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Post by JohnV on Jan 22, 2019 18:34:52 GMT
when I was "dog sitting" in France down on the plage their was a notice that all dogs needed to be on a lead .... It was off season so there was no one on the beach apart from another dog walker who was most amused by the sight of my sister in laws dog trotting alongside me, lead clipped to it's collar and handle in it's mouth
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Post by Telemachus on Jan 22, 2019 18:36:07 GMT
.....and I thought the whole point of gliding was observing the elements with our natural senses and using the forces of nature to fly without relying on technical stuff. I have wondered whether it would be possible to scan for thermals and thermal strength using some kind of radar system. The trouble is that battery power is rather limited in a glider! Your thoughts align with those who are still living in the 1950s and like the little red and green balls!
But in reality, it is OK to be a luddite 1950's-dwelling person in gliding. If you must!
But equally it is OK to be into the full gamut of gliding which includes flying cross country at fairly high speeds and a need thus to avoid infringing airspace. When you fly a glider that can glide much further than you can see, you need the gadgets to tell you if you can make it to an airfield / somewhere to land. And when you fly a glider that can routinely cruise at 100Kts or more you need gadgets to tell you when to slow for a thermal, and when to blast through. And when you are at 20,000' you cannot possibly work out your position by looking out of the window.
But certainly, gadgets are not a substitute for being a competent glider pilot with a good sense of what the elements are doing and thus an ability to use the forces of nature to fly. But they are an important augmentation.
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Post by kris on Jan 22, 2019 18:38:27 GMT
Appprently the winter moorings aren't going to happen next year. which is a good thing in my opinion, if you want to stay stationery during winter get a marina berth. The winter moorings around here just reduce the number of visitor moorings for people who want to keep moving. Well that's good but it will presumably result in more enforcement procedures and less money into the CRT coffers so not ideal for the navigation itself. I don't use winter moorings so it makes no difference to me but it will have a negative impact on some people I'm sure. Why will it result in more enforcement procedures? You seem to think the more money cart earn the more they spend on maintenance, this isn't correct. I'm sure for some people it will mean changing, but round here the winter moorings are the same price as a marina berth for the winter. Although it will be interesting to see if the marinas raise their prices when the winter moorings are no longer.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 18:43:01 GMT
Yes I am a bit geographically fixated with the south east of England where I don't think there are many surplus marina berths and the bw/crt winter mooring arrangements will have facilitated some peoples cheap live aboard lifestyles. I don't think they will want to give up the option to stay put for winter it is too convenient.
I'm not familiar with the situation up north but down here marinas are pretty full and expensive.
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Post by kris on Jan 22, 2019 18:45:08 GMT
Yes I suppose it wifi vary a lot from London to the rest of the country.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 18:54:53 GMT
.....and I thought the whole point of gliding was observing the elements with our natural senses and using the forces of nature to fly without relying on technical stuff. I have wondered whether it would be possible to scan for thermals and thermal strength using some kind of radar system. The trouble is that battery power is rather limited in a glider! Your thoughts align with those who are still living in the 1950s and like the little red and green balls!
But in reality, it is OK to be a luddite 1950's-dwelling person in gliding. If you must!
But equally it is OK to be into the full gamut of gliding which includes flying cross country at fairly high speeds and a need thus to avoid infringing airspace. When you fly a glider that can glide much further than you can see, you need the gadgets to tell you if you can make it to an airfield / somewhere to land. And when you fly a glider that can routinely cruise at 100Kts or more you need gadgets to tell you when to slow for a thermal, and when to blast through. And when you are at 20,000' you cannot possibly work out your position by looking out of the window.
But certainly, gadgets are not a substitute for being a competent glider pilot with a good sense of what the elements are doing and thus an ability to use the forces of nature to fly. But they are an important augmentation.
Yes, I do think I am becoming a Luddite. It’s a lot cheaper than spending thousands on gadgets and you get more time to spend with nature, family and friends. Sent on my iPad.....
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Post by Telemachus on Jan 22, 2019 18:57:55 GMT
Well that's good but it will presumably result in more enforcement procedures and less money into the CRT coffers so not ideal for the navigation itself. I don't use winter moorings so it makes no difference to me but it will have a negative impact on some people I'm sure. Why will it result in more enforcement procedures? You seem to think the more money cart earn the more they spend on maintenance, this isn't correct. I'm sure for some people it will mean changing, but round here the winter moorings are the same price as a marina berth for the winter. Although it will be interesting to see if the marinas raise their prices when the winter moorings are no longer. Anyway Kris I've got a great Stoppage notice for you to tear to shreds and point out how incompetent CRT are (and in this case, I'd agree with you). I first received this email:
Notice Alert North Stratford Canal Starts At: Lock 8 Ends At: Lock 8
Monday 4 February 2019 08:00 until Wednesday 6 February 2019 17:00
Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Structure failure
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original message:
The lock is currently inoperable due to a blocked bottom gate paddle chamber. Works will be undertaken to access the paddle chamber from below to remove the blockage.
Please note: The lock has been out of use for a while and because there is an easy identifiable alternative route nearby the stoppage wasn’t put on Waterscape by the local team. We apologies for this oversight.
So WTF does that mean? The lock is out of action due to a blocked bottom gate paddle? What about the other paddle? And if the lock is currently out of action, why is the notice not given a start date of now, as opposed to 4th Feb? And as to the rubbish about there being an "easy identifiable alternative route nearby", well lock 8 is 1/2 way up (or down) the Lapworth flight so to get from one side to the other you have to reverse up 8 locks, and since Broad St tunnel is currently closed, you then have to go rigt down the Worcs. and B'ham to the river Severn, down to Tewkesbury, up the Warks Avon and up the S Stratford. Not exactly easy, I'd say. Anyway I popped into CRT offices at Cambrian wharf yesterday to have a moan. The lady said that the particular lady who wrote this stoppage doesn't have a clue and nearly every stoppage notice she writes is queried by boaters. Not very good. It is one thing to possibly accept that keeping a 250year old system functioning is quite a challenge, but quite another to say that it is "too difficult" to write clear and meaningful stoppage notices.
