TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
This is an issue for those not concerned about retaining the lock keepers....
Last Wednesday (20th. April) at about 4:30 p.m. we were about to lock through Benson going upstream when we noticed a following boat was not following us into the lock cut. His line of approach was not unreasonable given the shape of the channel at that point.
Gesticulations from me and the relief lockie (Steve) produced no particular response from the boat so I reversed back (no mean feat for my boat) to discover he was hard aground. Several attempts to free him (pulling from either end, breasting up and so on) made no difference.
SO I returned to the lock layby (it was about 5:20) to ask what the lockie wanted to do as he should be off duty at this time. He suggested running some water down in the hope of lifting him off / flushing him down.
The tail waters having bee raised a tad, I managed to drag him off slowly and all was well.
The whole process took until well after 6:00 p.m. The point of this discourse is two fold:-
Without the dedication of the keeper staying beyond his time - it was well past 5:00 before it was clear that the boat was in fact stuck fast, the occupants could have remained stuck there all night, there being little traffic going up or down to rescue the crew and passengers.
If in future lock staff are reduced or disappear altogether, then who would be available to assist boaters who get caught out midstream? The suggested "flying pickets" of weir management would perhaps not be appropriate in this sort of circumstance?
The sand bar downstream is well known and has in the past been marked with a starboard hand buoy.
It's no longer there.
The bar is only slightly off channel - so it's easy to get stuck on it.
I hope the owner of said blue "Linnsen type" cruiser moored at the Swan gets wind of this thread and makes his thanks known to the lockie at some point. I think the occupants were frightened (the eddy at that point threw both boats around somewhat) and hightailed it back home to the safety of his mooring).
For anyone else the Thames navigation is quirky if you stray outside the normal channel (even if you can find where the channel is ! ) and the thought that it is safe for anyone to use, even in times of low flow without some form of Plan B is mistaken. The boater in question was a beginner. Many boaters are only occasional users who never learn or care less about the vagaries of this particular River.
Last Wednesday (20th. April) at about 4:30 p.m. we were about to lock through Benson going upstream when we noticed a following boat was not following us into the lock cut. His line of approach was not unreasonable given the shape of the channel at that point.
Gesticulations from me and the relief lockie (Steve) produced no particular response from the boat so I reversed back (no mean feat for my boat) to discover he was hard aground. Several attempts to free him (pulling from either end, breasting up and so on) made no difference.
SO I returned to the lock layby (it was about 5:20) to ask what the lockie wanted to do as he should be off duty at this time. He suggested running some water down in the hope of lifting him off / flushing him down.
The tail waters having bee raised a tad, I managed to drag him off slowly and all was well.
The whole process took until well after 6:00 p.m. The point of this discourse is two fold:-
Without the dedication of the keeper staying beyond his time - it was well past 5:00 before it was clear that the boat was in fact stuck fast, the occupants could have remained stuck there all night, there being little traffic going up or down to rescue the crew and passengers.
If in future lock staff are reduced or disappear altogether, then who would be available to assist boaters who get caught out midstream? The suggested "flying pickets" of weir management would perhaps not be appropriate in this sort of circumstance?
The sand bar downstream is well known and has in the past been marked with a starboard hand buoy.
It's no longer there.
The bar is only slightly off channel - so it's easy to get stuck on it.
I hope the owner of said blue "Linnsen type" cruiser moored at the Swan gets wind of this thread and makes his thanks known to the lockie at some point. I think the occupants were frightened (the eddy at that point threw both boats around somewhat) and hightailed it back home to the safety of his mooring).
For anyone else the Thames navigation is quirky if you stray outside the normal channel (even if you can find where the channel is ! ) and the thought that it is safe for anyone to use, even in times of low flow without some form of Plan B is mistaken. The boater in question was a beginner. Many boaters are only occasional users who never learn or care less about the vagaries of this particular River.
the crew were all quite shocked when they realised what had happened and it could have been a lot worse, Lawrence the lockie had run straight to the sluices but Mapeldurham is a big lock and would have taken a while to reverse.
