At long last the Continuous Cruiser situation has been taken to court. Article K&A Times No longer are itinerant boaters going to be able to say “Ah but it hasn’t been tested in court.” I dare say someone will insist it is taken to the High Court and waste even more of British Waterways (our) money trying to over turn this decision.
I have always maintained that BW’s Mooring Guidance was, to the vast majority of boaters, simple and that people place interpretations on the rules that simply were not there.
In the case of the K&A it is simply not possible to CC there full time. The Guidance say “ . . .and therefore requires progression around the network, or at least a significant part of it.
The K&A represents less than 2% of the system, which I think most right minded people would accept is not in any way ‘significant’. No single canal is ‘a significant part of the system’.
These are the rules:-
MOORING GUIDANCE FOR CONTINUOUS CRUISERS April 2004
If a boat is licensed on a ‘continuous cruising’ basis it must move on a regular basis. This guidance seeks to explain in day to day terms the nature of the compulsory movement that must take place. [This is done because the actual Act of Parliament that allows CCing is difficult to understand. Maffi]
There are three key legal requirements :-
· the boat must genuinely be used for navigation throughout the period of the licence.
· unless a shorter time is specified by notice the boat must not stay in the same place for more than 14 days (or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances);
and
· it is the responsibility of the boater to satisfy BW that the above requirements are met.
Most of the rest of the document explains what is meant by certain words ‘Navigation’, ‘Place’ and the summary says in a nutshell
Summary
· Continuous cruisers must be engaged in a genuine progressive journey (a cruise) around the network, or a significant part of it.
· They must not stay moored in the same neighbourhood or locality for more than 14 days (unless special reasons prevent onward movement).
· It is the boater’s responsibility to satisfy BW that they keep to the rules.