Caledonian Canal warning!
- Thread starter Quandary
- Start date
steveeasy
Well-known member
But back to the topic. Sending a chap away knowing his transit is his only realistic option is discraceful. If they insist lines need to be held then gloves are not too difficult to put on. Further more they are lucky they have customers and they still have jobs to go too.
Quite apart from that, there is no guidance about single handed sailors not being able to use the canal on the site, or ive not managed to find any .and the site welcomes visitors. I'm appalled if the event actually took place. I'd be writing a strong letter to the minister who oversees responsibility.
Steveeasy
Quite apart from that, there is no guidance about single handed sailors not being able to use the canal on the site, or ive not managed to find any .and the site welcomes visitors. I'm appalled if the event actually took place. I'd be writing a strong letter to the minister who oversees responsibility.
Steveeasy
ctva
Well-known member
Given all the discussion on this thread and the gnashing of teeth, has anyone thought about calling SC head office?
TernVI
Well-known member
Leaving his boat where it is a realistic option.
Mark-1
Well-known member
I'm not going to, but I hope someone does - I do wonder if there was some translation issue here or other misunderstanding.
steveeasy
Well-known member
Why?. The canal was open. I assume he had made specific plans to travel through the canal. It was totally unreasonable to turn him away. If it was such a big issue to the Canal hunchos , they would have put something on the website. Ive not managed to find anything.
Steveeasy
NormanS
Well-known member
It would take a bit of organising to get someone to assist at all the locks in the Caley Canal, as it's 60 miles long, and the locks are scattered along it. Takes two days, and would need someone with a car to be at each lock before the boat arrived.
Mark-1
Well-known member
Its entirely possible that someone willing to crew for two days and return by public transport could be found. I would if I was local. It's the school/university holidays.
(I'm still not convinced we've got the full story regarding the canal policy, there's much potential for a misunderstanding.)
NormanS
Well-known member
Yes, but it might be quite difficult to maintain 2m social distancing in a small boat.?
I think you are correct that we haven't got the full story. The Caley have always been a bit chary about letting single handers through, unless they were known, and known to be competent. The keeper's handling of ropes would be easily solved by the use of gloves.
D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
My one and only experience of the Caley was on a delivery, we entered the lock and the imbecile lock operator procecded to open the sluice gates before we were tied up. Spun the boat through 360 damaging the sugar scoop and pullpit. The imbecile was in for a shock as the boat owner, when I called him, was in discussion at that very time with the canal management about civil works. They accepted all liability and paid for repairs.
duncan99210
Well-known member
Given that the canal is operating on a skeleton staffing basis, the reason for not being able to handle lines is probably more down to lack of manpower than a reluctance to handle potentially contaminated lines.
The announcement about reopening for transits does include the information that all boats must be able to handle their own lines it’s here The Caledonian Canal Reopens for Sea to Sea Transits - Scottish Canals.
The announcement about reopening for transits does include the information that all boats must be able to handle their own lines it’s here The Caledonian Canal Reopens for Sea to Sea Transits - Scottish Canals.
ctva
Well-known member
The Caley Canal lock keepers have always taken lines at the remote locks. Only Neptunes Staircase, Fort Augustus and Muirton do not as they are flights. However as noted in the link above which has been on the SC website since 7th July;
"To ensure that we can operate the canal safely in line with Covid-19 public health guidance, we will require all boaters to be responsible for their own lines at every lock – both from the boat at single locks and from ashore at lock flights. Vessels should have sufficient competent crew aboard the boat at all times when on transit through the canal. We will not be able to accommodate transit for boats with insufficient crew. "
So this is a non story, they guy looks like he didn't check either the website or phone. In the current climate, I would have thought that checking ahead was common sense.
"To ensure that we can operate the canal safely in line with Covid-19 public health guidance, we will require all boaters to be responsible for their own lines at every lock – both from the boat at single locks and from ashore at lock flights. Vessels should have sufficient competent crew aboard the boat at all times when on transit through the canal. We will not be able to accommodate transit for boats with insufficient crew. "
So this is a non story, they guy looks like he didn't check either the website or phone. In the current climate, I would have thought that checking ahead was common sense.
cherod
N/A
Not saying yae nor nae but i think the guy has a small boat and considered one person to be sufficient for handling
Quandary
Well-known member
Fair enough Duncan, they have defined their policy, but how realistic is it to handle your own lines ascending at Gairlochy where the lock is double height and there is only one ladder each side, the normal procedure here is for the keeper to drop lines to the boat.
