From flag at cucbc.org Sun Nov 4 21:32:00 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2012 21:32:00 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Flood warnings are in force for the Cam this evening. This will likely mean strong stream conditions tomorrow. The river will be assessed just after 06:00 tomorrow. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Mon Nov 5 06:11:13 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:11:13 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Water level is high and stream is fast as predicted. Take extreme caution this morning. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Mon Nov 5 10:29:46 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:29:46 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Water level is high and stream is fast as predicted. Take extreme caution this morning. In addition, crews should not attempt to cross Baitsbite lock until the flow goes down, as the weir makes boating on the other side of the lock highly dangerous. The CUCBC Committee From tom at cucbc.org Mon Nov 5 11:58:28 2012 From: tom at cucbc.org (Tom Grimble) Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2012 11:58:28 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Respect and behaviour around other river users Message-ID: Please pass this on to all your coaches and ensure they understand the message. Over the last week we have received a number of complaints from residents along the river and users of the towpath: 1) Moored boats Crews should take every care in pushing off against moored boats. If you do crash or steer incorrectly please push off against the fenders. These are the bits of rope/plastic/rubber hanging along the side of the boat and they are there to stop the side of the boat getting scratched. You should take every effort to avoid scraping your blades along the paintwork and hull of a moored vessel, especially below the waterline as this damage is very difficult and expensive for the owners to repair. Also moored boats are private property. We have had reports of coaches jumping onto people's boats to try and reach their crews. This is completely out of order and if we hear of any more reports of this we will take the matter very seriously with the clubs and individuals concerned. 2) Coaching on the towpath The towpath is a public right of way. People use it every day to get to work etc. Please keep your bicycles clear of the path if you are coaching and stand to the side if you are stationary. Also keep your boat's blades off the towpath if you are pulled in to chat. Please also remember the rules about early morning noise. No coaching from the bank before 07:30 and definitely no megaphones in the morning! We need everyone to take some care and respect around other users of the river. The actions of just a few individuals can cast a bad impression of the entire community of college rowing. Above all else if something goes wrong be polite and apologise. Admit you made a mistake and this will hopefully defuse most situations. We will be dealing very strictly with any future reported incidents. Tom Grimble CUCBC Honorary Secretary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From flag at cucbc.org Mon Nov 5 21:53:28 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:53:28 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: As the water level remains high and stream fast, flag remains yellow. In addition, crews should not attempt to cross Baitsbite lock until the flow goes down, as the weir makes boating on the other side of the lock highly dangerous. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Tue Nov 6 06:29:08 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2012 06:29:08 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Still high/fast, but hopefully easing enough for green later today. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Tue Nov 6 22:04:29 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2012 22:04:29 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Green Flag Message-ID: The flag is Green. There are no restrictions on which crews may boat. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Thu Nov 15 06:03:32 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 06:03:32 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Very low visibility. Take great caution. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Thu Nov 15 10:03:29 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:03:29 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Green Flag Message-ID: The flag is Green. There are no restrictions on which crews may boat. The CUCBC Committee From tom at cucbc.org Fri Nov 16 21:18:17 2012 From: tom at cucbc.org (Tom Grimble) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:18:17 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Dangerous and inconsiderate coxing Message-ID: ** This message should absolutely be passed on to all coaches and coxes in your club if they are not already on one of these lists.* Dear all The river is getting very busy with boats as the end of term nears, particularly in the mornings. Also the number of incidents of dangerous behaviour and inconsiderate coxing that could easily lead to a serious accident has increased massively too. Please read the following and heed this warning as there will be no tolerance for stupid behaviour for the rest of this term. *1) Lights* All crews out in the 15 minutes after lighting down in the morning and in the 15 minutes before lighting up need to have lights on their boats. Marshals watch for this in the morning ad you will be fined for not having lights that are sufficiently visible. The only acceptable type of light is a *BRIGHT, WHITE light* on both bow and stern. If it is faint, buy some batteries! Also, saying the river was really busy and you didn't have time to stop to put lights on your boat is not a valid excuse. If you have an outing late in the afternoon you should be aware of when it gets dark and plan accordingly. *2) Spinning* The *ONLY* places where you may spin are at Jesus and Baitsbite Locks at either end of the river and at the P&E (alongside the small car park at the start of the towpath) and between the posts at the bottom of the Long Reach. Spinning elsewhere because you can't be bothereed to wait is unacceptable. When you want to spin you MUST ensure that the river is clear and that you will not impede anyone coming the other way. When you are able to find a safe place to spin please only spin 1 boat at a time. If you are behind, *WAIT YOUR TURN*. Once you finish spinning, clear the area as quickly as possible and THEN pull in. All crews should get out of the spinning areas as quickly as possible and you definitely should not be stopping and doing exercises as this blocks the river for everyone else. *3) Overtaking queues and on corners* It is an unfortunate reality that there is a massive queue in the mornings of boats trying to clear around the P&E and at Ditton to spin. If everyone used some more sense while trying to spin this would help matters (see previous section). If there is a solid queue of boats all the way ahead of you, *DO NOT OVERTAKE*. We have had innumerable incidences of crews pushing their way in front and they end up impeding a boat coming the other way. This usually ends up with all 3 boats getting tangled and it now takes 10 times as long for them to get out of the way making everyone sit around in a a queue for longer. No crew may overtake unless they ask permission to come by and can see it is safe. A massive queue in front *IS NOT CLEAR OR SAFE.