Missing boat - Holly - NOW FOUND!

[cheshire~rose]

Sorry mate - took a while but I got it in the end

 

Nice one

 

Oh yes well spotted!

 

I like that

[Mark L]

Sorry mate - took a while but I got it in the end

 

Nice one

 

It too me even longer...... I didn't really notice until Bazza replied.

 

How thick do I feel?

 

ML

[Sam]

It too me even longer...... I didn't really notice until Bazza replied.

 

How thick do I feel?

 

ML

 

hahaha just re-read it!!

 

I would say people are in on it... although.. when he was spottted wasn't he seen by himself??

[Mark L]

He might have just gone off the rails- an earlier comment about Reginald Perrin seems quite apt. Perhaps he just needs time alone. He might be escaping goodness only knows what, from home, work, etc.

 

Or he might just be an accomplished tea-leaf.... (or at least having a go).

 

We shall have to wait and find out. No sign of him on the Hudds narrow yet- though might pop over to Sainsbury's and check the moorings again- and buy something nice to eat along the towpath (any excuse).

 

M

[Sam]

He may also me cruising at night to avoid detection.. so if you wake up in the middle of the night (eg. one of those annoying things where you don't know why..) have a look out the window.... (if you live on a boat that is.. if you live in a house where there isn't a canal it would be pretty pointless..)

 

Also.

Do the mags know? Does towpath talk know?

Edited April 18, 2007 by Sam

[Fiona G]

He might have just gone off the rails- an earlier comment about Reginald Perrin seems quite apt. Perhaps he just needs time alone. He might be escaping goodness only knows what, from home, work, etc.

 

Or he might just be an accomplished tea-leaf.... (or at least having a go).

 

We shall have to wait and find out. No sign of him on the Hudds narrow yet- though might pop over to Sainsbury's and check the moorings again- and buy something nice to eat along the towpath (any excuse).

 

M

 

 

Tea-leaf? Sorry don't get that one.

 

Fiona

[Mark L]

WW certainly knows- Richard keeps a close eye on things. Probably Kevin at CB does (Martin Dugdale will certainly be watching this).

 

It will only just make it into the June issues of either mag though- be nice if it could be resolved before deadline day!

[Sam]

Good good.

 

Although worth them planning to put something in i would presume.. just in case?!

 

 

WW certainly knows- Richard keeps a close eye on things. Probably Kevin at CB does (Martin Dugdale will certainly be watching this).

 

It will only just make it into the June issues of either mag though- be nice if it could be resolved before deadline day!

[Liam]

Teal Leaf = Theif.

[Fiona G]

Teal Leaf = Theif.

 

Cheers - you learn something new every day!

 

F

[Barry]

Tea-leaf? Sorry don't get that one.

 

Fiona

 

tea-leaf/thief - cockney rhyming slang

 

If I've just been sucked into something then bugger it - I'm just a helpful kinda guy - can't help it

[Dodgy Dave]

evening all,

 

the same thought crossed my mind yesterday.. even more so as i suddenly became a member of the single-handed cruising club a few weeks ago just before the Easter hols and thus has limited my cruising plans and made me a lot more conscious of route planning:

 

Holly was seen heading up the Wolvo 21 and into Brum.. then a few days later at Hockley Heath then photo'd at Hatton.. this means he would have had to head down the Lapworth flight and across the Link onto the GU..

 

it also means that on the North Stratford he would have had to pass through 3 lift bridges, 2 of which (Br.26 & Br.28) are (to my knowledge) impassable single handed as they are windlass operated with the gear on the offside same as the bridge.. he would either have had to wait for another boat.. or he's got crew onboard... unless there's some Single Handed Lift Bridge Technique that this green rookie single-hander isn't aware of yet? apologies if this is so...

 

food for thought...?

 

best regards

 

Dodgy Dave of Ocker Hill

'Make Mine A Magners'

 

Maybe his family / friends are in on it? A quote from the local paper said 'A woman at Mr. King's address... did not wish to comment on his disappearance' (April 12th Herts Advertiser).

 

It would be a remarkable feat if he were on his own. Surely he has to have some accomplices? One can only speculate, which may or may not be helpful. It's a question of trying to get inside his mind to see where he would go and what he might do. But that's not really possible unless one knows his motivation.

