Meeting of the A.N.R.C. (Association of Nene River Clubs)

Friday 9th November 2007.

These are the main points from our last meeting. Attendance from club reps. was good and 2 Commodores were present.

Dinner Dance. Sat. 22^nd September

This was a great disappointment with only 50 approximately supporting the evening. Because of this we made a loss of £1.093. Drinks were very expensive at the bar. Suggestions were made for other venues and it was thought we need to canvas the clubs to see what they want. Most clubs donated raffle prizes which made a profit of £114. So OCC any suggestions for the future!

EA Workshops.

Captain John Brown has written a protest letter to the EA regarding the workshops which are being held to discuss Navigation Budget Options. The ANRC should have been invited along together with other boating organisations but an invitation wasn’t forthcoming. It was felt we should be involved in these discussions. There has been no response so far.

Temporary Arrangements for using lock landing stages for overnight moorings.

After my letter to the EA on this matter I have had a reply from Irven Forbes to say that this is only a temporary measure and is being monitored by the river inspectors. He said all new mooring facilities should be completed by Christmas.

(The improved moorings at Rushden and Diamonds and Wellingborough Embankment are now finished. When I checked 2 weeks ago the work was still ongoing at Islip).).

Lack of Funding on the Waterways.

It was suggested by the rep from Elton Boat Club that clubs should be taking action against the EA because of the long river closures this summer and that we are still paying our full river licences. He believed that boaters are a low priority and the river is used for flood control. A lively discussion took place on action which we could take against the EA. But no conclusion came from them.

Cambs. Boatwatch

A review meeting was held in October. There has been a change in police contacts and it was stated that only 30 people had signed up to the scheme. As a committee we did not see the point of this, as long as people have the contact no. to ring when an incident occurs. It had been a quiet summer with few incidents reported but it was thought that this was because of the poor weather and fewer people were boating.

2008 Rally Update.

There was no rep from MNCC so no news on this front. It was suggested that raffle tickets go out earlier.

Brain of the Nene.

This will take place on Saturday, 26^th January at MNCC and the format would remain similar to last year.

Stanground Boating Association.

Sadly, following a meeting by members it was decided to terminate the existence of the club. Membership had fallen and being unable to recruit new members with little to offer ( no club house or moorings) it was decided to call it a day. Peter Underwood their rep still wants to continue on the ANRC committee and we all agreed to this.

Gas, Smoke and CM Safety.

It was thought that with the number of deaths which have occurred on boats recently that safety alarms would become mandatory and that they would become part of the BSS certificate. John Brown is looking into an American system which could be effective.

Regional Navigation Group Meeting.

· Licence Enforcement. These should be checked regularly.

· Denver Sluice/Salters Lode. The silting strategy was successful.

· Many fines have been levied on fishermen who failed to have a licence.

· Boat registrations are up.

· The bridge at Ely is being rebuilt after the summer derailment.

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If there are any matters which members would like to bring up at our meetings please contact me via email jennymsullivan@aol.com or telephone, 01832 731438.

Other contacts can be found on the ANRC website. This will be updated in the near future.

Jenny Sullivan.

Vice Captain (and temporary Minutes Sec.)