Not real boaters

[onthecut]

Problem as I see it is in these days of Elfin Safety and endless litigation, it would only take one or two serious accidents arising from this kind of activity to start calls for much tighter controls / safety equipment / monitoring etc. etc., ultimately to the detriment of the environment we all currently enjoy. As I recall, it was a popular rallying cry against the restoration of the Rochdale, that children would drown were it rewatered. Just annoys me how some parents always seem to think others should be responsible for the wellbeing of their children, while doing b****r all about it themselves.

 

Mike.

[Naughty Cal]

Ah, how wrong you are.

 

I was never at home as a child (or for many years afterwards).

 

Please try to keep up with the aspects of my life that you have previously abused me for.

 

I have far more important things to consider than your childhood to be fair.

[mayalld]

I have far more important things to consider than your childhood to be fair.

 

Indeed, you have a quota of cheap jibes to throw around.

[Naughty Cal]

Indeed, you have a quota of cheap jibes to throw around.

 

Thats so smart coming from you

 

You do make me laugh at times

[barge sara]

Interesting thread title.

What's a 'Real Boater'?

 

John

MV Sara.

[bastonjock]

I went for a potter on the nene last night,i left PYC at Orton and headed up river,i passed milton bridge and then at the next bridge there were some kids jumping off into the river,i honked my air horn just in case,the only derogratory remarks were aimed at me having my 18 year old bikini clad daughter with me,nothing serious just a poor attempt at a joke.At Alwalton i went through the lock and was closing it as a narrowboat approached,i started to refill the lock only to see them mooring up for the night ,so i undid my attempt at good manners.

 

The kids who live close to the river nene have for the past decades swam off of bridges and in the locks.i took firends up for a jaunt and they were giving out the type of smile that comes with a trip down memory lane,and they admitted that 40 years or so ago the used to swim in those parts.It would not take a lot of effort for someone living close to the river to figure out how to open the paddles with a spanner.

 

What annoys me is that older folks are only to willing to cast the eye of suspicon onto young boaters? did anyone actually witness these people in the plastic boat doing this act? to my eyes there appears to be two counts of bigotry one for "plastic" boats and one for youngsters in them,the rivers and canals are not the reserved domain of people over 30 in steel boats.

[blackelle123]

IWhat annoys me is that older folks are only to willing to cast the eye of suspicon onto young boaters? did anyone actually witness these people in the plastic boat doing this act? to my eyes there appears to be two counts of bigotry one for "plastic" boats and one for youngsters in them,the rivers and canals are not the reserved domain of people over 30 in steel boats.

 

It was not a 'plastic' boat, it happened to be a Red and Green Springer, I didn't mention it before because I'm not in the business of pointing fingers at anyone, but as I have said before - my concern was for the SAFETY OF THE KIDS and for others rather exspensive property and possible homes. The description of the boat concerned was willingly offered by the kids and I don't think concern for safety of others can be called 'bigotry'!!!!

[africanqueen]

Interesting thread title.

What's a 'Real Boater'?

 

John

MV Sara.

 

 

I'd like to know as well. What's the criteria?

[Guest User]

Interesting thread title.

What's a 'Real Boater'?

 

John

MV Sara.

A round flat hat made of straw with band of coloured ribbon ?

[StephenA]

My concern was that not only were these kids taking risks with their own lives, but the boaters that left the gate and paddles open can't have had any idea the 'possible' damage that they could have done to life or property further down the river. Like I said, we are on a floating pontoon and rise and fall safely. Those moored at Ringstead locks are on fixed pontoons and if their ropes are too tight and if the water levels had risen too high before it was noticed, they could have been at risk.

 

I was taught to respect the water and never let down your guard as you could lose your life if its not treated with respect, something thats not taught in todays 'lifeskill' classes.

 

This is the Nene we're talking about? I find it hard to believe that the amount of water that can run through the paddles on the top gates can outstrip the weir on the next lock down. Now if the top gates were open and held back and the bottom gate had been lifted I can understand how it could cause problems above and below the lock. But the way you describe it, it does sound a bit odd

Edited June 24, 2009 by StephenA

[bramley]

having come up the nene the other day i had a problem with some kids.

