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Dock, lock, shock, and a few floating vessels
Ian Howker waits for the lock to be fixed
Boaters have spoken of their frustration after a faulty lock left them stranded in a Lancashire marina.
The lock at Glasson Dock Marina, near Lancaster, which is home to more than 200 boats, has been out of action since last Thursday leaving ocean-bound vessels unable to get out and those wishing to enter locked outside.
British Waterways chiefs have apologised for the closure, which was caused by a “technical malfunction”, and say workers are currently trying to repair the problem.
But today, stranded boaters, some of whom have been forced to cancel holidays, have criticised waterways bosses for a “lack of information.”
George Henson, 89, has been sailing from Glasson Dock for the past 40 years and was due to set sail for the Outer Hebrides, in Scotland, today.
The former RAF pilot, who served in the Second World War, has now had to put the trip on hold and has had to cancel two crew members who were due to accompany him on the three-month trip.
The pensioner, from Barrow, said: “The whole thing has been grossly mismanaged and we have all be left completely uninformed.
“I had hired a crew and organised food for the whole trip but all that is wasted now. All I can do now is wait and see what happens.”
The sailing veteran is currently waiting on his 114-year-old sail boat Greylang, which has voyaged around Europe.
Paul Westbury, 62, from Bradford, booked two weeks off work to sail to Scotland on his boat Scarlet Lady last Friday - but when he arrived he was told he couldn’t go anywhere.
He said: “I’ve paid for moorings up in Scotland I can’t use and it’s two weeks holiday ruined. A lot of the boats in there are commercial boats. This is affecting a lot of people’s livelihoods.”
British Waterways bosses say they hope to open the lock on a temporary basis by the weekend, allowing a limited number of boats to gain access into Morecambe Bay.
Ian Howker, from Lancaster, has had a boat docked at the marina for the past four years. He said: “The whole thing has caused at lot of anger and confusion.
“The implications of it are very serious. People have been literally stranded and we aren’t being told anything.”
Iain Weston, maintenance manager for British Waterways, said: “Due to a technical malfunction we were forced to close (the lock) as it had become too dangerous for manual operation.
“We’ve held an urgent on site meeting in order to get the canal back open as quickly as possible and have devised a temporary solution which, subject to the delivery of the new parts, will mean the lock can be reopened in time for the weekend.
“We do fully sympathise with the disruption caused to our customers and we thank them for their patience during this time.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 9 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
pikeman
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 03:17 PMdiesel do you actually have a job? emily does lol
pikeman
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 03:01 PMdiesel at least i added probably to my statement. you seem to know that i am actually a bitter person, as a fact. sorry to disappoint but worked all my life at a higher rate of tax so quite well off compared to you Probably ;-) ps and to sound more bitter i am a owner of a narrow boat for which i pay huge sums of money to BW the one thing i am very bitter about is the way BW is trying to force young and old not so well off people from the canal system as a way of living a life in a frugal way, as their boats are not up to scratch to the perceived idea of the narrow boat of a well of pensioner. so yes im bitter about that but i dont see the bloke in the story complaining about that PROBABLY!!!!! ;-) only to moan about his problems. seems a tad selfish to me but hey thats me just a bitter old well off person seeing the unjust of todays individualistic right wing idiots.
Diesel10
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 11:50 AMLOL So the theory is work all your life, save your money and then give it away to the UNDERCLASS not even the poorer WORKING CLASS but the UNDERCLASS!! Your having a laugh!! (actually I doubt you laugh much at all by the sounds of things) We live in a free world, thankfully, and can do what we wish with our own money and if that means sailing up to Scotland in an old boat (after serving during the war) then so be it. You bitter, bitter person.
pikeman
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 11:02 AMdiesel sounds like a guy with a gold plated pension wasting money that should have gone to future generations not on his hobbies! im sure you wont understand and simply say well he must have worked hard for it? forget the banks etc its the baby boomer gen that wasted this country by sticking their heads in the sand and believing unsustainable investments were sustainable. the baby boomers stole from the underclass we now have to suffer. i dont blame the underclass sticking up two fingers to cr ap jobs at min wage when he in the story stole the cream! probably?
sydney olympic
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 07:24 PM2 Diesel In a way i agree he sounds a cool dude,until it all goes t1ts up and people have to put their lives at risk to rescue him!He's safer stranded.
MH1
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 07:10 PMIts not a tradgedy ,George could get to his destination and back on his bus pass and it would not take 3 months
feciko
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 11:29 AMJust shows that sh1t does happen to those that have too !!!
Diesel10
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 10:11 AMGeorge Henson, 89, served in WWII, sailing on a 3 month trip to Scotland on a 114 year old boat - what a cool dude and a go-getter he sounds.
one more guild
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 09:45 AMLock, stock and two smoking barrels. No, it doesn't really work, does it? The quest for a clever headline continues.
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