Another work frenzy is over and we are enjoying relaxing on the boat at our mooring, over Easter.
Now that the weather is getting better, the leisure boaters on the marina are starting to come back and this Easter weekend many have come down who we haven't seen for a while. It has been really great to catch up with them and once again, a whole morning can easily disappear as we make our way along the jetty chatting to people boat by boat!
There is an exceptionally great crowd of people on our Marina at the moment and although we moan about the cost of our moorings and threaten to go elsewhere, I think it is the fantastic community here who hold everyone together and who make that decision to leave so much more difficult. It was not always so and whenever a berth comes free, we all worry about who is going to come in, but so far everyone has been likeminded, with a proper sense of social responsibility and community. Long may that continue!
Out on the cut, things are not so rosy. The season of hire boaters has begun and we collectively groan as they often speed past at such a rate of knots, that we bounce around on our moorings. There are an increasing number of hirers on our small section of canal, as boating holidays become more popular. Not all of the hire companies appear to brief the holiday makers properly, by explaining the etiquette on the canal, so the boats invariably go far too fast causing a disruptive wash. On a number of occasions when we are out cruising we have been hit by hired boats too, when they have been going too fast around corners and are not able to react quickly enough to another boat coming towards them. They also choose our empty berths to turn around in and sometimes even come in and moor up thinking they can stay overnight. They always seem surprised when told that these are private moorings and would they kindly vacate them!
Well, that's my moan out of the way! I know that many people who hire boats are experienced boaters, but we really do have a disproportionate number of hire boats for our 40 mile length of canal and it can become quite congested at times.
Other news is sparse. I keep repositioning the Otter Cam, but so far still haven't managed to get any pictures of it. The kingfishers have now mostly left the canal to return to their breeding grounds. We plan to go to a local spot where they are known to breed and we are going to spend a day there and stake them out. I'm detemined to get a picture of them!
I am now preparing for my next work tour overseas which covers the whole of May and June, so we are trying to make the most of a free April to catch up with friends and get the boat ready for the summer.
We hope to get out for a cruise before I go away, but must take down our winter canopy before we can do this. I spent a very happy afternoon last week, chopping up all of our remaining wood which I had foraged from the tow path and putting it away to season for next year. We now have two full wood stores and although we are still lighting our wood burner just at night now, I can't see us doing that for much longer as the weather gets warmer.
I will post an update shortly on how the residential status is coming along. The main unresolved issue is the council tax and this has been going on for nearly a year now, with the residential boaters having to pay full council tax as well as an element of it in our mooring fees. We are becoming extremely frustrated and angry as the three parties involved (The Valuation Office, The local council and The company who own the marina), all pass the buck to each other, blaming the others for holding the process up. We are the poor guys in the middle and are just about to blow a fuse about it all....... watch this space!
I will leave you with a picture that I meant to post some weeks ago but was too busy. We had the interesting phenomenum of a partial eclipse of the sun which was captured by Bob, a friend of mine:
We also had hoped to see the Northern lights a few weeks ago, as they had been seen as far south as the Lake District which is only 50 miles north as the crow flies, but we had too much light pollution, including a local football match on the village pitch which had floodlights on!
All for now
Al :)
Now that the weather is getting better, the leisure boaters on the marina are starting to come back and this Easter weekend many have come down who we haven't seen for a while. It has been really great to catch up with them and once again, a whole morning can easily disappear as we make our way along the jetty chatting to people boat by boat!
There is an exceptionally great crowd of people on our Marina at the moment and although we moan about the cost of our moorings and threaten to go elsewhere, I think it is the fantastic community here who hold everyone together and who make that decision to leave so much more difficult. It was not always so and whenever a berth comes free, we all worry about who is going to come in, but so far everyone has been likeminded, with a proper sense of social responsibility and community. Long may that continue!
Out on the cut, things are not so rosy. The season of hire boaters has begun and we collectively groan as they often speed past at such a rate of knots, that we bounce around on our moorings. There are an increasing number of hirers on our small section of canal, as boating holidays become more popular. Not all of the hire companies appear to brief the holiday makers properly, by explaining the etiquette on the canal, so the boats invariably go far too fast causing a disruptive wash. On a number of occasions when we are out cruising we have been hit by hired boats too, when they have been going too fast around corners and are not able to react quickly enough to another boat coming towards them. They also choose our empty berths to turn around in and sometimes even come in and moor up thinking they can stay overnight. They always seem surprised when told that these are private moorings and would they kindly vacate them!
Well, that's my moan out of the way! I know that many people who hire boats are experienced boaters, but we really do have a disproportionate number of hire boats for our 40 mile length of canal and it can become quite congested at times.
Other news is sparse. I keep repositioning the Otter Cam, but so far still haven't managed to get any pictures of it. The kingfishers have now mostly left the canal to return to their breeding grounds. We plan to go to a local spot where they are known to breed and we are going to spend a day there and stake them out. I'm detemined to get a picture of them!
I am now preparing for my next work tour overseas which covers the whole of May and June, so we are trying to make the most of a free April to catch up with friends and get the boat ready for the summer.
We hope to get out for a cruise before I go away, but must take down our winter canopy before we can do this. I spent a very happy afternoon last week, chopping up all of our remaining wood which I had foraged from the tow path and putting it away to season for next year. We now have two full wood stores and although we are still lighting our wood burner just at night now, I can't see us doing that for much longer as the weather gets warmer.
I will post an update shortly on how the residential status is coming along. The main unresolved issue is the council tax and this has been going on for nearly a year now, with the residential boaters having to pay full council tax as well as an element of it in our mooring fees. We are becoming extremely frustrated and angry as the three parties involved (The Valuation Office, The local council and The company who own the marina), all pass the buck to each other, blaming the others for holding the process up. We are the poor guys in the middle and are just about to blow a fuse about it all....... watch this space!
I will leave you with a picture that I meant to post some weeks ago but was too busy. We had the interesting phenomenum of a partial eclipse of the sun which was captured by Bob, a friend of mine:
We also had hoped to see the Northern lights a few weeks ago, as they had been seen as far south as the Lake District which is only 50 miles north as the crow flies, but we had too much light pollution, including a local football match on the village pitch which had floodlights on!
All for now
Al :)
