Magazine of IWA Lee & Stort Branch

Autumn 2014

Cavalcade 2014 Another triumph for the

IWA, with a truly

successful Cavalcade, with

their 130 boats, it is

almost beginning to rival

your own Ware Festival

for popularity? Local

branch members scooped two awards i.e. The Mike Stevens

Memorial Trophy, for the 'Best Boat' at Canalway Cavalcade,

‘selected from all the boat entries at the event, awarded in recognition of Mike's outstanding contribution to IWA and Canalway Cavalcade during his lifetime’, went to Nimrod, owned

by Craig Haslam.

This of course must not be confused with the Mike

Stevens Spanish Knot Board that is awarded annually at Ware.

The second award was not so prestigious, but was still welcome,

the ‘Marcus Boudier Trophy, for the best decorated privately entered boat in Saturday's Pageant’ went to Muttley owned by

Michael and Marion Birch. So they’re not local members, but

the runners up were, viz the Tara Croft. Yes I know the boat is,

and has been, called the Tara Rose for decades, but you will

have to take that up with the incompetents at IWA who issued

the mooring permit to Tara Croft. The editor thinks

incompetent is a trifle harsh, she feels it should read ‘inability

to read the Tara Rose owners illegible incomprehensible scrawl

on last years’ entry form’ should be allowed for? Pah! I say and

double tish-tosh, it’s the last time I shall pen an article for this

tawdry rag then. Even the official picture only captures the

bow of Tara with mud weight! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Ware Festival took place once again over the weekend

of the 4th

-6th

July. The weather was kind enough – it only seemed to

rain at convenient times!

With over 80 boats visiting, the river was quite congested,

plus the Lee & Stort Boat Company taking up space, and aggressing

other boats that they considered to be in their way; one was forced

off the river, whether by deliberation, or the poor ability of the

skipper remains to be seen. The Friday welcoming BBQ was again

thoroughly enjoyed, and Craig’s Saturday Quiz Night was its usual

riotous success. The feedback from that has been - and still is - very

positive.

The stalls in Gazebo Village did very nicely, hosting three

‘firsts’. RNLI volunteer supporters were there, showing some of the

equipment they use during a rescue; a painted canalware stall sold a

quantity of goods; a ‘willow weaver’ showed a number of groups

how to create things like hanging plant pot holders and waste paper

baskets, out of stems of willow; and across the river, Stanstead

Abbotts Marina had their Chandlery stall set up in the car park.

Three of the Raffle prizes were donated by the Canalware, the

Willow Weaver, and a very generous voucher from Stanstead

Abbotts Chandlery.

Paul Strudwick

Banny did his usual ‘man overboard’ bit, right in the middle

of the Boat Handling Competition,

and was very professionally rescued

by the Herts Boat Rescue, who

leapt into action and pulled him

out. The Boat Handling was won

by a first-timer at Ware – and

someone who is comparatively

new to boating!

From The Region…

Next year will be the third anniversary of the

foundation of CRT and importantly elections to the

CRT Council. There will be changes to the

composition of the council and the way its

members are appointed. We will need to continue

to keep an eye on this process and influence them

so the membership represents the widest possible

range of interests and use of the canal network. A

waterways trust was always an IWA aim; however, the reality of CRT

requires IWA to consider the future priorities. IWA Navigation Committee

provides a list of issues we should be looking at, and helping to resolve;

these include, as they say in a Dance Show, in no particular order:-

The provision and management of short and long term, and

residential moorings.

Communications on navigating:- How do boaters find out about floodwater/ strong streams, planned, and unexpected restrictions to

navigation when away from their base?

Boater competence:- How do we encourage boaters to improve their general standards and promote good practice?

Network extensions /restorations:-

Services and service:- Standard, provision and maintenance of sanitary stations, water taps and rubbish disposal. Are there enough

winding holes and are they in the places they are needed?

I’m sure some of you are now screaming ‘they have missed that of the list’,

if we have please let me know and I will raise it at the next committee.

