Canal/boating holiday
Anthony Deane
getting married. (Okay, it's a stag do, but we're sensible, well behaved
chaps and if you say the words "stag do" it scares people!).
For this, I was looking at booking a canal boat, or something on the Norfolk
Broads for the last bank holiday weekend in May.
But, I'll ask for some advice. Has anybody done this before, and if you were
there any problems with group bookings (especially a largish group of men)?
And what happens about picking up the boat and returning it?
Also, does anybody have any ideas of trips out/events to do during the day?
Other than that, does anybody have any ideas for a group of 10 men looking
for a straightforward weekend away, with some drink, food and banter, rather
than binge-drinking and strippers?
Many thanks,
Anthony
Sarah Cooper
anthon...@freegmailservice.com (Anthony Deane) wrote:
I would thoroughly recommend <http://www.canalholidays.co.uk/> . Have
hired narrow boats from them a number of times. They are very well
maintained, comfortable with plenty of advice and efficient service. They
will even take you to your first lock just to make sure that you are happy
with how it all works. The disadvantage is that they are in Linslade - so
not on the doorstep. There are a great many advantages though with
beautiful countryside and a great many fantastic canalside watering holes
together with chocolate box pretty villages such as Stoke Bruerne.
You could also self cater (there is a canalside Tesco with mooring points
for you to stock up). If you go north from the boatyard you can experience
going through the tunnels such as Blisworth and there are plenty of locks.
Personally, I'd avoid going round the Birmingham ring as that is the only
time we experienced any trouble whatsoever from local youths who thought
it amusing to throw missiles from some of the bridges in the less
salubrious parts such as Bournville. Other more experienced boaters
advised taking photographs of the culprits which seemed to work.
Enjoy!
--
SCoop
RobertL
> In article <009faf8b$0$12257$c3e8...@news.astraweb.com>,
If you want to do this near Cambridge then Bridge Boatyar din Ely hire
out 'cruisers' (large fibre glass boats). It takes about 5 hours to
get fro mEly to Cambridge. Further away, Foxes at March rent out real
narroboats. Not sure about the broads though, which is what you
actually asked.
Robert
Paul Bird
Sorry to be a killjoy but alcohol and water don't mix very well (joking
aside). I don't wish to open a book on which one of your party falls
off and drowns.
PB
Paul Oldham
> I've been charged with organising an away weekend for a friend who is
> getting married. (Okay, it's a stag do, but we're sensible, well behaved
> chaps and if you say the words "stag do" it scares people!).
>
> For this, I was looking at booking a canal boat, or something on the Norfolk
> Broads for the last bank holiday weekend in May.
>
> But, I'll ask for some advice. Has anybody done this before, and if you were
> there any problems with group bookings (especially a largish group of men)?
Yes. In my experience they don't like hiring to single sex parties. At
all. When I did this it took a *lot* of persuading.
On top of this they won't need your business for that bank holiday
weekend: they will (probably already) have all their boats booked out
for full week hires especially as I think that one's half term. Weekend
bookings will not interest them.
--
Paul Oldham ----------> http://the-hug.org/paul
Milton villager ------> http://www.milton.org.uk/
and FAQ wiki owner ---> http://cam.misc.org.uk
"I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message"
Tim Ward
news:009faf8b$0$12257$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
>
> For this, I was looking at booking a canal boat, or something on the
> Norfolk Broads for the last bank holiday weekend in May.
I wouldn't recommend a canal boat if nobody in the party has ever driven one
before. I wouldn't recommend a plastic noddy boat on tidal bits of the
Broads if nobody in the party has ever done tideways before. A plastic noddy
boat on a non-tidal inland waterway is plausible, but you either need to
know what you're doing, ie have a reasonable amount of experience, or stay
sober.
magwitch
And to your last point I'd add wear a life jacket.
Duncan Wood
Elf n Safety gone mad....
Paul
No. Have you forgotten the deaths this summer in lakes, as every year.
Sailing clubs would not allow members to use their dinghys without the
occupants wearing life jackets. Although it is common to see people on
cruisers on the Broads without lifejackets, they are often in the
cockpit and not on deck. Add alcohol and the situation changes for the
worse.
PB
Duncan Wood
I fail to see the difference between that & the normal complaints.
Fevric J. Glandules
> Sailing clubs would not allow members to use their dinghys without the
> occupants wearing life jackets.
