Thames red board - mid March

[Jentreefication]

This might be another impossible question to answer but... I'm planning to move my new home from Uxbridge to Bristol mid March but it is obviously dependent on the flow of the Thames. 

 

I have to hand my rental notice in in Bristol but realise its a bit of a gamble. When did red boards come off the last few years? Is March a good bet or will I be really lucky? 

 

And please don't bother with smart arse comments about lockdown. I'm moving house which is allowed and classed as essential travel. I'd really rather not have to do this then but that's my only option ?

 

Thanking you 

[ditchcrawler]

Have you looked here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/river-thames-restrictions-and-closures#planned-lock-closures

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Jentreefication said:

This might be another impossible question to answer but... I'm planning to move my new home from Uxbridge to Bristol mid March but it is obviously dependent on the flow of the Thames. 

 

I have to hand my rental notice in in Bristol but realise its a bit of a gamble. When did red boards come off the last few years? Is March a good bet or will I be really lucky? 

 

And please don't bother with smart arse comments about lockdown. I'm moving house which is allowed and classed as essential travel. I'd really rather not have to do this then but that's my only option ?

 

Thanking you 

 

 

Anyone saying that the floods will be down and the rivers on green on any specific day are either dreamers or liars. Freak weather events are becoming much more frequent and random - I have been 'locked down' due to flood gates being locked for almost 3 weeks and that was in September.

I've been 'locked down' due to flood waters in June.

 

If you need to be anywhere by a certain date then don't rely on going by boat.

[Jentreefication]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Have you looked here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/river-thames-restrictions-and-closures#planned-lock-closures

I have thanks, its the flow rate that I'm concerewoth but is obviously much harder to predict ?

[Jentreefication]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Anyone saying that the floods will be down and the rivers on green on any specific day are either dreamers or liars. Freak weather events are becoming much more frequent and random - I have been 'locked down' due to flood gates being locked for almost 3 weeks and that was in September.

I've been 'locked down' due to flood waters in June.

 

If you need to be anywhere by a certain date then don't rely on going by

Yeah as I said I realise no one can predict it just wondered what it's been like the last few years to get some kind of sense. If it's been red boards til April the last 5 year's I realise my chances are slim to none... 

 

It's a particularly tricky conundrum right now with many permutations. If only I was rich and didn't have to worry about it ? Sadly I'm not so have to attempt to coordinate moving house, moving boat hundreds of miles and working all at the same time with very limited windows... 

[blackrose]

17 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

If you need to be anywhere by a certain date then don't rely on going by boat.

 

That's right. You just don't know. You're basically trying to predict the weather for next month. I used to moor on the Thames and I've seen it on green and on red in winter. 

 

I once moved from Laleham to Reading on reds and yellows so it can be done with care if you have the engine power and ability and if those reds aren't too severe, but you're wearing your insurance policy a bit thin.

 

Having said that, he bottom line is if the conditions aren't right you don't move, whatever your schedule.

 

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by blackrose

[Tonka]

Having moored on the Thames pre 2009 for over 30 years there is no way of answering your question.  We have been stuck at Windsor because the river is on Red boards at Easter and couldn't get back to Hampton for kids to go back to school. Have also been stuck at Whitsun (Spring Bank Holiday) because of red boards. Because of the unpredictability we moved mooring onto the canal. Yes as Blackrose said you can move and may be ok, but it only takes one plastic bag or a rope to go around your prop and you are in trouble

[blackrose]

And if you're going to Bristol the Thames isn't your only obstacle. 

 

I remember leaving the Thames at Reading and turning into the mouth of the Kennet and I honestly thought that something had happened to my engine when I seemed to lose power. In fact I'd just turned into the much stronger current of a narrower channel that was still in spate after some recent heavy rain. I made it up the Kennet ok but it was hard work and I really had to push it in places. 

 

Mainly I was dreading the thought of seeing another boat coming the other way, but fortunately nobody was mad enough to go downstream in those conditions.

Edited February 12, 2021 by blackrose

[Tim Lewis]

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

And if you're going to Bristol the Thames isn't your only obstacle. 

 

I remember leaving the Thames at Reading and turning into the mouth of the Kennet and I honestly thought that something had happened to my engine when I seemed to lose power. In fact I'd just turned into the much stronger current of a narrower channel. I made it up the Kennet ok but it was hard work and I really had to push it in places. 

