Magazine of IWA Lee & Stort Branch Autumn 2014
Cavalcade 2014 Another triumph for the IWA, with a truly successful Cavalcade, with their 130 boats, it is almost beginning to rival your own Ware Festival for popularity? Local branch members scooped two awards i.e. The Mike Stevens Memorial Trophy, for the 'Best Boat' at Canalway Cavalcade, ‘selected from all the boat entries at the event, awarded in
recognition of Mike's outstanding contribution to IWA and Canalway Cavalcade during his lifetime’, went to Nimrod, owned
by Craig Haslam. This of course must not be confused with the Mike Stevens Spanish Knot Board that is awarded annually at Ware. The second award was not so prestigious, but was still welcome, the ‘Marcus Boudier Trophy, for the best decorated privately entered boat in Saturday's Pageant’ went to Muttley owned by Michael and Marion Birch. So they’re not local members, but the runners up were, viz the Tara Croft. Yes I know the boat is, and has been, called the Tara Rose for decades, but you will have to take that up with the incompetents at IWA who issued
the mooring permit to Tara Croft. The editor thinks incompetent is a trifle harsh, she feels it should read ‘inability to read the Tara Rose owners illegible incomprehensible scrawl on last years’ entry form’ should be allowed for? Pah! I say and double tish-tosh, it’s the last time I shall pen an article for this tawdry rag then. Even the official picture only captures the bow of Tara with mud weight! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Ware Festival took place once again over the weekend of the 4th-6th July. The weather was kind enough – it only seemed to rain at convenient times! With over 80 boats visiting, the river was quite congested, plus the Lee & Stort Boat Company taking up space, and aggressing other boats that they considered to be in their way; one was forced off the river, whether by deliberation, or the poor ability of the skipper remains to be seen. The Friday welcoming BBQ was again thoroughly enjoyed, and Craig’s Saturday Quiz Night was its usual riotous success. The feedback from that has been - and still is - very positive. The stalls in Gazebo Village did very nicely, hosting three ‘firsts’. RNLI volunteer supporters were there, showing some of the equipment they use during a rescue; a painted canalware stall sold a quantity of goods; a ‘willow weaver’ showed a number of groups how to create things like hanging plant pot holders and waste paper baskets, out of stems of willow; and across the river, Stanstead Abbotts Marina had their Chandlery stall set up in the car park. Three of the Raffle prizes were donated by the Canalware, the Willow Weaver, and a very generous voucher from Stanstead Abbotts Chandlery.
Banny did his usual ‘man overboard’ bit, right in the middle of the Boat Handling Competition, and was very professionally rescued
by the Herts Boat Rescue, who leapt into action and pulled him out. The Boat Handling was won by a first-timer at Ware – and someone who is comparatively new to boating! From The Region… Next year will be the third anniversary of the foundation of CRT and importantly elections to the CRT Council. There will be changes to the composition of the council and the way its members are appointed. We will need to continue to keep an eye on this process and influence them so the membership represents the widest possible Paul Strudwick range of interests and use of the canal network. A waterways trust was always an IWA aim; however, the reality of CRT requires IWA to consider the future priorities. IWA Navigation Committee provides a list of issues we should be looking at, and helping to resolve; these include, as they say in a Dance Show, in no particular order: The provision and management of short and long term, and residential moorings. Communications on navigating:- How do boaters find out about floodwater/ strong streams, planned, and unexpected restrictions to navigation when away from their base? Boater competence:- How do we encourage boaters to improve their general standards and promote good practice?
