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Missing boat - Holly - NOW FOUND!

Pie Eater

By Pie Eater
in General Boating

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haggis Veteran

haggisDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Bearing in mind that this fellow has already told lies to throw people off the scent, I wonder if his story about doing the boat up to sell it in Oxford is also a pack of lies. Would it not seem more likely that he is changing the appearance of the boat with the intention of taking it near his home and living on it, perhaps in an area where there are a lot of liveaboards and no one asks very many questions - parts of the GU for instance? He may have decided to leave the rat race thus leaving his van at Middlewich may not have been much of a loss to him. However, he must have needed money for food and fuel and paint etc since he left Middlewich, so how is he getting it? Are the Police keeping an eye on his bank accounts and credit cards?

Just a thought

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Ron Contributor

Ron

Posted
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I suppose there is always the chance that the fellow providing the entertainment is monitoring this forum; could possibly even have used it to set up a few red herrings.

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davef Explorer

davef

Posted
Posted

I have been following this story since it first appeared in the national press last week.

 

We had a large number of canal boat holidays in the 1990's mainly using boats from Anglo-Welsh.

 

Three things occur to me at present:

 

1. It must be quite difficult to find a secluded spot where no one would spot someone doing a full repaint.

 

2. Could any new sightings be more specific about nearest postal town and direction of travel (for those of us who are unsure where some of the lock flights are or can't remember)

 

3. Surely the most difficult problem would be re-fuelling. How big is the fuel tank on this boat and how far would anyone get without re filling? I assume that going to a car garage with a small can is an option, but not very likely. A toilet pump out could be avoided if someone was using facilities on land and food is available in many places, but diesel is harder to get easily.

 

Have all places where diesel is available been alerted or checked?

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carlt Veteran II

carlt

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3. Surely the most difficult problem would be re-fuelling. How big is the fuel tank on this boat and how far would anyone get without re filling? I assume that going to a car garage with a small can is an option, but not very likely. A toilet pump out could be avoided if someone was using facilities on land and food is available in many places, but diesel is harder to get easily.

 

Have all places where diesel is available been alerted or checked?

If it were me I'd be going past boatyards then walking back with my jerry can.

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honey ryder Community Regular

honey ryder

Posted
Posted

I think we should rename this chap reginald perin... instead of leaving his clothes on the beach he's left his car and credit card behind. its possible he had a big old wedge of cash stashed away and is living off of that.

Its pretty easy to keep topping the boat up with diesel from a jerry can and i saw some folks repainting their boat last weekend, on a fairly busy stretch but honestly, seeing someone painting a boat is a common sight and not note worthy.

it is surely just a matter of time before someone stops him and asks exactly what is going on...

If i see a blue boat chugging past on the GU between rickmansworth and Cowley, or even moored up down my way I certainly wont hang around calling the fuzz...

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Jim Collaborator

Jim

Posted
Posted
plane crashes , oil rig explosions , train derailments and passenger ferries have all been involved in disasters that investigations later established occured because the safety procedures were not upheld or in the worse cases ignored.

 

dont kid yourself that those in charge have only your safety in their minds, more likely they are thinking of profit margins or if they will keep their job if they raise to many concerns about safety or lack of it.

 

yesterday, today and tomorrow lives will be knowingly put at risk in pursuit of the extra penny.

 

Humm... I'm afraid that if the present-day Health & Safety police had been consulted before recreational narrowboating had become established they would never have allowed it. Water? Locks? steel boats? untrained users? No way! Just be thankful we got there first.

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Sam Rising Star

Sam

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Humm... I'm afraid that if the present-day Health & Safety police had been consulted before recreational narrowboating had become established they would never have allowed it. Water? Locks? steel boats? untrained users? No way! Just be thankful we got there first.

 

Sorry if this has already been said (i have had a scan of posts btu can't see it..) but is it worth sending out a mass email to all the boatyards in the area? they may have painted it.. sold the paints.. given advice.. given him somewhere to paint it.. etc.

