Newsletter of IWA Lee & Stort Branch Spring 2013 We say Welcome...
...to Mike Jones – our new Branch Secretary. I volunteered to take on the role of Secretary from John Shacklock in a weak moment a few months ago. I won’t be able to take up where he left off because I don’t have John’s knowledge or experience, but will fumble along and learn as I go. My wife, Carol, and I joined the IWA in 2000 at the Ware Boat Festival, but have until now been very inactive members. I first became involved with narrow boating about 30 years ago as a member of a society that owned a single, high specification boat, which was allocated week-by-week to members, in an annual ballot. Carol and I now have a one-twelfth share in a 58 foot boat called Farndon, currently moored at Great Haywood on the Trent and Mersey. Farndon is an exOwnerships boat and we are relieved that the liquidator decided not to pursue any claims to title. We were, incidentally, told that it is named after a village on the Trent in Nottinghamshire, but were attracted because my late mother had lived in another village called Farndon on the Dee.
I recently took over for a spell as Boat Syndicate Chair and have been interested in getting involved in all the things I trusted our previous Chair to deal with for me. I appreciate that this is narrowboating for softies compared with many of you who own and maintain your own boats, but it gets us three to four weeks afloat each year, and we love it. We have three daughters and four grand children, aged three months to nearly three years. Some years ago, the middle daughter was appointed captain of a hire boat on the Kennet and Avon for a hen weekend cruise, because she was known to have had narrowboat holidays as she grew up. They did all survive! We are now looking forward to taking our grand children with us when they are old enough. In the real world of working and earning a living, I started life as an engineer and then moved into purchasing. For the past eleven years I have worked as a purchasing tutor, delivering workshops and undertaking NVQ assessments, which I have now reduced to only about one day per week. Full retirement is looking increasingly attractive! In the unreal (?) world of leisure, we have an allotment which occupies us a lot in the growing season and we like to travel whenever our cats allow. Taking this story full circle, we went on a fascinating river cruise last September that took us along the waterway from St Petersburg to Moscow through some seriously large locks. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know as many of you as possible over the coming months – please just be patient with me. Mike.
On the Lee, and the beautiful Stort
Note from your Chairman. I would like begin by welcoming the new members who have joined our branch in the last few months, and hope to meet you soon. We meet every second Monday at the New Inn public house in Roydon. Full details of our event schedule are available on our website. As you will be aware, our branch inherited funds from the Lee and Stort Rivers Society when we formed as an IWA branch over 10 years ago. We have also accumulated other funds over the years. The last thing we want is to have funds sat in our bank account that could support projects and organisations that benefit our waterways. I am pleased to announce that we have now donated some of our funds to the Wendover Arm Trust, Herts Boat Rescue and Canalability. I have also been in contact with the Canal and River Trust to ascertain if any projects are being considered on the Lee and Stort that we could contribute towards, thereby improving local facilities. I await a reply from CRT with a view to supporting appropriate improvements in the 2013/2014 year. The issue of the unauthorised fence being erected at Ware Common Wharf has dominated our time over the winter. The IWA has made it clear to Ware town council, East Herts District Council and CRT that we strongly object to the erection of the fence, and asked that lawful action is taken to remove it. We have also asked that the CRT enforcement team take appropriate action to enforce the visitor mooring and terms and conditions of continuous cruising licenses. The IWA have agreed to fund new mooring signs in Ware at the common wharf, town quay and shopping stop opposite the Saracens Head to enable visiting boats to moor up and explore the town. Finally, the branch is supporting the wider London Festivals campaign this summer by ensuring the Ware Boat Festival (first weekend in July) is on the list of festivals for boats to attend. We have already had our first meeting so plans are underway to make sure we build on the success of previous events. Craig
From some of the Clubs The Lee & Stort Cruising Club was first formed in 1956 and met in an old boat, on the site of the present Lee Valley Marina at Stanstead Abbotts. The boat soon sinking, those early members found the present site by Stanstead lock, and with much hard work hacked out moorings, and finally put up the clubhouse in 1963. Many improvements have been made over the years, and we are
fortunate in now having a lovely site. Our present membership is roughly 180, with many older members keeping in touch through our quarterly 'Gazette'. The LSCC is also proud to be one of the four founder members of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs. (AWCC).
The Stort Boat Club has recently celebrated its 19th Birthday in
January 2013, having been formed on the 25th January 1994. The Club offers its members, be they cruiser, narrowboat, canoe or kayak owners, the opportunity to meet up socially throughout the year. More formal meetings, held twice a year, take place at the New Inn pub, in Roydon, on a Monday night. The Club is affiliated to the AWCC, who offer an emergency service for boaters, and safe overnight moorings – ideal for those members who go long-term cruising during the summer months. However, we do not have any premises of our own, preferring to meet up on the riverbank, or at local pubs and restaurants. As well as our programme of
local events, we also enjoy travelling further afield, and over the years have visited Scotland (the Falkirk Wheel, Royal Yacht Britannia, Caledonian Canal) the Tall Ships Race in Hartlepool, and Chatham Dockyard. This year we are scheduled to visit the Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth, and Bletchley Park. Full annual membership covers a maximum of two co-owners of a boat with full voting rights. We ask that all members ensure that their cruising activities, mooring practices and the vessel(s) for which they are responsible, are compliant with the rules and regulations of the relevant organisations which have authority over conduct and management of the waterway and associated properties.
