Clarity for tier 4 boaters in England.

[TerryW191253]

Hi Good Folks,

I am a bit confused when reading about ”Clarity for boat owners in Wales” (A thread below). Here is what the RYA say about boating after 20 Dec 2020 (There is a very clear tier by tier reference table). I won’t offer my misinterpretation -

Coronavirus - advice and information for recreational boaters | News | News & Events | RYA - Royal Yachting Association

Can anyone clarify on whether we can or can’t check our boats and take them out (within the confines of the emergency COVID rules).

ta.

 

[Scubadoo]

The way I see it, if you are now in tier 4 you can't check your boat if it is more than a local journey ie. Further than your town or village. In the other tiers you can still visit your boat and take it out.

 

[Leighb]

The way I see it, if you are now in tier 4 you can't check your boat if it is more than a local journey ie. Further than your town or village. In the other tiers you can still visit your boat and take it out.

That means that once we have moved house on Wednesday I can go and check the boat as it will be about 3 mins walk from the flat.?I suppose we could even take it out if the tide and weather were suitable?

 

[oldgit]

RYA.
Coronavirus - advice and information for recreational boaters | News | News & Events | RYA - Royal Yachting Association
Guidance for boaters (updated 20/12/20)

Tier4

Sailing clubs boat parks and marinas can open.
You can only travel a short distance within your tier 4 area to exercise if necessary.
All forms of informal or self-organised recreational boating are permitted within the legal limits for meeting others.

?????

As clear as mud and as usual , the only place where has been interpreted as nothing allowed is on EA controlled waterways.


"Travelling to maintain your boat is permitted in and between tiers 1 and 2; and within tier 3 only. You should not visit a tier 3 or 4 area from another tier or travel from a tier 3 or 4 area to another tier to visit your boat. Travel to maintain your boat is not permitted in Tier 4."

 

[LittleSister]

Interesting divergences between the Regulations, the Government Guidance, and the RYA's advice.

Pick one that best suits your own prejudices!

 

[TerryW191253]

Hi OldG,

Can you let me know where your information came from please?

"Travelling to maintain your boat is permitted in and between tiers 1 and 2; and within tier 3 only. You should not visit a tier 3 or 4 area from another tier or travel from a tier 3 or 4 area to another tier to visit your boat. Travel to maintain your boat is not permitted in Tier 4."

Ta.

Terry

PS Just trying square the circle. Loads of unofficial sources are "gold plating" rules and putting them out as "official". It is getting really hard to separate the facts from the embelishments.

 

[MikeBrazier]

Hi OldG,

Can you let me know where your information came from please?

"Travelling to maintain your boat is permitted in and between tiers 1 and 2; and within tier 3 only. You should not visit a tier 3 or 4 area from another tier or travel from a tier 3 or 4 area to another tier to visit your boat. Travel to maintain your boat is not permitted in Tier 4."

Ta.

Terry

PS Just trying square the circle. Loads of unofficial sources are "gold plating" rules and putting them out as "official". It is getting really hard to separate the facts from the embelishments.

This seems to be from EA guidance here Environment Agency waterways: Coronavirus (COVID-19) update 23 December 2020

 

[TerryW191253]

I wonder how many epidemiologists the Environment Agency employ to come up with expert advice? Just saying. . .

 

[Scubadoo]

I think I would just follow the RYA guidelines, tier 4 you are pretty much restricted unless lucky enough to be very near your boat to count as local.

 

[TerryW191253]

Sounds right. Probably best practice.
I am no epidemiologist so I have no opinion worth hearing. I do wonder though: no symptoms, live alone, drive to boat alone, fish alone. Absolutely no human contact whatsoever. Where and how am I spreading this awful disease? just saying.

 

[oldgit]

[QUOTE="TerryW191253, post: 7485788, member: 182535" ] Can you let me know where your information came from please? [/QUOTE]


The present EA "No Travel" advice is the same as the advice EA gave during the previous lockdown and prior to the recent imposition of Tier4 virtually everywhere.
Peel Ports, who regulate the tidal Medway echoed the RYA interpretation at that time as did the PLA.
Can find no official statement that this has changed.
If the RYA have got it wrong then it would be nice to know.

 

[Greg2]

I posted my musings on the subject in the RYA rules thread

To summarise, travel restrictions are guidance and not law and being away from home is acceptable if there is a ‘reasonable excuse‘ - a list of what would be reasonable is included but it is not an exhaustive list so individuals can make their case but I guess that the reasons listed would be a guide.

The Broads Authority and EA have pronounced and have included that travel to maintain you boat is not permitted which, to my mind, follows the Govt approach of over-stating the ‘rules’ in order to encourage compliance. Neither organisation have, as far as I am aware, any legal jurisdiction on Covid related matters and whilst perpetuating Govt guidance is eminently sensible putting their own spin on it isn’t IMHO.
.

 

[Firefly625]

so my Mitchell booked for a lift 18th January... to re-launch beginning of march.