 

Fiona

[Mark L]

evening all,

 

the same thought crossed my mind yesterday.. even more so as i suddenly became a member of the single-handed cruising club a few weeks ago just before the Easter hols and thus has limited my cruising plans and made me a lot more conscious of route planning:

 

Holly was seen heading up the Wolvo 21 and into Brum.. then a few days later at Hockley Heath then photo'd at Hatton.. this means he would have had to head down the Lapworth flight and across the Link onto the GU..

 

it also means that on the North Stratford he would have had to pass through 3 lift bridges, 2 of which (Br.26 & Br.28) are (to my knowledge) impassable single handed as they are windlass operated with the gear on the offside same as the bridge.. he would either have had to wait for another boat.. or he's got crew onboard... unless there's some Single Handed Lift Bridge Technique that this green rookie single-hander isn't aware of yet? apologies if this is so...

 

food for thought...?

 

best regards

 

Dodgy Dave of Ocker Hill

'Make Mine A Magners'

 

I thought he went down Hatton (having passed Kingswood Jnc) or did I get that wrong?- so would be heading for the oxford (north and south) or GUC all points south.

 

Though, the lift bridges on the Stratford are OK to do single handed- I have a few times. Just need patience, no wind and lots of rope. Oh, and hoping no one comes to use the bridge while you are faffing about! better than on the Leeds and Liverpool mind!

 

Actually, think I am going mad- of course he is going south- he passed Hockley Heath... think I need to go to bed- brain hurting. Sorry!

Edited April 18, 2007 by Mark L

[Dodgy Dave]

hi mark,

 

from brum i'd figure he'd have made a fast early morning lock-free run down the Worcs & Bham to Kings Norton, then left onto the North Stratford and straight out into the countryside before 10.30am, down the Lapworth flight, then across onto the GUC at Kingswood and then on down the Hatton flight into Warwick to do his laundry...

 

it's what i'd do and could easily be done in the time frame..

 

if he wanted to get onto the GUC at brum, he would have had to do the Farmers Bridge 13 down from the BCN mainline, plus the Ashted and Camp Hill locks before lunch, leaving him in potentially unsafe 'bandit' country all afternoon until reaching Catherine de Barnes.. no i reckon he'd opt for the easy life down the Stratford then across the Lapworth Link at Kingswood...

 

as i said i'm still green at single-handing, having enjoyed a having a liveaboard female crew for my first 2 and half years afloat.. so any pointers or hints would be greatly appreciated.. perhaps you could PM or email me your tricks for those pesky lift bridges when you've got a spare moment..?

 

many thanks

 

Dodgy Dave of Ocker Hill

'Make Mine A Magners'

 

I thought he went down Hatton (having passed Kingswood Jnc) or did I get that wrong?- so would be heading for the oxford (north and south) or GUC all points south.

 

Though, the lift bridges on the Stratford are OK to do single handed- I have a few times. Just need patience, no wind and lots of rope. Oh, and hoping no one comes to use the bridge while you are faffing about! better than on the Leeds and Liverpool mind!

[Sam]

Teal Leaf = Theif.

 

lol

 

 

I believe he is an experienced boater so he probs. knows a few tricks about boating...

 

 

out of interest.. can you get a press release to the bbc about this? They would be able to include it on their news website..

 

 

:ph34r:

[Liam]

Sam, it's already been done.. although that was when it was still beleived to be green, and not blue as it appears to be.

[Sam]

Sam, it's already been done.. although that was when it was still beleived to be green, and not blue as it appears to be.

 

oh yes..sorry.. just found it.

 

It would be worth sending a picture for them to put up..

[Jon]

I know that all relevant canal magazines are aware (most have membership here so got the initial e-mail).

 

Trish has been spending lots of time dealing with the media and the BBC filmed last week.

 

The national coverage tomorrow sounds good though...

 

Jon

[Fairy Nuff]

What is this in the picture of blue holly.. to me it looks like it is half painted!!

 

 

Any ideas???

 

I've had a really good look comparing original posted pic and the "greenish" one and I am fairly sure someone has messed with the green one. I am unaware of any conversion process (JPG to BMP etc) that would cause this. No way can it be tree reflection, no leaves on the trees in the picture! There's a lot of misinformation in the world and I think we just got some.

 

One detail on both pics: the bow below the fender is very bashed and rusty. This screams hire boat to me. Scraping/bashing the bow on the cill of locks. Not easy to paint in the water. One more thing to look for.

[Sam]

YES! thats what i mean.. look at it.. and you can see shiny / boat reflected ON that weird patch.

 

I am also un-aware of anything that would do this.. iin only certain areas.. AND leave the boats reflection and the shine so clear

 

 

What is this in the picture of blue holly.. to me it looks like it is half painted!!

