Easter Sunday in Worcester

[Victor Vectis]

Got back from our Easter jaunt on Sunday and I'm getting round to sorting my photos.

 

We were heading downriver, just short of Worcester city centre, minding our own business, and look what came round the bend.....

 

 

We got out of their way, got the camera out and ENJOYED

 

 

I don't know what the Viking Afloat boat following us made of it though!

 

 

I have a feeling that Victoria and Canis Major belong to CWDF members. I couldn't see a name on the other two boats.

 

It fair made our afternoon, the sound as much as the sight. Thank you all, ever so much

 

Now, repeat after me "I do not want a boat with a trad engine, I do not want a boat with a trad engine, I do not want a boat with a trad engine"

 

SAM

Ryde

IOW

[Guest]

Excellent pictures...

 

though each to their own on the trad engine front...

 

NB Victoria belongs to mykaskin

Edited April 16, 2012 by MJG

[David Mack]

Got back from our Easter jaunt on Sunday and I'm getting round to sorting my photos.

 

We were heading downriver, just short of Worcester city centre, minding our own business, and look what came round the bend.....

 

 

We got out of their way, got the camera out and ENJOYED

 

 

I don't know what the Viking Afloat boat following us made of it though!

 

 

I have a feeling that Victoria and Canis Major belong to CWDF members. I couldn't see a name on the other two boats.

 

At a guess, from the thumbnail size photo on my Blackberry, Archimedes and Emu, all heading upriver from the HNBC gathering at Droitwich.

 

David

Edited April 16, 2012 by David Mack

[Guest]

Curious -

 

Why all roped together??

[nigel carton]

Great picys, all 4 engines running, but looks like only one maybe 2 steering, one steering has got to be heavy going? but looks great fun!

 

Curious -

 

Why all roped together??

Sociable boating!

[cheshire~rose]

What a wonderful sight!

[Guest]

Sociable boating!

 

Ah that's it

 

- sociable for them but max inconvenience to others...

[Starcoaster]

Canis belongs to Tiggers on here I think.

[nigel carton]

Ah that's it

 

- sociable for them but max inconvenience to others...

 

Plenty of room Martin, they wouldn't get away with that on a ditch me thinks.

[Guest]

Plenty of room Martin, they wouldn't get away with that on a ditch me thinks.

 

maybe - we don't boat on 'ditches' either - but there is no way I would boat four boats abreast when there is no obvious need to.

 

They are just 'Grandstanding' their old boats -

 

which actually they don't need to do, they speak for them selves....

[Mrs Tawny Owl]

Curious -

 

Why all roped together??

 

Because they could, and it's fun?

 

Ah that's it

 

- sociable for them but max inconvenience to others...

 

Why so miserable, there was plenty of room, it's a river.

You don't get a chance to do that sort of thing very often, so why not when you can.

 

I'm sure Richard would have been inn there too given the opportunity.

 

Just like us doing one boat up and 2 boats down at the same time though Bascote staircase, or squeezing 3 boats into the diamond lock coming off the Cherwell back onto the South Oxford at Thrupp.

 

You do it because the opportunity arose and you can

 

They look magnificent, wish we could have seen it. Mind you we saw most of those boats on their way up the Staffs and Worcester as we were coming home after the banter.

They are still impressive one at a time, or singled out towing.

 

Sue

[Guest]

Because they could, and it's fun?

 

 

 

Why so miserable, there was plenty of room, it's a river.

You don't get a chance to do that sort of thing very often, so why not when you can.

 

I'm sure Richard would have been inn there too given the opportunity.

 

Just like us doing one boat up and 2 boats down at the same time though Bascote staircase, or squeezing 3 boats into the diamond lock coming off the Cherwell back onto the South Oxford at Thrupp.

 

You do it because the opportunity arose and you can

 

They look magnificent, wish we could have seen it. Mind you we saw most of those boats on their way up the Staffs and Worcester as we were coming home after the banter.

They are still impressive one at a time, or singled out towing.

 

Sue

 

OK then I'm miserable, we boat on rivers Sue, but I still see no reason to boat 4 abreast for 'sociable reasons' give it ago up here and you will be sunk when a proper boat comes the other way.

 

River navigation is about being sensible and courteous, if you want 'fun' book a party boat..;

[cheshire~rose]

Greenie for Mrs Tawny Owl,

 

I could almost be grumpy about that sort of boating too - purely because I am jealous of them being able to!

[Guest]

Greenie for Mrs Tawny Owl,

 

I could almost be grumpy about that sort of boating too - purely because I am jealous of them being able to!

 

I however would have given a neg had we still been able...

[nigel carton]

Greenie for Mrs Tawny Owl,

 

I could almost be grumpy about that sort of boating too - purely because I am jealous of them being able to!

 

I would have been grumpy if I was on my own, meeting them coming towards me early in the morning and they had 4 lots of bacon on the go

[jelunga]

Ah that's it

 

- sociable for them but max inconvenience to others...

Bliney MJG. I agree with you for once.

Two of these boats came through a couple of so days ago, crewed by young (to me) arrogant youths. No slowing down for moored boats, no acknowledgement that you existed, beer cans in hand, moored up and left engines running in gear. Thoroughly inconsiderate people.

When I said "these boats" I cannot confirm they were the same boats but they did exibit similar lack of consideration for others. Archimedes maybe?

[Guest]

Bliney MJG. I agree with you for once.

 

I'm not sure it's been just the once but hey - ho,

[Laurence Hogg]

Curious -

 

Why all roped together??

