Recorded lock and bridge passages for the first ten months of the year for both private and hired boats.
Hired down, private flat
Because these figures take no account of boat movements that do not use locks, they do not record much private boat usage: sailing, fishing, powerboating, waterskiing and other activities on the lakes.
Recorded lock and bridge passages for the first ten months of the year.
Shannon private boats 2003–2012
In almost every year, the last two months, November and December, saw far more private boats than hired boats moving.
Posted in Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Irish waterways general, Operations, People, Scenery, Shannon, Tourism, Water sports activities, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, bridge, flow, Ireland, Operations, Shannon, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland
In February 2011 I drew attention to the discrimination against the owners of camper vans and to the attempts of the RVRC, the Recreational Vehicle Rights Campaign, to end this discrimination:
We seek the provision of free facilities for camper-vans. We want a cross-border body of our own, RVways Ireland.
We have adopted Dana Lyons’s song RV as our anthem; you can listen to it free here (and while you’re at it see the animations of his best-known song here).
But things have got worse: Waterways Ireland has made up new signs specifically aimed at camper vans, forcing them to park in outer darkness, away from the loos and the floating white plastic whatsits.
Discrimination!
We are not consoled by the suggestion that there is no discrimination because Waterways Ireland is banning the floating white plastic whatsits from the same area. They at least can float, but camper vans should not be surrounded by water and ducks.
Camper, water, ducks
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Operations, Tourism, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, camper-van, canal, floods, Grand Canal, Ireland, Operations, RV, Shannon, Shannon Harbour, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Meelick Weir today
Almost level.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Drainage, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Non-waterway, Operations, People, Politics, Shannon, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged canal, ESB, farmers, floods, flow, Galway, Ireland, lock, Lough Derg, Meelick, Offaly, Operations, Shannon, Victoria Lock, water level, waterways, Waterways Ireland, weir
Learned Readers will be aware that you can moor cheaply for the winter in a Waterways Ireland Shannon harbour; see Marine Notive 111/2012 about half way down this page.
Now, anyone paying commercial rates in a Shannon marina will tell you that WI’s charges represent extremely good value: cheaper even than a year’s canals permit.
But I have noted recently that there seem to be only four boats in Dromineer for the winter). Pottering about today, I found Portumna Castle Harbour deserted.
Portumna Castle Harbour December 2012
Terryglass had more boats, but most of them are on the county council’s jetty with only seven on the Waterways Ireland extension.
Terryglass December 2012
There were only four boats on the west bank below the bridge in Portumne. There were a few more in Connaught Harbour, but all in all the numbers were lower than I had expected. And I don’t think they’re in Shannon Harbour, which seemed to have fewer boats than usual.
So have boat-owners found that their insurers won’t cover them if they are not in supervised marinas, or out of the water, for the winter? Are private marinas, especially those that can haul boats out of the water, more crowded than usual? Or has the number of boats decreased even more drastically than I had imagined?
I don’t know. Readers’ observations welcome.
Posted in Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Irish inland waterways vessels, Operations, Shannon, Water sports activities, Waterways management
Tagged boat owner, boats, Clare, Galway, Grand Canal, haul out, insurance, Ireland, Limerick, Lough Derg, marina, Offaly, Operations, Shannon, Tipperary, vessels, waterways, Waterways Ireland
I and others have commented on WI’s cutting of trees along the banks of the Grand Canal. One aspect that didn’t strike me until today is that, if you didn’t remove waterside trees, you wouldn’t be able to insert new mooring posts.
Above Lock 34
Looking back up from the lock
Close-up of reed-cutting tractor
Below Lock 34
Compared with the old black and white bollards, the new lack a certain je ne sais quoi, but I suppose they could be painted if people paid up.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Ireland, Natural heritage, Operations, Scenery, waterways, Waterways management, Weather
Tagged boats, bollard, bridge, canal, Grand Canal, Ireland, mooring, Operations, tractor, tree, waterways, Waterways Ireland
I thought I should troll on over to the website of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to see if they had anything to say about the budget.
I looked straight away at the News & Recent Publications section on the front page. But I was taken aback to see that the department has not had anything to say since 15 May 2012, which is the date of the most recent addition to the section. Using the menu on the left, I find that the ministers have made no speech since October 2011 (not that I’m complaining, of course). There have been press releases, but the most recent consultation ended in March 2012.
It really is a god-awful website. DAHG needs to hire a couple of twenty-year-old interns who have some idea about tinterweb.
Posted in Ashore, Built heritage, Economic activities, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Natural heritage, Operations, People, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Scenery, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, internet, Ireland, Waterways Ireland, website
Here’s a fun bit from the bumpf pile about the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Waterways Ireland’s parent department in roI:
From the Expenditure Report 2013 Part 1
As last year, waterways exist only in the context of northsouthery, which itself is the lowest of DAHG’s priorities. The interesting thing is that DAHG is having its expenditure ceiling raised by €2.2 million, but it’s not going to waterways or even to northsouthery.
Culture for Angela
So we’re going to be forcing unfortunate EU leaders to sit through plays and such. But hold on: is there a staging of An Béal Bocht available?
At least the money is not going on the Ghastly Gathering.
Anyway, there will be lots of unspecified savings to compensate, like these:
Sauve qui peut
The two right-hand columns are headed Savings in 2013 and Full Year Savings.
And more to come:
Tomorrow, tomorrow ….
Finally, here’s a bit from the MinFin:
From Michael Noonan’s Financial Statement
Wouldn’t it be nice if he took the opportunity to abolish green diesel altogether as part of the scheme?
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Foreign parts, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, People, Politics, Sources, Tourism, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged budget, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, green diesel, Ireland, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Vast wodges of bumpf from the government’s budget site, with non-searchable PDFs, god rot ’em. An initial look suggests these points:
More as I plough the pile, but the summary (to nobody’s surprise) is less spending on waterways. Maybe Éanna should have pushed ….
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Engineering and construction, Extant waterways, Foreign parts, Ireland, Irish waterways general, Non-waterway, Operations, Politics, Restoration and rebuilding, Sources, Ulster Canal, Waterways management
Tagged bridge, budget, canal, Clones, department of arts heritage and the gaeltacht, Erne, Ireland, Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland Executive, northsouthery, Ulster Canal, waterways, Waterways Ireland
WI has won the Public Sector Award from the [Dublin] Docklands Business Forum. The award is for
[…] its active contribution to the Docklands Summer Festival, the South Docks Festival, Tall Ships Festival and Docklands community life throughout 2012.
With docklands moorings becoming available, WI may have a chance of retaining its award next year.
Incidentally, we learned earlier this week about music at the Box in the Docks; the Public Sector Award press release has more information about the Box:
Waterways Ireland owns and manages a multipurpose centre in the Basin which is used as a Visitor Centre during the summer season and provided a linchpin for the festival and events as well as community activity such as the Waterways Ireland Community Choir.
And we hear a rumour that models are being built ….
By the way, WI is compiling its events guide for next year: get your event in to them by 25 January 2013.
Posted in Ashore, Economic activities, Extant waterways, Industrial heritage, Ireland, Operations, waterways, Waterways management
Tagged canal, docklands, Dublin, Grand Canal, Ireland, Ringsend, waterways, Waterways Ireland
Irish waterways history 