Wolds Waters - Summer 2020

WOLDS WATERS The newsletter of the East Yorkshire Branch of the Inland Waterways Association

Summer 2020

Luxury Cruising in 1977! For more read “In at the Deep End”

waterways.org.uk/east_yorkshire

Staying safe and keeping in touch I hope you are managing to stay safe and well. It is frustrating not to be enjoying our waterways as we would like, especially so for those of you who are boaters. Our branch is not over endowed with canals and other navigations and even planning a walk along a river bank or towpath is difficult for those that do not live close to the waterway.

This magazine has also been affected. It will only be available electronically, either by email or by the IWA website but we thought it important that we keep in touch with our branch members. So much has been put on hold, Events, Social meetings, Committee meetings and even our AGM not to mention the impact on our local societies who are unable to run their trip boats and other fund raising events. Some of the articles in this issue will show what a difference the ‘Lockdown’ is having around the area.

On a positive note be assured that the IWA is adapting to the situation and is able to offer online presentations and meetings for members to enjoy. For details of these keep watching the IWA website at https://www.waterways.org.uk/ . We hope we will be able to resume our social meetings in September but will keep you informed. To those of you who have received a letter letting you know you can access the newsletter online this is because we do not have your email address.

We would urge you to provide this by sending it to Rachel.Bryant@waterways.org.uk which will make it easier to keep you informed in the future.

Please rest assured, we are not closed down. We still need to hear of any problems which may occur in our area. Either contact me at the branch roger.bromley@waterways.org.uk or direct to Head Office on the address above.

Best wishes - Roger Bromley, Branch Chairman 2

Editorial As Roger has said in his Chairman’s message, we have been unable to hold any Social Meetings so far this summer, and particularly our AGM which as you will appreciate is now overdue. Looking at how the pandemic is progressing we are still quite uncertain about when we it will be safe to resume our meetings at Cottingham, and although we are keeping our fingers crossed that we may be able to do something in the Autumn we cannot give a specific date.

However, as has already been mentioned in previous editions of Wolds Waters, and indeed at announcements at our Friday meetings, we will be looking for a number of new officers to help run the Branch. Not least of these is the Chairman because Roger has given us plenty of notice that he will be standing down at the AGM. Our treasurer, Jack, is also not standing again so again we are urgently looking for someone to take over this job. A third vacancy has arisen for the editorship of Wolds Waters because Alistair has decided to step down and for this one edition only I have assumed the role so apologies for any clumsiness in presentation!

We would really appreciate welcome anyone who may wish to join the committee and in particular please consider one of the officer posts which will become vacant when we are able to hold the AGM. The meetings are relaxed and interesting and the committee work is not onerous. It is a fact that the Branch is active and successful and the committee is very keen that this continues. If you would like to discuss the matter further, please contact Roger, details above.

Further to that, because of the lockdown and social distancing measures, we have been unable to hold any committee meetings. However, we are giving active consideration to following the trend and hold the meetings by Zoom. If this works we may also consider holding a virtual AGM by the same means although this may offer more challenges. Rest assured, we will let you know how thigs progress.

Howard Anguish, Acting Editor.

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Continuous Cruising During Lockdown If I had known then what I know now how different would my life changing choices have been?

In my previous life I was a bookkeeper for the majority of my career and latterly the warden at Ripon Racecourse Marina and according to my calculations I should have been able to spend the next ten years on the waterways with my trusting cruising companion Rosie, an eleven year old Border Terrier, with me for the first five years at least.

February 2020 was to be the start of our first year cruising the Inland Waterways, I had no real plan as to where this year would take us but we would head at a steady pace southwards and enjoy the scenery, have a pint or two in the hostelries, moor up in isolated areas and literally recharge the batteries after having worked non-stop since I was a teenager. Sounds heavenly doesn’t it……

I had been moored in Knottingley for a few months, whilst still working, so this was where our journey would begin. Storm Ciara hit the UK and wreaked chaos in the area, all the flood gates went up and the whole area was under water quickly followed by Dennis. Luckily I was moored in a safe place and the river levels didn’t cause us any issues and used this time to stock up on supplies, visit Wales for the last time for a few months and plan my journey.

Plan A was to stay put and wait for the river levels to subside and head to Wakefield and onto Huddersfield, then came the email from Canal and River Trust……. Figure of three lock had been wiped out in the floods and it was anticipated that it would take a year to repair…

Plan B was to go over the Leeds and Liverpool but the River Levels were still high and this would mean staying in Knottingley for a bit 4

longer so being an impatient Aries I untied the ropes and went on to plan C. Plan C was to head to Keadby along the Aire and Calder Navigation, New Junction Canal and the Stainforth and Keadby Canal to join the River Trent and onto the Grand Union Canal taking in the Chesterfield Canal and the Fossdyke Navigation.

At this point in time there was no need to rush so we cruised a bit and stopped off at Pollington on the Aire and Calder Navigation for a week enjoying the peace and quiet.

Rosie and I then set off towards the New Junction Canal and moored up just ahead of Ray and Lynda on Pax. Having introduced myself to Ray and Lynda they kindly offered to let me travel in tandem through the swing bridges and locks and on to Stainforth, their home mooring. We then spent time moored alongside Pax until Covid-19 struck and unfortunately we were asked to move on to comply with the cruising clubs “self-isolation� rules. So at six thirty am Rosie and I moved onto Thorne were we became totally locked down, Network Rail ceased to operate Vazon bridge and there was now no way out onto the Trent. All boat movement was suspended until the government lockdown was lifted.