On visitors’ moorings, CRT seem to have put the exercise to

definition of ‘places’ on the backburner, where hopefully it will stay. We

understand why they thought this was a good thing, so with some other

boating organisations, are pushing CRT define ‘Bona fide Navigation’ and

enforce that before looking at the need to define places. We in London

have the biggest problem with boats overstaying on moorings and we need

to try to reduce the number of new people using boats as a residence in the

area.

One of the problems has been lazy journalists picking up past

articles on how idyllic it is to live afloat. As Alison Smedley pointed out in

here resent blog “People often have an image of life afloat as being idyllic

and peaceful. It’s nothing of the sort, in my experience. It can be fun and

exciting, but it can be cold, hard work and lonely too.” If you see any

articles that romanticise living on a boat, complain to the paper’s editor

pointing them to the blog on our website.

We must now also turn our attention to the General Election. IWA

intends to produce a Waterways Manifesto that members, Branches and

Regions can use in the run up to May. I will arrange for your news editor

to include the details in a future edition of Grapevine.

Finally, can I remind you that we are run a major ‘Big Dig’ on the

22nd

November on the Regents Canal. It would be nice to think we could

still get 1000 people out, as we have done in the past - but I doubt if we

can! If you can join us please let Stefanie Preston

(Stefanie.Preston@waterways.org.uk) or me know!

Paul.

I’ve often wondered how the original working horse-drawn boats

would pass each other from opposite directions. This little bit has been

copied from an earlier newsletter, penned by John.

Why a Mike Stevens Memorial

Knot Board? (Michael Leslie Stevens (1942 - 2007))

ike's interest in our waterways

started in 1972 almost by

accident, when out of curiosity,

he hired a cruiser called

Varrich on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

for a holiday, with friends and relatives.

By 1977 they decided to buy their first boat, Felis Catus, jointly with

a couple of friends. By 1982, the boat needed a lot more work doing

than they had the resources to carry out, so they went back to hiring

boats until 1990 when their next boat, Felis Catus II, was built for

them.

Designed as a holiday boat for long-distance cruising, it was

always their intention to replace her eventually with a larger boat, on

which they would live and cruise continuously. Mike benefited from

an inheritance that enabled him to commission his pride and joy,

Felis Catus III.

Wendy and Mike had begun their life of cruising the canals on

board this boat, when sadly, he died on 2nd

October 2007, on board

their boat. As well as canal boating, Mike also had a great interest in

Thames sailing barges.

M

Our regular monthly meetings take place at the New Inn, Roydon. Always a Monday, always 8.00.

10th November Speaker to be advised 8th December Our annual, traditional, Mince Pies & Mulled Wine (cost £4.00ph) 12th January London’s Waterways, by Jeremy Batch 9th February Speaker to be advised 9th March Branch AGM

Inland Waterways Association

hile Mike was teaching and doing voluntary work for the trade

union, he didn't have time to be much more than an armchair

member, but after a change of job he became a volunteer for

the IWA London Branch.

He started as its Minutes Secretary, and later became Branch

Chairman, Publicity Officer of the South London Branch, and Region

Secretary. He served on IWA London Region Planning and

Navigation Committee, and organised the towpath walks which are

run in conjunction with The Original London Walks.

He retired from all Branches and was the proud recipient of

the IWA Richard Bird Medal for services to the Association over a

number of years. His knowledge of the system was encyclopaedic

and his photographs are legendary.

Waterways History

rom the beginning of his boating years, Mike started developing

an interest in waterways history, and reading everything about it

that he could lay his hands on. Around 1980 he spotted the need

for a set of synoptic maps, showing the waterways of Britain as a

complete system evolving through time. He started doing some

research from his bookshelf and compiling the information for this

project.

Twenty years later this resulted in a series of web pages,

comprising over 200 detailed maps, which were published on his

website. These are now republished on the London Canal Museum

website.

So why knot a not board?

hat better way to remember him than our ‘not only not’s’ knot

board? Well one reason was, it had become a little tatty over

the seven years we have been competing for it. But help was at hand

W

F

W

in the shape of the Ware BBQ Queen Bee and Mark from Knot

Normal. While this may be the first, maybe not the last knot board

he has restored, IWA does owe him a huge vote of thanks for the

many hours he spent restoring the trophy to its former glory.