 

Mainly I was dreading the thought of seeing another boat coming the other way...

 

The Bristol Avon can also misbehave itself!

 

[blackrose]

1 minute ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

The Bristol Avon can also misbehave itself!

 

 

Yes you only have to look at the debris and litter left on the branches of trees to see how high the river has been.

[dmr]

8 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Yes you only have to look at the debris and litter left on the branches of trees to see how high the river has been.

 

Known as witches knickers I believe. ?

[dmr]

There was one year when the Thames was on red boards for much of the summer, that was the only year that we paid for a gold licence ? , spent a very happy enforced year on the K&A.

 

I believe we are having a La Nina weather cycle this year (hence the cold?) so not sure what implications this has for the Thames.

 

..............Dave

[Jentreefication]

56 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

That's right. You just don't know. You're basically trying to predict the weather for next month. I used to moor on the Thames and I've seen it on green and on red in winter. 

 

I once moved from Laleham to Reading on reds and yellows so it can be done with care if you have the engine power and ability and if those reds aren't too severe, but you're wearing your insurance policy a bit thin.

 

Having said that, he bottom line is if the conditions aren't right you don't move, whatever your schedule.

 

 

Yep absolutely, I'm not gonna force it I'm just trying to gauge it even vaguely. I'm not willing to put myself or my new home at risk! 

31 minutes ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

The Bristol Avon can also misbehave itself!

 

Bloody water. Why can't it just do what it's told? 

[Jentreefication]

7 minutes ago, dmr said:

There was one year when the Thames was on red boards for much of the summer, that was the only year that we paid for a gold licence ? , spent a very happy enforced year on the K&A.

That'd be nice and all but sadly a girls gotta work. I can't even do an enforced month

[Bacchus]

As others have said, there is obviously no way of predicting Old Father Thames - he is like one of those soft-focus grandparents that seems all cuddly and Werther's originals then comes out with an outrageously racist remark that slaps you back to clarity, and we have just had the highest floods since the big event of Feb '14.

 

It will take a while for all the standing water in the catchment to clear, but I would say it's probably a fair bet that the Thames will be navigable in a canal-boat by mid-March -- however!  That is a wonderful cruise. It would be a shame to put the hammer down, put your cap on backwards, and don blinkers as you try to maximise your mileage for the day. I know there's a financial implication, but is there no way you could move your stuff on board and spend a few long weekends really enjoying your new home and moving it at a leisurely pace? Even if it meant living from a suitcase in cheap, temporary accommodation (or sofa-surfing?) during the working week? HMG are suggesting that it's too early to book holidays, but you could, quite legitimately, have one every weekend with one fat finger up at authority (c:

[Mike Adams]

The problem with this red board lark it just the absence of lockeepers. For many years we always went on red boards unless the river was in severe flood. It was reckoned that if you could make it though Black Potts Railway bridge below Windsor you would be OK up to Reading. The lock keepers would phone ahead and have the lock ready and open for you especially if you were going downstream. Now, if you can find one all they seem to do is hand out a little leaflet and don't know much. More likely to have problems getting through Reading high bridge.

[Jentreefication]

1 hour ago, Bacchus said:

That is a wonderful cruise. It would be a shame to put the hammer down, put your cap on backwards, and don blinkers as you try to maximise your mileage for the day. I know there's a financial implication, but is there no way you could move your stuff on board and spend a few long weekends really enjoying your new home and moving it at a leisurely pace? Even if it meant living from a suitcase in cheap, temporary accommodation (or sofa-surfing?) during the working week? HMG are suggesting that it's too early to book holidays, but you could, quite legitimately, have one every weekend with one fat finger up at authority (c:

Aaah I know its a total shame to rush it but I'm going to liveaboard so will have plenty of time for slow cruising down the way. 

 

I'd feel really stressed leaving my new home a week at a time without being able to keep an eye on her, sofa surfing in a lock down isn't exactly viable and the work I do is really intense so I need my own spade to unwind. And yeah I can't afford temporary accommodation so none of that's a goer sadly. This is my best bet but I'd rather do this quickly than just chuck her on a truck.. ? 

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, Jentreefication said:

This is my best bet but I'd rather do this quickly than just chuck her on a truck.. ? 