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I found a nice mooring next to the services with an area of grass and easy access to the shops, that were open, to get fresh supplies.

Not having a vehicle to go to do a big shop I placed my first home delivery which would not arrive for three weeks as everyone are now having home deliveries and self-isolating. So Rosie and I set up camp for the duration, chatting to dog walkers whilst social distancing.

The residents of Anchor Close made us welcome and having stopped the post lady and explained my circumstances I was able to receive mail which was a bonus as it would be my birthday and Mother’s Day whilst here.

The weather has been unbelievably warm, which did cause a few issues as all my summer clothes were in Wales and my intended changeover of attire didn’t happen along with my delivery of wool and macramé string to keep me busy. Luckily I did have a small wool stash of various colours which has now been turned into numerous bobble hats. Improvisation was needed and scarves were turned into tops and trousers were made into shorts and Rosie and I enjoyed the good weather. Just as COVID-19 seemed to be tolerable Rosie became ill and sadly after several visits to the vets I had to make that awful decision to say goodbye and let her sleep forever. Rosie and I have spent the last eleven years together and were very rarely 6

separated so I decided to bring her ashes back onboard for her final journey to somewhere……

I have watched the leaves on the trees erupt, new life born onto the canal and people enjoying their daily exercise.

The past few weeks, since Rosies passing, have been very difficult but I must thank all my friends and family for their support, messages, phone calls, video calls, parcels, and I even had a delivery of compost to grow my own vegetables on my travels.

COVID-19 has changed so many peoples outlook on life but to me it has only made me more certain that I am on the right track and now I just need to be patient and wait to be released to further my journey wherever that may take me………..

Sarah Baines

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Slow Progress on the Pocklington Canal The story of the restoration of the Pocklington Canal is one of slow progress. In the early years of the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society, which was founded in 1969, there was considerable optimism that the canal could be restored to a full working waterway within a decade.

There was financial support from the then East Riding County Council, and British Waterways seemed enthusiastic about the scheme.

Working parties were numerous and well attended. Dredging was undertaken and both Cottingwith and Gardham Locks were reopened within a few years. The local community was very supportive and the press coverage very positive.

But this was not to last. The Local Authority funding dried up, and British Waterways became preoccupied with another consideration.

That was: Who would bear the additional cost of maintaining a restored canal? BW felt that they could not divert any of their resources in this direction, and were unable to persuade others to put their hands in their pockets. The result was that restoration came to a virtual halt.

The Society continued its working parties and its fundraising, but was not given permission to start any significant projects. Instead it concentrated on maintenance activities, such as controlling vegetation growth, and cutting the grass.

A breakthrough came in the 1980s, when a series of government funded schemes was introduced to reduce youth unemployment.

British Waterways and other agencies took on recruits, and put them to work installing such things as styles and seats by the canal. But this type of work soon ran out, and the Society persuaded British Waterways that these young people could be better employed reinstating two former swingbridges, which had become unsafe and replaced by makeshift fixed structures. Work on the two swing bridges (Nos 6 and 7 at Melbourne) was followed some repairs to Thornton Lock.

It seems that these achievements using the unemployed were enough to convince British Waterways that the Society’s volunteers could also make a useful contribution; and permission was granted for the Society to undertake restoration works. Repairs were carried out at Top Lock 8

and Giles Lock before major schemes were embarked on at Walbut Lock and Coates Lock. These were successfully completed in the 1990s, and the Society developed significant expertise in lock restoration.

However, this came to a sudden halt when British Waterways entered into an agreement with the then English Nature that restoration would only take place on the Pocklington Canal if it could be demonstrated that such works were beneficial to the nature conservation interests.

There followed a prolonged period when no restoration activity took place.

Eventually, after many meetings and much work to restore better relations between the interested parties, attitudes changed, and restoration of the Pocklington Canal resumed. The transformation of British Waterways into the Canal & River Trust, and its resulting change in objectives had a lot to do with this. CRT, with support from the Society, sought Lottery funding to promote the Pocklington Canal as a leisure destination. At the same time, PCAS promoted its Bicentenary Appeal for funds to extend the navigable length by two miles. This was done between 2015 and 2018. Spurred by the success of this project, the Society launched its Sandhill Lock Appeal.

Regrettably, the start of work at Sandhill Lock has been delayed by many factors, most notably the increasing constraints being put on all restoration schemes by Health & Safety regulations. Most recently, the outbreak of coronavirus disease has held matters up further.

So there are many reasons why the progress of the restoration of the Pocklington Canal has been slow. Nevertheless, a great deal has been achieved over the past 50 years, and there is no lack of determination on the part of the Society to see the job through to completion. It is to be hoped that work will start at Sandhill lock later this year, and that yet another phase of this long restoration will be completed before too long.

Paul Waddington.

Chairman, Pocklington Canal Amenity Society

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What kind of boat is that?

A story of unusual craft A question we are often asked while sailing along the River Hull between Brigham and Hempholm enjoying ourselves in one of our fleet of Brigham Scows.