That's because whem dinghy sailing there's a high risk of the boom
knocking one unconscious and into the water. I'm not sure it's
comparable to other types of messing around on the water. Anybody
here abstain from alcohol until *after* they've been punting? [1]
[1] Hint: the phrasing excludes those who abstain full stop.
Jon Green
> I'm not sure it's
> comparable to other types of messing around on the water. Anybody
> here abstain from alcohol until *after* they've been punting?
It's not comparable. The Cam isn't deep; neither is it at all
swift-flowing. The same can't be said of all navigable waters in East
Anglia alone!
Jon
--
SPAM BLOCK IN USE! To reply in email, replace 'deadspam'
with 'green-lines'.
magwitch
I don't think so.
Fresh water is at it's coldest in May (my brother drowned in a cold lake
on May 28th 1984 - when he fell in, he lost conciousness, the cold gave
him a heart attack and he sank without trace).This happened when he was
completely sober in daylight hours.
Add drink and fumbling around unsteadily on a boat in the dark - sounds
like a recipe for disaster to me.
Tim Ward
news:op.u5o54vxvhaghkf@lucy...
Depends which you mean ... I'd put kids in life jackets on a plastic noddy
boat, but I don't think I'd bother on a narrow boat other than for small
ones who can't swim.
Sailing boats is another matter. Life jackets every time please.
Brian L Johnson
> I'd put kids in life jackets on a plastic noddy boat, but I don't think
> I'd bother on a narrow boat other than forsmall ones who can't swim.
I'm not sure I understand your reasoning: you'd NOT bother with
lifejackets for kids who either have to walk along the 6" wide shelf along
the side of a narrowboat or across the sloping cluttered roof without
handrails, but you WOULD make them wear them for boats which generally
have handrails and grabrails all the way round? Reasoning?
--
brianlj
Mike Causer
"Tim Ward" <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
> Sailing boats is another matter. Life jackets every time please.
On inland waters. Which I grant was the original point.
Offshore or coasting: a harness (or internal harness in jacket) and
line clipped to something intended to carry the load will keep you
attached to the boat. In a gale it's much easier for those still on
board to pull on the line than find a lifejacket floating an unknown
distance behind.
The occasional drill with a cushion is good too (and with a crew member
hiding even better :-). Be prepared to lose the cushion.
Mike
--
Mike Causer
Tim Ward
news:20091229233648.90...@goglemail.com...
> On Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:05:06 -0000
> "Tim Ward" <t...@brettward.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Sailing boats is another matter. Life jackets every time please.
>
> On inland waters. Which I grant was the original point.
>
> Offshore or coasting: a harness (or internal harness in jacket) and
> line clipped to something intended to carry the load will keep you
> attached to the boat.
Oh yes.
Tim Ward
news:op.u5p13ihq0v1caa@thedell...
> Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk>,:
>
>> I'd put kids in life jackets on a plastic noddy boat, but I don't think
>> I'd bother on a narrow boat other than forsmall ones who can't swim.
>
> I'm not sure I understand your reasoning: you'd NOT bother with
> lifejackets for kids who either have to walk along the 6" wide shelf along
> the side of a narrowboat or across the sloping cluttered roof without
> handrails
The kids have to do neither and can be forbidden from doing both - they can
be constrained to the inside and the cockpit if you don't trust them
anywhere else. The serious risk of falling overboard - doing it in a lock
and being crushed against the side - is not mitigated by a life jacket.
bob
I did exactly this for a (well behaved) stag weekend a couple of years
back. I trusted the various people involved to be mature enough to
understand the risks of alcohol and water (they were, the only
casualty was a pair of sunglasses). I was a bit worried about whether
it would be difficult to find a company prepared to hire out to a stag
party, but we went with http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk/boats.htm who
seemed reasonably happy with stag groups. For provisions, we got
Sainsbury's online to deliver to the boatyard when we collected the
boat, which worked out very well for us. There were a few useful
routes to take the boat on from Middlewich, giving options for those
willing to set out early or those who want to take it easier and spend
more time ashore. It worked out really well for us, and a good time
was had by all.
Robin
Paul Oldham
> Fresh water is at it's coldest in May (my brother drowned in a cold lake
> on May 28th 1984 - when he fell in, he lost conciousness, the cold gave
> him a heart attack and he sank without trace).This happened when he was
> completely sober in daylight hours.
