Boaters’ Update 18 Oct 2019 Welcome to the latest edition. You’ll find a big mix of topics below – from our Heritage Report and Council elections through to single-handed boating and the ‘Oscars of the Waterways’! I even use a phrase that I never thought would grace the pages of Boaters’ Update - ‘seven-mile neon laser beam’. There are also a few prods and prompts for you to get in touch and share your views and, as ever, there’s the regular roundup of news, upcoming events, and the latest stoppages. If there’s an article you’d like to read in a future edition then please drop me a line. Happy boating, Damian In this edition: • News round-up and upcoming events • Heritage Report • Meetings for disabled boaters • Oscars of the Waterways • Single-handed boating advice (and dog poo!) • Let’s fish! • Get Involved • Maintenance, repair and restoration work affecting cruising this weekend • Bits & bobs News round-up and upcoming events Over the last few weeks you may have heard, or seen, that: • 7 Oct – A luminaire of iconic structures, Chirk and Pontcysyllte (main image above) Aqueducts being two prominent waterway ones, along the 11-mile corridor of the Dee Valley’s World Heritage site near Llangollen is expected to draw thousands of visitors to the area this month. • 10 Oct – A seven-mile neon laser beam, marking the line of the River Soar as it runs through the heart of Leicester, is set to light up the city’s skyline as part of the 2019 Diwali celebrations. • 10 Oct – We are inviting people in Nottingham to enjoy a free boat ride and guided walk along the city’s waterways this Sunday (20 Oct) as part of Nottingham Mental Health Awareness Week. Below I’ve picked out some events that you might be interested in over the next month. There are plenty of other activities and volunteering opportunities if none of the below take your fancy. Just visit the events section of the website to find the perfect one for you. • 26 Oct – Cheshire’s most thrilling firework display is back with a bang. The iconic Anderton Boat Lift in Northwich will once again play host to its annual firework spectacular. A musical display like no other with explosions of colour and sound set off from the River Weaver. • 30 Oct – Whether you love to draw, or think you can't, join the world's biggest drawing festival at the Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum for this free event. • 27 Oct to 1 Nov – There’s a whole range of activities at the National Waterway Museum Ellesmere Port including pumpkin carving, Lego bats and ghost tours (among others!) to help you get in to the spooky spirit of Halloween. • 19 to 27 Oct – Become immersed in the strange and beautiful world of beetles, grasshoppers, wasps and dragonflies as they demonstrate their dexterity with wit and humour. Expect dramatic lighting and exquisitely composed music, punctuated by the ambient sounds of enraptured children – all at the Puppet Theatre Barge’s production of ‘The Insect Circus’ on the Regent’s Canal …………………………………………………….................................................................................. Heritage Report How many listed buildings do you think we take care of? 50? 100? Or maybe even 500? Not even close. In fact, it’s 2,663 along with 50 scheduled monuments and a World Heritage Site at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – one of the largest collections of industrial heritage. As you might imagine, managing and conserving the historic environment of the waterways is a never-ending task, as the case studies in the newly published Heritage Report amply demonstrate. We formally checks for changes in condition, defects or hazards along each stretch of canal at least once every two months. These inspections show that incidents affecting waterways heritage stood at 626 in 2017/18 and 635 in 2018/19, down from 800 recorded incidents in 2016/17. The most common cause of damage was vandalism (42% and 41% in 2017/18 and 2018/19, with half involving graffiti). Less frequent, but significant, are incidents of damage caused by impact from vehicles or boats. In 2017/18 40% of all such incidents were caused by boats, reducing to 19% in 2018/19. Vehicle collisions typically damage canal bridges, and in 2017/18 there were 63 reported incidents, rising to 85 incidents in 2018/19. You’ll find a couple of examples of the highly skilled heritage work below but do read the full report to get a feel for the huge breadth and scale of tasks we have to tackle: Derwent Mouth Lock repairs, Trent & Mersey Canal Derwent Mouth is the first lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal. It is Grade II listed and in a conservation area. In December 2017, extensive repairs to the lock chamber were carried out by the Trust’s direct services, working closely with a conservation stonemason and the local conservation officer. Repairs to the lock chamber were carried out in matching brick