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Post by naughtyfox on Jul 27, 2019 17:56:47 GMT
"Just as we were approaching the lock mouth, one of the volunteers suddenly appeared on the lock bridge, shouting “STOP” in a loud commanding voice and holding his palm up in a stop signal.
It transpired that he felt taking two boats into the lock simultaneously was a bad idea (even though it is in fact best practice) because one of the gates tended to stick a bit when fully open."
Did you know one of the gates was sticking?
How did you get both boats simultaneously into this particular lock with one gate sticking? You do not say!
Sometimes it's best to see WHY a volockie has made his actions. I feel, in this case, he was doing you a favour, and your moaning letter about him is a bit mean.
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Post by Trina on Jul 27, 2019 17:57:52 GMT
Always use my crotch strap...even though it sounds like something off a pervy website !😉
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2019 17:58:22 GMT
Met a lovely young lady doing her Gold DofE yesterday volunteering with some old vlockies - do hope she hasn't been led astray.
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Post by JohnV on Jul 27, 2019 17:58:53 GMT
I was thinking that Gazza ..... to be honest very few of the people who have to wear lifejackets cos of elfinsafety rools seem to wear them with a crotch strap ...... they're only there for show
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Post by Mr Stabby on Jul 27, 2019 17:59:08 GMT
Jeff reminds me of one of those "Wooly Willy" toys with the magnet and the iron filings we used to have in the 1960s.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2019 18:00:31 GMT
I look a bit scowly but it was pissing with rain! We had lovely hugs and then went our happy ways! I think you look slightly bewildered, is everything ok? 😏
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Post by greenman on Jul 27, 2019 18:02:38 GMT
Always use my crotch strap...even though it sounds like something off a pervy website !😉 Better a crotch strap than a life jacket caught up under your armpits.
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Post by naughtyfox on Jul 27, 2019 18:03:49 GMT
Of course it is a first world problem (even setting aside the fact that third world countries generally don’t have canals for leisure use!). But a lot of the fun of canals is the locks. We like to work them efficiently etc. We don’t like being told what to do by some numpty with 5 mins experience of the canals who has never owned a boat. Unfortunately we have had several cases of volunteers forcing their will on us recently. If we don’t fight back by complaining, it isn’t going to get any better. I can tolerate the patronising advice such as “Oooh best not to get too close to the front of the lock / best not to open the paddles too quickly because the bat might get sucked forwards” etc. But when commands are given that disrupt our progress, I will resist. I hate other boaters Anger Management course, matey.
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Post by Telemachus on Jul 27, 2019 18:07:48 GMT
"Just as we were approaching the lock mouth, one of the volunteers suddenly appeared on the lock bridge, shouting “STOP” in a loud commanding voice and holding his palm up in a stop signal. It transpired that he felt taking two boats into the lock simultaneously was a bad idea (even though it is in fact best practice) because one of the gates tended to stick a bit when fully open." Did you know one of the gates was sticking? How did you get both boats simultaneously into this particular lock with one gate sticking? You do not say! Sometimes it's best to see WHY a volockie has made his actions. I feel, in this case, he was doing you a favour, and your moaning letter about him is a bit mean. One of the gates was just slightly not fully open. But these Wigan locks are very wide. I had already observed that with both boats in, there was perhaps a couple of foot or more of spare width. So the fact that 1 gate was not quite open by perhaps 9” was not an issue. As you know, with mitred gates, brushing against an open gate doesn’t damage the sealing face. However after the shout and the chaos, the volockie decided to fully open the gate which he did easily, even though it was no longer necessary as we were no longer coming in side by side due to his disruption. It transpired that the gate was a little difficult to start closing when it had been fully open. Jill, the deaf lady, had struggled with most of the previous gates and this one was just beyond her ability. But it was only marginally stiffer than the others, it really wasn’t a big deal. So in answer to your question “why”, it was just down to his control-freakery and he certainly wasn’t doing us a favour.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2019 18:08:27 GMT
I was thinking that Gazza ..... to be honest very few of the people who have to wear lifejackets cos of elfinsafety rools seem to wear them with a crotch strap ...... they're only there for show Nick can beat C&RT with it though 😜✊
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Post by naughtyfox on Jul 27, 2019 18:15:44 GMT
This was the guy. The other boat (brand new to the owners) was very happy to have our assistance and they were a great couple, made more interesting because she was profoundly deaf. But a fantastic lip reader! She wanted a memorial photo of “Team Wigan” but when it came to it, her phone battery was dead. So I obliged. I look a bit scowly but it was pissing with rain! We had lovely hugs and then went our happy ways! C&RT training is shite - they don’t cover PPE correctly - no crotch straps mean those automatic life jacket are next to useless. Tell the volunteers to dress correctly next time you encounter them - the old fella at the back looks as though he has one but has not even bothered to buckle his life jacket up. We used our proper lifejackets for the first time this afternoon. Crotch straps, and front buckles.
