Thames value for money

Very nice but suspect not filmed entirely on the upper thames?!
My wife, bless her, has a tad more cellulite showing!! Byron, no telling!
I detect some "Fred rift".

Reading is full of sponging liveaboards who will abandon their charges as soon as they start to rot through. Teddington is certainly similarly smitten and these are by no means the only areas.
Having been boating on the river since the 60's I don't need to be advised of River trends. Boatone, bless him, is well meaning but too biased towards EA. They are riven
with bureaucratic cr*p and need an introduction to the real world. If the government is squeezing them too far, do something about it, don't just roll over. The boat owning revenue is an easy source. Take a look at the "water extraction" revenue. Pathetic and certainly so in comparison to their revenues. I know, there are ties with statutes. Well, sort it.
We had 2 wonderful seasons in Holland with no licence fees at all. EA could presumably learn how they manage this?
The French licences are a fraction of those on the Thames.
We are currently looking at a possible base near St Malo on the River Rance.

On the few days we have managed to use the river this year (midweek) it has been dead. Practically no movement. Invariably the only boat in any lock and yes, I did change my D.O.!!
Something is wrong!
I don't need photos of the eyesores. We all know what they are. The rusty Cr*p heaps, piled with nicked timber, sundry detritus gathered along the way and spreading into the bankside where presumably they are trespassing?
 
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miket;5451163 On the few days we have managed to use the river this year (midweek) it has been dead. Practically no movement. Invariably the only boat in any lock and yes said:
Lechlade this summer has been very quiet. A few narrow boats, but not the same numbers as previous years (although not so bad if your are trying to moor) and hardly any motor cruisers. Perhaps the 'summer' this year has been an issue...
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miket said:
Boatone, bless him, is well meaning but too biased towards EA. They are riven
with bureaucratic cr*p and need an introduction to the real world. If the government is squeezing them too far, do something about it, don't just roll over. The boat owning revenue is an easy source. Take a look at the "water extraction" revenue. Pathetic and certainly so in comparison to their revenues. I know, there are ties with statutes. Well, sort it.
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Biased towards EA ? Most certainly not, although I do recognise that the few at the sharp end at Reading have little to no influence and are expected to do their best with what they are given. I would certainly manage things differently but that ain't going to happen.
Less of the patronising tone please - at least I am endeavouring to represent our interests and with precious little support from most.

Stayed at Runnymede overnight and despair at the total disregard for speed limits by our own kind. One went past at 4am with searchlight sweeping from side to side, God only knows what that was all about. Frequently inconsiderate boats are flying recognisable club burgees but who cares?

Please don't dignify this post by calling it a rant. I am saving that for the next meeting at Reading later this month.
 
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On a positive note....

Connaught was in Teddington Lock on Saturday, as was the River Inspector. Tongue in cheek, I told him that I was off to pay a mooring fee but had to double back to batten down the hatches before Connaught swept through the lock cut.
He assured me that Connaught would be going very slowly and jumped on Connaught for a chat.. And blow me it did.
Passed us twice at Hampton Court and made no more wash than any of the other passenger boats too.
Could this be the dawn of a new era? I could be wrong but it looked like a new skipper was at the helm, so perhaps the serial pest who treated other river users with contempt has moved on?
 
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Generally off topic, but; only third time on river this weekend, my fault as have been using other boats. Mid afternoon at Fawley Meadow yesterday missed getting the camcorder out quick enough, a black hulled aft cockpit cruiser which had been moored with the Dutch barge rally at Remenham came tearing up the river with a huge bow wave, just after an EA (larger type) patrol boat went past with a speed indicator sign on a tripod went serenely past, never looking back. At Hurley we were the first boat through after the lock keeper finished, and walked later round to our friends from the TMYC having a BBQ in the little cut above the lock. The lock was still empty from when we left it, bottom sluices up etc. A wooden cruiser coming down river moored up, noticed a Mk2 Freeman approaching from the Marlow side and the lady ran to drop the sluices whilst the man waited to open the top end. It would have been quicker to open the gates and let the Freeman coming up into the lock! Made me think nothing changes.

Had a very pleasant evening until it got too dark at their BBQ, a typical end of season sitting out chatting with friends making me feel we've missed the Thames this year.
 
ianc1200 said:
Freeman approaching from the Marlow side and the lady ran to drop the sluices whilst the man waited to open the top end. It would have been quicker to open the gates and let the Freeman coming up into the lock! Made me think nothing changes.
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Same thing happened to us at Hambleden yesterday, a single slipper launch ran up and down to close the gates rather than wait 2 mins for us, then that same EA Launch crew wandered over with their Teas chatting away to him, surprised they didnt comment on him wasting all that water.
I do tend to agree with MikeT, in the real commercial world the EA management would have been kicked out for incompetence. You have a job to do guys so lobby, and graft to get things changed rather than bleating and using the word "can't"
 
byron said:
Am I loony? I find sights such as these characterful.
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Nurse! Nurse! :D

From an email I received from Cllr Fleming, re the Ham flotilla:


As I think you know our officers have secured one prosecution under the byelaw with another one pending and many of the boats that returned are not moored on our land but to poles sunk in the river and the Environment Agency's responsibility. I know there has been some concern about action by the EA and in fact wrote to their Director of Operations and understand that last week their officers issued two enforcement notices and a number of warning notices to any new scaffold poles. On Thursday they worked with our Council Enforcement teams and issued a further 3 enforcement notices, removed 3 unauthorised vacated scaffold poles and checked to see that all remaining poles had been issued with a warning notice. Any remaining boats moored to the bank will be dealt with under the byelaw , and I am checking this out with our officers and the remaining 11 boats were served with EA warning notices advising they are trespassing and must vacate within 14 days.

I'm inclined to side with the EA on this one as I feel that their hands are tied to a certain extent and the by-law that LBRuT has brought in is not as effective as they would have us believe. Possibly due to the council being the ones who'd have to find the squatters alternative accommodation and not the EA.
 
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There used to be one just above Richmond Lock (possibly still is) after the 1st went up in smoke. That one was a bit of a character.
The number now found from Teddington to Reading (minimum) is a disgrace.
 
Am I an old cynic...but will guarantee you one thing,as with the NIMBYs who you prevent housing estates going up near them.
Every last one of them , will have a Yale key in their pocket,frequently more than than one...:)
 
There are somethings in the world money can't buy. For everything else there is *********** (fill in the blanks)
 
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