The other problem is the pathetic failure to publicize their restrictions, this week as well as the man and dog sent back south by the Cally we had a Welsh boat in Crinan sealock tuesday morning and another waiting at Ardrishaig pontoon since monday night.
Nearly every boat heading for the Cally stops at Oban on the way before the long drag up Loch Linnhe a notice at both marinas there would not be hard to organize.
Most sailors expect canals to be functioning since they re-opened, there is not even anything at Ardrishaig or Crinan to tell arrivals when they are open or closed, if the information was so readily available why did so many of us struggle to find it. Another regular telephoned me on Tuesday from Portavadie for help they had got that far before they discovered the canal was closed. No one would have imagined that a canal or a marina like Bellanoch would be closed two days a week.
The other problem is the pathetic failure to publicize their restrictions, this week as well as the man and dog sent back south by the Cally we had a Welsh boat in Crinan sealock tuesday morning and another waiting at Ardrishaig pontoon since monday night.
Nearly every boat heading for the Cally stops at Oban on the way before the long drag up Loch Linnhe a notice at both marinas there would not be hard to organize.
Most sailors expect canals to be functioning since they re-opened, there is not even anything at Ardrishaig or Crinan to tell arrivals when they are open or closed, if the information was so readily available why did so many of us struggle to find it. Another regular telephoned me on Tuesday from Portavadie for help they had got that far before they discovered the canal was closed. No one would have imagined that a canal or a marina like Bellanoch would be closed two days a week.
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Quandary
Well-known member
I had the impression that the guy lives on his boat in somewhere like Hull, leaving it might not be very convenient.
I resent the non story comment, in my limited experience people are getting caught out, it is not unreasonable to try to publicize it, if it avoids even one boat having to brave Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth in bad weather it is worth reporting.
TernVI
Well-known member
No, it's unreasonable for needy singlehanders to expect valet service wherever they go.
They fundamentally provide a canal, not a boat handling service for people who turn up without the resources to operate their own boat properly in a canal.
ctva
Well-known member
Come on, we are in the middle of a pandemic (real or not) and the one thing that everyone knows is that NOTHING is operating normally anywhere. To turn up and expect the canal or any other business to be fully operational like a normal year without checking is naïve.
Unfortunately there are a lot around that expect everything to be normal now.
mainsail1
Well-known member
Is there any good reason why the Calley Canal could not just have a few ropes or chains dangling down in each lock for the poor loners to hang on to (with gloves) or put a rope around? Please don't tell me they would be a Covid risk.
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
Your attitude seems to me to be unnecessarily aggressive.
Mark-1
Well-known member
This. I single hand a small boat, I lock out of my marina by 'holding onto something'. I never need ropes chucked to me. I'm sure there will be ladders to hold onto. Lines could be left hanging, perhaps weighted to prevent them tangling with props. So there's no reason a single hander would automatically need help from the lockie. The photo I have of transiting the locks at FT Augustus shows me pulling the boat between two locks alone and my buddy is behind the camera standing on the lock gate so it can clearly be done easily single handed. I also have a clear memory of going through Dochgarroch lock while my buddies were sound asleep and the lockie didn't help with that. In fact, have no recollection of the lockies managing lines at all on any of the 6 transits I've done. All 20 years or more ago, mind you. (Feels like yesterday, where did that time go?
)What we don't know is whether this guy was told "It's fine to come through, as long as you manage the boat without our help." and he declined, or whether they refused him entry on the assumption he'd require help when he didn't. (We also don't know if he had a dramatic mooring catastrophe on his arrival which might have given the impression he couldn't manage the boat alone.)
Plenty of scope for some kind of misunderstanding, a strict 'must have crew' policy seems unlikely because there must be people who traverse the Canal in open 18 foot boats/RIBs.
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