The Brigham Sailing Club was founded in 1928 and at that time the fleet was an assortment of craft, described in the 1933 Humber Yawl Club Yearbook as: “a few years ago, three or four men who sailed boats on the Upper Hull started a small club at Brigham for the purpose of arranging races each weekend. The project has grown considerably and there were at Brigham during the summer of 1933 a fleet of 13 boats – three sharpies, 4 open boats, 2 international 14s and 4 canoe yawls…..”

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So not a scow in sight and of the three sharpies two are still extant, Amaryllis and Vision.

The name “scow” is derived from the Dutch “Schouw” describing a broad-beamed flat-bottomed boat for navigating shallow waters. The racing scows as we recognise them today evolved in North America around 1900 and are still manufactured and raced in their thousands today on the inland lakes. The earliest documented scow was designed by Charles G. Davies and published in the magazine “Rudder” in 1898. Known as a the “skimmer 16” or the “Lark Scow” this design was taken up and adapted by the Humber Yawl Club around 1902 to become the Hornsea Mere One Design. Seven of these were built for HYC members and raced on the Mere. My own boat “Jaric” was built around 1984 and is a “Lark Scow” almost identical to the original 1898 design.

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This early photograph shows what is clearly a Lark Scow and almost certainly one of the Hornsea Mere One Design fleet, the early “Edwardian Dress� adds confirmation.

The racing scows were developed in North America from the turn of the 20th century and ranged in size from the enormous A-scows down to the MC-scows and Y-flyers which are seen on their thousands on the lakes today.

Melges MC scows racing on Lake Eustice, Florida (2006)

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Melges 17s racing on Lake Eustice, Florida (2006)

The first Brigham Scow was RIP built during the winter of 1934/5 by Bill Turner and his friend John Foreman by the light of oil lamps. Sixteen feet long and a beam of 5ft with a single lug sail and the general design remained unchanged for the next 50 years or so. The overall length was simply determined by the ready availability of marine plywood in 8’ x 4’ sheets.

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“RIP” and “Endeavour” in Gybe Rack Following the end of WW2 the Scow became the boat of choice in the Brigham Sailing Club and several variations were built from the 1950s onwards. “Dolphin” built by Bill Turner was one of the most successful designs and became somewhat of a prototype for subsequent boats built from the 1970s onwards. Several were built to a common design; Mirage, Magic, Calypso and several others, these three are still in existence.

The reason the design works on the narrow navigation is that they are simple to sail and stable. The hull design can carry a single balance lug sail of up to 200 square feet to cope with the adverse wind conditions due to trees and high banks. The rig is simple, needing one hand for the main sheet and the other for the tiller. The lifting centre plate and rudder blade can quickly be hoisted to clear weed and 14

shallows, and the shallow draft allows these craft to turn about in tight spaces.

Mark Barnby in “Magic”

The author and daughter in “Jaric”, a “Lark Scow” 15

We still have four scows in the club, wind, weather and weed permitting we will be out again on the River Hull later in 2020.

However, the future is somewhat uncertain due to the general deterioration on the waterway due to silting and weed growth. The scows also need serious maintenance as they are timber built and prone to rot. Mirage has been almost totally rebuilt while Magic is still in good overall condition after the deck was replaced. Building a new boat from scratch is an expensive business, the materials alone costing in excess of ÂŁ6000 without labour.

I was hopeful that eventually the Melges MC scows would become available in the UK but no, problems with CE marking, stability tests and suchlike. There are many used MCs for sale in USA and Canada, but shipping is a problem. So, we just live in hope.

Meanwhile we enjoy our historic craft, it is a privilege to own and sail boats which were basically designed when Queen Victoria reigned and are still fun, fast and competitive.

Contact us at: sailingatbrigham @aol.com

Also take a look at the Melges web site if you want to see some serious scows in action.

David Hamilton

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In at the deep end – Barry Robins I blame Friday Club and George Parkes. Friday Club is the Junior Youth Club at Willerby Methodist Church and each New Year we started on a project; in 1977 it was water. Who to invite as a speaker for one of our meetings? Well, the Inland Waterways Association came to mind and who should we ask in 1977? Why George Parkes who 40+ years ago was involved in collecting and recycling newspapers to raise funds for IWA. It took local councils many years to ‘catch on’!

To prepare for George’s visit we sent away for brochures from many boat hire companies plus literature from IWA for use by the children but never thinking what might result!

I was in my second year’s teaching at Kingston High School and took some of the leaflets in with me. Some sixth form pupils saw them and so started 20+ years of Easter spent on a canal somewhere. ‘Can we go on the canals for a week?’ was the request and, having sought permission from the local authority (George’s dreaded ‘Humberside’) we started making plans. A new teacher, no experience of organising a week away and never having been on a canal before! It wouldn’t be allowed now, and rightly so. I suppose being in my 30s I was assumed to be experienced enough.

What were the important things in planning our holiday? As we had a mixed gender party of pupils we needed two boats for the ‘children’ plus a boat for the staff; with energetic teenagers we needed a route which gave experiences of locks, canalside villages, tunnels and reasonable mooring places. Was it to be a ‘there and back’ or circular cruise? Bearing in mind the recession in the fishing industry it had be economically priced. Oh, it would be good to have someone with cruising experience!

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We chose to hire a camping pair plus a more comfortable boat from Foxton Boat Services and, on their recommendation, to do a ‘there and back’ cruise to Bletchley near the fast developing Milton Keynes and visit the local Leisure Centre on turn-round night to give an escape from the confines of the boats and an opportunity for a swim (much needed by this time!) and seeing some new faces.

