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Jon Ody

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Everything posted by Jon Ody

  1. Pirate Princess, the former Pirate Club vessel off of Camden Town, is registered as 60010. Edit: PP was built and first registered in 1982.
  2. Thank you Nigel and Churchward for the legal information. I don't believe these land-grabbers will even hold out for another year, or even another few months. Oxford City Council are introducing new powers due before the start of the summer (rumour, no evidence of that yet) to prevent anti-social behavior (such as mooring boats) on the riverbanks. I've just popped back on here to share this quote from a local source: "The owner had just finished with her no good boyfriend who was just out of prison so he took his revenge. He is back inside now and I hope they throw away the key. The community though is rallying - she has already been given a new boat and we are all providing clothes, bedding etc." That fits with the news story of a man being taken away in an ambulance. So it's rumored/known locally to be arson. But probably unconnected to other fires in recent years.
  3. I think I can count 9-10 serious boat fires around oxford in the last three years, of which three were most likely arson and one was most likely not. I don't think that anybody has been charged over any of them. One of the "three in a mile" was in a marina and the boat was undergoing refit work so likely accident not arson. the november 'land grab' fire had three people on the boat at the time (locked inside the boat mind, had to evacuate through a window into the water), again the most recent fire seems to have had someone onboard at the time as well. I wouldn't rule it out but it would be wrong to jump to a conclusion. There has definitely been arson on boats in oxford in recent years though. An abandoned Anglo Welsh hireboat at Dukes Cut ~2012 springs to mind. That and the St Edwards elsan/bins point also ~2012, just a few days after the city council anti-boat crackdown went public.
  4. I have been making the point that a BSS certificate or lack of it is irrelevant to the safety of a boat. And I've been put in my place regarding my choice of words, and I have apologised for any offence I may have caused. And I've sent Rob@BSS a PM and hope to bring any examples of BSS shortcomings that I may see in the future to his attention. I have no evidence either way as to the cause of the fire, apart from links that I have shared, whilst noting that the source (Oxford Mail) is unreliable.
  5. The two are linked. One is immediately upstream from Botley Road Bridge (AKA Osney Bridge, the lowest bridge on the thames) on the city/footpath side opposite some allotments, at the backs of houses which front onto Abbey Road. The other is the castle mill stream parallel with the canal opposite college cruisers in Jericho. The Jericho footbridge is immediately next to where the most recent boat fire was. Both land grabs are being managed by a chap called Edward Surridge. His website on the subject is here: https://communitieslandandboatorg.wordpress.com/ I am particularly appalled by the comments that he has attracted from local residents, and the anti-boater sentiment that it has generated locally. There are other examples of Ed's work online, usually involving some sort of sham charity and illiterate ramblings. I don't like him at all.
  6. I'm just going to climb all the way down from that one now. I've sent a PM to Rob and hope we can build on that with actual evidence in actual cases. I may be going over the top with words like crooked and bungs and apologise for any offence caused. There are certainly BSS examiners who do not do their jobs as thoroughly as they should, as I'm sure there are in all walks of life. The difference being that if a greengrocer does his job to a low standard they'd get less business as a result, but if a BSS examiner does his work to a low standard he'll get more business as a result. At least that's how it seems to work around here. Here being Oxford, where we've had three boat fires within a mile within six months.
