BCN Challenge 2013

[Tom and Bex]

Some photos of the event. Pics and captions shamelessly pinched from one of our crew Steve's Facebook page (thanks Steve!)

 

Just want to say a thank you to him for keeping our cruising log up to date and keeping track of any questions in the log to answer on our route - without him we would of lost our bonus points for getting our log handed in on time!

 

Diesel & Dust with Cobbett behind waiting for the start time at Curdworth Top Lock

Passing under Spaghetti Junction at the start of the Tame Valley

Then along the Titford canal. This time we turned at the junction of the Causeway Green and Portway branches, last time we were here we made it along the Portway branch. It didn't look particularly deep this time...

Kat deals with some interesting rubbish along the Titford

For most of the day we saw very few boats. Then we ran into two along the Titford. Here we play dodgems with Tawney Owl.

Only real problem with the Wednesbury Oak loop (apart from the weed...) was trying to turn a 70' narrowboat at Bradley Workshops

Then up the Cannock Extension to the colliery basins

And journey's end! At Longwood Junction.

Tom

Diesel & Dust

 

 

[Mrs Trackman]

More great pictures. Do you choose your own starting point? Also how long do you actually have to do the challenge. Finally, can you go anywhere on the BCN? Would that include Stourbridge for example. Tried to look up details on BCNS website but couldn't find anything.

[RLWP]

You can choose your own starting and finish point. Some start points, and the designated finish point, carry extra bonus points

 

You have thirty hours for the challenge, but you must have a six hour stop in that time

 

The challenge includes most of the BCN, and the Garrison flight. So, this year the challenge started at Curdworth top lock, rather than Fazeley junction. It also goes as far as the bottom of the Delph nine because that's the end on the BCN and the beginning of the Stourbridge. The other limits would be Gas Street basin, bottom of Camp Hill locks and the bottom of the Wolverhampton 21.

 

Ignoring technicalities like crew bonuses, boat length multipliers, spot clues and so on. You score a point per mile and a point per lock, multiplied by a bonus. The bonus is (sort of) one for the common bits of BCN like the old and new main lines, up to three for the bits no one goes to, like the W&E, Walsall canal and Bradley Arm. Some parts of the canal can be scored in one direction, some in both. Route planning is half the challenge

 

The route bonuses are designed to encourage boats to use the remote parts of the BCN, which is what the BCNS set out to support and publicise.

 

On top of that, it's bloody good fun in a rough and ready kind of way

 

Does that help?

 

Richard

Edited June 8, 2013 by RLWP

[john6767]

More great pictures. Do you choose your your starting point? Also how long do you actually have to do the challenge. Finally, can you go anywhere on the BCN? Would that include Stourbridge for example. Tried to look up details on BCNS website but couldn't find anything.

To answer your questions.

 

You can start anywhere you want on the BCN, but there are bonus point for starting at particular locations. The Challenge is 24 hours travelling time over a 30 hour period, starting 8AM on the Saturday and finishing at 2PM on the Sunday. You can go anywhere on the BCN, and the top end of the GU ie the Garrison flight, which for the last 2 years has been "honorary BCN" for the Challenge. This year though the Birmingham and Fazeley was only counted in from Curdworth where as in previous years all the way from Fazeley counted. Stourbridge is not on the BCN, the BCN ends at the bottom of Delph locks, so whilst you could go to Stourbridge you are not going to get any points for it!

[Mrs Trackman]

You can choose your own starting and finish point. Some start points, and the designated finish point, carry extra bonus points

 

You have thirty hours for the challenge, but you must have a six hour stop in that time

 

The challenge includes most of the BCN, and the Garrison flight. So, this year the challenge started at Curdworth top lock, rather than Fazeley junction. It also goes as far as the bottom of the Delph nine because that's the end on the BCN and the beginning of the Stourbridge. The other limits would be Gas Street basin, bottom of Camp Hill locks and the bottom of the Wolverhampton 21.

 

Ignoring technicalities like crew bonuses, boat length multipliers, spot clues and so on. You score a point per mile and a point per lock, multiplied by a bonus. The bonus is (sort of) one for the common bits of BCN like the old and new main lines, up to three for the bits no one goes to, like the W&E, Walsall canal and Bradley Arm. Some parts of the canal can be scored in one direction, some in both. Route planning is half the challenge

 

The route bonuses are designed to encourage boats to use the remote parts of the BCN, which is what the BCNS set out to support and publicise.