After our coach journey we arrived at Foxton at about 2.00 pm and saw the boats for the first time. The camping pair, Baldock and Virginis, were just that. A traditional working pair with a ridge canopy similar to what might have been used when carrying cargo fitted out with 6 twotier bunks, a chemical toilet in a compartment to the fore and folding table and chairs, a sink unit (with hand-pumped cold water), some cupboard space and a gas cooker. Camping seemed the accurate description! The staff boat, Foxhound, was a 6-berth cruiser with hot and cold water, a shower a fridge and heating. Luxury(?) but deemed necessary in case any pupil should happen to fall in.

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The camping pair was crewed by a boatman and his very new wife who had accommodation separate from the pupils though I was told they could be heard at night. Their expertise was to prove very important, probably vital, during the cruise as they had prior knowledge of the route. Each pupil had been given a booklet which included maps of the route, Do’s and Don’ts, the weeks menu, a selection of canal language and a duty rota so they all had a go at locking, boat handling and domestic. I still have copies of most of the handbooks used over the years complete with the lists of crew members.

On leaving the boatyard we were faced with the Foxton locks – yes, in at the deep end – and watched the boatman and wife as they worked through locks. One thing we learned was that the locks were quite leaky and it didn’t pay to go in to a lock when the one above was being filled.

Once we got off the Leicester arm we had wide locks and life was easier.

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I won’t describe the cruise in detail. I think most of the pupils enjoyed it. Some continued to come even after they had left school by which time we were cruising on more comfortable boats but we didn’t hear many complaints about the camping pair. The cost of the holiday 20

including travel boat hire, food and a visit to a cinema in Leicester of the Friday evening? Just £28!

One thing the pupils did learn was why the ropes on the horse-drawn boats were so long and at such a shallow angle to the bank. Foxhound came round a bend and saw the camping pair moored ahead. Yours truly steered for the bank and called for help with a rope. The pupils were the gongoozlers and one of them caught the stern rope while I dashed to the bows to get the front rope. As I jumped for the towpath the pupil pulled in the back rope, the bows went out and much to the amusement of the pupils who wanted a replay for photographic purposes I went in at the deep end!.....

…..Canal Holiday This humorous account of the canal trip from the pupils’ perspective appeared in the Kingstonian in 1977. On April 2nd 1977 a party of intrepid, if somewhat lunatic, adventurers set off on a voyage of exploration where no man (well, not many) had gone before. ‘Yes – even further south than Sheffield. The staff of six, including Captain ‘Chichester’ Robins, Miss ‘Give us a kiss’ Burn, Mrs. ‘Potato Bomb’ Powell and her husband ‘Pot Black’, along with Sally ‘Hello Sailor’ Evers and Trevor ‘Sally’s Sailor’, loaded the twelve boys and twelve girls on to a coach and after an unsuccessful attempt to leave Captain Robins, we set off. After a few hours we arrived at Foxton near Market Harborough (wherever that is) and were shown the 72 ft. narrow-boats. When the hysterics died down, realisation that these canvas-topped boats were for us dawned and, knowing that the coach had left, we decided to continue with the holiday. The first quarter of a mile contained ten locks which raised the level of the water in the canal by 75 feet. The locking up (not of the staff!) went without a hitch until the 40 ft. staff boat somehow became jammed sideways between two locks. The helmsman of the boat, ‘Pot Black’ Powell, claims he was not to blame and wishes to remain anonymous. A typical day would begin at 7.15 a.m. with Captain Robins cheerily calling “Wakey, wakey – rise and shine” and then beating a hasty retreat under a barrage of air-borne pillows. There was a wide 21

choice of food available and a great amount of time was devoted to taking the raw (sic) materials and creating a meal fit to be thrown overboard. However, despite our lack of suitable culinary skills, we never once burnt the water when making the tea. The boats themselves were thoroughly dependable. You could depend on them to be cold at night and dripping with condensation in the early hours of the morning. They were specially built with beams and chains across them to decapitate anyone rushing to the chemical toilet in the middle of the night. The evenings were spent reading, talking, playing cards and walking, whilst the staff visited licensed premises of historical or architectural interest. On Tuesday night the unsuspecting Sports Centre at Bletchley was descended upon by everyone and a wide choice of activities was available. Once the holiday started properly it turned out to be very educational. Mrs. Powell showed us how to throw a rope – in any direction except the right one – much to the amusement of the other members of staff. She got her own back, though, with the mashed potato which swelled in the stomach when you had a drink. Captain Robins attempted to teach RE by demonstrating how to walk on water, following this by cleverly impersonating Jacques Cousteau. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), he didn’t float – unlike his suitcase which he dropped in earlier. We had to get him out of the canal, as he refused to part with his wallet. On Friday night, by way of a change, it was decided that the staff should take us to the pictures. We had a choice of two films and the staff could visit the bar during the intermission between the first adverts, and the playing of ‘God Save the Queen’. It was a great holiday. We shall certainly be going again next year, providing that we can get time off for good behaviour. Stephen Benson Paul Humphrey 6A

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Planning our boating for 2020 - Iain Campbell Like lots of boaters I feel that some of the joy of our boating experience comes from planning for the year ahead and so in the period before Christmas last year I started to plan what we would be doing with our extended break on the boat in 2020.Last year over a period of 6 weeks we had taken our boat from its mooring in Brighouse to the Thames and the Oxford Canal on a circular route. But two years earlier I had first had the idea of a trip to the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port and to do the Shropshire Union Canal, one I had never travelled. I first went to the area that was to become the Boat Museum in 1975 (see photograph) and despite a further visit after it had been established a return has long been on my “bucket” list.

