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BCN Challenge 2019


Mrs Tawny Owl

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1 hour ago, Graham and Jo said:

I have 3 politicians on my crew, they have voted down my route 3 times but can't decide where to go instead, can we delay the challenge for a while?

 

Cheers Graham

What you need is strong leadership.

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I know people are concerned that the restricted hours will ruin the challenge but it is a challenge and we should respond to that challenge and plan routes that cope with those time limitations. We might all end up on the same route but that would be fun too.

 

Cheers Graham

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3 minutes ago, Graham and Jo said:

I know people are concerned that the restricted hours will ruin the challenge but it is a challenge and we should respond to that challenge and plan routes that cope with those time limitations. We might all end up on the same route but that would be fun too.

 

Cheers Graham

IF it looks like being a problem, we may issue a revised route planner

 

Richard

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38 minutes ago, Graham and Jo said:

I know people are concerned that the restricted hours will ruin the challenge but it is a challenge and we should respond to that challenge and plan routes that cope with those time limitations. We might all end up on the same route but that would be fun too.

 

Cheers Graham

I get that point of view and we’re have had a bit of a think around that, but if it came to that I would worry that CRT would actually be unlocking all the flights at exactly the stated  time, that is going to take a lot of personnel.  Perhaps they do actually do that as routine, but 7 flights with 2 people per flight hovering over the padlocks at 8am, is that what is happening each day, I rather suspect not.  So there would be a massive potential for this to all be a bit random.

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If it is just the top lock of the flights leaving the Wolverhampton level then planning around that shouldn't be too difficult.  For example if Wolverhampton bottom lock is accessible at 8:00 then the top lock would be open long before you arrived.  I guess starting somewhere that would arrive at the top of Spon Lane, Brades, Smethwick, Factory or Rushall shortly after 8:00 but most of those are not right on a typical start point.

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I might be speaking out of turn here but, if the reason for the overnight closure is to save water and the saving water is based on locking the flights so scrotes don't drain the pounds rather than reducing the number of boating movements then unlocking the locks could potentially be done at 8am by volunteers if they have sufficient people (and sufficient keys) to be at all the relevant places at the right time.

 

Maybe if we all selected the top of a lock flight to take our enforced overnight break then we could "volunteer" to open them at 8am :)

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3 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

I might be speaking out of turn here but, if the reason for the overnight closure is to save water and the saving water is based on locking the flights so scrotes don't drain the pounds rather than reducing the number of boating movements then unlocking the locks could potentially be done at 8am by volunteers if they have sufficient people (and sufficient keys) to be at all the relevant places at the right time.

 

Maybe if we all selected the top of a lock flight to take our enforced overnight break then we could "volunteer" to open them at 8am :)

You think we will be starting at 8am on the second day...

 

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And I normally take the break at the end 24 straight through, good luck with getting updated info from CRT they normally busy tidying round by the NIA doing flower beds and creating brand new cycle paths, sorry but I have very little opinion of them when it comes to contact and updating the people on the canal.

Rant over

 

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14 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Any update?

Right, the latest update (just now)

 

The restrictions depend on the installation of a second temporary pump which is planned to take place this week or next. The current single pump is maintaining the current level (which is slightly down) but doesn't have the capacity to replace a large loss, for instance by vandalism. The restrictions come off when the second pump is up and running. There are other contingencies that can be used.

 

Probably the best summary is this:

 

Quote

The Region is absolutely committed to making sure the challenge goes ahead and I can assure you there’s a lot of work going on in the background making sure of just that

 

In response, it would have been nice to put out a larger field of boats, fate seems to have got in the way of that unfortunately

 

Richard

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22 minutes ago, RLWP said:

Right, the latest update (just now)

 

The restrictions depend on the installation of a second temporary pump which is planned to take place this week or next. The current single pump is maintaining the current level (which is slightly down) but doesn't have the capacity to replace a large loss, for instance by vandalism. The restrictions come off when the second pump is up and running. There are other contingencies that can be used.

 

Probably the best summary is this:

 

 

In response, it would have been nice to put out a larger field of boats, fate seems to have got in the way of that unfortunately

 

Richard

Thank you

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8 hours ago, RLWP said:

Right, the latest update (just now)

 

The restrictions depend on the installation of a second temporary pump which is planned to take place this week or next. The current single pump is maintaining the current level (which is slightly down) but doesn't have the capacity to replace a large loss, for instance by vandalism. The restrictions come off when the second pump is up and running. There are other contingencies that can be used.

