In article , Chris. Hawkesworth
wrote:
Dear All,

I side with Dave Manby,

this is really an old wife's tale. Keep it on and get below the tow, you
should pop up down stream somewhere and then you'll need it cause you will
be knackered.

Cheers,
Chris. Hawkesworth. One wat made these things for many years.

OK, Chris: I don't know any Old Wives with tales to tell or otherwise, so
let's deal with realities, shall we?

What is the official BCU line for those poor unfortunates about to be swept
over, for example, Romney weir on the Thames?

You know - the ones with anti-scour sills and the like that tend to kill
canoeists and others

Please tell paddlers how they would 'get below the tow' in these weirs and
indicate the sort of state a body might be in should it 'pop up' downstream.
'Knackered'? - is that how they would be described?

Are individuals more likely to die with or without a buoyancy aid? Please
quote actual figures of drownings / deaths by severe battering in these
structures etc - and, if you can find any, survivors.

Please will you also give the official BCU line on the dangers posed to its
members who now have Thames licenses provided with their membership - which,
considering there is no specific warning provided by the BCU, might imply
that the BCU considers Thames weirs are 'safe' according to the normal
caveats enshrined in water safety mantras.

Please also make it clear that should a member now be swept to his death over
one of these weirs that the BCU is as culpable as the Environment Agency and
others for failing to ensure that such lethal structures are adequately
guarded.

(This communication and others will be archived for such an eventuality)


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of old wives


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