Once again, Illusions (2008), Ammonite (2009), Golden Ivy

(2010), Blue Crystals Tender Nos

2 (2011), Sherienne (2012), Toodle

Pip (2013) and last, but of course not least, 2014, Seanchaidh.

So next time you need a quality joiner, stop and ask Mark if

he can fit your job into his busy summer schedule.

Oh yes, I forgot, the

answer to the first

question is: a resounding

why not?

He deserves to be

remembered for all he has

done for us.

(can anyone see Banny & his camera reflected in this picture?)

What is becoming our annual ‘Tidy Up Ware’ day, took place towards the end of June, in preparation for the Ware Festival.

Once again we are indebted to the 5th Ware Scout Group

for their enthusiastic hard work, and once again it was so disappointing that ONLY our committee members

turned up to help! We look forward to seeing a number you at the next one.

We as a Branch are fortunate to be closely associated with one of

our country’s most important rivers, the River Lee. We are also equally

fortunate to be located near one of our most important

forests – Epping Forest – perhaps not

closely enough for some

of us.

The Corporation of

London’s Outreach team

produce a free publication,

‘Forest Focus’, from

which this article has been

copied.

As we,

as

boaters,

are well

used to

slow speeds as a matter

of routine on the waterways, most

of us will find the article to be of

interest, even though it is non-

related to boating, especially the

paragraph relating to pollution

levels as a result of traffic speed.

This extract has been reproduced with kind permission

from the City of London

A Cruise on the Caledonian Canal

(16th – 22nd August 2014)

The Caledonian Canal, engineered by Thomas Telford, was built between 1803 and 1822, linking Fort William in the west to Inverness in the east along the Great Gen. It comprises 22 miles of excavated canal and 38 miles of loch – Lochs Locky, Oich, Ness and Dochfour. It was sized to enable 32-gun frigates to cross the country while avoiding the hazards of the Pentland Firth and the North Atlantic.

Carol and I travelled the length of the Canal aboard Ros Crana, a 1962-built Dutch barge originally used to carry cement. It has been shortened by 3m to fit in the locks, equipped with six comfortable, en-suite double cabins, a saloon and dining room and is operated by a crew of four.

We had travelled up to Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper and joined Ros Crana at 2.00pm on Saturday. Summer had clearly left Scotland, though the morning rain was drying away. We met the crew and our fellow guests and got under way. The 5 mph pace would be familiar to any narrow boat

owner, but the space on board threatened us with agoraphobia.

The cruise lasted seven days, an average of only 8½ miles per day which gave lots of time for the various activities, there being opportunities to walk or cycle the Great Glen and, weather permitting, canoe or sail in the lochs. All meals were provided and the quality was excellent, from the breakfast porridge to the after dinner cheese board. Chef Martin was perhaps the most important member of the crew!

All crew members were friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and did their best to ensure everyone enjoyed the cruise. Which brings me to the feature which distinguished this holiday: the eleven guests blended like long-lost friends and developed a real team spirit.

So would I recommend the company? Yes, of course - although we didn’t see Nessie this time. More information can be found at: www.caledonian-discovery.co.uk

Mike Jones. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We all know what a wonderful world of friendly, welcoming

helpful people we have on the waterways, and sharing that

helpfulness often brings its own reward. Helping someone or

receiving help at locks can often lead to interesting and helpful

conversations, passing on tips and advice, comparing pubs, moorings

and other waterway amenities, and generally making the world a

better place.

I have often received invaluable help from others at locks, and

as a lone boater it is, believe me, very much welcomed and

appreciated. But perhaps the best help I received was some years ago

when travelling on the Kennet & Avon Canal. I arrived at the foot of

the Caen Hill flight one evening intending to navigate the flight the

following morning (this was in the days when the flight was only

open a few days each week), and so asked other boaters, already

waiting or arriving during the evening, if they would like to share the

locks. One by one each person said that they had already paired up

with another boat, so I was left with the daunting prospect of the

Caen Hill flight, solo, the following day.

