Not quite a rant

A

Andrew_Fanner

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but getting close to one.

Bank Holiday weekend. Dry weather (mostly)
No relief keepers for when the chappie goes for a well-earned and quite reasonable meal break and yet there seem to be multiple staff at the lock.

Frankly not good enough.
 
Saturday, Bell Weir. Second time up to Windsor this year its been a choke point.

By comparison Romney keeper was just going to lunch when I arrived in company with numerous other boats and, because of his diet of hire craft from just down the way, he stood inconspicuously back until he was certain we knew what we were doing, thanked me for taking charge of his lock and packing it sensibly and went for his break, so kudos due there.

Monday was just a tad manic at Bell Weir and subsequently to Sunbury. I suspect what happens is that going to public power on self service is creating a significant throttle in the traffic flow causing boats to bunch into "lockfuls" for want of a better word. The lock running far more slowly causees buildup. The lockful for Bell Weir is too big for Penton Hook so a queue is instantly generated. Indeed it worked such that we had to stand off waiting to get onto the lock moorings at both Penton and Chertsey, something I have not done on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon for some time. I think there may have been issues at Bell Weir as well, roughly lunchtime we were stood off only just downstream from the boatyard with some chitchat on the vhf about "nothing seems to be happening at the lock"

It was good to see a fairly busy river despite the little irritations.
 
Andrew_Fanner said:
Saturday, Bell Weir. Second time up to Windsor this year its been a choke point.

By comparison Romney keeper was just going to lunch when I arrived in company with numerous other boats and, because of his diet of hire craft from just down the way, he stood inconspicuously back until he was certain we knew what we were doing, thanked me for taking charge of his lock and packing it sensibly and went for his break, so kudos due there.

Monday was just a tad manic at Bell Weir and subsequently to Sunbury. I suspect what happens is that going to public power on self service is creating a significant throttle in the traffic flow causing boats to bunch into "lockfuls" for want of a better word. The lock running far more slowly causees buildup. The lockful for Bell Weir is too big for Penton Hook so a queue is instantly generated. Indeed it worked such that we had to stand off waiting to get onto the lock moorings at both Penton and Chertsey, something I have not done on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon for some time. I think there may have been issues at Bell Weir as well, roughly lunchtime we were stood off only just downstream from the boatyard with some chitchat on the vhf about "nothing seems to be happening at the lock"

It was good to see a fairly busy river despite the little irritations.
Click to expand...

you need to follow me.....for some reason I have done this twice now on the bank holiday (Windsor and back) and on each and every occasion been just behind or in front of the clubs, never waited once for any lock!

The flip side is your yacht club appears to be thriving and full of members willing to head upstream as a group (i passed you on Sunday)...
 
RichardShead said:
you need to follow me.....for some reason I have done this twice now on the bank holiday (Windsor and back) and on each and every occasion been just behind or in front of the clubs, never waited once for any lock!

The flip side is your yacht club appears to be thriving and full of members willing to head upstream as a group (i passed you on Sunday)...
Click to expand...

30 or so went to Windsor, came back in a group of 6 who seem to have to work this week:-(
 
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