Hello! Welcome to the first edition of what I hope will become a regular monthly newsletter (if my shocking laziness and unbeaten tendency to procrastinate doesn't get in the way).

The idea is both to update you on what I've been up to in the boating world and what videos I'm working on, as well as mention snippets of news and information relating to the great inland waterways of the UK that might be of interest.

You are encouraged to get in touch either with 'readers' correspondence' about any topic (on the understanding that I may refer to and use excerpts of that for a future edition in order to discuss the points you raise) or any news snippets if you are active in the marine world and think there's something the other readers should know about. See 'Squelch' (below) for the email address to use.

Apart from the two tendencies mentioned already, another habit of mine is very much to over-write so please forgive me if the newsletter becomes verbose; I shall endeavour to edit it for brevity before I send it out each month.

Thanks for tuning in and I hope you find some items of interest below.

Cheers

David

@CruisingTheCut

News from the inland waterways

Swamped

Whilst hardly worth a mention compared to the tornadoes and similar extreme weather that the folk across the Atlantic seem to be battered by at regular intervals, Storm Babet nonetheless swept across the UK just over a week ago bringing very heavy rain, leading to rivers bursting their banks and many homes and businesses being flooded.

On the waterways, the CRT reports "Hundreds of trees have been blown down, and the canal network has suffered structural damage including towpaths washed away, a landslide on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, and considerable damage on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal where the River Soar flooded into the canal, causing over 50 metres of bank to collapse."

Even as I write, the website giving river level flow warnings lists the majority in red (unsafe - do not proceed, locks will be closed) and despite several days of pleasant weather here in the Midlands, the River Severn is still extremely high and only just beginning to receed. With more rain forecast for the coming days, further flooding is possible.

STOP PRESS: Storm Ciarán is now on its way

Holding to Account

You may be just in time for this; the Canal & River Trust's Annual Public Meeting is being held on November 1st at midday (GMT) with a live video stream of the proceedings. They'll be discussing their latest annual report and fielding questions from members. Visit the CRT home page at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Speaking of Which...

The CRT's annual Boater Report can be viewed at canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/boating-news-and-views/boating-blogs-and-features/boater-report-2023

It describes how the Trust gets its money (only a fifth of which is from boaters which comprises 11% from boat licences and 10% from mooring fees or boating businesses) and what it's spending the cash on. Their total income for the year was £225m (GBP)

There's also information about how the drought of 2022 (the warmest year on record for the UK) lead to some closures on the network though the CRT say only 15% (by length) was shut or severely restricted due to water shortages.

And finally

We're a bit CRT-heavy on the news this month but then they are the Big Cheese in the canal world; a quick mention that being the start of November, assorted closures and restrictions are now coming in force around the network for maintenance and emergency works to be undertaken over winter, while the network is quieter.

To check if your waterway is affected, see the closures list at canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/winter-stoppages and don't forget to check the regular maintenance list further down the page for other closures and works too.

In case you missed any notifications from YouTube, here are links to the latest three videos on the channel; these are about a tiny fibreglass day cruiser on the rivers; a substantial upgrade to my old boat; and an unusual type of propulsion for a narrowboat.

An update on what I've been doing.

At the start of the month, I attended a two-day YouTuber conference in Nottingham; an invite only event (ooooh, get me!) organised by a firm which acts as an agency for social media folk. We had two days of talks, discussions and a rather nice night out.

I am very much small fry in terms of the attendees, who included a coffee channel with almost 2M subscribers, a sex & relationships channel with 733K subs as well as others along my kinda level (a couple of DIY channels, two DaVinci Resolve experts and many more).

It's the second year I've attended and each time I come away fired up to turn my YouTubing into a proper business, an aspiration which fades within the week as I panic to finish my next video!

Speaking of which, my next video to be published is a tale of two heritage working boats which are maintained and run by a charitable Trust. Their goal is to keep alive the traditions of how these boats were worked 100 or more years ago and they raise funds each year by taking the boats on a 'coal run', supplying bags of fuel to boaters across London and the south-east. I was able to join them at three occasions during their multi-week trip, hopefully giving a flavour of what they do.