 

 

You have concerns about the engine and are talking about getting a new engine because the previous owner has suggested there are problems - do you really want to be on the Thames with that at the forefront of your mind ?

 

If you want 'quickly' then the most reliable, easiest, safest and quickest method is 'chuck her on a truck'

She could be there tommorow and you are working in/from her on Monday

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[magnetman]

Difficult to say. 

 

It has been a wet winter and the met office anoraks did predict unusually wet January and February. We have recently had a fairly high flood. 

 

Cookham lock closed until 18th March but you will know that. 

 

Gut feeling is there will be another over the fields flood before summer. 

 

I was on the River during the 2007 floods which were in the middle of the summer. 

 

Impossible to predict but I'd be looking at road transport options if it is an essential move. 

 

 

[Jentreefication]

21 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

You have concerns about the engine and are talking about getting a new engine because the previous owner has suggested there are problems - do you really want to be on the Thames with that at the forefront of your mind ?

 

If you want 'quickly' then the most reliable, easiest, safest and quickest method is 'chuck her on a truck'

She could be there tommorow and you are working in/from her on Monday

 

 

 

I'm sorting the engine before coming to Bristol. And I want to do the journey on the water, if I can do it safely. 

3 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Impossible to predict but I'd be looking at road transport options if it is an essential move. 

 

 

Yeah I've got that as a possibility and have got quotes but hoping to avoid it if I can. Feels a cop out to go overland

[magnetman]

Of course you also have the Kennet and the Avon to deal with so even if there is a window of opportunity to get up the Thames it is not plain sailing from Reading to Bristol if there is suddenly a lot of rain.

Edited February 13, 2021 by magnetman

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Jentreefication said:

I'm sorting the engine before coming to Bristol. And I want to do the journey on the water, if I can do it safely. 

 

That would certainly be the most enjoyable way, and what any boter would do.

But, you did say you wanted to do this 'quickly' and there is only one guaranteed way of dong that.

 

Going by boat, you could get half-way and then be stuck on a lock mooring for a couple of weeks due to red boards / strong stream / floods.

Can you then still work ?

[Jentreefication]

That of course is my last resort, I'm currently trying to weigh up options as much as I can, to decide on my best course of action. No guarantees of anything so working it out best I can..

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Jentreefication said:

That of course is my last resort, I'm currently trying to weigh up options as much as I can, to decide on my best course of action. No guarantees of anything so working it out best I can..

 

Good luck.

[OldGoat]

13 hours ago, Jentreefication said:

This might be another impossible question to answer but... I'm planning to move my new home from Uxbridge to Bristol mid March but it is obviously dependent on the flow of the Thames. 

 

I have to hand my rental notice in in Bristol but realise its a bit of a gamble. When did red boards come off the last few years? Is March a good bet or will I be really lucky? 

 

And please don't bother with smart arse comments about lockdown. I'm moving house which is allowed and classed as essential travel. I'd really rather not have to do this then but that's my only option ?

 

Thanking you 

 

We've been on the Thames since I launched the boat in 2000. Because it's our nearest waterway I built her with a larger engine (50 HP - having struggled upstream from Limehouse in a hire boat in normal coditions some years earlier).

 

• Red Boards are only displayed when the waterflow reaches a certain rate and the weirs have all (or nearly all their sluices open). In most cases this is also dependent on how much water the next lock downstream can handle as well.
• How long the River remains on 'Reds' is determined - not unreasonably - by how much water is captured by the Thames basin (if that's the right term) and how much waster is in the smaller streams emptying into the River.
• I got a message from my marina last week which said (amongst other things) "The water is running at about 7 knots and we have 250 tons of water passing us per second, or 21,600,000 tons of water per day passing by". That's a helluva lot of water against which to push and I suggest almost impossible in a normally powered leisure narrowboat.
• In Red conditions in the late spring / summer, it typically takes a week to ten days for the flow to return to normal. In the 'off season' - November to early April and with the catchment area saturated  / super saturated, it can take two weeks for the Reds to lower to Yellow Increasing boards (still high flows)  and a further two weeks for yellows to revert to normal.
• It would be foolhardy - mebe negligent - to proceed in a normally powered canal boat - let alone one with a suspect engine....
• I got caught once above Days Lock some years ago and turning to pick up a field mooring was a bit scary....   

 

Either postpone the trip and delay  moving or send the boat by road seems more sensible to me...