Western Daily Press (Saturday)
‘Phoenix’ boater rising again after river disaster
AMAN who lost his boat when a sluice gate failed on the River Avon in Bath is thriving again a year after the disaster.
James Stuart-Wigley saw his home sucked away when a mechanical fault drained the river, 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”.
This week marked one year since the catastrophe and James says he has recovered well from the incident.
Now the proud owner of Dreckly, a beautiful narrowboat he managed to buy through 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 onboard and have been travelling around southern England in it.
“I make vegan cookies, flapjacks, pizzas, 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
At the time, it was like the end of the world, but I am trying to rebuild things JAMES STUART-WIGLEY
instructor before the pandemic but lost his income during lockdown when no classes could be held.
Then the sluice gate disaster washed his life down the plughole and he was left 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 added.
However, 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.”
The Environment Agency explained the work that had been carried out following the incident.
A spokesman said: “The Environment Agency recognised the stress and disruption this incident had on people’s lives and worked with our Local Resilience Forum partners to reduce this as quickly as possible.
“The situation involved an urgent need to look after boat owners’ welfare and wellbeing, as well as leading the operation to refloat all the affected canal boats.
“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.”
The agency said since the incident it had taken a number of measures, including:
independently reviewing the existing site infrastructure;
implementing all recommendations to the control system and gate itself;
monitoring the gate and the river levels, with a 24-hour site presence;
liaising with the boating community and listening to feedback on the incident.
The spokesman said: “We recognise our initial response could be improved, so we are prioritising training with our incident responders and carrying out joint training also with our partners.”