  7. Thanks Rob, I'll be in touch. Unfortunately I see the evidence to the contrary quite regularly. Ennit.
  8. Send me a PM with contact information and i'll be in touch whenever they come up. Or should I start naming and shaming them publicly here? I'm led to believe that in order for BSS office to act they must receive a complaint from the recipient of the dodgy certificate and can't take any action otherwise, kinda like asking drug addicts to name their dealers. I could produce a list of Oxfordshire examiners and give examples with photographic evidence of unsafe boats that have received BSS certificates from the last five years, but have never acted on it because the beneficiary customer is the one who must complain, not the next engineer to work on the boat who witnesses the examiners shortcomings. It's not in my interests to make enemies amongst local professionals, so I stay out of it. Also it would be quite unfair of me because I only generally see the work of Oxfordshire examiners and I understand the issue to be national. I do recognise that the standard of professional workmanship is higher elsewhere due to err having any kind of boat repair facility at all wheras in Oxford it's DIY or nothing, so that may be where the Oxford safety issues arise from. Think about it: The customer wants an easy pass. The customer actively seeks out an examiner who he knows will pass a boat, whether through ignorance or incompetence or downright criminality. The examiner with the lowest standards gets the most work. The examiners who are thorough get the least work. BSS examiners are self-employed and self-regulating, so the motivation for the examiner is to produce the most passes in as short a time-frame as possible. The system is flawed beyond belief. I've already said it above, having a BSS certificate doesn't suggest that a boat is safe. I'll happily argue the shortcomings of the BSS but that's a whole other topic and i'd need time to dig up the evidence to back up my arguments with. I'd rather see some evidence that the boat safety scheme does work, I think of it more as a(nother) BW PR stunt more for politicians than the public.
  9. I would understand it to be EA waters too. Wasn't there a kerfuffle recently about needing an EA license in order to exit Isis lock to turn around to come back onto the canal? to get from the canal to the mill stream you'd have to exit isis lock onto EA waters and then go upstream under a low bridge. it's quite likely that EA patrol boats wouldn't fit under that bridge, or even through the sheepwash perhaps. BSS and insurance aren't legal requirements, but they are required for licensing. I've heard of boaters cancelling their insurance the day after they receive the license for example, and a BSS certificate can be acquired by post for a £50 bung. If they're not being enforced then has a crime been committed? The EA have the powers (since 2012?) to go looking for boats without licenses rather than waiting for them to pass through locks, but that doesn't mean they have the manpower or other resources to do so. I understand that the EA are giving thames boaters a grace period until April to license their boats (EA licenses run from 1st january - 31st december regardless of the date of application). The EA are refusing to issue multiple temporary licenses to boats who are based on the thames, ie they'd need to prove they're visiting from another waterway. it wouldn't surprise me to discover that of the dozen or so boats permanently moored up that stream none of them have licenses (i'm not saying that's the case, just it wouldn't be a surprise). there are quite a few examples of unlicensed boats on the main channel in oxford which aren't being dealt with, let alone tucked away in remote backwaters. (see also the river cherwell, sheepwash channel, dukes cut, iffley weirs stream and the hinksey stream for other hiding places off the main river navigable by a narrowboat, let alone smaller boats on back of houses etc all through the city) Never underestimate the inefficiency of bureaucracy. I get the impression that UMBEG is little more than a talking shop. UMBEG doesn't have any staff to do it's dirty work, and all off the authorities are already stretched beyond their means. The EA is the responsible body and there's as much chance of an oxford boat being unlicensed as anywhere else under their jurisdiction. More, chance of getting away with it perhaps, because of all the potential hiding places for a boat in the city.
  10. nope me neither. i'm not trying to make excuses and have been very vocal about these squats and the impact they have on other river users, especially when it comes to forcing the hand of the authorities to go down the legal route of acquiring new powers to remove them. we'd all love to see some moorings being created locally but the city council simply won't allow it. This is a rowing town don't yew know. The majority riparian landowners in Oxford are city council, university, CRT and the EA, each of which are engaged through UMBEG in restricting the ability to live on boats in Oxford rather than recognising the benefits of it. I'm not a residential boater by the way, I only work here. Edited to add: I'm not trying to make any particular point by the way. Just laying out facts as i see them to see what opinions there are out there about this. I've got my own opinions but open to listening to others. Discussion forum, ennit.