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Post by samsam on Jul 27, 2019 18:17:49 GMT
This was the guy. The other boat (brand new to the owners) was very happy to have our assistance and they were a great couple, made more interesting because she was profoundly deaf. But a fantastic lip reader! She wanted a memorial photo of “Team Wigan” but when it came to it, her phone battery was dead. So I obliged. I look a bit scowly but it was pissing with rain! We had lovely hugs and then went our happy ways! C&RT training is shite - they don’t cover PPE correctly - no crotch straps mean those automatic life jacket are next to useless. Tell the volunteers to dress correctly next time you encounter them - the old fella at the back looks as though he has one but has not even bothered to buckle his life jacket up 🤦🏼♂️ Good on you all for enjoying a wet old day - bar for one silly old git 👍 Good Heavens! Its You! Now I understand the anguish.
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Post by bargemast on Jul 27, 2019 18:21:29 GMT
Was this volunteer named Joe with a prominent moustache? If so, we encountered him at the halfway point too 3 weeks ago. Didn't let him bother us too much but Jeannette reckoned he was a bit of a misogynist, or maybe he just didn't like woman with opinions. However, we were very happy to have help up the flight and all the other volunteers were very pleasant and helpful. No volunteers at Johnson's Hillock when we came up but very happy to have them at Blackburn, especially so as being on our own. We did initially upset one of them when he started to open the ground paddle on the wrong side and got shouted at but he was OK when Jeannette explained why. This was the guy. The other boat (brand new to the owners) was very happy to have our assistance and they were a great couple, made more interesting because she was profoundly deaf. But a fantastic lip reader! She wanted a memorial photo of “Team Wigan” but when it came to it, her phone battery was dead. So I obliged. I look a bit scowly but it was pissing with rain! We had lovely hugs and then went our happy ways! Hi Nick, The guy that you're so very unhappy with looks a lot like the guy that other boater were really pleased with, and he seems to be a nice guy on their video. My glasses need a bit of cleaning, but I do think that it's the same guy that you can see here starting at 7:08 if you don't want to watch the whole video. Peter.
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Post by JohnV on Jul 27, 2019 18:23:24 GMT
somewhere I have a photograph of a column of people walking down one of the jetties at Benfleet. In the lead 2 ambulance ladies and a paramedic with my wife on a wheeled stretcher thingy, followed by 4 firemen and then two coastguards. When they all arrived the Firemen said "Oh we're near water we have to wear lifejackets" and put theirs on ..... the two coastguards who hadn't till then, went and got theirs and put them on. The paramedic was already onboard at this time (no lifejacket) when the two ladies arrived in the ambulance the firemen asked if they would like to borrow lifejackets ..... one looked at him scornfully and said "what on earth for .... the tides out" the procession did look funny with all of them except the medical team wearing lifejackets walking along a jetty with grass underneath it
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2019 18:26:47 GMT
The guy that you're so very unhappy with looks a lot like the guy that other boater were really pleased with, and he seems to be a nice guy on their video. My glasses need a bit of cleaning, but I do think that it's the same guy that you can see here starting at 7:08 if you don't want to watch the whole video. Peter. Those two characters are better known as "foxes afloat"
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