Boater who lost all in canal failure has risen ‘like phoenix’
A man who lost his boat when a sluice gate failed on the River Avon near Bath is thriving exactly one year after the disaster.
James Stuart-wigley saw his home sucked away when a mechanical fault drained the river in Bath, dragging a number of boats downstream.
His boat, The Indian Scout, sank and when he returned to rescue his belongings, it looked like “something from a disaster movie”.
Tuesday this week marked one year since the catastrophe and the Chronicle caught up with James.
Now the proud owner of Dreckly – a beautiful narrowboat he managed to buy with crowdfunding – James is thriving.
He said: “A lot has happened since the accident. At the time, it was like the end of the world, but I am trying to rebuild things.
“We all got compensated at the end of last year and I was able to buy another boat with the help of a Gofundme page.
“I have set up a plant-based cafe on board and have been travelling around southern England in it.
“I make vegan cookies, flapjacks, pizza, and tea, coffee and juice. I’m moored in Oxford and am hoping to start up yoga classes again.”
James was a fitness and yoga instructor before the pandemic but lost his income during lockdown when no classes could be held.
Then the sluice gate disaster left him with just two pairs of shoes and his beloved dogs.
“I have still got the dogs, they are going from strength to strength and loving the bigger boat. I’m a bit like a phoenix really.
“After lockdown, we just wanted to take off and see other parts of the country.
“I have been to Leamington Spa, the Midlands, Braunston, Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard.
“My friend is doing up the old boat and it has been given a new lease of life,” he said.
But last year’s trauma has left its mark and James admitted he had been afraid to travel on rivers ever since.
He said: “I just go on canals now, which is a shame really because I loved the river before.
“In March this year, I had to go on the Thames during the storms and I was terrified.
“There was a failure the year before last as well, so I would like to know what they’ve done to make the river safe again.”
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We organised temporary accommodation, welfare, security, boat inspection and compensation for the boat owners.
“We set up community meetings and issued regular updates to everyone impacted.”
It said measures taken since the incident include: reviewing the existing site infrastructure, implementing all recommendations to the control system and gate itself; monitoring the gate and the river levels by a dedicated 24-hour site presence; liaising with the boating community and listening to their feedback on the incident; launching a project to refurbish the gates is under way.
The spokesperson continued: “Our work to understand the incident and ensure we learn the lessons across our organisation remains important and will continue.”