 

Sam

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trisha Gongoozler

trisha

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

Mr King is a self employed painter and decorator. We need to find out where he bought the paint from. He was seen by an ex employee of Middlewich NB on 18 March 2007 and the boat was still in our colours with the names on, he was also seen at top of Wolverhampton 21 on or around 21 March, still in our colours. Mr King was due back on 23 March, and so must have made the decision around this time to paint the boat. Where did he buy the paint? Where did he hide the boat? Could it have been hidden up on one of the side arms on the BCN? We raised the alarm on 24.3.07 and the boat was already (I suspect) being painted. From day one, everybody has been looking for the wrong colour boat if the boat was blue at Hatton on 28.3.07. I dont think his intention was to take the boat when he hired it, it would appear that it was a sudden decision around the middle of his second week.

 

Just some thoughts ...............

 

Trish

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Paul & Andrea Gongoozler

Paul & Andrea

Posted
Posted
Bearing in mind that this fellow has already told lies to throw people off the scent, I wonder if his story about doing the boat up to sell it in Oxford is also a pack of lies. Would it not seem more likely that he is changing the appearance of the boat with the intention of taking it near his home and living on it, perhaps in an area where there are a lot of liveaboards and no one asks very many questions - parts of the GU for instance? He may have decided to leave the rat race thus leaving his van at Middlewich may not have been much of a loss to him. However, he must have needed money for food and fuel and paint etc since he left Middlewich, so how is he getting it? Are the Police keeping an eye on his bank accounts and credit cards?

Just a thought

 

He could have had several debit/credit cards???

 

....the van probably not worth much to him anyway

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Richard T Experienced

Richard TDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

Read some of the comments of earlier today and feel I have to defend Middlewich Narrowboats. For many years we were hirers and kept going back to Midllewich, in 20+years of hiring from them we never had cause to call out an engineer!! Our eldest daughter spent her honeymoon on Holly.

It is concerning that the boat has disappeared but there are many places around the system to hide a boat, all everybody can be is vigilant and keep a look out for her.

We are by the way now boat owners

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gaggle Influencer

gaggle

Posted
Posted

this fella must be off his cake to be off on this little escapade, he must know by now that he has made headlines around the country.

even all the young potheads are buzzing about the mad geezer who has got off with a narrowboat, gangs of teenagers standing around with one hand down the front of their kecks , spliff between their lips and giving big ups with the free hand for the boat nutter.

i told them he had painted it blue and they were convulsed with laughter about it.

 

i would love to read the brief when he is eventually charged, or will he end up sectioned under the mental health act as he surely cannot be in a right frame of mind.

wonder if he has a blog anywhere.

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cheshire~rose Veteran II

cheshire~roseDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
Read some of the comments of earlier today and feel I have to defend Middlewich Narrowboats. For many years we were hirers and kept going back to Midllewich, in 20+years of hiring from them we never had cause to call out an engineer!! Our eldest daughter spent her honeymoon on Holly.

It is concerning that the boat has disappeared but there are many places around the system to hide a boat, all everybody can be is vigilant and keep a look out for her.

We are by the way now boat owners

 

Although I have never hired a boat from Middlewich I feel I 'know' the boats quite well as a friends boat used to be moored not that far from their base and having spent numerous weekends on 'that stretch' witnessing both the novices setting off at the start of their holiday and the smiling faces of the travellers returning at the end.

 

Their boats always seem to be well turned out to me and once when my friends boat overheated in the lock around the corner we had to haul it out and found ourselves tied up between their boats while we cooled down.

 

I witnessed at first hand just how detailed the pre hire talk was that they gave the holiday makers and when they had watched them leave they then turned their attention to helping us!

There was certainly no 'profit' in trying to assist a private boat that was in trouble on 'turn around' day from a hirers point of view.

 

Obviously there will always be an odd problem along the way but the occasions I have hired boats they have been extremely well presented and in excellent order. I think it is a great shame that as with everything else there is always a rogue and all get tarred with the same brush then!

 

I have printed out the poster to put in my car while it is static in a canal side car park this weekend.

 

I really hope that Holly is now really close to being found.

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