'Go fund me' page for the three who lost their homes at Whitchurch

[nicknorman]

I see the boat that was hanging precariously over the edge has now been pulled to safety and will be refloaded shortly. I am not sure how much donation is needed to compensate these poor people from the tragedy of being separated from their possessions for a couple of days. Probably £10,000 should do it.

[David Mack]

4 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I see the boat that was hanging precariously over the edge has now been pulled to safety and will be refloaded shortly. 

How? There isn't room to safely build a dam between the boat and the edge of the breach.

[nicknorman]

4 minutes ago, David Mack said:

How? There isn't room to safely build a dam between the boat and the edge of the breach.

It says they pulled the boat along the bottom to nearer the junction so they can build a dam behind it.

 

“Once in location, the winch was able to haul the boat along the drained canal away from the breach hole," the authority said in a statement.

"The boat is now safely located next to the lift bridge," the council said, adding that it would be refloated in the new year, when a dam would be constructed beyond the boat.”

Edited December 24, 2025 by nicknorman

[Arthur Marshall]

I'm still confused as to where the breach actually is in relation the the lift bridge. I initially thought it on the Whitchurch arm side, but now it appears to be on the main line? I'm stuck in hospital so my research possibilities are limited!

[dogless]

Get well soon Arthur.

It's the main line offside moorings immediately before the lift bridge (Grindley Brook side of the lift bridge).

 

Moored many times there, which is, I guess why it was such a shock.

 

Rog

Edited December 24, 2025 by dogless

[b00ke23]

4 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I'm still confused as to where the breach actually is in relation the the lift bridge. I initially thought it on the Whitchurch arm side, but now it appears to be on the main line? I'm stuck in hospital so my research possibilities are limited!

 

It’s on that corner just past the lift bridge heading towards Grindley Brook…..where the VM’s are on the outside of that corner.

Edited December 24, 2025 by b00ke23

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

I see the boat that was hanging precariously over the edge has now been pulled to safety and will be refloaded shortly. I am not sure how much donation is needed to compensate these poor people from the tragedy of being separated from their possessions for a couple of days. Probably £10,000 should do it.

Since the GFM target has been increased to £50K with over £40K raised. I wonder who’ll be getting the money the 2x boats in the hole or will everyone along that stretch get a couple of grand Christmas present?

 Looking at the comments from the GFM donators they seem to think the GFM starter is in need of some festive cash.

• Paul Sillitoe

  £5016 hrs

  So sorry to see your hardship, especially at this time of year. We are thinking of you and hope you are able to get back to normality as soon as possible.

Edited December 24, 2025 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[ditchcrawler]

26 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I see the boat that was hanging precariously over the edge has now been pulled to safety and will be refloaded shortly. I am not sure how much donation is needed to compensate these poor people from the tragedy of being separated from their possessions for a couple of days. Probably £10,000 should do it.

I cant see it being refloated unless they can lift it over the bridge

7 minutes ago, dogless said:

Get well soon Arthur.

It's the main line offside moorings immediately before the lift bridge (Grindley Brook side of the lift bridge).

 

Moored many times there, which is, I guess why it was such a shock.

 

Rog

Last time I moored there the water was trickling through right at the Grindley locks end of the moorings 

[dogless]

3 minutes ago, BoatingLifeUpNorth2 said:

Since the GFM target has been increased to £50K with over £40K raised. I wonder who’ll be getting the money the 2x boats in the hole or will everyone along that stretch get a couple of grand Christmas present?

 Looking at the comments from the GFM donators they seem to think the GFM starter is in need of some festive cash.

 

• Paul Sillitoe

  £5016 hrs

  So sorry to see your hardship, especially at this time of year. We are thinking of you and hope you are able to get back to normality as soon as possible.
•  
  Richard Burton

  £1020 hrs

  Best wishes folks ❤️
•  
  Valerie Barker

  £1021 hrs

  I hope this helps to improve your Christmas just a little

Can't you just let it go ?

 

What's it to you ?

 

Rog

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

Just now, dogless said:

Can't you just let it go ?

 

What's it to you ?

 

Rog

Get over yourself, it’s a discussion forum. So don’t start trying to be the martyr. Like yesterday, it’s a discussion.

