AFLOAT BUT ONLY JUST

The Spring is upon us, my friends. A time of revival, regrowth. And a merry towpath parade of summer skirts and bare legs in shorts has caught the Floater quite unawares. He has been called upon to look back, though, to Twenty Twelve. To a time when, after an iffish Summer of on-off rain, Olympic Closures and a Pyrates Regatta, a time when some fraught battles had been fought, and water brought to the thirsting excluded crews, and when a caf was born. Listen to my tale now, my little floaters. Once there was a disorganisation, we called it London Boaters[1]. It had lifted like a Phoenix from the flames, called into being, a humble email list became a fierce force to face, in meetings, on the towpaths we fought for our cause and won. The Lea and Stort Moorings Policy was defeated, lost cats were found, and lost bicycles returned. But while these gains were made, in higher halls the House of Lords, no less another cause was fought and won a thing called the Canal and River Trust had begun. At

the last minute a group defined as Liveaboard Boaters Without a Home Mooring had had their interest declared, but time ran out on the Bill democracy in action and the waterways were handed over, lock, stock and barrel, to the managers of British Waterways. Thus was born CaRT, the Canal and River Trust. By May Twenty Thirteen the first-ever National Association of Bargee Travellers floating general meeting had been held in a well-attended upper room of the Malt Shovel in Cowley Bridge. Nigel Moore spoke at length, and, at times, philosophically upon the outcome of his legal battles with BW and CaRT, and dwelt briefly upon some of the niceties of the English Constitution. Those floaters familiar with Section 17.3 (c)(ii)[2] of the 1995 Act should also know of these two 1965 Byelaws, which, the Floater has been partly able to recall: Byelaw 28: Any vessel shall be securely moored head and stern with good and sufficient ropes or other apparatus in such a position as not to cause

any obstruction to the navigation of other vessels. Byelaw 29: No mooring rope shall be affixed to any sluice, lockgate, bridge or other work of the Board not provided for the purpose of mooring. Any Guidance, or terms and conditions, or charges, permits or fines that exceeded these principles, and those of the much disputed Section 17.3 (c)(ii) were thus found to be unlawful. Back in March of that year a spate of announcements of plans and consultations, reports and proposals from CaRT and from the Inland Waterways Association now their partners in fulfilling their Charitable Objectives[3] had prompted the following Announcement, which in turn lead to London Boaters participation in the London Assembly Rapporteurship into Mooring on Londons Waterways: The London Boaters Group have consensually appointed a boater to draft a Statement which, in response to the provocations of an alphabet of acronyms, is intended to draw a series of red lines in the sand,

to mix metaphors, and to offer fig leaves to embarrassed bureaucrats: London Boaters Group reject any proposal of Local Mooring Permits, as the License already paid for by boaters is all the permit anyone should need. The hope that this policy will both raise revenue for the Trust and drive down the number of eligible boaters to zero through their withdrawal to terrestrial accommodation, emigration or death is neither necessary nor likely to prove effective. London Boaters believe rather that the yearround presence of boaters in London and throughout the country benefits the waterways. This has been supported by our own research in response to the Lee and Stort consultation. Community Moorings, as understood by London Boaters, are a means of developing offline moorings as a community run project. They

should not encroach upon towpath mooring, which will remain open to all boaters for the 14 day period, or longer, as specified by Law. Although London Boaters welcome the introduction of Winter Mooring Permits in the place of towpath closures, their proposal is that the Trust relaxes enforcement through the winter, when waterway use is lower, and focus their resources instead on keeping a steady turnover of boats on the more popular mooring sites throughout the summer, applying only measures in keeping with the word and the spirit of existing legislation and in co-operation with other waterways users. Current discussion of NonCompliant Continuous Cruising, Capacity, Overcrowding and Honeypot Sites, and consequent attempts at managing life on the waterways through restrictions, permissions and enforcement

are and will remain illinformed and ineffective until academic qualitative and quantitative research is conducted. Only when the responsibilities of the Canal and River Trust to carry out canal, lock and towpath maintenance are given their due attention, and are sufficiently financed, will the full potential of the waterways to provide homes, workplaces, and an attractive and sustainable environment for all users be properly measured or understood. London Boaters Group believe that priority should be given to the provision of services and security on the towpath for all waterways users, over and above the current focus on restrictions, permissions and enforcement. This will surely result in an improved experience of the canals and rivers for all and the preservation of a unique and valuable way of life.

SPORTS NEWS IN DEPTH Nigels Gone, Son Up till now he has been a familiar sight on the field for FC CRT, but key CRT defender Nigel Johnson has taken an early shower. He was involved

in todays clash between FC CRT and NABT Athletic at the High Court ground (result pending) where his performance was disappointing, suggesting his 250,000 price-tag was excessive, as many had felt

at the sight of his obvious failure to reach the high standard of play set by renowned opposition forward Nigel Moore (then on loan from Brentford). CRTs new Chairman was unavailable for comment.