Network extensions /restorations:Services and service:- Standard, provision and maintenance of sanitary stations, water taps and rubbish disposal. Are there enough winding holes and are they in the places they are needed? I’m sure some of you are now screaming ‘they have missed that of the list’, if we have please let me know and I will raise it at the next committee. On visitors’ moorings, CRT seem to have put the exercise to definition of ‘places’ on the backburner, where hopefully it will stay. We understand why they thought this was a good thing, so with some other boating organisations, are pushing CRT define ‘Bona fide Navigation’ and enforce that before looking at the need to define places. We in London have the biggest problem with boats overstaying on moorings and we need to try to reduce the number of new people using boats as a residence in the area. One of the problems has been lazy journalists picking up past articles on how idyllic it is to live afloat. As Alison Smedley pointed out in here resent blog “People often have an image of life afloat as being idyllic and peaceful. It’s nothing of the sort, in my experience. It can be fun and exciting, but it can be cold, hard work and lonely too.” If you see any articles that romanticise living on a boat, complain to the paper’s editor pointing them to the blog on our website. We must now also turn our attention to the General Election. IWA intends to produce a Waterways Manifesto that members, Branches and Regions can use in the run up to May. I will arrange for your news editor to include the details in a future edition of Grapevine. Finally, can I remind you that we are run a major ‘Big Dig’ on the 22nd November on the Regents Canal. It would be nice to think we could still get 1000 people out, as we have done in the past - but I doubt if we can! If you can join us please let Stefanie Preston (Stefanie.Preston@waterways.org.uk) or me know! Paul. I’ve often wondered how the original working horse-drawn boats would pass each other from opposite directions. This little bit has been copied from an earlier newsletter, penned by John.
Our regular monthly meetings take place at the New Inn, Roydon. Always a Monday, always 8.00. th 10 November Speaker to be advised 8th December Our annual, traditional, Mince Pies & Mulled Wine (cost £4.00ph) th 12 January London’s Waterways, by Jeremy Batch 9th February Speaker to be advised th 9 March Branch AGM
Why a Mike Stevens Memorial Knot Board? (Michael Leslie Stevens (1942 - 2007))
M
ike's interest in our waterways started in 1972 almost by accident, when out of curiosity, he hired a cruiser called Varrich on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal for a holiday, with friends and relatives. By 1977 they decided to buy their first boat, Felis Catus, jointly with a couple of friends. By 1982, the boat needed a lot more work doing than they had the resources to carry out, so they went back to hiring boats until 1990 when their next boat, Felis Catus II, was built for them. Designed as a holiday boat for long-distance cruising, it was always their intention to replace her eventually with a larger boat, on which they would live and cruise continuously. Mike benefited from an inheritance that enabled him to commission his pride and joy, Felis Catus III. Wendy and Mike had begun their life of cruising the canals on board this boat, when sadly, he died on 2nd October 2007, on board their boat. As well as canal boating, Mike also had a great interest in Thames sailing barges.
Inland Waterways Association hile Mike was teaching and doing voluntary work for the trade union, he didn't have time to be much more than an armchair member, but after a change of job he became a volunteer for the IWA London Branch. He started as its Minutes Secretary, and later became Branch Chairman, Publicity Officer of the South London Branch, and Region Secretary. He served on IWA London Region Planning and Navigation Committee, and organised the towpath walks which are run in conjunction with The Original London Walks. He retired from all Branches and was the proud recipient of the IWA Richard Bird Medal for services to the Association over a number of years. His knowledge of the system was encyclopaedic and his photographs are legendary.
W
Waterways History
F
rom the beginning of his boating years, Mike started developing an interest in waterways history, and reading everything about it that he could lay his hands on. Around 1980 he spotted the need for a set of synoptic maps, showing the waterways of Britain as a complete system evolving through time. He started doing some research from his bookshelf and compiling the information for this project. Twenty years later this resulted in a series of web pages, comprising over 200 detailed maps, which were published on his website. These are now republished on the London Canal Museum website.
So why knot a not board?