The next morning the boats left, two by two, to ascend the

flight, and just as I was gathering the willpower to proceed, a hire

boat approached. “Do you mind sharing the flight?” I asked, “of

course not” came the reply. I then explained that I was single-handed

at which point this band of willing, helpful, experienced hirers told

me to stay aboard and they would do all the lock work for me. This

they proceeded to do with gusto, trotting up the hill with windlasses

swinging in all directions, communicating with one another by two-

way radio, a couple lock-wheeling to be as efficient as possible. And

all the while helping boats ahead, behind, or coming the other way.

As if that wasn’t enough every few locks the young lady

steering, popped down below, to re-emerge a few moments later with

two cups of coffee, one for her and the second for me. Thanks to

their efforts we managed to ascend the flight in a little under three

hours – is this a record? Having reached the summit I then pulled

over, with the intention of thanking them, and perhaps buying a drink

or two, when they cruised past with a friendly wave, and a cry of

“must dash – we’ve got a tight schedule”.

Of course some people are not so helpful, and I have also

come across the unhelpful boatful, with half a dozen people aboard,

who simply stand and watch while I operate the lock on my own, not

showing any inclination to offer help. In those circumstances it’s

amazing just how slowly you can work a lock, if you really try! I’ve

even been known to stop and close the exit gates (even though the

offending boat is clearly about to use the lock), and when challenged

simply say that “Sorry, I thought you were moored as you didn’t

seem to want to work the lock”.

Let’s keep the friendly, helpful approach – it’s much better for

all of us in the end.

Les.

Having given

Springfield Marina a glowing

write-up in the Spring edition,

it would seem they are not as

bright and shiny as they were

made out to be.

On separate occasions

within the last few months,

two of our boaters attempted

to purchase diesel from them.

One of them was heading for

a run on the Thames.

They were told,

“We don’t sell diesel in

the afternoons” and weren’t

served.

It appears that the

Marina closes at 4pm, and in

preparation for doing so, they

begin to close down shortly

after 3, and stop doing

anything which might take

time or become too involved.

So boaters BEWARE.

If you are likely to require

fuel, think in advance!

This cutting was found in an

old newspaper, some 30-odd

years ago.

With reference to the recent

resignations of Les Hunt and Bob

Dunkley, the following is a

snippet from one of John’s last

Newsletters. I will leave you to

ponder!

The closure of the Hertford Branch was made necessary because, in spite of many appeals, no

members came forward to join or replace those Committee members who had kept the Branch going long after it had been reasonable for them to expect to hand over the reins. Let’s hope that we can keep the Lee and Stort Branch going strong without encountering a similar problem.

Our regular monthly Branch Meetings are once again under way, having begun on October with a talk by Ian Shacklock - yes, he is John’s son - an Islington-based volunteer who runs the ‘Friends of Regent's Canal’.

Ian talked about some of

their recent campaigns, day-to-day issues and challenges, as well as opportunities for improving things. Boaters in the audience complained that they rarely get to experience the canal or towpath in London because there are no guaranteed places to pause or stay.

Recent campaigns include the protection of Holborn Studios, Bow Wharf, and the Bethnal Green gasholders, all of which are under threat of demolition and could be replaced by characterless modern housing. The Friends have worked jointly with the London branches of the IWA on some of these projects and are looking to extend their reach to other parts of the boating world.

Anybody can become a Friend - by attending quarterly public meetings, joining the mailing list, following the Twitter feeds or engaging in the new Facebook group - and there is no cost involved. The central source of information is their website: http://friendsofregentscanal.org/ and contributions are always welcome. The Friends are in a strong position to campaign for better facilities along the Regent's so it makes sense for them to reach out to boaters outside London as well as engaging local people. Watch this space for news about ways you can help yourselves and others.

If you would like to engage with the Friends, please send an e-mail to: friendsregentscanal@gmail.com

Copies of Ian's slides are available on: http://friendsofregentscanal.org/events/2014/2014-10-13/IWA-discussion-p1.html

From our Chairman…

Ware Boat Festival needs YOU

Over the last few years, Ware Boat

Festival has gone from strength to strength

but is in real danger of folding unless we

have more volunteer support to help plan

and run the festival. Unless we get

increased support, we will have to consider

cancelling the event.

