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Carl, I think the flow on the Alde in the winter is a little more than the canals! There aren't many shingle spits on the canals Edited for smelling

I had a great weekend cruising and I was somewhat surprised that I was seen as being slightly less acceptable to some than Attila the Hun for moving in the ice. I took care to slow down from a crawl to a more reasonable speed passing other boats. The number of happy birds that populated the clear water after I passed by was testament to the fact that the wildlife didn't mind - nor indeed did the people actually on their boats. I was also surprised to be the knight in shining armour below the Bratch to a couple of fishermen who had been freezing to no avail for a couple of hours. I asked them if they would like me to break the ice and they were very keen for me to do so. I had fun making sure all the ice was broken and sent off down the canal whilst my very able crew set the locks! I moor on-line and I enjoy seeing boats moving, and from my observations of my trip this weekend I caused a minimum of damage to anything whilst enjoying my cruise.

I look forward to meeting you and including your local community in our virtual world.

I do always see the good side of people - I have met many great people on the canals and on the forum. I suggest you attend a Canalworld banter and see how we come from so many different backgrounds and get along so famously. Banters are not cliquey but are a chance for us all to meet which we enjoy. I emphasise the all. I may disagree with you on occasions but that does not mean I wouldn't welcome the opportunity to meet you face to face to discuss our mutual love of the canals. Dave

There is at least one reply from a 'real boater' - someone who has for decades, and is continuing to, keep the canals open for all please could you let us know your credentials for disrespecting members of the 'real' canal community?

A considered study of galvanic isolators would be an idea - I leave a battery charger on 24/7 isolated from the boat electrics. I appear to still have anodes but I really don't follow the detailed arguments.

I don't want him/her to say anything. I was posting my opinion and expressing what I see as one of the values of this friendly waterways community.

There is no such thing as a silly question (unless it is about galvanic isolators! search button only!) the question of water supplies to canals is important to all. Restored canals are often still trying to solve this question 200 years on!

I have refrained from posting on this thread but I feel I must and yes Troll, I am a close friend of Cheshire Rose. I frequent several aircraft forums (fora?) and I remember a particular fatality where an aircraft crashed and the relatives learnt of the event on a public forum before the police could contact them. In the case of this accident a search on google could have come up with Canalworld. It is often high in google searches. I would not like my relatives to learn of my demise in a situation where flippancy was the immediate reaction. I know that this forum has a considerable amount of tact and decency from people of all kinds. This was amply demonstrated by the response displayed when the circumstances of a recent incident were explained (p.m. me if you need to know more) I sincerely hope this will continue.

I decided to take the boat for a cruise for the new year. I don't have to cruise but I bought a boat and license to enjoy the canals. I cruised down to Stourport this weekend with Cheshire Rose who also enjoys all aspects of canals and canal history. On the way down to Stourport there was no ice and we were ably assisted by Michelle who loves the canals but doesn't have a boat yet. As Michelle left we suggested that her partner Mark and her joined us the next day on the way back. Yesterday morning we left from Stourton in ice which we broke with the boat which was a new experience for us all. Before I set off I checked to see if there were any stoppages because of ice but there weren't. BW obviously seem to allow the use of my license for all the days I pay for. I obviously was doing damage to my blacking. We took great care when passing boats and indeed received waves and friendly comments from boaters we spoke to. I did pass boats on tickover where possible as long as we still kept way! We passed many fibreglass boats and interestingly the way the ice breaks around them is different to steel boats. They seem to be frozen to the ice and so the cracks appear round the boat that then floats free of ice except for the ice still attached to the hull. We didn't try going past fast to see if we could cut one in half. I needed some more fuel for the fire but when we got to Awbridge lock the working boat selling fuel had left going north. It was good to see that the ice was not stopping people who needed to move. We saw other boats moving - indeed we had long distances where we were in water free of ice due to the boats that we passed coming in the opposite direction. At the Bratch I performed a public service whilst waiting for the lock by reversing and breaking the ice for a couple of fishermen who had been sitting there for 2 hours without a bite. I did ask first and 16 tons of ice-breaking help was welcome. At one point when Rose had taken the helm a fisherman asked her to bring the boat in closer to the bank to break the ice up for him. In summary: I had a great weekend with great company, I didn't sink any other boats and indeed I had many great conversations with other boat owners over the sound of breaking ice. It was a true boating experience which I feel priveledged to experience.

That is very interesting. The closeup is of Mistys Bar at Calf heath on the S&W but if you zoom right out it centres on Brewood for some unknown reason! That is most odd. Try this: Map The circle is now at the entrance to Hatherton Marina, the bar is just a little further on beyond the canal bridge.