 

Probably the best summary is this:

 

 

In response, it would have been nice to put out a larger field of boats, fate seems to have got in the way of that unfortunately

 

Richard

Thanks for the update.  That sounds as positive a response as we could hope for.  Let’s hope the installation of the new pump goes well, as you would think that the additional lockage that the challenge generates would cause a problem anyway with just the single pump and no supply from Chasewater.

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9 hours ago, Kustomcut said:

And I normally take the break at the end 24 straight through, good luck with getting updated info from CRT they normally busy tidying round by the NIA doing flower beds and creating brand new cycle paths, sorry but I have very little opinion of them when it comes to contact and updating the people on the canal.

Rant over

 

Can I just say that the folk doing flower beds & tidying by the NIA are mainly volunteers,my husband being one of them.Volunteers are not the ones to contact & update people-they are minor cogs in a very large wheel.

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2 hours ago, john6767 said:

Let’s hope the installation of the new pump goes well, as you would think that the additional lockage that the challenge generates would cause a problem anyway with just the single pump and no supply from Chasewater.

Out of interest, why is there no supply from Chasewater? I know they sold it several years back, and remember it being drained for work to the dam, but thought CRT kept the rights to water from there? If so why can't they exercise that right now instead of relying on a single pump to maintain levels?

 

Either way let's hope the pump installation goes well, and they soon get Bradley back up to full capacity!

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1 hour ago, Tom and Bex said:

Out of interest, why is there no supply from Chasewater? I know they sold it several years back, and remember it being drained for work to the dam, but thought CRT kept the rights to water from there? If so why can't they exercise that right now instead of relying on a single pump to maintain levels?

 

Either way let's hope the pump installation goes well, and they soon get Bradley back up to full capacity!

Isn’t there some issue with the control valve the controls the supply from Chasewater, and there is a disagreement between CRT and Staffordshire council who’s responsibility it is, therefore the council have turned off the supply.  Or something along those lines.

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Shouldn't those responsibilities have been clearly defined at the point of transfer? Do CRT have right of free use of the water, or do they pay for the water they take from there? If free then surely there is no incentive on Staffordshire council to repair the valve!

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6 hours ago, Tom and Bex said:

Shouldn't those responsibilities have been clearly defined at the point of transfer? Do CRT have right of free use of the water, or do they pay for the water they take from there? If free then surely there is no incentive on Staffordshire council to repair the valve!

You would think they would have done that, and I agree it is only CRT that care if the water extraction works.  I am sure someone knows the exact story behind this, but the end result at the moment is the pumps at Bradley are the only supply to the Wolverhampton level.

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On 30/04/2019 at 20:17, Graham and Jo said:

I know people are concerned that the restricted hours will ruin the challenge but it is a challenge and we should respond to that challenge and plan routes that cope with those time limitations. We might all end up on the same route but that would be fun too.

 

Cheers Graham

 

23 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

I might be speaking out of turn here but, if the reason for the overnight closure is to save water and the saving water is based on locking the flights so scrotes don't drain the pounds rather than reducing the number of boating movements then unlocking the locks could potentially be done at 8am by volunteers if they have sufficient people (and sufficient keys) to be at all the relevant places at the right time.

 

Maybe if we all selected the top of a lock flight to take our enforced overnight break then we could "volunteer" to open them at 8am :)

Coping with the restrictions to save water is all very laudable but in reality I don’t think the Challenge in its usual format would work if they aren’t lifted. One of the principal drivers behind the Challenge is to encourage usage of the lesser used parts of the BCN which is mostly the northern reaches. With restricted availability of the Rushall and Walsall flights in particular it becomes difficult to plan use of those waterways. The majority of usage of these flights in the Challenge probably falls outside the window when they are currently open and that’s a simple fact of geography and time. You won’t be able to get back to Birmingham for 1400 if you can’t work down those flights before 0800 on the Sunday morning. There’s little point in holding an event to promote and protect usage of waterways that are effectively excluded from that event.

 

I expect a solution will be found.

 

JP

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So hows everyone's planning going?

All excited, managed to stock up on the essentials like beer, spirits snacks etc?

This year i am taking a more relaxed approach as i dont want a repeat of last year.........

Finally any news on the overnight stoppages/closures of locks and am i right in thinking its just the following locks,

 

Wolverhampton

Rushall

Walsall

Factory

Brades

Spon Lane

Smethwick

8.30am - 4pm they are open?

And where is our final finish point?

And the letter i m excited to receive my letter for the treasure hunt...

 

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I am excited, I have been monitoring my crew's pre-challenge exercise regime closely and have even strolled around the corner myself. I have two routes planned, one with the closures and one without. Boat is in good fettle this year ( as opposed to not working on the Tuesday before the challenge last year). We even have a new sofa arriving on Saturday which I confidently predict will improve our results considerably. 

 

Cheers Graham

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