W
hat better way to remember him than our ‘not only not’s’ knot board? Well one reason was, it had become a little tatty over the seven years we have been competing for it. But help was at hand
in the shape of the Ware BBQ Queen Bee and Mark from Knot Normal. While this may be the first, maybe not the last knot board he has restored, IWA does owe him a huge vote of thanks for the many hours he spent restoring the trophy to its former glory. Once again, Illusions (2008), Ammonite (2009), Golden Ivy (2010), Blue Crystals Tender Nos 2 (2011), Sherienne (2012), Toodle Pip (2013) and last, but of course not least, 2014, Seanchaidh. So next time you need a quality joiner, stop and ask Mark if he can fit your job into his busy summer schedule. Oh yes, I forgot, the answer to the first question is: a resounding why not? He deserves to be remembered for all he has done for us. (can anyone see Banny & his camera reflected in this picture?)
What is becoming our annual ‘Tidy Up Ware’ day, took place towards the end of June, in preparation for the Ware Festival. Once again we are indebted to the 5th Ware Scout Group
for their enthusiastic hard work, and once again it was so disappointing that ONLY our committee members turned up to help! We look forward to seeing a number you at the next one.
We as a Branch are fortunate to be closely associated with one of our country’s most important rivers, the River Lee. We are also equally fortunate to be located near one of our most important forests – Epping Forest – perhaps not closely enough for some of us. The Corporation of London’s Outreach team produce a free publication, ‘Forest Focus’, from which this article has been copied.
As we, as boaters, are well used to slow speeds as a matter of routine on the waterways, most of us will find the article to be of interest, even though it is nonrelated to boating, especially the paragraph relating to pollution levels as a result of traffic speed.
This extract has been reproduced with kind permission from the City of London
A Cruise on the Caledonian Canal (16th – 22nd August 2014)
The Caledonian Canal, engineered by Thomas Telford, was built between 1803 and 1822, linking Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east along the Great Gen. It comprises 22 miles of excavated canal and 38 miles of loch – Lochs Locky, Oich, Ness and Dochfour. It was sized to enable 32-gun frigates to cross the country while avoiding the hazards of the Pentland Firth and the North Atlantic. Carol and I travelled the length of the Canal aboard Ros Crana, a 1962-built Dutch barge originally used to carry cement. It has been shortened by 3m to fit in the locks, equipped with six comfortable, en-suite double cabins, a saloon and dining room and is operated by a crew of four. We had travelled up to Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper and joined Ros Crana at 2.00pm on Saturday. Summer had clearly left Scotland, though the morning rain was drying away. We met the crew and our fellow guests and got under way. The 5 mph pace would be familiar to any narrow boat
owner, but the space on board threatened us with agoraphobia. The cruise lasted seven days, an average of only 8½ miles per day which gave lots of time for the various activities, there being opportunities to walk or cycle the Great Glen and, weather permitting, canoe or sail in the lochs. All meals were provided and the quality was excellent, from the breakfast porridge to the after dinner cheese board. Chef Martin was perhaps the most important member of the crew! All crew members were friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and did their best to ensure everyone enjoyed the cruise. Which brings me to the feature which distinguished this holiday: the eleven guests blended like long-lost friends and developed a real team spirit. So would I recommend the company? Yes, of course although we didn’t see Nessie this time. More information can be found at: www.caledonian-discovery.co.uk Mike Jones. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We all know what a wonderful world of friendly, welcoming helpful people we have on the waterways, and sharing that helpfulness often brings its own reward. Helping someone or receiving help at locks can often lead to interesting and helpful conversations, passing on tips and advice, comparing pubs, moorings and other waterway amenities, and generally making the world a better place. I have often received invaluable help from others at locks, and as a lone boater it is, believe me, very much welcomed and appreciated. But perhaps the best help I received was some years ago when travelling on the Kennet & Avon Canal. I arrived at the foot of the Caen Hill flight one evening intending to navigate the flight the