Broxbourne Cruising Club was founded in 1964 as part of Broxbourne Rowing Club and moved to new premises in 2007, still situated on the reach below Carthagena Lock on the River Lee on the border between Herts and Essex. We have increased our membership and are an active club with cruises, social events, and help from fellow members in looking after each other’s boats. We offer reasonably priced leisure moorings with facilities for boats up to 40’ long. New members, either social or mooring, are welcome. If you are interested in the river (and canals) and/or boating do contact us and arrange to visit us.
Broxbournecruisingclub@ntlworld.com
First Speaker of the Season Chris Barltrop was introduced, in October, as a ne’er do well, live aboard for the Olympics, as it evolved; it became apparent that this was a biased opinion. The squashy tomatoes, in bowls thoughtfully provided by the events officer (a well known welcome greeting by occasional cruisers to liveaboards) were not needed, and the landlady of the New Inn has expressed her thanks, largely since this avoided the need for a messy post evening clean up. Chris proved to actually be a thoughtful well mannered graduate in American History, a sports writer for Swindon Football, as well as having served his apprenticeship as a primary school teacher. It would seem that getting a boat through the exclusion zone demanded much persistence to get past obstructive group four (G4S) and British Waterways AKA C&RT officials. ‘You can’t do that ‘ere’ seems to have been the byword, as well as impossibly conflicting mandates, regarding when you could start, when you were not allowed to stop, what you had to do with a boat that was not allowed stop and yet wasn’t allowed to proceed. Mainly due to a late start (remember ‘You can’t do that ‘ere, now’) caused by Olympic Standard jobs-worths, arising at 5.30am was thwarted, as G4S don’t start until 9! Other curious hurdles ‘we can’t lift the boom to let you through, on account of all this floating duckweed ’ere, see, it would be dahn to the Limpics like a shot mate, give it arf a chance, I tell yer’. The curious may wonder why duckweed can travel through the lock system so easily when the craft that pay to use the navigation cannot. Life afloat seems to have been interesting with dog clubs that meet 3 times a week (presumably fitting it in between job interviews and collecting their Job Seekers Allowance). Delighted to hear of altercations between towpath cyclists, which resulted in one of the contenders bathing himself and bicycle in the Regent’s. Life as a games maker seems to have been one long hectic round of doing nothing outside hotels, waiting for their guests who didn’t turn up.
The upside was the meeting with famous sporting personalities, fitting in the occasional event and watching Chris Wiggins win an award. Me, I thought Wiggins was a Jasper Carrot character from one of his TV shows? But then I never did take any interest in sports. A great shame that the Olympic park could not have been left open until, say, November before the demolition began, as people of London had paid good money for it to be built, had paid good money to see the site when it was operational, and the chance for the rest of us to see it before it disappears, seems to have been overlooked. Well done Mr Speaker, pity about the IWA flag pole that went AWOL on the journey through the exclusion zone, but do come again, we did enjoy your fascinating talk.
January’s Monday Meeting An entreating evening of song, chanty, shanty, shandy and debunking of myths, hosted by a bearded ex shanty group singer Roger Nesbit. Recall if you will that a previous speaker, (May 2003) swept away the misconception that traditional narrow boat back cabins had lace plates and ate Ploughman’s Lunches? Ploughman's lunches aren’t, and never have been traditional eating by ploughmen. The Ploughman’s lunch was a well post war invention, by the licensed victualler’s trade association and the Milk Marketing Board back in the Swinging Sixties. True its provenance does go back to the Cheese Bureaux in the fifties to promote the use of cheese. Hence that lunch is mere urban legend. What has this to do with Roger's talk? It would seem that chanties may stretch back before ploughman's lunch, but only just! Even the origin of the name is of doubtful entomology, possibly from the French, possibly not.
Some of the chants do seem to have a practical aspect; one for example traces the sailing passage hazards, type of sea bed and depths (which can be seen as a mouth to mouth passing on of traditional sailing knowledge). This charts, from Ushant to Scilly, detailing the distance (34 leagues) the depths (55 fathoms) the route and the type of sea bed (sandy bottom). Fortunately there was no contravention of Mary’s Music Licence for this evening of perceived urban folk lore! Did you know that Tommy Cooper reputedly went into a pub and had a Ploughman’s Lunch? Apparently the ploughman was livid!!!
