Tony Dunkley

There aren't any sharp enough bends, as you call them, on that stretch of river for that to happen. Just one other thing while we're at it . . . . If, thanks to your VHF you knew you'd meet in the bight, why didn't you give him the water and go by on the other side?

It wasn't put up as an excuse . . . it's a fact . . . and as far as being wrong about any of this, I haven't "realised" anything of the sort.

You've clearly convinced yourself of that, but the reality is that you met one large commercial on a stretch of river where you could see it coming from a good way off and you had been warned to expect it by the last (Nether) lock you had passed through.

VHF, or any other item of safety equipment you could carry, won't prevent any amateur skipper from getting into difficulties any more than airbags and seatbelts will stop you from crashing your car.

Have you ever thought of joining the Flat Earth Society . . . I' m sure they'd be delighted to have you.

Well, I'm not actually the one that's confused here. If you had been around, particularly on the Trent, for a bit longer than you have, you may have got to know that, in fact, I was the first person to take the tanker that was subsequently converted to an AIL carrier and re-named Inland Navigator, up to Staythorpe when the project to build an AIL/Heavy Lift berth there was at the planning stage in 2001. The turbine,which is aboard a pontoon too big to get through Newark, that you keep dripping on about (from your post 39) was a delivery to Cottam,(the power station just above Torksey) and was offloaded at the ro-ro berth nearby.

I haven't got an aversion to VHF . . . I'm saying that the lack of commercial traffic above Keadby means passage that far down without VHF is not really a problem.

You don't know?

No you haven't, and that article re. Wynn's MPP was 10 years ago.

They should have known, especially as you met in the relatively short stretch between Nether and Cromwell. The fact that they didn't know despite having VHF at their disposal would seem to emphasise the point I was making.

The ro-ro pontoon pictured in Gainsborough on Post 39 is too big to reach Staythorpe.

Not the vessels you referred to in Post 39

Not at Farndon either . . . . Inland Navigator can reach there, and above . . . . but not that ro-ro pontoon with the tugs.

Unfortunately VHF is not very effective for that when broadcasts from the commercial are being picked up by a pleasure boat who doesn't know the river well enough to know where he is himself. The situation will usually be made even more confusing for the pleasure boat because the commercial will be using names for a lot of places on the river that you won't find on any map. A warning and advice from a lock keeper is far more likely to result in meeting the commercial where you expect to.

The point I was making is that above Keadby,since July 2013 there is no longer commercial traffic on the move which C&RT lock keepers will not be aware of, so they are able to warn any pleasure boats that are likely to meet them. The rare, occasional passage of vessels such as "Inland Navigator" and the ro-ro pontoon and tugs you thought were heading for Farndon are always notified to C&RT well in advance. So not having VHF is not really a problem, unless you want to continue down below Keadby.

That was another rare "one off". . . . and this one was for Staythorpe ( or Farndon if your NC)

Nothing that size.

That was a rare 'one off' event, notified well in advance by C&RT . . . . . . and it wasn't going to Farndon . . . you probably meant Staythorpe, but it wasn't going there either. Whatever you may believe, there is no commercial traffic above Keadby, and there hasn't been since July 2013. Lock keepers will be aware of such as AILs or any other occasional, and now unusual, large stuff on the move and will warn any pleasure craft likely to meet them.

Post 23 . . . . why it is rubbish is explained in Post 29.

Do preformed sound signals come with a "use by" date?

That's not really at all surprising, if your sound signals are anything like the rubbish you post on here.

Since the end of the Besthorpe traffic over a year ago, there is no commercial traffic above Keadby. Provided you arrive at Keadby after local High Water there won't be any shipping moving. Anything outbound from either Gunness or Keadby wharves will be long gone, and anything inbound to those wharves will be already berthed up. HW at Keadby will never be sooner than HW at Hull + 1 hour and never later than Hull + one and a half hours depending whether you're on Springs or Neaps. If you want to get some info on shipping movements at your expected arrival time just in case you do arrive too early for any reason, then ABP will tell you if you phone them, but the VTS are busy people and would prefer that you get it off their website. There is a page with daily updates on planned arrivals and departures which includes all the Trent wharves. Hull tide times are on there too.

Yes, well said, I couldn't agree more. Edit to add :-- Could NC be one of the hazards the OP had in mind?

That's the "flush" from emptying the lock coming back up the relatively short pound. Boats moving back from the bottom gates still happens when there's a long pound after the lock.

No, I haven't agreed with any of the tripe you've been posting, but I have been rather amused by your enthusiasm for displaying your obvious lack of any relevant knowledge and experience. Again no, I argue with those I believe to be wrong.