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Not that it's any consolation but it does tie up with what I was told by
the professional skipper of a boat I sail on who said that autopsies of
man over boards show that about 50% died within seconds of hitting the
water from a heart attack. :-(
Of course wearing a life jacket probably won't make a lot of difference
in that situation, but at least it gives the rest of the crew a very
brief window to try to recover the casualty and start CPR.
--
Paul Oldham ----------> http://the-hug.org/paul
Milton villager ------> http://www.milton.org.uk/
and FAQ wiki owner ---> http://cam.misc.org.uk
"Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?"
Roland Perry
<7b24a0a9-b4ba-4595...@e37g2000yqn.googlegroups.com>, at
01:18:00 on Wed, 30 Dec 2009, bob <rcp...@gmail.com> remarked:
> but we went with http://www.middlewichboats.co.uk/boats.htm who
>seemed reasonably happy with stag groups.
These were pretty much the only company happy to rent narrowboats to
"single sex groups" when I was helping to organise many trips for
friends in the 70's. In those days they were known as "Willow Wren".
I wonder if those are the exact same boats, some of the names are
horribly familiar! There were two boatyards, one near Rugby and one in
Middlewich - the names were trees [eg Willow] and birds [eg Wren]
respectively.
Don't try this at home, folks (this was on the Severn):
http://www.perry.co.uk/images/flying-roland.jpg
And possibly the same trip, on the Avon:
http://www.perry.co.uk/images/flamingo.jpg
--
Roland Perry
Rupert Moss-Eccardt
Neither the roof nor the 'shelf' are routes from one end of the boat to
the other. They are not for people to walk on.
tony sayer
scribeth thus
>magwitch wrote:
>
>> Fresh water is at it's coldest in May (my brother drowned in a cold lake
>> on May 28th 1984 - when he fell in, he lost conciousness, the cold gave
>> him a heart attack and he sank without trace).This happened when he was
>> completely sober in daylight hours.
>
>Sorry to hear of your loss.
>
>Not that it's any consolation but it does tie up with what I was told by
>the professional skipper of a boat I sail on who said that autopsies of
>man over boards show that about 50% died within seconds of hitting the
>water from a heart attack. :-(
FWIW I was a few years ago the "passenger" in a Two man canoe craft going up
the cam just near Grantchester when one of the oars/paddles caught something
and spun the craft over and I was thrown into the water and the sudden shock
was rather disabling but being neigh on 2 meters tall managed to walk out of
the river and make it to land round the back of Jeffery archers gaff, stared
at by to disbelieving rotwillers;!..
And the cold was a factor in the shock.. and that was in May 1988 IIRC...
>
>Of course wearing a life jacket probably won't make a lot of difference
>in that situation, but at least it gives the rest of the crew a very
>brief window to try to recover the casualty and start CPR.
A very faint chance...
--
Tony Sayer
magwitch
> magwitch wrote:
>
>> Fresh water is at it's coldest in May (my brother drowned in a cold
>> lake on May 28th 1984 - when he fell in, he lost conciousness, the
>> cold gave him a heart attack and he sank without trace).This happened
>> when he was completely sober in daylight hours.
>
> Sorry to hear of your loss.
>
> Not that it's any consolation but it does tie up with what I was told by
> the professional skipper of a boat I sail on who said that autopsies of
> man over boards show that about 50% died within seconds of hitting the
> water from a heart attack. :-(
A doctor friend of ours told us that if the vagus nerve in the spine
becomes too chilled it triggers unconsciousness and/or a heart attack.
Years before, a college friend fell out of a boat on Lake Annecy, he was
very promptly rescued by another who'd been in the Merchant Navy and
knew about the dangers of cold water (even for a few seconds). My friend
said he blacked out almost immediately in the water and didn't remember
a thing about the incident until they were back at the lakeside.
During this last cold spell there've been 4 cold water fatalities in the
area, a 13 y/o in Saffron Walden, the 2 guys out shooting who tried to
rescue their dog, and another who is still missing.
Just avoid.
>
> Of course wearing a life jacket probably won't make a lot of difference
> in that situation, but at least it gives the rest of the crew a very
> brief window to try to recover the casualty and start CPR.