In 2017 this had been thwarted by having to fit in other commitments, and the trip was never undertaken, whilst we had shorter breaks on the Pennine Waterways.

Still there was always 2018! The start of that year saw the breach in the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union, with an uncertain reopening date. Still we could overcome that by going via Wolverhampton and travel the Northern Section of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, another canal that would be new to us, and by the time we were coming back surely the breach would be repaired, otherwise we would have to retrace our steps, which might mean some additional single handing but that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

And so we set off. As we arrived in Manchester the automatic bilge pump seemed to be more active than usual (like it was coming on) and

by Lymm we were aware we had a real problem of a leak which would need attention. The boatyards in Lymm were unable to help in a realistic timescale, but we would be able to have the boat taken out at Northwich in a weeks time. This meant a little replanning and we spent a wonderful week going down Anderton Lift and onto the beautiful River Weaver until the time came to take the boat out. We knew the 23

boat would be out of the water for 1 week, if it needed longer the transporter would be out of action for 2-3 weeks whilst it was serviced and certified, but as soon as the boat had been pressure washed the problem was apparent and a small section of wasted platework was cut out and replaced, some outstanding work completed on the rudder and the anodes replaced. And I blacked her, which wasn’t due till the following winter but it would have been silly not to do it. The repainted boat was returned on time to the water and although this had badly cut into our time available, we managed to complete a trip along the Caldon Canal before returning to Brighouse. So the aspiration of going to Ellesmere Port was going to have to wait for another year.

For 2019 everything fell into place for an extended 6 week trip, so Ellesmere Port was put on the back burner, and a more adventurous trip was planned, which largely went without a hitch. So Ellesmere Port and the Shropshire Union were pencilled in for 2020.

As stated earlier planning started before Christmas 2019. The Middlewich branch was now open, winter stoppages were due to finish in March and so we planned to leave in late April for a trip taking in the Leeds and Liverpool to Leigh, the Bridgewater from there to Preston Brook, then Trent and Mersey, Middlewich Branch and Shropshire Union to Ellesmere Port. Return would be via the Staffordshire and Worcester, and possibly the Macclesfield and Huddersfield Narrow, or the Bridgewater and Rochdale. We had a 4-5 week allocation, what could go wrong?

In February 2020 Calderdale was hit by Storm Ciera. There was flooding down the Calder Valley, and although our boat at Brighouse was not affected the outcome of it was closure due to Structural damage of an embankment on the Rochdale Canal. This was followed by news of severe structural damage to Figure of Three Locks on the Calder and Hebble, so bad that the estimated re-opening was 12 months away. This cut off our access to the Aire and Calder and the Leeds Liverpool, but we could still get out on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and so the plan 24

was revised. Storm Dennis a week later appeared to have little effect in West Yorkshire or the area we were proposing to travel.

At this point two further issues became apparent. That the Coronavirus pandemic was going to result in restrictions for an unknown period to the use of boats, and secondly that silting of locks 13E and 14E on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal had made them inoperable as a result of Storm Dennis causing overtopping from the River Colne with an unknown re-opening date. This meant that even if we had been allowed to, we had no way of getting our boat away from a very limited geographical area of West Yorkshire for the foreseeable future.

So what of our plans for the year. The boat was closed down for the interim once it was clear that lockdown was coming, but as soon as we will be able to, we will do some local cruising. In the meantime, I take my exercise by the nearest waterway, watch waterways vlogs and suchlike. And look forward to being able to boat again.

Maybe I should travel to Ellesmere Port by road once restrictions are lifted as the boat trip seems fated. But I suppose I could start planning for 2021! BCN anybody?

Ellesmere Port 1975

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The boat coming out of the water at Northwich Furloughed for the duration!

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My Life Down South by Sue Dickins Back at the beginning of March I was beginning to bow under the busyness of life. I was going to the swimming pool four times a week (I still can’t swim, but that’s another story), a member of the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society committee (Secretary & Treasurer), volunteering with a boating charity just outside Hemel Hempstead (Waterways Experiences) and family life (hubby & I have five children & eight grandchildren between us). Life was hectic – and I remember thinking ‘if only I could have a break for a week or two’ – little did I know what was round the corner.

Life Before Lockdown We live in Chesham in South Buckinghamshire, at the end of the Metropolitan line and because of this most people think we live in London.

In fact it’s an hour and fifteen minutes by tube to Kings Cross. Our family is scattered over the country - Yorkshire, London, Portsmouth & Stevenage so we do a fair amount of travelling. The favourite is up the M1 and on to Pocklington. We have family in Barmby Moor and a boat moored at Melbourne. (the highlight of this journey is stopping at the services and having a McDonalds milk shake – imagine the angst when they’re off the menu).

You all know about the Pocklington Canal and the fact that PCAS is putting in lots of hard work on the restoration of the canal. PCAS is now underway with fundraising and planning for the restoration of Sandhill Lock. Unfortunately things have come to a halt at the moment due to the lockdown situation.

