing (and it was a very windy day) You didn't say that . I was quoting from my own blog (well Harry Enfield, really). . I was suggesting that you want others to live their lives according to your own values. It's a character trait often associated with depression and, ironically, anger.

Ah I think I understand now. I'm supposed to manage my blog in the way you manage yours. "You don't want to do it like that! You want to do it like this!" That's not how the world works though - never has / never will.

You look after her well. It's nice here. Yes, that's the landing I reversed into. It's too short for a 62 footer Thanks for commenting , Mark , but I think you've missed the point. I don't believe there's anything "negative" in what I wrote. Firstly, there is an assumption there that to be angry is a negative thing. It can be, of course, but everything has 2 sides. Greenday alluded to this when they wrote, "anger is an energy (oh ey oh ey)." I'm interested in finding the 2 sides - including the lessons that these so called negative feelings can provide. To do that, I believe I have to get beyond the repression that you are alluding to. That's funny. I didn't have a boat then but I'm sure you are right.

Who has claimed that my blog has such a big audience, Rachel? I certainly haven't. I've only been doing it for a few months and, yes, I hope to have a bigger audience for it over time. One of the ways I am striving to do that - once a week - is by announcing my new posts to relevant boating forums. If you know of a better way, I'm open to hearing it. However, it appears that the idea of someone else trying to create something is very troublesome for you... and I am curious as to why that might be? Your manner has been abusive and, considering that we have never met, I am curious about what is driving you.

Thanks but I don't feel brave . When I first started boating, moving around singlehandedly was harder (and scarier) but, like anything, with a little practice, it becomes easier and there's less fear. Keeping it slow is the key, I think Which blog are you referring to? (I don't write for it but I'm interested in taking a look) Thanks Barry. Yes, the idea is to put my inadequacies out there - against the background of my boating life - and explore / learn what I can about myself and others through doing so. It doesn't feel brave though. I accept my weaknesses and don't really have much shame attached to them. That's pretty astute, I think. Plenty of people on here from all walks of life so my take on things is not going to be for everyone. No need to be sorry. I appreciate your feedback Perhaps hold onto your laptop and, next time, maybe just avoid reading my blog. You'll thank me in the long run. Thanks (I think) We parted as friends. The good news is that you don't have to blog about your experiences. It's entirely a choice. I choose to write about my (sometimes awkward)) experiences, irrespective of your certainty that it is wrong to share yours. That's how it works. I sympathise with your struggle, Rachel. I think you're coping very well. I shall be aiming to win you over with the next one

Appreciated. Yes, but there is only a short landing there.It's an odd one If I avoided everything that has the potential to make me angry, I might as well be catatonic

I'm a continuous cruiser . Not sure I'd qualify

You would be entirely justified too.