Much A To Do About Nothing

For some people the mere mention of tidal waterways sends them into a frenzy. They panic, they fret and they generally work themselves up into a dithering state. Why?

I’m not entirely sure what all of the fuss is about. Yes you need to do a little bit more planning and your journeys are dictated by tide times but that needn’t be a worry. If you plan your trip with the help of someone knowledgeable (we find the lock keepers a great source of local information) and have the correct charts for the area in which you will cruise and know how to read them then there is little to worry about.

If you hang around any marina or mooring place for long enough you will start to gather together a whole series of horror stories about the local tidal waterways. Burton Waters is a great case of this. We have moored there for three years now and have heard a great deal of myth relating to the River Trent, the tamest and smallest of the tidal waterways in the area. More often than not these tales come from people who have never dared to venture out onto the river; they are passing on stories third and fourth hand. The problem with these stories is that if people new to boating get wind of them it puts them off the tidal rivers and they never explore them for themselves, they never get to make up their own mind and continue to plod along on the same old stretch of non tidal water too scared to venture to pastures new.

We chose to ignore these stories of which we heard plenty and made our own minds up about the local rivers. Within a couple of months of buying Cal we had ventured out onto the Trent visiting Newark and West Stockwith before taking on the task of heading down the Trent to Trent Falls and heading back up the mighty Ouse to York and Ripon beyond. A trip that most boat owners at Burton Waters will fail to undertake in their time at the marina which is a great shame. The Trent is a much feared river and in all reality it is a lovely place to spend some time afloat and opens up doors to many great and varied cruising grounds.

It is a great shame that people generate this fear and hatred of tidal waterways. They have a character and a feeling all of their own, quite unlike the gentle waters of the non tidal rivers and canals. With a little extra planning and thought trips out onto tidal waterways can be rewarding and fun, a far cry from the bleak picture painted by some.

My one piece of advice would be to make up your own mind. Don’t let others make it up for you but do prepare and do stay safe out there. Accidents and incidents can and do happen, but they also happen on relatively benign waterways as well. Enjoy your time on tidal waterways, they are a gateway to cruising grounds far and wide reaching and should be treated with the respect that they deserve.