 

On top of that, it's bloody good fun in a rough and ready kind of way

 

Does that help?

 

Richard

Yes. Brilliant explanation. I think. Have been tempted to post before that the 'rules' you lot mention on the forum sound suspiciously like Mornington Crescent, but thought might get howls of protest from you all. Great results all round, I'm particularly impressed by Diesel and Dust' as newcomers, how on earth did they work it out?

I do agree that it's great to get the BCN better used. We have 'done' most of it, much with RichardT's encouragement, though chickened out of some of the weedier arms, such as Ridgacre., oh and RichardT's tale of being totally jammed in Ghosty Hill put me off that tunnel. Generally though, we love the BCN, it's so much of our canal heritage, fascinating buildings, amazingly rural in places and much too underused. Shame there's not more safe moorings, which would, I think encourage more boaters.

[RLWP]

 

 

Shame there's not more safe moorings

 

There are loads of safe moorings!

 

I suppose it depends what you are looking for

 

Richard

[nicknorman]

There are loads of safe moorings!

 

Richard

Yes, I would leave a safe almost anywhere, provided it was empty of course. Now a shiny boat is another matter...

 

We must do the challenge one year, this year timings were out as we are currently languishing on the Weaver. Do you get extra points for deep drafted?

[RLWP]

Not any more

 

Richard

[nicknorman]

Not any more

 

Richard

So, one of those Florida Everglades air boats with a big fan and no under water propellor seems the ideal entrant!

[Proper Job]

Or a boat like Tawny Owl which can float on a damp tea towel

 

Congratulations Richard and Crew. It must have been the return of Mark that did it

[RLWP]

I still haven't had the note from your mum, PJ, excusing you from Tawny Owl duties

 

Richard

[Proper Job]

I still haven't had the note from your mum, PJ, excusing you from Tawny Owl duties

 

Richard

 

............. ah............. yes, the note

 

Hasn't it arrived yet? It's that French postal system

 

I appear to have been upsurped in the super helmsman post

[madcat]

I told my husband that a big northwich would float on wet grass. He soon found out it wasn't quite true but by then Halsall was mine and it was too late for him to object.

[wrigglefingers]

I told my husband that a big northwich would float on wet grass. He soon found out it wasn't quite true but by then Halsall was mine and it was too late for him to object.

As the kids would say, "I'm so liking your style, Miss" ....

[Pykebird]

Well done everyone, looks like it was great fun, I would have loved to have taken part! Still there is time to get some practice in for next year, so maybe.....

[john6767]

Richard's acceptance speech following the BCN Challenge winner presentation at the Pelsall Festival last night.

 

 

 

 

Happy Winners!

 

Well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Keeping Up]

Well done to Team Tawny. How long was the acceptance speech, did anybody cry?)

 

This is how I plan to enter next year (safe link to short YouTube video)

[Odana]

Nice ride. Where exactly was that set? I an sure I recognise bits

 

 

Well done to Team Tawny. How long was the acceptance speech, did anybody cry?)

 

This is how I plan to enter next year (safe link to short YouTube video)

[MGSteve]

Hi Guys, I just wanted to get it touch. We moved into our new house along side the Bradley Arm Canal (or the Wednesbury Oak Loop, I see it has two names) last October and between then and May we had precisely 0 boats past, then on one weekend I think we had about 5 go past as part of the Challenge.!

 

It was fantastic to see and you're welcome to come back at any time

 

On a more serious note, one of the goals of the residents group we've setup is to improve our section of the Bradley arm from Banks Bridge down to Pothouse Bridge. I see alot of you were commenting about the weeds - its our main gripe and one we're actively discussing with the Canals Trust about how to clear up.

 

Talking about clear ups, the Residents group had our first organised clear up on the 8th of June and we managed to fill a barge supplied by the Canal's Trust and probably could have filled another - I think they completely underestimated the feeling within the group! We had over 30 people turn out. We managed to get a range of rubbish out from 3 tyres, a shopping trolley, lots of general detritus and a section of metal fencing that looked like it had been in for around 10 years!