My thoughts a few days ago (before reading this thread), was since I am in the same tier as my marina (although 66 miles apart) I could justify traveling down crack of dawn on the 18th to move my boat down the river to Hamble Point, watch from afar it lifted, jetted off and parked up, whereupon I could plug in the electrics & make sure its all ok & travel home.

...then on subsequent weekends travel down and do the antifouling etc. I don't come into contact with anyone, (I'm really not friendly) and its under the remit of "maintaining a boat" ..which I thought was permitted.

However it appears my ideas are out of date from what is permitted now from reading this thread.. So looks like I either cancel the lift out.... or create a boat maintenance company so that I undertake this as "work"... (OK.. second suggestion tongue in cheek..)

Just such a weird time, but it is what it is. I don't want to flout the rules... but just a bit gutted as I have had to be incredibly careful this year as my wife cannot catch the virus, and I did consider what I had planned to do was completely safe for me, my family and the marina environments (and people working in them) I would be visiting. :-(

 

[oldgit]

Just such a weird time, but it is what it is. I don't want to flout the rules... but just a bit gutted as I have had to be incredibly careful this year as my wife cannot catch the virus, and I did consider what I had planned to do was completely safe for me, my family and the marina environments (and people working in them) I would be visiting. :-(

If your marina is still lifting and they are prepared to allow you on site, the decision to travel will be entirely down to your interpretation of the "clear as mud rules".
A very difficult call.
Not that much easier for those of us more or less within sight of our boats and no other restraints on visiting boat other than morale ones .
It not likely to get better any time soon.

 

[penberth3]

so my Mitchell booked for a lift 18th January... to re-launch beginning of march.

My thoughts a few days ago (before reading this thread), was since I am in the same tier as my marina (although 66 miles apart) I could justify traveling down crack of dawn on the 18th to move my boat down the river to Hamble Point, watch from afar it lifted, jetted off and parked up, whereupon I could plug in the electrics & make sure its all ok & travel home......

Surely, none of that needs you to be there? The overriding guidance is to stay local.

 

[Firefly625]

Surely, none of that needs you to be there? The overriding guidance is to stay local.

I do all the work on my boat, so yes I do need to be there..

 

[Firefly625]

If your marina is still lifting and they are prepared to allow you on site, the decision to travel will be entirely down to your interpretation of the "clear as mud rules".
A very difficult call.
Not that much easier for those of us more or less within sight of our boats and no other restraints on visiting boat other than morale ones .
It not likely to get better any time soon.

I believe MDL are still lifting boats but don't actually know for sure..?

But makes little difference really, as no point it being lifted out for 8 weeks and relaunched without me being able to work on her.

It would drive me a little crazy to be able to see my boat so perhaps being 66 miles away from it is just as well! ;-)

 

[Greg2]

If your marina is still lifting and they are prepared to allow you on site, the decision to travel will be entirely down to your interpretation of the "clear as mud rules".
A very difficult call.
Not that much easier for those of us more or less within sight of our boats and no other restraints on visiting boat other than morale ones .
It not likely to get better any time soon.

Travel is guidance so no rules broken by driving to the marina. The purpose for being away from home would rely upon it being accepted as a ‘reasonable excuse’, which to my mind it is - on a par with click and collect goods, outdoor exercise etc etc.

On the moral point I think it is about staying safe and doing nothing to risk spreading the virus. So being local to your marina with low risk travel and working in isolation doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. I guess the longer the journey the less reasonable it becomes.

All IMHO of course and I don’t condone flagrant breaches of the law but a pragmatic approach, working within the guidance and rules and above all staying safe doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

Could all be academic of course if we end up with even tighter restrictions ?
.

 

[Firefly625]

Travel is guidance so no rules broken by driving to the marina. The purpose for being away from home would rely upon it being accepted as a ‘reasonable excuse’, which to my mind it is - on a par with click and collect goods, outdoor exercise etc etc.

On the moral point I think it is about staying safe and doing nothing to risk spreading the virus. So being local to your marina with low risk travel and working in isolation doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. I guess the longer the journey the less reasonable it becomes.

All IMHO of course and I don’t condone flagrant breaches of the law but a pragmatic approach, working within the guidance and rules and above all staying safe doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.

Could all be academic of course if we end up with even tighter restrictions ?
.

thank you for your view.
Very helpful.

 

[TerryW191253]

If I brave the outside world and travel to my boat to check it out I am going to go in my hermetically sealed motorcar. I wonder if the inventors realised that they had produced something that so beneficially stops the escape of covid from its driver? When I step out into the deserted and wind swept boat yard I’ll put my mask on to protect all the people that are not there. If perchance I slide out into the channel for an hours exercise (fishing) I’ll keep my mask on in case I catch anything and in case I pass covid onto a cod.
All tongue in cheek. I wish the authorities luck in pumping vaccine into arms so that our frustration at dumbly made rules can subside and be forgotten until China blights our lives yet again.
Ps anyone know how to avoid Chinese goods on ebay? I ordered what appear to be British supplied Chrimbo goods that have suspicious squiggle/glyphs on the invoice when it arrived three weeks too late.