Chairman’s Chit Chat July 2026
Finally, after years of talking about it, Jessie and I at last took our daughter, son-in-law and ten-year-old grandson on a short canal boat holiday.
The training brief for being in charge of a 59-foot narrow boat was, well, brief!
- 1. A good cruising speed is a fast walking pace
- 2. Don’t bump into other boat
- 3. Don’t drink and cruise
With these guidelines ringing in our ears, we set off from Silsden on the Leeds-Liverpool canal on a 23-mile round trip to Gargrave and back.
Judging speed is difficult without a speedometer, but the crew thought we were not far off the world water speed record. It was only when someone on the tow path – wearing one of those orthopaedic ‘Moon Boots’ and hobbling along on crutches – overtook us, we realised that perhaps we could move the throttle forward a smidgen. It turns out that “a fast walking space” is four miles an hour. In one hour we had, in fact, travelled one mile. Reaching Gargrave was beginning to look unlikely.
I know the clue is in the name but none of the party realised just how narrow a narrow boat is – apparently nine feet at its widest point. We soon became adept at shooting along from one end of the boat to the other, skipping sideways. When we got back home, it took me a week to stop walking like a crab.
It will come as no surprise to you to learn that we did not reach Gargrave and so did not have the pleasure of negotiating the three locks on the outskirts of the town. However, we did have to operate six swing bridges on the way north – and of course the same six on the way back to our starting point.
These bridges are a nightmare and take up a lot of time. They are physically challenging to open and shut and we often needed the muscle power of fellow boaters to help us out.
The holiday was a great success.
All the family thoroughly enjoyed it and all agreed we should do it again.