This is the last thing we want to do.

Over 80 boats attended this year meaning

over 200 people joined in the event. Then there are the hundreds of

people who came to visit, walking the towpath, taking a cruise on the

trip boat, learning about our inland waterways, watching the parade

of boats. We really bring the waterways alive during the weekend.

But the popularity and success means we need more help to make

sure we continue to put on a great spectacle for the people of Ware.

Bob Dunkley has decided to stand down as Harbourmaster

after doing a superb job over many recent years. We need to replace

Bob (if that's possible) so we have someone to head up the

harbourmaster team as well as a few more deputy harbour masters to

share the role, with the ever increasing numbers of boats. So if you

can help, please drop me an e-mail so we can build on the success of

the Ware Boat Festival.

Les Hunt has also decided to stand down as Vice Chairman at

the next AGM, as well as handing over the reins of organising the

Festival. The departure of Les will be difficult for the Branch to

manage as he has done tremendous work with not only the festival

but the branch e-mail shots, liaising with key partners and

representing the branch at regional and national level. I wish to

personally thank Les for his superb commitment to the IWA over

many years. You will be missed!!

The current Committee will continue the planning and

organisation for Ware Boat Festival, but this means sharing the work

Craig Haslam

between relatively few people. Maybe you could help by either

joining or supporting the Committee in some way and relieve a bit of

the pressure. There are a number of roles including setting up the

site, signing in the visiting boaters, distributing Boaters Packs,

organising the Boat Parade or Boat Handling, planning

our Gazebo Village and liaising with stallholders, packing up the site,

and a myriad of other things to help make the weekend run smoothly.

It all helps share the workload and take a bit of pressure off our small

Committee. No experience necessary – just a willingness to help.

So please contact me by e-mail: boatyboy96@hotmail.com if

you can help.

Ware Common Wharf Our efforts to return Ware Common Wharf to a public visitor

mooring continue. We have held productive meetings with CRT,

Ware Town Council and East Herts District Council, and will work

hard to ensure this public facility is available to everyone who

chooses to visit the town for a short time, fish from the location or

simply sit and enjoy the peace of the riverside in a quiet little spot.

The wider mooring situation across the system is still subject

of great debate. CRT has published its bi-monthly Towpath Mooring

Management project report for September 2014. This is the sixth of

their regular updates on the Towpath Mooring Management project,

running from April 2013 to April 2016, focused on building

constructive engagement with the boating community, creating better

understanding of the rules, addressing specific local issues, reviewing

visitor moorings and working with local stakeholders.

The report can be viewed online:

http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/mooring/mooring-

rules/towpath-mooring-project

ock still only has one set of paddle gear working Hertford L

on the top gates. We have been applying pressure on CRT to rectify

this whilst minimising impact on navigation. We are told the problem

will be fully repaired this winter with other significant improvements

being made to the lock at the same time.

Craig.

The IWA may not agree with opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages

publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy, or an official announcement unless otherwise stated.

IWA accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Registered Charity No212342

Committee Members Chairman Vice Chairman, Publicity Officer

Craig Haslam Les Hunt

- h: 01279 860 507

m: 07956 848 025 m: 07801 260 579

e: boatyboy96@hotmail.com e: les.hunt@waterways.org.uk

Secretary Membership Secretary, Treasurer Mike Jones Carole Beeton

h: 01992 584 310 h: 01992 468 435

m: 07976 517 749 -

e: mike.jones10@ntl.com e: robandcarole@msn.com

Joint Events Officer Joint Events Officer Banny Banyard Terry Stembridge

h: 01279 771 552 h: 01992 575 702

m: 07860 669 279 m: 07709 205 498

e: banny@tesco.net e: terry.stembridge@btinternet.com

Magazine Editor Monica Hawes

h: 020 8520 0461

m: 07943 169 800

e: monicaforboats@hotmail.com

Tony Plunkett

h: -

m: 07944 678 228

e: tplunkett@hotmail.co.uk