On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:52:54 +0000, Adrian wrote: >"Enodreven at Yahoo" ><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> > People who want to rush should use motorways :) > >Hmm. What about a person who has a drydock booked (which has to be >done a year ahead), and has been held up on his way there by a >stoppage? This actually happened to me, and I definitely felt the >urge to move along briskly. Putting the barge on the motorway was not >a sensible option. > >There are other defensible reasons for navigating at more than >"relaxed" speed.
There are, and enjoying making good progress is one of them. While people banging paddles up on you are probably the worst menaces out there, not far behind are those who work lots with awe-inspiring inefficiency and - if you politely ask either if you can come past (and will then leave locks emptying/filling for them) or you offer to help by - for example - saying "get on now, we'll close up behind you" give you an earful about the waterways being to relax. Yes they are, and I get a lot of relaxation from the joy of building up a good rhythm along a lot flight. One thing that is spoiling my enjoyment these days, and this is no-one's fault, is that more and more boats are crewed by small crews (2) of people who are getting rather slow and cautious. They cannot work locks at anything like a reasonable safe speed, and sitting behind a dozen or so of them all the way up Audlem, as happened last time I was out was hell on earth. Six hours it took from Audlem bottom to Adderley top. Just because everyone was working locks like an anethesised tortoise. -- On-line canal route planner: http://www.canalplan.org.uk (Waterways World site of the month, April 2001) My Reply-To address *is* valid, though likely to die soon
