Ouse News Page 4
Chairman’s Corner In the autumn edition I stated that we intended to make a couple of 3-day trips taking our boat to have the hull inspected and blacked. Well, we didn’t make it! We duly drove 120 miles to Ventnor Marina, loaded up the boat, drove to Heyford Fields Marina and spent £35 on a taxi fare back to Ventnor. Then storm Arwen arrived with 40/50 mph winds tossing our 17 tonne narrowboat about on its moorings as if it was a fibreglass cruiser. There was a brief respite from the storm during the night when I peeped out of the bedroom window to see the adjacent boat and pontoons covered in a layer of snow. We made the sensible decision to go back to bed and review the situation in the morning. However, by that time, the storm had regained its strength, making it far too dangerous to attempt to start our planned 18lock journey that day. The following morning the wind had dropped but there was snow on the walkways and ice around the edges of the marina. Again, we decided that it would be unsafe to travel and abandoned the project until the spring. All we had to do then was to winterise the boat, spend another £35 on a taxi to retrieve our car and drive the 120 miles home. However, as always, we enjoyed our stay on Watermist; ignoring the storm outside, snuggled up warm with the solid-fuel stove belting away, complete with a ready supply of whisky and playing endless rounds of Rummikub. The moral of this story is, ‘don’t be daft and ignore a yellow weather warning and attempt to go boating at the end of November, even if it means cancelling complex arrangements’. Many members will have no doubt been pleased to note that the Environment Agency has taken into account the strong views expressed by navigation licence holders regarding the proposed changes to the way fees are calculated. As a result, area-based charges will not now be introduced and the proposed 10% increase will be spread more evenly over a 3-year period.
