February 2014 Welcome to the Winter edition of the Camboaters newsletter. It has been a tough winter with all the storms and flooding, but it has also been great to see the community pulling together and looking out for each other. Stay dry and warm everyone!
Boaters Monthly Shindig Saturday 22nd February
Camboaters/Cam Conservancy/City Council Meeting 10/02/14
7:30pm
The Camboaters committee had a very productive meeting with the City Council, Police, and Conservators which was luckily just after the spate of bad weather on the 8th/9th February.
And at the same place and time on the last Saturday of every month, in the future!
The Council have agreed to spend some money on making moorings along Jesus Green, Midsummer and Stourbridge Commons safer in the event of floods, strong winds, etc. We are working with them and various possibilities include:
Also….
•
Provision of a “flood kit” available at short notice 24/7 of extra mooring pins, ropes, hammers, and safety equipment for any boats at risk of coming loose
•
Looking into the possibility of providing much better mooring pins or ground anchors (possibly on a returnable deposit basis) that will be stronger in saturated soil. Mooring rings would require planning permission, and would be a change of use which would hike our mooring fees.
•
Possibility of providing some scaffolding poles to use as flood poles
•
Making an emergency plan for what to do in the event of flooding, and ensuring the switchboard operators manning the emergency call out number are trained to direct calls to the correct people.
•
The possibility of providing a “safe refuge” for boaters who feel it is not safe to stay on board during extreme weather.
•
Producing a joint guide – Camboaters, City Council, and Conservancy – to be distributed to new moorers containing useful details and advice on how to moor safely on the river and cope with extreme events, as well as other handy information, e.g. the location and details of the local chandleries, etc.
Fort St George
Plans are afoot for a Boat Festival in the summer, details to be discussed at this Saturday’s Shindig!
Visit www.camboaters.co.uk for • the latest news • the mailing list and messageboards
Find us on Twitter @camboaters
If you would like to add your details to the Camboaters contacts list (we only use this on rare occasions for very important/urgent information such as your boat being in danger or emergency meetings) email the committee camboaters.committee@gmail.com or text/call 07828763885 (Secretary’s number – Amy on Willow)
We also heard from the Cambridgeshire Constabulary about the BoatWatch scheme and they gave us some advice to pass on to boaters about preventing crime (see over). As always, if there are any issues you would like us to raise with the various authorities, then please do let us know by emailing the committee address or contacting the secretary.
Preventing crime on the river – this was the advice given to us by the police. • Most important is to make sure you report crimes and any suspicious behaviour. The police need to know what is happening along the river if they are to allocate us more resources. 999 is for emergencies, or 101 for non-emergency contact e.g reporting suspicious behaviour. •
When reporting, mention the Boat Watch scheme – this helps the Police link up similar events on the river and allocate resources better. You can also sign up to receive alerts via the Boat Watch scheme – email Carol.Aston@cambs.pnn.police.uk to be added to the list
•
Mark your possessions, especially those which do not have serial numbers. UV markers (along with stickers/marking saying that the items is UV marked) are good for this, and they gave out several of these at the meeting which we’re happy to lend out – ask Ally (Charity, Stourbridge), Chris and Simone (Light Enough to Travel, Midsummer Common) or Amy and James (Willow, Midsummer Common).
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Record details of your possessions with Immobilise (www.immobilise.com), noting serial number and UV markings– this is a website used by the police to help return stolen items to their rightful owners. Many recovered goods e.g generators are unmarked and never get back to their owners.
And some general tips: •
Close curtains to obscure views and remove valuables if you’re going away.
•
Consider leaving a light/radio on if going out for a short time.
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Always chain up your generator when in use on the bank or boat.
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Don’t make it easy for thieves by leaving useful breaking and entering tools visible on your boat (e.g lump hammers) or unsecured trolleys and wheelbarrows which could be used to remove your possessions form your boat!
2014 Events Diary For Events in bold type (university events), contact 07927 459165 on the day. For events in Italics (town rowing club events) contact 07742 086214 on the day.
Fri 21 Feb
Bumps Getting On Race
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
13:15 to 16:30
25 - 28 Feb
Lent Bumps
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
13:00 to 17:30
Sat 1 Mar
Lent Bumps
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
11:30 to 16:30
Sun 2 Mar
Winter League Third Leg
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
X-Press BC / City RC
08:30 to 14:30
st
rd
Tue 11 Mar
Trinity Challenge Sculls
Baits Bite to Penny Ferry
1 & 3 Trinity
TBC
Thu 13 Mar
Cardinals Regatta
Plough to Chesterton footbridge
St Catharine's
09:30 to 16:30
Sun 23 Mar
Junior Sculling Head
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
Champs
11:30 to 15:30
Sun 6 Apr
Cam Marathon
Fen Causeway to Baits Bite return
Cambridge Canoe Club
11:00 to 14:00
Sun 20 Apr
Radegund Mile
The Plough to Chesterton Footbridge
St Radegund Boat Club
10:00 to 13:30
21 -23 Apr
Small Boats Regatta
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
TBC
Sat 26 Apr
Head of the Cam
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
Chesterton RC
11:30 to 15:45
Sat 3 May
Cambridge Head to Head
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
City RC
11:00 to 16:00
Sun 4 May
Cambridge Sprint Regatta
In front of Boathouses
City RC
11:00 onwards
Sun 18 May
Champs Eights Head
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
Champs
11:30 to 15:30
Sun 25 May
Cambridge Spring Regatta
Long Reach
Nines
12:00 onwards
Mon 2 Jun
X-Press Head Race
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
X-Press Boat Club
19:00 to 21:30
Fri 6 Jun
Bumps Getting On Race
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
15:30 to 19:30
11-13 Jun
May Bumps
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
11:00 to 21:00
Sat 14 Jun
May Bumps
Baits Bite to Chesterton footbridge
CUCBC
11:00 to 19:00