From The Editor Page 2 Picnic

Sandford Boating Club Picnic

Sunday morning 11th September started with the mist lying heavily over the navigation and fields adjacent to Sandford Lock and moorings. By 9am the sun had come up and started to burn off the mist and create a lovely autumnal day ideal for a cruise.

The Sandford Boating Club had it’s annual picnic at Stonhams Lock, C&BN sorted, and, due to being thwarted on it’s July Boat gathering and Chelmsford Carnival cruise into Springfield Basin by the non clearance of huge amounts of weed across the meadows with low levels, and, not being able to have it’s Bank Holiday weekend Cruise to Heybridge due to no moorings being available, we were determined to get out with our boats to Stonhams Lock this weekend.

The navigation was clear and levels were almost back to normal and by 11.30am boats were leaving to head down a couple of locks for a pleasant afternoon. Although we were hoping for some of our members from Papermill to arrive with their boats this wasn’t the case but those of us who made the trip had a wonderful afternoon in glorious sunshine passing pleasantries with walkers and cyclists and even helping out one youngster on her D. of E. walk who had got lost ! Sitting round the EWL caravan having a picnic was certainly different !

Being mindful of the possibility of other boats wanting to use the lock we kept an eye out so as to move and give them access but of course no one came as this end of the navigation seems to always be the “forgotten end”. After about three hours or so we packed up and started the return cruise to Sandford in the lovely late afternoon sun.

A glorious cruise for those that joined in and just reinforced the reasons for the boating club, ie to promote the use of the upper reaches of the navigation. We are all looking forward to our end of season annual Fish and Chip Cruise into Springfield Basin on Saturday 8th October. This always turns out to be our most popular event and again uses the upper reaches.

Thanks go to Tony and Kat from Northern Monkey, Lee from Jenny Miss, Toby and Elaine from The Raven, Mick and Julie from Iron Duke, Steve and Ann from Esme, Shaun and Annie from Bluebell and myself and John on Camelot.

Here’s looking forward to the next cruise out.

David Zelly