lee wells wrote: > Hi all, > Just to let any boaters on the kennet and avon in the newbury area know, two > boats had all there mooring ropes loosed and one ended up about half a mile > down stream across a bridge and wier. Luckily i had an anchor out, which > although it dragged managed to keep the boat 'in line' and prevented damage > to other boats it passed! The second boat was chained so just had to be > re-tied. > > When the police were informed they said that letting a boat loose was not a > crime! > > Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Surley if damage had resulted from the > boat being set loose then a crime has been comitted? >
Last summer we were 'set free' with 5 other boats on the Wey at Pyrford. We were the first to be woken up when another boat hit us (it was about 1am). I managed to get tied up again quite quickly having moved about 100 yards down stream but by the time I had woken everyone else up and help them tie up we realised one boat was missing. Someone remembered them as being 'an old couple'. I called all the emergency Wey numbers but only got an answer from the very last one. I also called the police to report the incident and, at that time, loss of one boat. Both the lock keeper police said they would send someone out. Meanwhile we walked down stream to see if we could find the missing boat. To our relief, after about half a mile we saw their light as they were slowly reversing back towards us. Neither the police nor the emergency lock keeper turned up and as far as they are concerned that couple could still be out there. No damage was done but someone could easily have fallen in. A curiosity: all boats had been set free by pulling out the pins and laying them, very carefully, on the boats. The only thing we could figure out was that this was done so that the roped pins wouldn't bang against the boats and wake us up too early (we only woke up because another boat hit us). If that analysis is true, it suggests that the culprits had done it all before. Cheers Will Chapman > Cheers > lee wells > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Trust the boater but not his plank. > > > > -- Will Chapman Save Our Waterways www.SaveOurWaterways.org.uk