So I thought I’d tell you a little (OK a lot) about Waterways Experiences, this is the charity we’re involved in down south.

Waterways Experiences is a charity based at Nash Mills, just south of Hemel Hempstead on the 27

Southern Grand Union. It is run entirely by volunteers and its’ charitable aims are to promote well-being by providing affordable canal boat trips particularly for the disadvantaged. As well as day trips all year round, we provide very special holidays for teenagers with learning difficulties or other disadvantages. As for the day trips – we’ll do a trip whenever there is a demand, the only day that is kept free is Christmas Day. We operate without any paid employees and at the present time, there are 170 active volunteers. As volunteers, what makes us tick is the satisfaction of being able to share our passion for the waterways and canal boating with people normally excluded from this pastime. There are three boats – Close Shave & Sheldrake 2 (used for day trips and residential trips, the boats look identical except for the name) and each carrying 12 passengers and Sheldrake 3, which can carry up to 35 passengers. The trips are so successful that fundraising is in progress for a fourth boat and an upgrade to the wharf to provide pump-out, water and electric to all boats. There are two types of day trip – priority and non-priority. The priority trips are for the disabled and disadvantaged and the non-priority are for everyone else. The non-priority trip charges carry a premium so, in fact, they are helping to subsidize the priority trips. This picture shows Sheldrake 2.

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The trips are very popular, it is very unusual for all three boats to be at the Wharf on any one day, whatever the time of year. In the summer when the evenings are longer, some of the boats can be out twice in one day.

The boats run with a skipper and two or sometimes three crew depending on number of passengers and/or number of wheelchairs. All three boats have wheelchair lifts and disabled facilities.

Sheldrake 3

The charity is headed by the Trustees, day to day management is by the Steering Group and operations are carried out by the Team Leaders and their teams. There are 15 different teams, ranging from Bookings to Training, from Volunteer Support to Maintenance. In June 2019, Waterways Experiences was awarded the QAVS (Queens Award for Voluntary Service).

I have the doubtful pleasure of being Team Leader for two teams – Volunteer Support (I’m always getting into trouble for calling it Victim Support), VS was formerly Membership and I also run our Enable programme. Enable is seen as the flagship of the Waterways Experiences operation and is the name of the trips for special needs young people. I am also on the Steering Group and Secretary to the Trustees. It all keeps me out of mischief and I do get to know what’s going on!

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Volunteer Support covers all sorts of things from recruitment, interviewing new volunteers, arranging Taster trips and First Aid courses and generally seeing new volunteers through from the first Expression of Interest through Training to being fully fledged crew members when they are passed onto Crewing Logistics ready for the trips. We also contact volunteers who haven’t been around in a while to make sure there are no problems and we are the first port of call if any of our volunteers have a query.

I get to meet lots of volunteers on their first visit to the base and also on a regular basis as there’s a weekly maintenance day (boats, base & gardens) on a Wednesday when volunteers descend on the base to do their worst. It’s a very social occasion and lunch is provided by one of our volunteers, the lovely Barbara.

Some of us go over to the pub though, better class of gossip there. This picture shows volunteers on a Wednesday maintenance day.

So in the first instance volunteers fill in an ‘Expression of Interest’ form via the website and Volunteer Support get in touch with them and arrange a visit to base. Usually on a Wednesday as there’s always a boat on the wharf and lots going on. The next step is a taster trip and then onto training. Training is a day out on one of the two smaller boats with two trainers and two other trainees. Once this has been completed, then onto the crewing lists to choose some trips, most people do at least two trips as a supernumerary until they’ve got some confidence. After a couple of trips on the smaller boats, next step is Stage 2 training on Sheldrake 3. S3 comes under MCA regulations and is a larger boat so there is more to learn. Then comes Senior Crew on S3 and then Skippers are recruited from this pool. It’s very easy to pick and choose how many trips you want to do – there’s a weekly vacancy list. Some people do over 100 trips in a year, others just four or five. With all three boats in action, we work on 77 volunteer slots a week in high season.

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We’re very lucky with our training; Christine Thompson, a volunteer with WExp, is a qualified RYA instructor/examiner and she oversees our training.

Christine works with Canal Experience Training and came up to Melbourne last year for a couple of training sessions to qualify six new skippers for PCAS.

Something worrying ahead Training on the Pocklington Canal Introducing “Enable” canal boat holidays Each summer, we supplement our regular programme of day trips with some very special residential holidays for small numbers of disadvantaged young people.

Holidays are usually for a full week and we journey along the Grand Union Canal from our Nash Mills boat base towards London or Milton Keynes and back again. We use our 12 berth boats – Sheldrake 2 and Close Shave and have a crew/support team of six with six young people for whom this is a great 31

adventure. Amongst the support team are at least a couple of people in the same age group as the participants.

We call these holidays ‘Enables’, for the simple reason that their unique benefit is enabling youngsters with physical or learning difficulties to do more for themselves and others than they are used to.

Planning and delivering these trips is a serious business and needs to be started a year in advance, already the boats have been booked for 2021. The trips are always oversubscribed and allocating places is a very difficult task, many of the participants apply year after year but we like to include a mixture of old and new participants on each trip. At the moment there are three Young Carers weekend trips, one shorter trip for younger teens during the May half term holiday and four week long (Saturday-Saturday) trips in August each year. All crew for these trips are volunteers and all have to be DBS checked.