following morning (this was in the days when the flight was only open a few days each week), and so asked other boaters, already waiting or arriving during the evening, if they would like to share the locks. One by one each person said that they had already paired up with another boat, so I was left with the daunting prospect of the Caen Hill flight, solo, the following day. The next morning the boats left, two by two, to ascend the flight, and just as I was gathering the willpower to proceed, a hire boat approached. “Do you mind sharing the flight?” I asked, “of course not” came the reply. I then explained that I was single-handed at which point this band of willing, helpful, experienced hirers told me to stay aboard and they would do all the lock work for me. This they proceeded to do with gusto, trotting up the hill with windlasses swinging in all directions, communicating with one another by twoway radio, a couple lock-wheeling to be as efficient as possible. And all the while helping boats ahead, behind, or coming the other way. As if that wasn’t enough every few locks the young lady steering, popped down below, to re-emerge a few moments later with two cups of coffee, one for her and the second for me. Thanks to their efforts we managed to ascend the flight in a little under three hours – is this a record? Having reached the summit I then pulled over, with the intention of thanking them, and perhaps buying a drink or two, when they cruised past with a friendly wave, and a cry of “must dash – we’ve got a tight schedule”. Of course some people are not so helpful, and I have also come across the unhelpful boatful, with half a dozen people aboard, who simply stand and watch while I operate the lock on my own, not showing any inclination to offer help. In those circumstances it’s amazing just how slowly you can work a lock, if you really try! I’ve even been known to stop and close the exit gates (even though the offending boat is clearly about to use the lock), and when challenged simply say that “Sorry, I thought you were moored as you didn’t seem to want to work the lock”. Let’s keep the friendly, helpful approach – it’s much better for all of us in the end. Les.
Having given Springfield Marina a glowing write-up in the Spring edition, it would seem they are not as bright and shiny as they were made out to be. On separate occasions within the last few months, two of our boaters attempted to purchase diesel from them. One of them was heading for a run on the Thames. They were told, “We don’t sell diesel in the afternoons” and weren’t served. It appears that the Marina closes at 4pm, and in preparation for doing so, they begin to close down shortly after 3, and stop doing anything which might take time or become too involved. So boaters BEWARE. If you are likely to require fuel, think in advance!
This cutting was found in an old newspaper, some 30-odd years ago.
With reference to the recent resignations of Les Hunt and Bob Dunkley, the following is a snippet from one of John’s last Newsletters. I will leave you to ponder!
The closure of the Hertford Branch was made necessary because, in spite of many appeals, no members came forward to join or replace those Committee members who had kept the Branch going long after it had been reasonable for them to expect to hand over the reins. Let’s hope that we can keep the Lee and Stort Branch going strong without encountering a similar problem.
Our regular monthly Branch Meetings are once again under way, having begun on October with a talk by Ian Shacklock - yes, he is John’s son - an Islington-based volunteer who runs the ‘Friends of Regent's Canal’. Ian talked about some of their recent campaigns, day-to-day issues and challenges, as well as opportunities for improving things. Boaters in the audience complained that they rarely get to experience the canal or towpath in London because there are no guaranteed places to pause or stay. Recent campaigns include the protection of Holborn Studios, Bow Wharf, and the Bethnal Green gasholders, all of which are under threat of demolition and could be replaced by characterless modern housing. The Friends have worked jointly with the London branches of the IWA on some of these projects and are looking to extend their reach to other parts of the boating world. Anybody can become a Friend - by attending quarterly public meetings, joining the mailing list, following the Twitter feeds or engaging in the new Facebook group - and there is no cost involved. The central source of information is their website: http://friendsofregentscanal.org/ and contributions are always welcome. The Friends are in a strong position to campaign for better facilities along the Regent's so it makes sense for them to reach out to boaters outside London as well as engaging local people. Watch this space for news about ways you can help yourselves and others. If you would like to engage with the Friends, please send an e-mail to: friendsregentscanal@gmail.com Copies of Ian's slides are available on: http://friendsofregentscanal.org/events/2014/2014-10-13/IWAdiscussion-p1.html
