Why have boats become stuck on sandbanks on the River Trent this summer?
Former seasonal lock keeper Les Heath looks at some of the reasons behind the groundings.
AN UNPRECEDENTED number of complaints have been flooding in from boaters following groundings on the River Trent this summer.
What makes it even more remarkable is that the year began with a series of floods which brought boating to a halt on the river for several weeks.
So why has the river gone from one extreme to the other in such a short space of time? And why are so many boaters running aground on both the tidal and non-tidal sections?
Some say it is a sign of global warming while others blame the navigation authority, the Canal & River Trust, for failing to carry out dredging operations in the affected areas. Others blame Covid-19 with operatives being unable to resolve the problems during lockdown.
In recent months two of the worstaffected areas on the non-tidal Trent are immediately below Stoke Lock and below Hazelford Lock. Pictures have appeared on social media of people standing in the middle of the river on sandbanks below the entrance to Hazelford Lock.
Commercial artery
The mighty Trent was once a busy commercial artery with thriving ports established at Gainsborough, Newark and Nottingham. Huge barges travelling daily this far inland played a significant role in keeping a reasonable depth in the river channels.
Unfortunately this trade, which was booming in the 1960s, disappeared years ago and vessels with a similar draught have not ventured that far inland since, apart from an occasional exception.
The gravel trade continued on the tidal section until seven years ago with a short-lived boost on the non-tidal section between Gunthorpe and Colwick.
Large vessels such as the 175ft long Battlestone regularly turned around below Cromwell Lock before collecting their cargo at Besthorpe Wharf.
It was not unknown for these experienced barge skippers to run aground here and on various sections of the river.
During my years as a seasonal lock keeper at Cromwell, several barges fell foul of the river’s sandbanks while pleasure craft were running aground almost daily, usually at Dunham Dubs between Cromwell and Torksey. Generally they were refloated on an incoming tide and pride was the only thing to suffer.
However, problems that boaters have always had to contend with on the tidal section are now becoming a nuisance between Newark and Nottingham, especially for those who have not experienced the tidal waters and who have always regarded the Trent as a trouble-free waterway.
Problem areas
River Canal Rescue has been on hand this year to rescue some of its members who have been stranded on Trent sandbanks. However, boaters should be aware that the navigation authority, the Canal & River Trust, claims that it is not its responsibility to help boaters in difficulties and that it does not have the manpower nor vessels to do so.
Jo Grummett, boating and customer service manager in the East Midlands, said: “We’re mindful that there have been some problems on the Trent this year caused by the heavy flooding in spring and we’re sorry that boaters have been experiencing difficulties.
“The situation was compounded by the coronavirus lockdown which made it difficult for us to identify specific problem areas and restricted our ability to respond.
“We’re grateful for the reports we’ve had from boaters since boating has been able to restart and we’re currently reviewing and reprioritising our national dredging programme to enable works to take place on the Trent as quickly as possible.”
Boaters have also been running aground on a sandbank which appeared above Ratcliffe Lock on the River Soar and was still there at the time of writing.
Buoys marking the channels through the sandbanks have now been put in place on the Trent but those below Stoke Lock have already been described as ‘confusing’ for boaters approaching or exiting the lock.
Such marker buoys are common on the River Nene, where the navigation authority is the Environment Agency, and boaters on this beautiful river are quite familiar with these permanent fixtures.
Perhaps boaters on the Trent should, similarly, also get used to the sight of marker buoys.
One never knows, if the Nene is anything to go by, they could be around on the Trent for some time yet.