  11. The land was historically sold by Network Rail to British Waterways, but both parties deny any responsibility for it. Oxford City council are (allegedly) inundated by complaints about these boats and have been cracking down on boats throughout the whole city since about 2010. UMBEG is the Unlawfully Moored Boats Enforcement Group, being representatives of Oxford city council, EA, CRT, university and police amongst others. Even before the "land grab" made it public news this area was quite well known for boat-squatting as well as drug use (I've heard it called smack alley) and this end of the oxford canal is famous for being run down, cluttered towpaths, etc. It's not the case nowadays but it's hardly a shining example of sustainability. The walton well moorings further up the castle mill stream are a result of trying to legitimise existing squat moorings. There are no marina moorings available for miles around. The nearest official residential marina is possibly Cropredy. There are other less official non-residential moorings but generally you need to be in the know or very rich to get in on them. Occasionally nearby online canal moorings come up for auction and any locals trying to avoid harassment are lucky to not get outbid by outsiders looking for cheap Oxford accommodation. Oxford is pretty unique in that near enough 100% of the residential moorings available in the city are transferable, ie you have to buy a boat with a mooring in order to gain access to that mooring. the mooring rights premium adds about £25-50,000 on top of the price of even a scrapworthy narrowboat.
  12. The Oxford Mail is particularly rubbish when it comes to boats and waterways. A shame since so much of what happens locally (lack of moorings, interface of canal and EA waterways, big emphasis on rowing/cycling interests, massive shortfall in local affordable accommodation forcing non-boaters onto the water, flooding, decline in boating facilities, posh housing schemes vs traditional boating) is so relevant on a national level as well. I do quite regularly comment on their articles when i see inadequacies, sometimes getting a bit shouty. part of the problem is it's never the same reporter twice. i don't know the ins and outs of being a slum landlord, but i'd certainly hope that was the case. there's a lot of it about though.
  13. I'm led to believe via local contacts that this is indeed one of those 'slum landlord' type arrangements. £650 per month housing benefit - Kaching!
  14. Just spotted that the Jericho land grabs have already been discussed on this site: http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=67716 Are the mooring rights relevant to the discussion of the fire? Well yes, because these boats are being deliberately moored in places where they are not accessible by the emergency services because of the actions (some call it kettling) of Oxford City Council forcing them away from convenience.
  15. My instincts tell me that this boat wouldn't have had BSS, license or insurance. I don't have any evidence for any of that though. I will point out that having a BSS certificate doesn't guarantee that you have a safe boat, or vice versa. There are many crooked BSS examiners out there and even the good ones can make mistakes. I've seen many boats in the oxford area with BSS certificates and licenses and insurance and moorings etc etc that one could quite accurately describe as deathtraps. i'm not saying that it's an oxford problem either, the boat safety scheme shortcomings are a national problem.
  16. Recently it took nine months for the EA to remove a narrowboat sunk on the main channel at iffley, and even then only because the riverbank was required for a university regatta (possibly paid for by the university after EA failed to trace the owner). Nobody knows who owns this land at the castle mill stream, allegedly sold by network rail to BW at some point in the past but both bodies deny responsibility for it. The boat isn't sunk, just fire-damaged. And where would they remove it to??? Short answer - the wreckage won't be removed, it'll stay where it is indefinitely. Cynical answer - why remove it when there will be queues of people lining up to rent it as a city-centre liveaboard project boat.
  17. I'll also add that when I first wrote this post it quickly became a 1000 word essay on oxford boat politics, but that's now safely tucked away so as to not drown out the message of the serious boat fire and the loss of life involved. I will add though that there is another of these land-grabs nearby, and that within the last six months there was another fire which also resulted in the loss of an animal's life: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/top_news/11460173.Fears_as_boat_owners____group_claims_new_area_of_riverbank/ http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11582204.Investigation_into_boat_blaze_near_Osney_Bridge_continues/ so two almost identical incidents within six months, within a mile of each other, against a background of heavy-handed (but apparently ineffective) "enforcement" led by Oxford City Council. going back to 2012, not a "land grab" but another inaccessible no-mans land between river and canal boat fire resulted in the loss of human life. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10055297.UPDATE__Human_remains_found_at_scene_of_Wolvercote_boat_fire/ Alarms bells must be ringing somewhere?
