NBW tracks down the miscreants on restricted moorings
I just got a namecheck and photo from Tom Crossley of Narrowboat World. Thanks, Tom! That's kind of you.
But I don't understand; you say that Granny is 'going nowhere on restricted moorings', but I thought I'd been pretty good about following the BW guidelines for continuous cruising, moving on every 7-10 days on a genuine voyage, and not just hovering in the area.
I'm not bridge-hopping; I'm England-hopping.
And I wasn't on restricted moorings - certainly not where he pictured me, near Weston, near Stone, a couple of weeks back.
CCers that were moored at Weston when I arrived were still there when I left, so perhaps you think I need to keep better company. Except, one of them went out of his way to help me extraordinarily when I had my flat battery, and I'm really grateful. The waterways need more kind people like him.
Last month BW issued a draft document on proposals to tackle (alleged) miscreants like me. Sally Ash, BW's boating czar, suggests a £25-a-day surcharge.
I really like that. It would be a 'charge', and not a 'fine'. There's too much law around these days and not enough commerce.
Charging £25/day works out about about £9,125 a year, which I think is quite a reasonable fee for the privilege of mooring where the hell you like. It's effectively a Club Class.
But as usual, Narrowboat World misses the real story - my licence is still out of date! I haven't sorted out with BW about my lost boat safety certificate, and they won't direct debit the licence fee until I've got a replacement.
(Sorry for the formatting of the NBW screengrab above, but NBW doesn't like my hi-res screen and I can't link directly to the article concerned. Tom, your website design really is antedeluvian - sack your webmaster! Also, please feel free to ask if you want a decent photo of Granny Buttons. I'll be sure to moor alongside a 24hr mooring sign next time)