My poor brother had gone to help his girlfriend who'd taken a canoe and
in his haste hadn't put on a life jacket... as you say, at least they
might have found him if he had been.
tony sayer
<magw...@invalid.net> scribeth thus
>Paul Oldham wrote:
>> magwitch wrote:
>>
>>> Fresh water is at it's coldest in May (my brother drowned in a cold
>>> lake on May 28th 1984 - when he fell in, he lost conciousness, the
>>> cold gave him a heart attack and he sank without trace).This happened
>>> when he was completely sober in daylight hours.
>>
>> Sorry to hear of your loss.
>>
>> Not that it's any consolation but it does tie up with what I was told by
>> the professional skipper of a boat I sail on who said that autopsies of
>> man over boards show that about 50% died within seconds of hitting the
>> water from a heart attack. :-(
>
>A doctor friend of ours told us that if the vagus nerve in the spine
>becomes too chilled it triggers unconsciousness and/or a heart attack.
Why does it do that then?..
>
>Years before, a college friend fell out of a boat on Lake Annecy, he was
>very promptly rescued by another who'd been in the Merchant Navy and
>knew about the dangers of cold water (even for a few seconds). My friend
>said he blacked out almost immediately in the water and didn't remember
>a thing about the incident until they were back at the lakeside.
>
>During this last cold spell there've been 4 cold water fatalities in the
>area, a 13 y/o in Saffron Walden, the 2 guys out shooting who tried to
>rescue their dog, and another who is still missing.
If that was the lad in Bishops Stortford, he was found dead..
An awful reminder of Christmas for his parents;(...
>
>Just avoid.
Indeed..
>>
>> Of course wearing a life jacket probably won't make a lot of difference
>> in that situation, but at least it gives the rest of the crew a very
>> brief window to try to recover the casualty and start CPR.
>
>My poor brother had gone to help his girlfriend who'd taken a canoe and
>in his haste hadn't put on a life jacket... as you say, at least they
>might have found him if he had been.
--
Tony Sayer
Brian Watson
>... the sudden shock was rather disabling but being neigh on 2
> meters tall managed to walk out of the river and make it to land
> round the back of Jeffery archers gaff, stared at by to disbelieving
> rotwillers;!..
>
> And the cold was a factor in the shock.. and that was in May 1988
> IIRC...
I can imagine making shore at Archer's gaff must've been fairly shocking
too.
In the account of the incident that I read in the CEN at the time, he
claimed that he had stripped off his shirt revealing his manly torso,
plunged into the icy rapids, dragged you to the grassy bank and JUST managed
to save your life by the rapid application of the kiss of life.
Or am I thinking of two other people...?
:-)
--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop
Jules
Hmm, I've known a few folk with narrow boats* and walking on the roof or
the 'shelf' is standard practice (even if it is preferable to go through
the boat when possible). Not wearing crap shoes seems to be the key
factor, as the surfaces can be pretty slippery with the wrong footwear.
I was going to say that lifejackets might be a good idea around locks for
the unwary, but it's probably better practice just to make sure that
everyone's either off the boat, inside it, or at the very least not
clambering all over it :-)
cheers
Jules
Roland Perry
09:53:47 on Wed, 30 Dec 2009, Jules
<jules.rich...@remove.this.gmail.com> remarked:
>> Neither the roof nor the 'shelf' are routes from one end of the boat to
>> the other. They are not for people to walk on.
>
>Hmm, I've known a few folk with narrow boats* and walking on the roof or
>the 'shelf' is standard practice (even if it is preferable to go through
>the boat when possible).
Everyone I've ever boated with takes the outside route as the default.
>Not wearing crap shoes seems to be the key factor, as the surfaces can
>be pretty slippery with the wrong footwear.
Wearing the right shoes is a no-brainer, and many boats have the
surfaces in question coated with non-slip paint or other abrasive
material.
--
Roland Perry
Jules
> In message <pan.2009.12.30....@remove.this.gmail.com>, at
> 09:53:47 on Wed, 30 Dec 2009, Jules
> <jules.rich...@remove.this.gmail.com> remarked:
>>> Neither the roof nor the 'shelf' are routes from one end of the boat to
>>> the other. They are not for people to walk on.
>>
>>Hmm, I've known a few folk with narrow boats* and walking on the roof or
>>the 'shelf' is standard practice (even if it is preferable to go through
>>the boat when possible).