From our Chairman‌ Ware Boat Festival needs YOU Over the last few years, Ware Boat Festival has gone from strength to strength but is in real danger of folding unless we have more volunteer support to help plan and run the festival. Unless we get increased support, we will have to consider cancelling the event. This is the last thing we want to do. Craig Haslam Over 80 boats attended this year meaning over 200 people joined in the event. Then there are the hundreds of people who came to visit, walking the towpath, taking a cruise on the trip boat, learning about our inland waterways, watching the parade of boats. We really bring the waterways alive during the weekend. But the popularity and success means we need more help to make sure we continue to put on a great spectacle for the people of Ware. Bob Dunkley has decided to stand down as Harbourmaster after doing a superb job over many recent years. We need to replace Bob (if that's possible) so we have someone to head up the harbourmaster team as well as a few more deputy harbour masters to share the role, with the ever increasing numbers of boats. So if you can help, please drop me an e-mail so we can build on the success of the Ware Boat Festival. Les Hunt has also decided to stand down as Vice Chairman at the next AGM, as well as handing over the reins of organising the Festival. The departure of Les will be difficult for the Branch to manage as he has done tremendous work with not only the festival but the branch e-mail shots, liaising with key partners and representing the branch at regional and national level. I wish to personally thank Les for his superb commitment to the IWA over many years. You will be missed!! The current Committee will continue the planning and organisation for Ware Boat Festival, but this means sharing the work
between relatively few people. Maybe you could help by either joining or supporting the Committee in some way and relieve a bit of the pressure. There are a number of roles including setting up the site, signing in the visiting boaters, distributing Boaters Packs, organising the Boat Parade or Boat Handling, planning our Gazebo Village and liaising with stallholders, packing up the site, and a myriad of other things to help make the weekend run smoothly. It all helps share the workload and take a bit of pressure off our small Committee. No experience necessary – just a willingness to help. So please contact me by e-mail: boatyboy96@hotmail.com if you can help. Ware Common Wharf Our efforts to return Ware Common Wharf to a public visitor mooring continue. We have held productive meetings with CRT, Ware Town Council and East Herts District Council, and will work hard to ensure this public facility is available to everyone who chooses to visit the town for a short time, fish from the location or simply sit and enjoy the peace of the riverside in a quiet little spot. The wider mooring situation across the system is still subject of great debate. CRT has published its bi-monthly Towpath Mooring Management project report for September 2014. This is the sixth of their regular updates on the Towpath Mooring Management project, running from April 2013 to April 2016, focused on building constructive engagement with the boating community, creating better understanding of the rules, addressing specific local issues, reviewing visitor moorings and working with local stakeholders. The report can be viewed online: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/mooringrules/towpath-mooring-project Hertford Lock still only has one set of paddle gear working on the top gates. We have been applying pressure on CRT to rectify this whilst minimising impact on navigation. We are told the problem will be fully repaired this winter with other significant improvements being made to the lock at the same time. Craig.
Committee Members Chairman Vice Chairman, Publicity Officer Craig Haslam Les Hunt h: 01279 860 507 m: 07956 848 025 m: 07801 260 579 e: boatyboy96@hotmail.com e: les.hunt@waterways.org.uk Secretary Mike Jones h: 01992 584 310 m: 07976 517 749 e: mike.jones10@ntl.com
Membership Secretary, Treasurer Carole Beeton h: 01992 468 435 e: robandcarole@msn.com
Joint Events Officer Banny Banyard h: 01279 771 552 m: 07860 669 279 e: banny@tesco.net
Joint Events Officer Terry Stembridge h: 01992 575 702 m: 07709 205 498 e: terry.stembridge@btinternet.com
Magazine Editor Monica Hawes h: 020 8520 0461 m: 07943 169 800 e: monicaforboats@hotmail.com Tony Plunkett h: m: 07944 678 228 e: tplunkett@hotmail.co.uk The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy, or an official announcement unless otherwise stated. IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Registered Charity No212342