[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Andrew J Instone-Cowie > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes > > > > > >There are current locking times on Waterscape, but I can't vouch > >personally for their accuracy. It's a few months since we last went down > >on the river (and then we went upstream :-) ), nearly got caught by the > >heavy rain around when a boat got stuck on Sutton Weir. > >
Be aware that the lock keepers can be very strict about the opening times. We found (last year) that at least one lockie interpreted the wording which was something along the lines of "Locks close at 16.15 - boats should arrive up to 30 minutes before this to guarantee passage" (which I would have expected to mean that the keepers weren't to be expected to work late to deal with queues of boats that had arrived five minutes before closing time) to mean "if you aren't there at 15.45 then you have no chance of being worked through - even if there aren't any other boats there at all". Maybe we should have tried bribing him rather than begging him - but I don't think we had any cans of beer on board. Personally I reckon it's high time they changed the lock hours - which I guess are still based on commercial traffic, of which there has been none for some years. If they don't want to install user operation, they could at least alter the times to (say) an hour later, as there are probably rather more pleasure boaters who'd like to be able to carry on after 4pm than ones who like setting off at 8am. (Yes, I know lots of us would like to do both - but presumably that would require two shifts of lock-keepers and would be difficult to justify). Martin L ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/XISQkA/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/ygtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canals-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