Life in Lockdown So here we are at the end of April and everyone is still lockdown. John & I are both in our 70s with underlying medical conditions so have been strongly advised by our doctor not to go out at all. No boat trips, no going up and down the M1, no meetings, no family and just us at home. Fortunately we have a decent sized garden and it’s very steep. So just a turn round the garden, up and down the steps and that’s our exercise for the day. As for keeping busy, I’ve been on Zoom meetings (sprayed my hair blue and wearing mouse ears, (John, right, modelling them for me!) only to find my camera wasn’t working and no-one could see me), taken part in a Fitbit challenge with two friends – which I won. How was I to know that my fitbit counted everything as steps, even cleaning the shower cubicle, brushing my hair, chopping vegetables, knitting – you name it, the fitbit counted it!

I’ve helped arrange a Zoom AGM, dealt with lots of emails, 32

texts and phone calls, been on an online course (and don’t forget the knitting).

I’ve had no problems with shopping; at the start of the lockdown I had an email from Sainsburys who advised me that I was on their vulnerable list and would get priority slots – that’s been great and I’ve just looked at their website and could get a delivery every day for the next four days if I wanted it. (Don’t need it at the moment, have one coming from Tesco later in the week).

We are down to the last 40 toilet rolls, I often order large quantities on Amazon and had done this just before the panic buying stripped everywhere of toilet rolls. Then I was told that they were out of stock and didn’t know when or if they could fulfil the order. Then recently there was a knock on the door, when I opened the door there was a driver at the top of the steps smiling and waving and on the doorstep a pack of 40 toilet rolls. We should be OK through to 2021 now.

40 toilet rolls I’ve been doing an online course – Depression, Anxiety and CBT. What an eye-opener. I thought I’d been depressed and knew all about it but not at all.

I’m so pleased I’ve tried this course, made me realise the realities of life and how the mind can play tricks and also how the mind and behaviours can be funnelled in the right direction.

Also I’ve been doing lots of cooking using up ingredients in cupboards and fridge and have made some dubious soups and cakes using Mrs Cropley from ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ as inspiration. Do you think Marmite icing will catch on?

John hasn’t complained too much as I’ve made up for it by making bread pudding (his favourite).

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Life after Lockdown Who can even imagine what life is going to be like after lockdown. I’ve heard snippets on the news which say that over 70s will be in lockdown until a vaccine is proven and that could be up to two years. Will I ever see my family again? We have had one family loss to the virus and I’d love to see everyone just to be assured everything is fine. In person please, online really isn’t the same. One strange thing – however did I find time to fit in everything I was doing before lockdown, do I really want to go back to all that?

Beverley Barge Preservation Society planning for 2020. – Iain Campbell All charities are currently taking a hit with the Coronavirus Pandemic and its associated lockdown. Careful planning over the last few months has had to be re-ordered or cancelled, and it is difficult to know when or if normal service will resume.

Almost all of the volunteers, customers and visitors fall within the Government’s “At risk” groups and so it was obvious that the Society would have to follow Government guidance and cease all assembly and work parties connected with the Society. This left some projects part completed, for example on Syntan a deck is half painted and cosmetic welding is part completed. Sun’s trip into dry-dock before commencing public trips has also had to be put off. And to add insult to injury, the period when we were planning to start public trips has seen wonderful weather, and the flood barrier taken out at the end of the Beck.

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However it is the effect on the Members which is more concerning.

Many are missing both the companionship of working on the boats as well as the purpose in life of being there, with its effect on their wellbeing and mental health. So far I have not heard of any illnesses or worse amongst the members but this is undoubtedly a possibility given the average age of members.

Add to this the financial hit. The society recorded a small loss in the last financial year but this was largely due to the repayment of a loan and depreciation of assets, which otherwise would have meant a small surplus. The costs in the coming year will be reduced, but the three largest costs, insurance, by far the biggest cost, along with our mooring fees and our website will cost us whether we are able to operate or not.

At present we are working on the basis that we may be able to open in some form for the Heritage week-end in the middle of September subject to the easing of restrictions but we cannot be sure even then and cannot estimate the likely income that we will raise. We are fortunate that we are likely to be able to survive the year financially even if no activity were possible, a happier state than many heritage charities. We have no employees and therefore no one is dependent on us for their livelihood.

The Society is lucky in the support it receives from residents who live close to where the vessels are moored, and we have a system of periodically checking vessels. So far there have been no incidents, vandalism or problems.

So what of the future? There will be a time when we are able to return to some semblance of normality and we will try to ensure that those already booked receive some sort of trip, that we are able to undertake the outstanding work to the vessels so that they may re-open to the public and undertake trips as well as building on the additional skills the members have accrued during lockdown. To keep members in touch we now have a WhatsApp Group operating for members, if you want to join contact Iain Campbell, preferably by text, on 07886 35

671229 or watch the Society’s website and Facebook pages to stay in touch with what is happening.

The Vessels awaiting the return of people to enjoy them!

---OOO---

A Strong Attraction

River Foss Society members were on a boat trip on the Calder & Hebble Navigation in July 2018 when we passed a place near Cooper Bridge where unfortunately a 42 year old man and his 19 year old son had been drowned when magnet fishing on 12 June 2018 – the first time 36

most participants had heard of “magnet fishing” ! [Cooper Bridge is the C&H junction with the Huddersfield Broad Canal leading to the Huddersfield Narrow Canal which goes through the Pennines by the famous Standedge Tunnel, a trip done by RFS members in July 2017].