Anyway I see the notice has now been re-written, completely different now! But still doesn't make much sense:
Lock 8, North Stratford Canal
From Date: 22nd January 2019at 08:00
To Date: 22nd January 2019at 15:00inclusive
Type: Navigation Closure
Reason: Structure failure
Description:
The lock is currently inoperable due to a blocked bottom gate paddle chamber. Works will be undertaken to access the paddle chamber from below to remove the blockage.
Please note: The lock has been out of use for a while and because there is an easy identifiable alternative route nearby the stoppage wasn’t put on Waterscape by the local team. We apologies for this oversight.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 19:04:07 GMT
Kris, where did you get the info that winter moorings are to be scrapped.
I just haven't seen anything stating such.
Rog
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Post by Telemachus on Jan 22, 2019 19:04:14 GMT
Your thoughts align with those who are still living in the 1950s and like the little red and green balls!
But in reality, it is OK to be a luddite 1950's-dwelling person in gliding. If you must!
But equally it is OK to be into the full gamut of gliding which includes flying cross country at fairly high speeds and a need thus to avoid infringing airspace. When you fly a glider that can glide much further than you can see, you need the gadgets to tell you if you can make it to an airfield / somewhere to land. And when you fly a glider that can routinely cruise at 100Kts or more you need gadgets to tell you when to slow for a thermal, and when to blast through. And when you are at 20,000' you cannot possibly work out your position by looking out of the window.
But certainly, gadgets are not a substitute for being a competent glider pilot with a good sense of what the elements are doing and thus an ability to use the forces of nature to fly. But they are an important augmentation.
Yes, I do think I am becoming a Luddite. It’s a lot cheaper than spending thousands on gadgets and you get more time to spend with nature, family and friends. Sent on my iPad..... But that is the point of my project. The Kobos (second hand from ebay) are about £30 or so. Software is free. My gadget will cost about £50 in hardware (the £29 for the PCBs was the cost for 10 boards). You wouldn't be able to buy a Cosim vario for that! Plus a hell of a lot of development time, but that is free and I have learnt a lot. When you stop learning new skills, you get old.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 19:06:57 GMT
We apologies?
Who is writing this stuff?
I would not think of a gate paddle as having a "chamber" obviously ground paddles do and they used to send children in to clean them out but gate paddles usually just consist of a sliding board no chamber involved.
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Post by Telemachus on Jan 22, 2019 19:08:10 GMT
We apologies? Who is writing this stuff? I would not think of a gate paddle as having a "chamber" obviously ground paddles do and they used to send children in to clean them out but gate paddles usually just consist of a sliding board no chamber involved. Well exactly. And the rest! I think the N stratford / Lapworth flight mostly have ground paddles, so she probably means " the paddles by the bottom gates" as opposed to "bottom gate paddles
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Post by kris on Jan 22, 2019 19:10:10 GMT
Kris, where did you get the info that winter moorings are to be scrapped. I just haven't seen anything stating such. Rog Sorry I can't remember at the moment Rog. I think it was London boaters on Facebook, if I remember I'll let you know.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 19:16:25 GMT
Yes, I do think I am becoming a Luddite. It’s a lot cheaper than spending thousands on gadgets and you get more time to spend with nature, family and friends. Sent on my iPad..... But that is the point of my project. The Kobos (second hand from ebay) are about £30 or so. Software is free. My gadget will cost about £50 in hardware (the £29 for the PCBs was the cost for 10 boards). You wouldn't be able to buy a Cosim vario for that! Plus a hell of a lot of development time, but that is free and I have learnt a lot. When you stop learning new skills, you get old. Well that is true Nick. I still do a lot of tinkering with my radio stuff. The data modes like FT8 are quite interesting [read with anal voice]. You can also spend ages improving antenna setups etc. TBH, I definitely enjoy outdoor life more; walking, cruising and sometimes just sitting beside the boat and chatting to passers by. Projects are good for rainy days and cold dark evenings. Well good luck with it anyway. It is amazing how cheap stuff is from China
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 19:19:50 GMT
Kris, where did you get the info that winter moorings are to be scrapped. I just haven't seen anything stating such. Rog It's not been made official yet, but they have been looking to stop them since 2014. The fact is that they are in all honesty illegal. CRT will look pretty silly if a court case ever brought up the scenario of winter moorings. The recent sale of bwml saw its CEO asking CRT to stop selling them. Imagine for a moment if that CEO suggested that the winter CRT mooring process was not legal. 😉
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Post by Telemachus on Jan 22, 2019 19:24:57 GMT
But that is the point of my project. The Kobos (second hand from ebay) are about £30 or so. Software is free. My gadget will cost about £50 in hardware (the £29 for the PCBs was the cost for 10 boards). You wouldn't be able to buy a Cosim vario for that! Plus a hell of a lot of development time, but that is free and I have learnt a lot. When you stop learning new skills, you get old. TBH, I definitely enjoy outdoor life more; walking, cruising and sometimes just sitting beside the boat and chatting to passers by. Projects are good for rainy days and cold dark evenings. Agree with that. This project has been my over-wintering project. Bear in mind that in Aberdeen mid-winter it gets dark at about 15:30 and not light until 9. A day length of about 6:30. Plenty of time for projects when one doesn't have to go to work.
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