and lime mortar. Worn copings were replaced with a matching sandstone. The stone was cut and delivered to site, then dressed in situ to ensure that the profile of the new stones matched the existing ones. Once the lock was drained it was found that one anchor stone had delaminated over time and was preventing the gates from sealing when closed. This was replaced with a new piece of sandstone. Carpenter’s Road Lock restoration, Bow Back Rivers Carpenter’s Road Lock in East London was completed in 1934 to preserve safe river levels and allow passage for boats in what is now Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. After decades of disuse, the twin vertical lift radial lock gates were restored by the Trust as part of a £1.8 million project. They are the only lock gates of their kind in the country and are now back in use by commercial and leisure craft for the first time since the 1960s. The lock is now a significant attraction, providing access to the water space of the Bow Back Rivers. The re-opening of the lock at the East London Waterways Festival in August 2017 was designed to showcase it as a destination and promote the natural amphitheatre and surrounding waterways as sites for cultural and water-based activity. Gates and gantries for Carpenter’s Road Lock were restored using original drawings, with modern materials and contemporary architecture to bring the lock into the 21st century. The gate counterweights are housed behind glass doors, so visitors can see their mechanisms and the modern nylon bushes and wearing strips that have replaced the original phosphor bronze bearings. The gantry steelwork is made from CorTen weathering steel that eliminates the need for painting, forming a stable rust-like appearance after several years exposure to weather. …………………………………………………….................................................................................. Meetings for disabled boaters During late 2018 and early 2019 we held a number of meetings for disabled boaters and carers to tell us their experience of boating on our waterways. The notes from these meetings can be found at the end of this article. Since then we have been working through the feedback we received and looking at what we can do to address some of the issues raised. We’re planning some further meetings as part of our ongoing commitment to engage disabled boaters. At these meetings we’ll share an update on some of things we previously heard, or were asked, and what we’re doing to respond to them. If you’d like to come along, the details of the next four meetings, and how to attend are: • Friday 15 November, 10am – 12noon, Aqua House, 20 Lionel Street, Birmingham, B3 1AQ – find out more and register to attend • Thursday 21 November, 10am – 12noon – Anderton Boat Lift, Lift Lane, Anderton, Near Northwich, Cheshire CW9 6FW – find out more and register to attend • Thursday 28 November – 10am – 12noon, The Pirate Castle, Oval Road, Camden, London NW1 7EA – find out more and register to attend • Thursday 12 December – 2 – 4pm, The Dock Office, Commercial Road, Gloucester GL1 2EB – find out more and register to attend If you can’t attend one of these meetings then why not join the IWAF Inland Waterways Accessibility Forum on Facebook? This group is independent of the Trust but we’re working with them to arrange a Q&A session. Look out for more details in the next Boater’s Update. Notes from previous meetings: • 20/09/18 - Oldbury (West Midlands region) • 07/11/18 - London (London & South East region • 17/01/19 - Newark (East Midlands region) • 26/01/19 - Leeds (Yorkshire & North East region) …………………………………………………….................................................................................. Oscars of the Waterways The winners of Canal & River Trust’s 2019 Living Waterways Awards were announced at a gala ceremony in Birmingham last week. Sponsored by Kier, Amco Giffen, Arcadis, CPC Civils, Fountains, Land & Water and Vinci, the Awards recognise the most exciting and inspiring waterway-based improvement projects across the UK. Sue Wilkinson, Canal & River Trust trustee and chair of the Award’s assessment panel, explains: “Canal & River Trust is once again proud to announce the winners of our annual national Living Waterways Awards. These awards give us the opportunity to celebrate the tireless efforts of those who are helping to transform the nation’s rivers, canals, lochs, lakes, and reservoirs, making life better for millions of people across the UK.” A rigorous assessment process saw the expert judges travel across England, Wales and Scotland before selecting the finalists. From inspirational community programmes and innovative engineering projects, to exciting arts initiatives, the winners of these prestigious awards are: 1. ART, CULTURE & EVENTS (large scale) – Winner: The Ring, Worcestershire Runner-up: Youth Urban Games & Glasgow Canal Festival (Scottish Canals) 2.