New Team on the Block The Sporting Association of Continuous Cruisers, a new team lead by experienced managers previously of the First Cub Scout Troop of Cowley Bridge Under 21s, took the field for the first time yesterday in a friendly match at the FC CRT ground. A series of own goals assisted their opponents to the unprecedented 213-0 victory which was claimed to be a great success. After years of conflict, said an SACC spokesman in a rare unguarded moment, we believe that by

working with FC CRT we were able to move together in cooperation to achieve many shared goals. We hope this result will prove decisive in changing the confrontational attitude which other teams seem to have taken to FC CRT. They do own the pitch, ball and referee, and they wrote the rules of the game, after all. Line and Lengthsmen Controversy continues as the full consequences of the Waterways Leagues replacement of experienced linesmen

with volunteers sinks in. The legality of this change was challenged today. A spokesman for the League said the long and short of it is, there has been a lot of back and forth, and flags have been raised. We are now locked into this, we realise, for better or for worse, and the flood of complaints has left our volunteers feeling somewhat bogged down. Many pitches are still awaiting inspection as we write. The Floater is anxious for some resolution of this issue.

FOOTNOTES FOR THE FOOLHARDY, OR, SOME USEFUL AMMUNITION FOR THE AMOROUS
[1] STATEMENT OF THE LONDON BOATERS GROUP 2011. "London Boaters act collectively to protect the homes and way of life of the people who live on Londons waterways. We reach out to all those committed to a sustainable future for our canals and rivers." [2] SECTION 17 (3) OF THE BRITISH WATERWAYS ACT 1995. (3) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment but subject to subsection (7) below, the Board may refuse a relevant consent in respect of any vessel unless (a) the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board that the vessel complies with the standards applicable to that vessel;(b) an insurance policy is in force in respect of the vessel and a copy of the policy, or evidence that it exists and is in force, has been produced to the Board; and (c) either (i) the Board are satisfied that a mooring or other place where the vessel can reasonably be kept and may lawfully be left will be available for the vessel, whether on an inland waterway or elsewhere; or (ii) the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board that the vessel to which the application relates will be used bona fide for navigation throughout the period for which the consent is valid without remaining continuously in any one place for more than 14 days or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances. [3] CHARITABLE OBJECTIVES OF THE CANAL AND RIVER TRUST. 1 Subject to Clause 1.2 and 1.3, to hold in trust and retain in perpetuity for public benefit the Infrastructure Property for the following purposes: 1.1.1 to operate and manage the Infrastructure Property for public benefit, use and enjoyment including: (a) for navigation; (b) for walking on towpaths; and (c) for recreation or other leisure-time pursuits of the public in the interest of their health and social welfare; 1.1.2 to protect and conserve, for public benefit, sites, objects and buildings of archaeological, architectural, engineering or historic interest on, in the vicinity of, or otherwise associated with the Infrastructure Property; 1.1.3 to further, for public benefit, the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural environment and landscape of the Infrastructure Property. 1.2 To use the income (which expression shall not include the proceeds of any Capital Disposal of the Infrastructure Property) for the purposes set out in Clause 2.1 and the following purposes: 1.2.1 to protect and conserve, for public benefit, sites, objects and buildings of archaeological, architectural, engineering or historic interest on, in the vicinity of, or otherwise associated with Inland Waterways; 1.2.2 to further, for public benefit, the conservation, for protection and improvement of the natural environment and landscape of Inland Waterways; 1.2.3 to promote, facilitate, undertake and assist in, for public benefit, the restoration and improvement of Inland Waterways; 1.2.4 to promote and facilitate, for public benefit, awareness, learning and education about Inland Waterways, their history, development, use, operation and cultural heritage, by all appropriate means including the provision of museums; 1.2.5 to promote sustainable development (as defined by Clause 13) in the vicinity of any Inland Waterway for the benefit of the public, in particular by: (a) the improvement of the conditions of life in socially and economically disadvantaged communities in such vicinity; (b) the promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and regeneration and the prudent use of natural resources; and 1.2.6 to further any purpose which is exclusively charitable under the law of England and Wales connected with Inland Waterways; provided that in each case where the Trust undertakes work in relation to property which it does not own or hold in trust, any private benefit to the owner of the property is merely incidental. [the objectives continue in this vein for some time, though we have been forced to edit it here for reasons of space, and of running out of it, but we are confident you have the most important bits. The Editor]

LONDON BOATERS ANNOUNCEMENT

There Will Be A Meeting. The Meeting Will Be At St Michaels Community Hall, London Fields. The Meeting Is On April 19th From 1till4. The Meeting Will Ask: 1) Who Are We? 2) Why Are We Here? 3) What Should We Do? 4) Whats Going On?

1) Will be an opportunity for anyone who has done work for LB to briefly sum-up what they did.

2) Will be a discussion about the future of the group, potentially with proposals regarding structure and purpose. 3) Will be an attempt to reach a consensus on structure and purpose. 4) Will be a summary discussion of things with which LB ought to engage.