 

forget what lock we was at, but they had a small wooden boat and were mucking around there was about 12 kids in total.

 

we got into the lock, filled up and my dad has just left with the boat and i was closing the lock and opening the bottom gate.

 

as i was about to open the bottom gate, they were getting ready to jump into the lock, i tried to explain to them that it was very dangerous and would probably get hurt, let alone the fact i wouldnt open the gate if they jumped in. They listened and instead a couple jumped into the boat and tried to sit in the river below as i opened the gate, it diddnt do anything other than push them away, but i was amazed that they were going to jump into the lock as i was emptying it.

 

Kids will be kids, and will always get up to mischeif, but common sence and safty should come up there list too

 

Ross

Edited June 27, 2009 by bramley

[Tiny]

When coming through the bottom lock of the Stourbridge 16 we were asked to leave the handcuff off by a youth. We refused but this did not bother him. He explained that with the kit they had and their expertese his mates could physically remove the whole handcuff system and fill the lock (to swim in) in a few minutes. Being good (unlike kids on the SSYN who remove and throw in cut) this lot left the bits taken off by the lock for BW to replace later. (Of course if someone kicked them in in the mean time...)

[DHutch]

About twice i have refilled a lock for people to swim in it having gone down the lock with the boat.

- However clearly i shut the bottom paddles first before redrawing one of the top paddles, with all gates shut.

 

I also both times pointed out the risks of being in or jumping into the lock when a boat approched, as well as being in the lock when any of the paddles where open.

 

 

 

 

Daniel

[nb Innisfree]

We will NEVER stop kids doing dangerous/rebellious things, thank God. As for common sense you only learn that by doing things wrong/dangerously in the first place and paying the price or seeing others doing it and paying the price. If kids are in the water just approach VERY slowly and give them time to get out of the way

[The Wanderer]

The dangers of jumping ino canals. I like his quote after he left the water

 

 

 

At 18.31hrs on the Saturday 20 June 2009 a passerby observed a man in his twenties jumping off Warburton High Level Toll Bridge into the Manchester Ship Canal. Concerned for his safety he rang 999 which sparked a major search and rescue operation involving all three Emergency Services.

 

Fire crews from Sale and Altrincham Fire Stations rushed to the scene along with a Water Rescue Boat from Eccles Fire Station.

 

On arriving at the scene the Fire Service instigated a thorough search and rescue operation with the Water Rescue Boat being launched into the canal to commence a thorough search of the water. The Police Helicopter with a thermal imaging camera was also used to assist with the search and rescue operation from overhead.

 

After almost two hours of searching the area, up and down stream from Warburton Bridge, a different witness to the incident came forward, explaining that she had seen a man in his twenties shortly after 1830hrs come out of the water dripping wet saying ‘I wouldn’t advise jumping off the bridge it really hurts’. At this point he and a colleague drove off in their car. The passerby managed to obtain the registration number of the car and was able to give this to the Police. When the Police were able to ascertain that this man was the person originally seen by the first passerby, the search and rescue operation was called off.

 

It cannot be stressed that this irresponsible act by this individual has not only wasted the Fire, Police and Ambulance valuable time, but could have so easily ended in tragedy for the individual.

 

There are many reasons why people should avoid swimming in open water.

 

There is no supervision such as lifeguards should you get into trouble.

 

The water is often a lot colder than people expect and it can impact on peoples physical capabilities. Just because you can swim well in warm water does not mean you will be able to swim well in cold water.

 

It can be deep and it can be difficult to estimate the depth before you get in

 

Often people can’t find a suitable place to get out of the water.

 

If the water is polluted then it can make you ill.

 

There is no way of knowing what lies beneath the water surface, shopping trolleys, cars, bikes, open tin cans, broken bottles are all examples of what have been found in the past.

 

Swimming in open water courses is extremely dangerous so stay out and avoid swimming in rivers, canals and lakes.