>
> Everyone I've ever boated with takes the outside route as the default.
Yes, I suppose it depends on the internal boat design; if there are
obstacles providing a clear path then outside may be preferable / far
quicker!
I always felt a bit unsteady walking on the roof with the boat in motion.
Standing was fine, as was walking down the sides.
>>Not wearing crap shoes seems to be the key factor, as the surfaces can
>>be pretty slippery with the wrong footwear.
>
> Wearing the right shoes is a no-brainer
to anyone who's done it before, maybe - but I suspect a lot of weekend
canal boat hirers don't think of it beforehand...
> and many boats have the
> surfaces in question coated with non-slip paint or other abrasive
> material.
Yep, but not all - I think the last hire boat I had just had special ice
rink paint on it ;)
cheers
Jules
Brian L Johnson
> "Brian L Johnson" <no.e...@address.invalid> wrote in message
> news:op.u5p13ihq0v1caa@thedell...
>> Tim Ward <t...@brettward.co.uk>,:
>>
>>> I'd put kids in life jackets on a plastic noddy boat, but I don't think
>>> I'd bother on a narrow boat other than for small ones who can't swim.
>>
>> I'm not sure I understand your reasoning: you'd NOT bother with
>> lifejackets for kids who either have to walk along the 6" wide shelf
>> along
>> the side of a narrowboat or across the sloping cluttered roof without
>> handrails
>
> The kids have to do neither and can be forbidden from doing both - they
> can
> be constrained to the inside and the cockpit if you don't trust them
> anywhere else. The serious risk of falling overboard - doing it in a lock
> and being crushed against the side - is not mitigated by a life jacket.
Yes, all true, but that's not answering my question.
You said that you'd have kids wearing lifejackets on 'noddy' boats but not
on narrowboats.
I just wondered why you made the distinction that way around.
--
brianlj
Howard Fisher
Having been one of the others on those trips, and having hired much more
recently from Middlewich Narrowboats, I can say that the boats are
relatively new but the names live on.
And also remembering back to one of those trips, I'm not sure I'd
recommend it for a stag do - remembering one particular incident when
one of our number (who, IIRC, has posted in this thread :-) ) managed to
send one of the other crew to A&E (or probably Casualty, then) after an
evening in the pub!
--
Howard
(Secretary CU Canal Club 197n for some values of n.)
Tim Ward
news:6sQ9FLEC...@bancom.co.uk...
>
> FWIW I was a few years ago the "passenger" in a Two man canoe craft going
> up
> the cam just near Grantchester when one of the oars/paddles caught
> something
> and spun the craft over and I was thrown into the water and the sudden
> shock
> was rather disabling
Got tipped out of a Wayfarer by an idiot instructor on the Blackwater
estuary in October.
The "rather disabling" in my case included not being able to breathe for a
while.
I was wearing oilskins and lifejacket, but nothing to protect from the cold.
Tim Ward
news:u6-dnSuLWLDfaKHW...@pipex.net...
>
> And also remembering back to one of those trips, I'm not sure I'd
> recommend it for a stag do - remembering one particular incident when
> one of our number (who, IIRC, has posted in this thread :-) ) managed to
> send one of the other crew to A&E (or probably Casualty, then) after an
> evening in the pub!
The slamming the door in his face was deliberate, the fact that the door
actually hit him was an accident (I thought he was a few inches further
back). Yes I had been drinking.
tony sayer
<Br...@imagebus.co.uk> scribeth thus
>tony sayer wrote:
>
>>... the sudden shock was rather disabling but being neigh on 2
>> meters tall managed to walk out of the river and make it to land
>> round the back of Jeffery archers gaff, stared at by to disbelieving
>> rotwillers;!..
>>
>> And the cold was a factor in the shock.. and that was in May 1988
>> IIRC...
>
>I can imagine making shore at Archer's gaff must've been fairly shocking
>too.
>
>In the account of the incident that I read in the CEN at the time, he
>claimed that he had stripped off his shirt revealing his manly torso,
>plunged into the icy rapids, dragged you to the grassy bank and JUST managed
>to save your life by the rapid application of the kiss of life.
>
>Or am I thinking of two other people...?
Nah mate!, must be some other geezer;!...
>
>:-)
>
--
Tony Sayer