Celebrity Five go Barging

[Tam & Di]

10 hours ago, Athy said:

Was this at the very top lock at Valence?

The guy that told me about it didn't say which lock it was, and I've not been on the Baïse myself. The problem is that even if people do know how to use lines they can get lulled into complacency. Most of the locks are fairly gentle and the crew don't bother to take a turn of their line around one of the boat's bollards; they just hang onto it in their hand instead. In the case of the Famous 5 in the programme they had no idea of what to do - none of them would have cause to work with lengths of rope in their "real" lives, and I've no idea what sort of instruction they were given by the hire company. At least your wife had enough boating experience to take appropriate action.

[Athy]

18 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

The guy that told me about it didn't say which lock it was, and I've not been on the Baïse myself. The problem is that even if people do know how to use lines they can get lulled into complacency. Most of the locks are fairly gentle and the crew don't bother to take a turn of their line around one of the boat's bollards; they just hang onto it in their hand instead. In the case of the Famous 5 in the programme they had no idea of what to do - none of them would have cause to work with lengths of rope in their "real" lives, and I've no idea what sort of instruction they were given by the hire company. At least your wife had enough boating experience to take appropriate action.

Most of the Baise locks are pussy cats but that one's a tiger! It has a slippery pole round which the boater threads the rope, so there was no rope onshore (even passing a rope up on the end of the boathook, we couldn't reach, and we didn't feel confident about climbing a 30-feet vertical greasy ladder with a rope in one hand). The boat was heading for the top gates and I was heading for the red stop button when she managed to give it a big enough blast of reverse to go back to safety. Thank goodness for the Nanni 4.220 - a 2.2 litre engine despite its name, but with sufficient "poke".

Edited February 25, 2018 by Athy

[blackrose]

14 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

 

My oft-given advice that narrow boats are not ideal on French waterways was only too well confirmed, even on this relatively small waterway which is generally regard as safe.

 

I disagree. This incident was nothing to do with the type of boat and exactly the same thing could have happened on any other boat which wasn't properly secured at the bow. Plenty of narrowboats ply the French waterways without any problem. The only thing this incident confirmed was that any boat has to be handled properly. 

[Laurie Booth]

I found the lock keepers when I was on the Canal De Midi, were in too much in a hurry (not at lunch time), thus making the locks dangerous. One was even watching a football match on his TV !

[Bee]

Most of us have got boats that weigh at least 10 tons, some very much bigger than that, that is a hefty thing when it gets going with a surge of water behind it and a bit of rope is all you've got to control it with. 'Bee' is getting new ropes all round this year as some of the old ones are looking a bit worn. Steering the boat looks like the really cool and skilful part but so often the poor sod standing in the rain with a bit of soggy rope is doing the really important stuff. Maybe hire boat companies could emphasise that a bit.

[Nightwatch]

Having seen this programme, I can now appreciate the handy pansy way Lock keepers on the Thames look after their charges. Good for them.

[Laurie Booth]

7 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Having seen this programme, I can now appreciate the handy pansy way Lock keepers on the Thames look after their charges. Good for them.

I agree.

[Tam & Di]

38 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I disagree. This incident was nothing to do with the type of boat and exactly the same thing could have happened on any other boat which wasn't properly secured at the bow. Plenty of narrowboats ply the French waterways without any problem. The only thing this incident confirmed was that any boat has to be handled properly. 

I agree in part, but did you see the programme? The narrow boat and the cruiser were both probably too close to the front of the lock, but water poured over the bow and into the well deck of the narrow boat and then in through the open front door whereas the cruiser had no such problem. The second bit where the narrow boat slewed across the lock and got jammed under the flared bow of the cruiser, causing it to list alarmingly, were totally due to inability I would agree. There are plenty of narrow boats in France as you say, but how many actually "ply the system" rather than stick to the little canals is doubtful - and the programme did illustrate the potential danger even when doing just that. So too is the degree to which they get away with things by luck rather than suitability of their craft.