 

 

Sadly, as you can see in the photo, even with the amount of weeds we removed, we barely dented them

 

The Bradley Arm is mentioned in the Bilston Urban Village proposal as a key asset for the area, so hopefully as the development gets going, they'll work on improving the canal as they go - we'll certainly be putting pressure on them to make sure they do. It may be outside of our 'area' as it were, but its pointless having our area nice & tidy if the rest of the arm is going to be a mess and put traffic off from coming down.

 

Long term we'd like to do whatever we can to get the link reinstated to the Walsall Canal as this can only be a positive for the area. Its going to be a hellofa job, but hey, I guess someone's got to try. (I'm sure they have before, but there's nothing quite like a residents group representing 160 houses as a force for good).

 

Anyway, I'd just like to say thanks again to those who came down the Bradley Arm / Wednesbury Oak Loop, next year we'll offer a free beer or 5 to every boat who comes past us - that should get more boats to come down our way!

 

Here is the timelapse video of the full 24 hours of our BCN Challenge, well it is almost the full 24 hours but someone forgot to start the camera on the first day, so it starts approximately 30 mins in! At the end there is a short video clip of us in the top lock at Longwood. Enjoy.

 

Great video! If you're interested, our 'patch' starts at 10:21 and runs to 10:36, we're the last house on the left.

 

I actually got a pic of you as you came back up & passed another boat just near our house! I only just managed to get that photo as I heard the one boat, noticed the other boat and thought "omg, I'll never see this again, two boats passing next to our house" and legged it upstairs with the camera and lent out of the window!

 

 

And another one a bit further down

Edited June 16, 2013 by MGSteve

[Ange]

What a fantastic post MGSteve - it sums up what the BCN Challenge is all about. And thank you to you and your residents' group for your efforts to clean up your patch - we need lots more of the same in other parts of the BCN!

 

After crewing other members' boats for the past two years we're planning to enter our own boat for the first time in 2014 - your offer of free beer just has to be taken into account in the route planning process

[Starcoaster]

It's really nice to see a post about canalside residents actively encouraging and welcoming the boaters that make up the fabric of the canals; you'd be amazed at how many places it seems to be the thing to buy a canalside house and then do everything possible to gripe about the fact that boats use the canal! I know that its not always that cut and dried, but still, such a positive community who are not only happy to see boats but willing to go the extra mile and make things better on your stretch of canal made this a really nice post to read.

 

Well done to you, MGSteve, and brilliant work with the residents group and the things you are doing. A good relationship between boaters and the residents along the canals is brilliant for all involved, but not something that you often hear about so positively!

Edited June 16, 2013 by Starcoaster

[Odana]

Welcome, MGSteve. Lovely to hear you enjoy your canal and want it active. Good work on the cleanup and we look forward to waving next year as we pass!! Last time I did the Challenge we did your arm in the wee hours- admired the houses and spent lots of time with the weed and the fence!! Have you joined the BCNS (Birmingham Canals Navigation Society)?

[MGSteve]

Have you joined the BCNS (Birmingham Canals Navigation Society)?

 

Not yet, but I know of them. Other than looking on their Facebook page, I didn't know you could join them! I'll look into it later today, thanks

 

Thanks also for the other replies. I agree, it does seem to be what some people do these days, move next to something and then complain about it! Its a bit like moving next to an airport and then complaining that the planes make a noise!

 

The canal was the main reason we picked the particular house, I've got fond memories of my Aunt & Uncle's canal boating holidays when I was younger and its something I want to do with my family when the youngest is old enough to work a lock

 

But I also appreciate the history the canals have in this country and its great living next to a piece of that history.

 

Its one reason we love the Black Country Museum

Edited June 17, 2013 by MGSteve

[RLWP]

Hi Steve,

 

Well, that's bloody brilliant! I have always left the Bradley arm feeling pretty sad about the state it is in, and that the industries that it used to serve are being replaced by houses. I hadn't thought that the owners of the houses could be the saviours of the arm

 

I'm chuffed to bits!

 

I am also going to send a link to your post to Brenda Ward of the BCNS, she will be absolutely delighted

 

Richard

[MGSteve]

I am also going to send a link to your post to Brenda Ward of the BCNS, she will be absolutely delighted

 

Please feel free to ask her to get in touch if there is anything we can do help each other. (stevec@chestnutwalk.org)

 

Don't get me wrong, not everyone who has moved in feels the same way about the canal, but you can see from the turnout for the clean up - there's a sizable number who do (and there's still 80 houses or so left to be built!)

Edited June 17, 2013 by MGSteve