Magnet fishing means searching in rivers and canals for objects available to be pulled by rope with a strong (neodymium) magnet.

There is no single law that says magnet fishing is illegal. It is subject to local regulations but it is illegal to remove any material from a river (such as the River Ouse) or inland navigation under the control of the Canal & River Trust. The navigation authority for the lower River Foss is the City of York Council – hence it being responsible for Castle Mills Lock.

In recent years magnet fishing as treasure hunting has become an increasingly popular hobby with an element of helping the environment. However, it is fraught with danger, as above.

It appears to have been happening at or near to Castle Mills Lock as the photograph shows - this explains why a number of bicycles, shopping trolleys and other metallic objects have been found on the banks of the River Foss between Castle Mills Bridge and Blue Bridge. Waiting for the scrap merchant?

Peter Hopwood River Foss Society

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A Threatened Resident

The white-clawed crayfish. Photo: David Gerke / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) White-Clawed Crayfish are the UK’s only native freshwater crayfish but their numbers have plummeted in recent years due to the spread of American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). This transAtlantic invader was introduced in the 1970s to UK waters to be farmed for export to the lucrative Scandinavian market. The crayfish plague had ravaged native crayfish populations in Europe and it was seen as an attractive commercial species. Its escape was first recorded in the south east of England in 1975 and it has been slowly spreading across our rivers and streams, outcompeting our native crayfish, ever since.

Signal Crayfish are more aggressive (taking over refuges), grow faster, and are much less fussy eaters (depleting food sources) than the native white-clawed variety, and they also burrow into river banks, destabilising them. Combine this with the fact they carry a ‘crayfish plague’ (a fungal parasite) which is particularly deadly to our whiteclawed residents while having little effect on themselves, and you can see why we have a problem.

Identification features of signal crayfish include red undersides to their claws, a greenish brown upper surface and orange/red undersides.

They can grow to be 16-18 centimetres in size.

In contrast, the white-clawed crayfish is brown to olive in colour and the undersides of its claws are usually whitish rather than red. The 38

white-clawed crayfish is also much smaller in size, only growing to a maximum of 12 centimetres.

White-clawed crayfish prefer clean unpolluted rivers and streams, no deeper than 1 metre, which have plenty of suitable refuges. These refuges are essential for crayfish of all ages, but particularly for juveniles which are especially vulnerable to predation by fish, ducks, other water birds, otters and mink, as well as carnivorous dragonfly larvae. That’s a lot of hungry creatures to protect themselves against.

Adult crayfish can use their front claws to protect themselves against smaller predators but that doesn’t help them against bigger more aggressive species such as perch and eels, and birds such as herons.

The Foss, having a relatively isolated catchment, has been lucky in that, at least in its upper reaches, it is relatively unpolluted and is still fairly natural, with lots of very old alder trees sprawling across the banks both above and below the water. Many of the banks have undercuts which provide a perfect refuge for crayfish. The presence in these upper reaches of White-clawed Crayfish was shown in 2017 via a survey, commissioned by the RFS thanks to a grant from the Two Ridings Community Foundation, carried out by wetland ecologist Martin Hammond, but the full extent of their presence was uncertain.

In the autumn of 2019, thanks to funding from the Postcode Local Trust, St Nicks was able to assist Martin Hammond in a further survey of these upper reaches of the river to find out more about “our” whiteclawed crayfish population. Martin has a licence to survey for crayfish and has been passing on his wealth of knowledge and skills to St Nicks with the hope that they can get their own licence to survey soon.

Jonathan Dent, St Nicks Natural Habitats Manager and long-term friend and supporter of the RFS, said of the survey “We eagerly followed Martin’s instructions as we made our way into the river in waders, complete with nets and trays for surveying. We quickly learnt what made a good crayfish refuge (for example undercuts in the banks, 39

build-up of leaf litter and mature tree roots crossing under the water) and we were soon turning out crayfish after crayfish into trays. We found a good range of both male and female including large seasoned veterans with misshaped claws, young softshelled adults having just moulted and tiny juveniles which were often near impossible to see amongst the leaf litter. Over two survey sessions we recorded large and healthy populations of crayfish, extending the known distribution about 1.5 km downstream of previous records. The upper Foss is a lot more natural in its habitat than the rest of the river and it will be interesting to continue surveys further downstream next year to see if the populations extend further. A really nice good news story for a change when it comes to our rivers!�

The River Foss survey work is part of the Dales to Vales Rivers Network Catchment Management Plan. St Nicks has been working with the River Foss Society to train and support volunteers in conducting a range of projects including riparian mammals and walkover surveys.

Once the current crisis has abated, we will look together at conducting freshwater invertebrate surveys.

The findings from all these surveys will build up a picture of the current state of the river and show us what potential there is to make habitat improvements in the future. Our aim to increase biodiversity all along the river.

Mike Gray This article and the preceding one by Peter Hopwood appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of On the Foss, the newsletter of the River Foss Society, and are used with permission.

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‌and finally,

Here is a man well prepared for lockdown. All he needs now is a supply of toilet rolls!

Inland Waterways Association East Yorkshire Branch For further information contact Roger Bromley 01482 845099 roger.bromley@waterways.org.uk

Note: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Association & should not be construed as such unless otherwise stated.

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