  18. This happened yesterday, a serious fire and a dog died: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11850969.Man_taken_to_hospital_after_boat_fire_at_Castle_Mill/ http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11853317.Woman_loses_dog_and_possessions_in_boat_fire/ The boat is part of a "land grab" of moored boats on the castle mill stream in the no-mans land between the oxford canal and river thames. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11283663.Boat_people_in_land_grab/
  19. Hi there, been lurking a wjile (waiting to see if anyone would comment on Osney Dry Dock coming up for lease cough cough cough, don't want to go off topic...) There are lots of myths and bias against the city of oxford, some of it arguably justified but most information is very out of date. there have been some very good replies here already but i'd just like to clarify some things. Your impression of Oxford is false, possibly this is how things were in the 90's but that's well before my time, certainly not the case nowadays. (As of circa 2008 Oxford City Council have gone out of their way to make boaters lives a misery, reducing facilities and removing/reducing mooring rights regardless of status/mooring/age/history/whether visitor or bridge-hopper/whether shiny or scruffy, This (aka UMBEG, unlawfully moored boats enforcement group) was initiated by Jericho Councillors Suzanna Pressel and Colin Cook to deal with squatters on unclaimed land at castle mill stream. As of circa 2012 canal contiuous cruisers (BWHM) in the oxford area have been told they won't be prosecuted so long as they stay north of Yarnton Bridge. Most have complied, others have set up river-bank land-grabs to squat on land that nobody owns where they are apparently untouchable, eg castle mill stream in Jericho. cough cough cough) There are loooooooads of buses in Oxford, see http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/ and http://www.stagecoachbus.com/localdefault.aspx?Tag=Oxfordshire for more detail on routes etc. You'll have no problem finding a mooring in Oxford. Aim for the visitor moorings at Jericho to be in the heart of the city. At the bottom of hythe bridge arm there are 48 hour visitor moorings, walk down to check first and be prepared to reverse in or out if you can't turn at the bottom. There are more moorings (from centre of oxford northwards) at jericho (isis lock, 48hr) all the way up to walton well bridge (br.242), aristotle lane (br.240, either 7d or 14d, don't quote me), frenchay road (br.239, 7d with water, elsan, bins), st edward's (48hr?), wolvercote green (above and below br.236, 48hr), wolvercote lock (br.235, 48hr?), dukes cut lock (48hr?), above dukes cut lock (14d plus water point). after that you're not really in oxford any more, despite what the thrupp elites will tell you. For more detail see: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/finding-a-home-mooring?document_type=Listings\Listing&location=oxford&range=5&submit=Search&ps_search_handler=Mooring&listing_mooring_termtypes[1]=short-term&itemcount=25#anch:results No etiquette rules or hazards other than you'd find anywhere else on the canal network, use your boat sensibly and be nice to people. You wouldn't expect to park free of charge in any UK city nowadays would you? Aggressively anti-car is a bit strongly worded (clarkeson-esque). There is a massive problem with multiple occupancy (ie student) homes having multiple cars so there's a lot of resident parking schemes to control this. There are visitor parking spaces and long term parking options throughout the city, although not always within easy reach of the waterways. Students will be away at Christmas so unlikely to be problems in residential areas, beware the city centre rush for last minute pressies tho. There's free of charge unlimited parking in wolvercote near the canal at either on godstow road (wolvercote lock) (with bus stops) or around the plough inn (br236). There's a long term car park for the train station within a short walk of the end of the canal. there's very expensive short term parking at worcester street car park which used to be a canal basin (cough cough cough don't believe the hype). Those "chavs" are the future leaders of our country and us plebs should learn to show some respect, ennit. Bravo PJ! Although there are dons and students living on boats in Oxford it would be would be quite wrong to assume most were such (you're more likely to find computer programmers actually). If you do offend anyone and incur wrath please rest assured that the barrage of curses will most likely be in plain (and very well spoken) English. I would like to add: Beware (although do not fear) the river cherwell above shipton, it's quite likely it'll be in spate at that time of year and conditions might be challenging. If the canal is frozen it'll be the new dusty's first ice so don't expect it to be broken like it used to by old dusty (although fingers crossed they''ll cope with it well). the river thames is also likely to be streamier than normal, check with the EA website if you intend to join us on a proper waterway. Hope this all helps.
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