Roger Millin helpfully wrote: > Adrian said: > >>>> This is not only my view. AIUI, single-handed boating is now >>>> disallowed in France. > > snipped Bruce's reply > >> I'm told they do. The lock keepers enforce it. > > You may have point about French regulation Adrian, however, I've > certainly boated with a single-hander for two days along part of the > Nivernais and the River Yonne and not one word was said about the > single-handing. > But then again the French have lots of regulation about boats that > doesn't seem to be strictly applied. Probably just as well reallly as > most boats would have to be removed from the water if they were. ;-))
In Belgium, the law states that recreational craft over 15m cannot be single-handed but in the last two years I have only been asked once by a lock keeper if I was aware of the law and then allowed to continue. I did ask the President of one of the Flemish boating federations about this and he said to ignore it and that it was not enforceable as commercial craft in Belgium are still allowed to be crewed by one person only. I have seen many commercial craft over 1000 tonnes that are crewed only by one person including one that demolished a newly repaired lock entrance wall that I was standing on, he was only a few centimetres adrift but the damage was considerable. -- Michael Clarke