 

 

Any ideas???

 

I've had a really good look comparing original posted pic and the "greenish" one and I am fairly sure someone has messed with the green one. I am unaware of any conversion process (JPG to BMP etc) that would cause this. No way can it be tree reflection, no leaves on the trees in the picture! There's a lot of misinformation in the world and I think we just got some.

 

One detail on both pics: the bow below the fender is very bashed and rusty. This screams hire boat to me. Scraping/bashing the bow on the cill of locks. Not easy to paint in the water. One more thing to look for.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Sam

[Chris J W]

What is this in the picture of blue holly.. to me it looks like it is half painted!!

 

 

Any ideas???

 

I've had a really good look comparing original posted pic and the "greenish" one and I am fairly sure someone has messed with the green one. I am unaware of any conversion process (JPG to BMP etc) that would cause this. No way can it be tree reflection, no leaves on the trees in the picture! There's a lot of misinformation in the world and I think we just got some.

 

One detail on both pics: the bow below the fender is very bashed and rusty. This screams hire boat to me. Scraping/bashing the bow on the cill of locks. Not easy to paint in the water. One more thing to look for.

 

Sorry, Fairy, but I do have a copy of the original post of this photo that has a boat just off to the right hand side of the picture. The boat was cropped from the "public" picture at the request of the owners (go back a page or two). Whilst I would obviously not re-up the first photo I can assure you that the 'odd' patch on the port side / right as you look is just a relection of the boat next to it.

 

As for converting one file format to another ... that's another minefield entirely, but, yes, you COULD cause colour cast via certain transforations across formats. It's a pain, though, but I did see the orginal photo so I'm content to know that it's a reflection.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Chris J W

[Jon]

 

Above for comparison. I am sure that if Malc spotted green on the boat, and half finished paint job, he would have told us!

 

The 'darker parts' as illustrated in the above pic are because that picture is a lower resolution than the original (above left). It is clear from the original that it is entirely blue, and a half painted boat would stand out a mile anyway!

 

 

Jon

[Sam]

 

Above for comparison. I am sure that if Malc spotted green on the boat, and half finished paint job, he would have told us!

 

The 'darker parts' as illustrated in the above pic are because that picture is a lower resolution than the original (above left). It is clear from the original that it is entirely blue, and a half painted boat would stand out a mile anyway!

Jon

 

okey you win

[fender]

it also means that on the North Stratford he would have had to pass through 3 lift bridges, 2 of which (Br.26 & Br.28) are (to my knowledge) impassable single handed as they are windlass operated with the gear on the offside same as the bridge.. he would either have had to wait for another boat.. or he's got crew onboard... unless there's some Single Handed Lift Bridge Technique that this green rookie single-hander isn't aware of yet? apologies if this is so...

 

food for thought...?

 

best regards

 

Dodgy Dave of Ocker Hill

'Make Mine A Magners'

 

These lift bridges (and those on the Llangollen - except Wrenbury) arent any obstacle to single handed cruising. The only difficult ones I know of are those on the Oxford.

[malc1110]

I have to comment on the posts referring to the picture quality and green/blue paint. The original picture showed my cruiser in a lock with the blue Holly, my wife and I did not feel comfortable with our boat being shown with the stolen boat and asked for our boat to be removed from any published pictures. Jon, and all the other webmasters on other sites, kindly did this. The reflection on the side of blue Holly is of my boat, not trees, not bushes but good old GRP. Apart from the removal of my boat the original picture has not been tampered with using paintshop pro or any other editing software. The original picture has been sent around many times now and somewhere along the way some less than perfect copies have appeared and I agree they do not show that area very clearly. The "new" blue paint was in very good condition and from the confirmed sighting times mentioned by Trisha it could only have been a few days old, and I have to say he had done a nice job, hence the good reflection. I was beside that boat for several hours and saw it a good few times after that over the remainder of that day and several times the following day. Not a trace of green was showing. By whatever ways the poorer quality pics came to exist we should all just be pleased that people are circulating pictures of a blue boat in an effort to return it to its rightful owners, and to ensure the well being of David King. Having spent a fair bit of time in his company I tend to agree with the more charitably minded people who have posted the opinion that he has suffered some kind of breakdown/burn out and opted out of ordinary life, Reggie Perrin style. Perhaps if we spent more time looking for Holly and David King than examining jpgs and bmps pixel by pixel for some stupidly perceived conspiracy/alterations we might get a result .