Then I will be popping down to the Kennet & Avon canal near Reading to meet the members of a community Boat Club which provides private moorings for their members as well as facilities such as water, sewage disposal, electricity and even a Clubhouse for social events with a kitchen and even a small library. I'm curious to know what such club moorings are like compared to simply buying a space in a commercial marina or a waterside mooring from the Canal & River Trust.

After that ... I can't say too much without giving the game away but three videos will follow in quick succession which were inspired by my recent visit to Sam Rigley at Sawley Marina; you may recall she owns a very tiny fibreglass boat which we had a glorious day out on, just zooming up the river for a bite at a nearby cafe then coming back, in convoy with other such boats. You can let your imagination loose as to what I mean by "inspired by"!

Other than this, I confess my production slate is looking a little bare especially as we go into 2024. Until now, fate has always  come to my aid at the last minute, with offers of boat trips or invitations to see particular craft etc and I'm crossing my fingers that the same will occur this time around! Otherwise, January and February in particular may be a bit quiet!

Even the most dedicated viewer may have missed some (indeed many) of my older videos but there are some of which I'm particularly proud or that I think deserve a little re-promotion, so in this section I dig through my archive to suggest a 'classic' that could be worth a watch again.

This month it's video 137 "Horse Power". I though this was a lovely bit of canal boating, on a most glorious sunny day, in the most picturesque countryside. Harking back to the very origins of canal boating, the video shows a horse-drawn narrowboat plodding along the Montgomery canal in mid-Wales. Unfortunately, since the video was filmed the horse has retired and the trips have stopped but it's still a pleasure to see How Things Used To Be.

Watch at youtu.be/XoyyqFrYASg

(and if you're interest in the Montgomery restoration is piqued by that video, you may also enjoy the more recent update on the restoration at youtu.be/hs9btXcvqA0

Long-time viewers will recall that every now and then around the New Year, I've published a video describing other YouTube channels that I enjoy. Henceforth I intend to do that here, with a recommendation each month.

This month it's Emma Cruises. Not a canal channel, this is cruise ship cruising of which there are a plethora of YouTube channels but Emma's stands out for her cheery upbeat manner, solid production quality, and the variety of ships and cruise cabins she takes.

You may well be thinking "ah, cruising isn't for me" and I'd agree with you - it always filled me with dread, thinking of a) The Poseidon Adventure and b) stories of everyone coming down with Norovirus (remember that?).

Yet a combination of some friends trying out cruising and raving about it, plus Emma's constant enthusiasm, means this channel is worth a watch even if you never intend stepping aboard a cruise ship.

In fact ... so converted am I to the notion, that I have booked my first ever cruise this December!! I'm going on my own but have already soaked up all the "solo travel tips for cruising" that I can find.

Question: whilst I definitely don't intend to convert my YouTube channel to cruise ship coverage, would anyone find a video from my first cruise holiday to be of interest?

I confess also to being rather in awe of Emma's business savvy as she's not merely "doing a YT channel" but treats it as a business with a well-developed website, commission from cruise bookings via her own travel agent (including in the USA) and various other enterprises. Her viewing figures are to dream of as well!!

Tune in at www.youtube.com/@EmmaCruises

This will be the part of the newsletter where I publish correspondence from you. For obvious reasons, there is none in this first edition but should you wish to get in contact, email newsletter@cruisingthecut.co.uk (for newsletter matters only, please!)

Spotted on social media

Richard Millar is the Chief Operating Officer at Scottish Canals (the Scottish canals are not operated by the CRT which is England and Wales only).

He (re)posted a set of very evocative black and white images from the late 19th century, of the steamship Gairlochy which had been printed by Dr David Mitchell of Historic Environment Scotland.

They really are worth a good look, at twitter.com/millarrichard/status/1717630467938074716

Don't forget, you can follow me on social media, for example to chat directly ("Twitter / X") or see pictures from the canals (Instagram) etc. Click on the buttons below:-

Final thoughts

Inevitably, my plea for this edition is to send me some feedback, good and bad (but please be polite, I'm very fragile). Suggestions, ideas and improvements are welcome, as is any news from the canals and waterways. If you're overseas and spot any interesting nuggets of news from your local area, send that in too; maybe I'll add an 'international' section in future editions.

My very best wishes to you and those around you. Stay safe and enjoy your boating however you do it.

Cheerio,

David