[Russ T]

This thread is now locked 

[dogless]

Have you read the title ?

 

There's a discussion thread on the breach for your delectation. 

 

This was ONLY to publicise the link for those that wanted it.

 

It may be better to remain silent and be considered a fool than continue to post and remove all doubt.

 

Rog

[Alan de Enfield]

32 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I'm still confused as to where the breach actually is in relation the the lift bridge. I initially thought it on the Whitchurch arm side, but now it appears to be on the main line? I'm stuck in hospital so my research possibilities are limited!

 

Now the boat has been winched upt to the bridge you can see how close the breech is to the lift bridge - it is about 1.3 boat lengths.

The 'arm' is just the other side of the bridge, off to the left.

 

 

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

43 minutes ago, dogless said:

Have you read the title ?

 

There's a discussion thread on the breach for your delectation. 

 

This was ONLY to publicise the link for those that wanted it.

 

It may be better to remain silent and be considered a fool than continue to post and remove all doubt.

 

Rog

As I say it’s a discussion forum to discuss matters, calling people fools and telling posters to “let it go” is not how it works. 
 As previously mentioned one boat is out of the way with probably little damage and will be floated, so that boater hasn’t lost everything like the GFM page says. The other two boats will obviously take longer. The GFM target was £30K which was reached, now £50K. Will it be increased to £75K?

 Maybe the Thread should have stayed locked, as you seem to not want anything discussed.

Edited December 24, 2025 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[Jon57]

11 minutes ago, BoatingLifeUpNorth2 said:

As I say it’s a discussion forum to discuss matters, calling people fools and telling posters to “let it go” is not how it works. 
 As previously mentioned one boat is out of the way with probably little damage and will be floated, so that boater hasn’t lost everything like the GFM page says. The other two boats will obviously take longer. The GFM target was £30K which was reached, now £50K. Will it be increased to £75K?

 Maybe the Thread should have stayed locked, as you seem to not want anything discussed.

While I'm not against this crowd funding in principle. What bothers me is how do the fund raises decide who gets what and what share. Must be harder than planning your cruising next year to me. 

[dogless]

This was a thread to link to the donations page, nothing else.

 

That's it.

 

Merry Christmas

 

Rog

Edited December 24, 2025 by dogless

[Quatre_Bougies]

Well hopefully the money raised, will go to towards accommodation, clothes and food, for the foreseeable future of the individuals affected.  If there’s any left over then, maybe it will go to a charity.

 

 

[robtheplod]

27 minutes ago, Quatre_Bougies said:

Well hopefully the money raised, will go to towards accommodation, clothes and food, for the foreseeable future of the individuals affected.  If there’s any left over then, maybe it will go to a charity.

 

 

The person who setup the fund raiser (Paul Smith-Storey) will get the money unless he has nominated other beneficiary(s) directly. If he hasn't, he is responsible for paying out the money as he chooses and deciding on what to do with any remaining funds so hopefully he will announce his intentions on that front.  I've been looking him up, interesting chap - he's a part time magician and artist...  

Edited December 24, 2025 by robtheplod

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

26 minutes ago, Quatre_Bougies said:

Well hopefully the money raised, will go to towards accommodation, clothes and food, for the foreseeable future of the individuals affected.  If there’s any left over then, maybe it will go to a charity.

 

 

When is the money available? Can it be drawn on before the target is reached?

 Hopefully it will be used when and as needed and not just split 3x ways and any money left over could go to local charities. Or could be used to give needy families free Narrowboat holidays through hire fleets. So helping Canal business and families that can’t afford a holiday.

 Lots to work out and I hope the money is used the right way.

8 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

The person who setup the fund raiser (Paul Smith-Storey) will get the money unless he has nominated other beneficiary(s) directly. If he hasn't, he is responsible for paying out the money as he chooses and deciding on what to do with any remaining funds so hopefully he will announce his intentions on that front.  I've been looking him up, interesting chap - he's a part time magician?  

They were on the Ch4 Narrowboat Escapes programme and both came across as decent people. Hopefully he’ll sort it out wisely and where needed.

Edited December 24, 2025 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[Jen-in-Wellies]

This thread has been locked again and will probably remain so.