Am I missing something?

As a fairly recent member of NABO, I fail to understand the objection to CRT stating that all boaters should obey the same rules when cruising whether they have a home mooring or not. Am I missing something here?

Rodney Hardwick

Mark Tizard, NABO Vice Chair, replied:

The reason why NABO objects is a simple legal one and it refers to the Act of Parliament that governs CRT’s management of its waterways. The Act is very clear in that to obtain a licence, it requires boaters who do not have a home mooring to satisfy CRT that they are using their boats ‘bona fide’ for navigation. However, there is no such requirement for boaters that declare they have a home mooring. Thus, boaters without a home mooring are required to continuously cruise in accordance with CRTs guidelines, if they do not wish to fall foul of CRT’s interpretation of ‘bona fide’ navigation and those with a legitimate home mooring are not. This is, in fact, reflected in CRT’s enforcement strategy.

The way forward would be for CRT to seek parliamentary support to amend the relevant Act, should it wish to legitimise its view on this. Our view is that CRT, like any other body, should operate within the current legal framework.

We continue to remain broadly supportive of CRT’s enforcement activities and their published guidelines for boats without a home mooring. All we ask is that they are used in a fair and transparent manner. We fully support the requirement for all boats to move to another place after a period of 14 days. CRT has said previously that this new requirement is to manage a problem with boaters on ‘ghost’ moorings, who do not intend to use their mooring as a home mooring. When challenged, CRT was unable to clarify the scale and scope of the problem. Obviously, it is perfectly in order for CRT to challenge the legitimacy of a boater’s home mooring when the boater applies for a licence and, if need be, change the nature of the licence subsequently offered.

I am sorry my reply is long-winded and a bit ‘legal’ in context; I am not a lawyer. In reality, of course, it is always the few who ruin the enjoyment of the many, whatever licence they hold, but fortunately they remain in the minority. I hope this answers your query.