Because they are idiots. The Severn is shallow in places, very shallow particulary now and has a rock bottom, if an outside boat had grounded (and all these draw 2ft 6" -3ft+ the torque from the others would have caused a serious grounding if not total chaos. That must have been quite intimidating for the oncoming hire boat. Never in commercial days did narrowboats go up more than two abreast.

 

Laurence

Edited April 16, 2012 by Laurence Hogg

[alan_fincher]

Ah that's it

 

- sociable for them but max inconvenience to others...

Do you know how wide the Severn is Martin - there are trip boats on there maybe as wide as three narrow boats breasted up. I can't agree with Laurence - I think they are unlikely to have come unstuck doing this, frankly, as the minimum draught quoted on the Severn, even at low water levels is 5 feet, and none of these boats will be anywhere near the bottom, in my view.

 

Obviously done for fun, but (:tounge_slightly_in_cheek:) I can see potential advantages - they need to occupy a limited 70 foot of lock landing, not over 250 foot of lock landing - so can still leave room for others!

 

Canis Major belongs to Tiggers, on this forum, as had been said Victoria to Mike Askin, and Archimedes steerer is undoubtedly "Tug Major" on here.

 

Like David, I also think 4th boat is Emu - so there is plenty here for people to continue to moan at, I feel sure, given the complaints when Archimedes and Emu passed North through Cow Roast!

 

I'm not sure if Emu's owner lurks here or not.

Edited April 16, 2012 by alan_fincher

[David Mack]

Just like us doing one boat up and 2 boats down at the same time though Bascote staircase, or squeezing 3 boats into the diamond lock coming off the Cherwell back onto the South Oxford at Thrupp.

 

Or doing a figure of eight in Tixall Wide whilst towing a disabled boat.

 

David

[RLWP]

Is Canis Major fixed now? She was being towed when we passed her on Cobbett

 

Richard

[alan_fincher]

Is Canis Major fixed now? She was being towed when we passed her on Cobbett

 

Richard

She was back at Norbury Wharf when we were there with Sickle on Friday.

[magpie patrick]

OK then I'm miserable, we boat on rivers Sue, but I still see no reason to boat 4 abreast for 'sociable reasons' give it ago up here and you will be sunk when a proper boat comes the other way.

 

River navigation is about being sensible and courteous, if you want 'fun' book a party boat..;

 

Martin, in many ways I agree with you, and I did wonder if the shorter boat at one end was Ragdoll (if that doesn't get me banned from the forum nothing will)

 

But the Severn makes the Aire and Calder look small at times, the second time we moored at the Upton Folk Festival we were I think moored ten abreast, and weren't even near the middle of the river, less than a third across it, yet we had extra ropes from various boats because we couldn't rely on the innermost boat to take the weight of all ten against the flow.

 

I also know that one of your local barge operators ran two abreast "to see if he could" with boats that are 21 feet wide down the Aire and Calder, he was surprised how seldom he had to single out.

[Guest]

Do you know how wide the Severn is Martin - there are trip boats on there maybe as wide as three narrow boats breasted up. I can't agree with Laurence - I think they are unlikely to have come unstuck doing this, frankly, as the minimum draught quoted on the Severn, even at low water levels is 5 feet, and none of these boats will be anywhere near the bottom, in my view.

 

Obviously done for fun, but (:tounge_slightly_in_cheek:) I can see potential advantages - they need to occupy a limited 70 foot of lock landing, not over 250 foot of lock landing - so can still leave room for others!

 

Canis Major belongs to Tiggers, on this forum, as had been said Victoria to Mike Askin, and Archimedes steerer is undoubtedly "Tug Major" on here.

 

Like David, I also think 4th boat is Emu - so there is plenty here for people to continue to moan at, I feel sure, given the complaints when Archimedes and Emu passed North through Cow Roast!

 

I'm not sure if Emu's owner lurks here or not.

 

Then breast up together when you approach the lock landings, not whilst on the move.

 

I'm afraid I still do not see the point other than yes it's sociable for them and there has been the suggestion one of the boats may have broken down, that though wouldn't need 4 boats abreast, and where do you stop, 5? 6?

 

That said how on earth people could be 'socialising' above all the clatter of those engines escapes me...

 

I'm afraid I wouldn't do it irrespective of the width of the navigation - but that is only an opinion.

[alan_fincher]

There is clearly no suggestion of a need to run 4 breasted up - nobody has seriously suggested there is.

 

Equally nobody has proved to my satisfaction that any problem was likely to have been caused by them doing so on this bit of river. The OP, although in no way involved, other than as an observer, didn't post in a manner that suggested they were causing any kind of hazard to themselves, or anybody else.

 

What tends to happen on these occasions is that people in no way involved, and, (more often than not), with no familiarity whatsoever with the waterway, local conditions, or what other traffic you might expect there, then jump to all kind of conclusions.

 

Would I have got involved in this myself ? No - probably not - for a start breasting a 40 foot boat very securely to a 70 foot one has it's own challenges. But do I think there is a problem with what went on here - well nobody other than Laurence has actually suggested why there might be, have they, and looking at some of the massive boats in that area, it seems to me unlikely that 4 narrow boats are likely to ground where they don't.

 

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the absence of a single life-jacket, or of any obviously visible anchor, though! Being entirely serious, that is one constraint I do set myself on waterways as big as this bit of the Severn, and, if I were in this picture, I'd be the one with a life-jacket on! On the other hand, I suppose with the option of 4 different and powerful engines, this combination is about as unlikely to break down as anything on that river, though - possibly as guaranteed a way of keeping going as you could come up with!