I’m sure we’ve all heard several times about the narrowboat that ran into difficulties on the Thames close to Limehouse, so not to bore you with it all again, here are the relevant highlights: ‘Through hull fittings, vents and exhaust outlets should be positioned as high up as practicable on narrowboats, to meet the conditions likely to be encountered. Where through hull fittings, vents and exhaust outlets cannot be moved to a safe location consideration should be given as to whether the vessel is suitable to navigate on the tidal Thames. When purchasing a vessel it is essential to have a prepurchase survey undertaken by a competent surveyor ensuring the surveyor is aware of your intended use of the vessel.’
A Little Bit of Feedback One of our readers has pointed out to me that in the last edition, with reference to the London Boat Show,
a statement was made that the IWA stand suffered a reduced area. That was not so. I have it on good authority that the same equipment has been used every year since the days of Earl's Court, and still takes up the same amount of space! Thank you for that, Norman.
For those of you for whom this is not too late, there is going to be another Bishop’s Stortford Clean-Up on Thursday 21st February, organised by the Canal & River Trust. From 10am-3.30pm, at the visitor mooring, we aim to clean along the edges of, and around, the mooring rings. The other activities planned for the 21st, are cutting back part of the reed bed in the winding hole, and collecting towpath and floating litter along the river, with the aim of working our way along to South Mill Lock. How much is achieved, of course, will depend on how many volunteers are able to turn up. The Bishop’s Stortford Canoe Club members will be holding an organised litter pick on Saturday 9th March. They will be setting out from Southmill Lock at 10am and working their way towards the town centre, arriving there by about 12:30. The day has been chosen to coincide with a towpath litter pick by the TUBS (Tidy Up Bishops Stortford) group, whose team of land-based volunteers will be working their way along the towpath in parallel to us. It is planned that the bags of litter generated by both groups will be gathered in by the Canal & River Trust litter boat the Pride of Stortford. If anyone would like to get involved by helping from the bank, please contact TUBS, who will be very glad to hear from you – see their web page at
http://www.tubs12.info/
From the Region
Writing this on a cold grey day it seems strange to think that spring, and the chance to get the boat out and about on the waterways, is only a few weeks away. This time last year I was talking about the formation of the Canal & River Trust and the probability of restrictions on the use of the canal network due to lack of rain. Well I got one right, British Waterways has gone, and we have a shiny new CaRT running our waterways. Hopefully this summer the weather will be better so we can enjoy our canals without too much disruption. This year’s main objective for the London Region is to try and find a solution to the mooring problems in London. We have produced our proposals which we have widely circulated, and received mixed response. Some have accused us of being too lenient, whilst others have accused us of an out and out attack on boaters. But I have had a number of expressions of support as well, including some from continuous cruisers who are also concerned about the situation. I am having regular meetings with local residents, overstaying boaters, CRT and our friends in RBOA and NABO under the auspices of a group called The London Waterways Better Relationships Group. We are also keeping up the pressure through our regular contacts to find a way forward. I will keep you informed of any progress and anything you can do to help through your branch magazine. This year the Region is hosting the National Festival at Cassiobury Park. I’ve had a chance to look over the site. It’s a bit smaller than we are used to but looks ideal. Talking to the festival team it looks like we will have a great festival. All we need now is lots of boats (the booking form is on the website) and good weather. We are trying to put together a stand showing the diversity of IWA in London. If you are able to help us please contact our co-ordinator, John Brice, or your Chairman. I hope to see you at your branch AGM in March when I will be available to try and answer any questions you may have about IWA Nationally and in the local Region Paul Strudwick, Chair Person.
IWA Lee & Stort Branch Notice of Annual General Meeting The New Inn, Roydon Monday 11th March 2013 @ 20.00hrs
AGENDA 1. Apologies for absence 2. Approval of minutes of the previous meeting 3. Matters arising 4. Chairman’s report 5. Financial report 6. Election of committee
Nominations for election to the Committee must be proposed and seconded by Branch Members and may be presented at the meeting or may be sent to the Branch Secretary by post or email: Mike Jones 26 Greenways, Hertford, SG14 2BS mike.jones10@ntlworld.com
The Region AGM will be held at Hillingdon Canal Club on 12th March. Our Guest speaker is Simon Salem of C&RT. There will be a finger buffet.
Committee Members Chairman
Vice Chairman, Publicity Officer
Craig Haslam
Les Hunt h: 01279 860 507 m: 07801 260 579 e: les.hunt@waterways.org.uk
m: 07956 848 025 e: boatyboy96@hotmail.com Secretary
Membership Secretary, Treasurer
Mike Jones h: 01992 584 310 e: mike.jones10@ntl.com
Carole Beeton h: 01992 468 435 m: 07976 517 749 e: robandcarole@msn.com
Joint Events Officer
Joint Events Officer
Banny Banyard h: 01279 771 552 m: 07860 669 279 e: banny@tesco.net
Terry Stembridge h: 01992 575 702 m: 07709 205 498 e: terry.stembridge@btinternet.com
Newsletter Editor
Monica Hawes h: 020 8520 0461 m: 07943 169 800 e: monicaforboats@hotmail.com Frank Wallder tel/fax: 01992 636 164 m: 07985 013 032 e: naymenachur@talktalk.net
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 No. 212342