Crewing the Wey And Arun Trip Boat

Friday 5th June 2009

I am doing my first post-training crewing on the trip boat this sunday...and there are problems with one of the locks!! The public trips run by the Wey and Arun Canal Trust at weekends and bank holidays help raise much needed funds towards the many restoration activities in the pipeline. They usually involve a couple of short trips through one lock and back, and then one longer trip, using 3 locks on Saturdays (labelled the Enthusiasts Trip) and 2 of these locks on Sundays. Well the second lock has been having problems, so on Sunday we will be doing four short trips, whilst Baldwin's Knob lock is drained and investigation undertaken to try and resolve the underlying problem. What this problem is is not known to me yet - when I find out I will reveal all in a future blog.

I have now put myself forward for July's public trips, and for the first time some of the evening charters, including crewing the brand new electric boat - Wiggonholt. Apparently it is eerily quiet, and will now give some of the wildlife a surprise I suspect. The new boat has been fitted out to take some 52 passengers, with a skipper and 2 crew, and can now tap in to the coach tour market. Previously they were averse to stopping off or specifically coming to Loxwood, due to the prospect of having to split their group to have trips on the 30 seat Zachariah Keppel.

Wiggonholt has also been fitted out with a wheelchair lift to further enhance our offering.
These charters are a fantastic source of revenue for the Trust, we have 28 booked in June, 19 in July, and a few already booked for August. Themed public trips at Christmas, Easter, and "Pirates and Princesses" all help to keep the Trust's profile high, and the much needed funds flowing.

How the obsession started

Oh dear...is it another midlife crisis? The previous one saw me buy a soft top Suzuki Jimny - which had the soft top down less than ten times in 4 years.

Now it is canals that have started to take over my thoughts, and rapidly take over any spare time I have.

The funny thing is that for years, being a non-swimmer, I have gone out of my way to avoid interests that involve water deeper than a few inches.

Can I pinpoint when/where/why canals have gotten to my core? Not really, so let's recap on what exposure to canals I've had, and maybe a fellow obsessive can tell me what was the catalyst.

At school, I was about 16 I guess, and doing the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. Looking for an activity to fulfill the service category, members of the fledgling Wey and Arun Canal Restoration Society came to my school, talked about the work they were undertaking, and that they needed a lot of volunteer help. I was intrigued, but lacking transport, and the fact that the areas they were restoring were almost inaccessible by public transport - that idea never materialised.

Wind forward probably 20 years. Whilst visiting friends near Bedford - a trip to Stoke Bruerne was suggested. It was a lovely day, the canal, museum and pubs were really busy, I'm sure we did a trip on the canal, we watched people locking and the first seeds were sown - would the family be up for a canal holiday.

A couple of years later, and there we are, myself, Denise (the better half), Laura and Matt (teenagers), and the in-laws, Carol, Dodge (Dennis) and Vicky (sister-in-law), plus Pip the miniature Schnauzer. We were on a hire boat, out of Oxford, doing the Oxford canal - and what a week that was. This can be the topic of a future blog - so hold on for that.

A weekend away with other friends a couple of years ago - August bank holiday, and we stumble over the Kennet and Avon canal at Devizes. A lovely walk, we find the Caen Hill flight of locks - amazing sight, and have a fantastic evening meal at a canalside pub (can't remember the name) whilst Denise and Debbie down a gallon of Pimms (well that was what it was described as - pretty sure it was less volume than that!!). Then on the monday, we go to Lacock, which was having a fete that day, and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust have a stand there - am I being stalked? We enter a raffle, and a few weeks later we receive a prize - free admission to their museum at Devizes - a bit too far to travel. At this stage I am starting to really get interested in getting involved - but this canal is a bit too far away.

Some months later, and on the regular trips to drop off, or collect my daughter from Brunel Uni in Uxbridge, and catching regular sights of the Grand Union canal - and the interest is growing.

Now, apart from my previous knowledge of them from the school visit, I'd not really been that aware of the Wey and Arun canal, until I started a new job in February 2009. I am commuting from Worthing to Teddington in SW London, and what with road works and heavy traffic, one of my alternative routes home is through Guildford, then down the A281, and then at Alfold cut down using the B2133 to Ashington. The first time I do this in February, as I go through Loxwood, there has been a lot of activity by the Onslow Arms pub, where the road crosses a canal!!!! There are even brown tourist signs showing a narrowboat. This looks interesting, so a quick google for 'Loxwood canal', and the Wey and Arun site appears. A lot of downloads of old magazines, maps etc later, and the membership form is soon completed.

Well....that is the start, and in 3 months the obsession has grown...

This will be part of the next blog.