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Category: NN Chairman's Column
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Mike Rodd considers some effects of the pandemic.

Like many of our members in self-isolation at home and unable to travel to our boats, it has really come home to us how much the canals and rivers are an essential part of our lives. It also reminds us how precious these waterways are, and how urgently we need to ensure that they are protected. 

This will be especially important in the days ahead, when our economy will look very different from the immediate past, with governments facing many horrendous difficulties in recovering from the financial wrecking balls caused by the pandemic. And – of vital interest to all of us – at the same time as the Government will be trying to sort out this mess, CRT and EA will be bidding for at least some essential government funding.  As I have said before, I just cannot see how either body will be able to continue without some level of government support, at least similar to that which has been received in the past. However, I really can’t see such bids being high on any government's priorities. It is vital, therefore, that boater representative bodies, such as NABO and RBOA, get behind CRT’s and EA’s bids – even though we must also continue to be critical friends when needed.

Read more: Mindful of the needs of others

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Category: Boater Safety
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The navigation authorities have agreed to further extend the current waiver on BSS Certifications to 31 July 2020.

As BSS Examinations have been suspended since late March, there is now a considerable backlog of boats needing to renew their Certifications.

We strongly urge those boat owners who can, to book their Examinations as soon as their circumstances safely allow. This will help our Examiners to be organised so boats can be Certificated as soon as possible.

Remember that examiners are just as worried about coming to your boat, as you are worried about having them on board. It can be expected that boaters will need to sanitise the work surfaces of the boat, remove any clutter that obstructs the examination, and vacate the boat for the period of the examination. It will take some discussion, preparation and trust to achive the result. We suggest to use an examiner that is known to you, or you have used before.

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Category: Canal and River Trust
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The Canal & River Trust has today, 5 May 2020, launched a fundraising appeal to help support the dozens of small waterway-based charities across its network which have been adversely impacted by the impacts of coronavirus.

Launched on Giving Tuesday, the global day of giving and unity, the Waterway Charities Appeal will provide support for many small community-based charities at a time when, without help, the coronavirus pandemic could have a devastating impact on them.

Read more: CRT launches appeal to support small charities across it's network

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Category: Canal and River Trust
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The Canal & River Trust’s annual national boat count shows that licence compliance on its waterways remains high with 96.2% of boaters holding a valid licence (2019: 96.4%).  This is the fourth highest compliance figure in the last 10 years and is the eleventh successive year with evasion below 5%.

The national boat count sees the Trust’s teams physically recording boats on every stretch of waterway to check if they are correctly licensed.  The COVID-19 restrictions meant they were unable to access some marinas and stretches of canal, while flooding and high-water levels have also prevented access to some rivers to obtain sightings.  This will likely explain a reduction in the overall number of boats sighted on the waterways this year with 33,672 boats sighted across England & Wales, down 1,568 boats on 2018/19.  The numbers of boats sighted on waters where Trust licences are required also reduced by 323 to 31,110.  In comparison, the Trust’s licence system showed that 34,435 boats held valid licences at 31 March 2020, a slight uplift on the previous year (31 March 2019: 34,367).

You can read about it here.