* The cox being asked for permission to overtake also has a responsibility to respond even if it is a negative. This also goes for corners where you can't see around the bend, you should only overtake where you have a large clear space ahead of you that you can see. Not even University crews should be forcing their way through queues of boats without making sure it is safe and clear, although college crews are asked to give them priority where it is reasonable to do so. This is just a request, they do not have a right of way over others, but we all want to see them steaming past Oxford next year. *4) Crossover points* Pleas heed the massive signs at the crossover points! If you are going downstream (from the boathouses to Baitsbite Lock) you *MUST GIVE WAY TO UPSTREAM CREWS*. Be patient and do not push your luck trying to quickly nip across. Some of the worst accidents we've had have been a result of crews crossing over into others. It takes longer than you think for an VIII to get across the river and out of the way again. If you can see a crew coming ahead upstream you should probably sit and wait for them to go by. Upstream crews you do have priority but also have a responsibility to not cause an accident so *BE SAFE* and stop if you have to! *5) Holding up other crews with slow exercises* The stretch between the boathouses and Chesterton is narrow and windy and almost impossible to overtake on. In order to keep the flow of boats moving along here we ask that everyone keep to a minimum of half crew, half slide so that people don't end up stuck stationary when it is cold. If you have a clear river in front of you, *DO NOT SIT THERE DOING ARMS ONLY * while a massive queue of boats are stuck behind unable to overtake. Your coaches must plan for this and should only do slow exercises where there is space and should adapt their outing plan accordingly. If they can't they're a crap coach and I strongly recommend you get a new one. If there is nothing behind you, fine do it. If people are waiting, pull in and let them through or get your boat moving and let everyone have a chance at a decent outing! Now you've read all that I expect everyone on the river to now be completely safe and to do everything perfectly for the rest of term.... Please be patient and please be considerate of others it will help a lot. Tom Grimble CUCBC Honorary Secretary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tom at cucbc.org Fri Nov 16 23:45:32 2012 From: tom at cucbc.org (Tom Grimble) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:45:32 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Two Boat Rule In Operation from Thursday 22nd Nov In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Due to the consistently large number of boats out each morning currently we will be bringing in restrictions starting next Thursday, and will remain in force for the rest of this term. Between Lighting Down and 08:30hrs on Monday to Friday each college club will only be permitted to have two boats on the river at any one time. This rule applies to IVs and VIIIs but not to singles, pairs or tub pairs. Further details on this rule and penalties can be found on the CUCBC website . Hopefully this will be sufficient notice for all clubs so that you can plan your outings around this accordingly. Tom Grimble CUCBC Honorary Secretary -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tom at cucbc.org Thu Nov 22 11:33:33 2012 From: tom at cucbc.org (Tom Grimble) Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:33:33 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Dangerous and inconsiderate coxing In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Some people have taken some of my email to be a contradiction to *Rule 19: That all boats (whether going upstream or downstream, and whether rowing or paddling) give way to CUWBC, CULRC, CUBC crews and Trial Eights, subject to rule 20and general navigation law. * This was not intended. This has apparently convinced some colleges that they can deliberately impede university crews. This is not the case! *If you are rowing or paddling and it is safe to do so all college crews should take every effort to allow a University crew to overtake.* This applies to any time you are being followed by a faster crew, if you are holding them up it is your responsibiltiy to let them by when it is safe. *Rule 23: That a slower boat being overtaken must give way (pulling in if necessary) to allow a faster boat to pass.* *If someone asks to overtake and it is safe just stop for a few strokes*, let them get round you easily and then continue paddling. It costs you 10 seconds and the whole river will be a lot easier to navigate. If you keep rowing it takes a lot longer for them to overtake and there are innumerable cases of where such actions have led to serious accidents and injury. Any incidences of deliberately impeding a University crew or any other crew for that matter when there is clearly an opportunity to let them by are against the rules and will be dealt with as such. The circumstances I was discussing before are *ONLY RELEVANT TO OVERTAKING QUEUES* hence the very clear section headers around each point. This is a clarifcation of common sense which apparently a lot of people lack. *Rule 22.b That no boat may overtake on a corner or when it cannot see that it is safe to do so.* If you're in a queue *NO ONE* should be overtaking as you cannot see that it is safe. Pushing through a load of stationary boats invariably makes it worse and makes everyone wait even longer. Tom Grimble CUCBC Honorary Secretary On 16 November 2012 21:18, Tom Grimble wrote: > ** This message should absolutely be passed on to all coaches and coxes > in your club if they are not already on one of these lists.* > > Dear all > > The river is getting very busy with boats as the end of term nears, > particularly in the mornings. Also the number of incidents of dangerous > behaviour and inconsiderate coxing that could easily lead to a serious > accident has increased massively too. > > Please read the following and heed this warning as there will be no > tolerance for stupid behaviour for the rest of this term. > > *1) Lights* > All crews out in the 15 minutes after lighting down in the morning and in > the 15 minutes before lighting up need to have lights on their boats. > Marshals watch for this in the morning ad you will be fined for not having > lights that are sufficiently visible. The only acceptable type of light is > a *BRIGHT, WHITE light* on both bow and stern. If it is faint, buy some > batteries! > Also, saying the river was really busy and you didn't have time to stop to > put lights on your boat is not a valid excuse. If you have an outing late > in the afternoon you should be aware of when it gets dark and plan > accordingly. > > *2) Spinning* > The *ONLY* places where you may spin are at Jesus and Baitsbite Locks at > either end of the river and at the P&E (alongside the small car park at the > start of the towpath) and between the posts at the bottom of the Long > Reach. Spinning elsewhere because you can't be bothereed to wait is > unacceptable. When you want to spin you MUST ensure that the river is clear > and that you will not impede anyone coming the other way. When you are able > to find a safe place to spin please only spin 1 boat at a time. If you are > behind, *WAIT YOUR TURN*. Once you finish spinning, clear the area as > quickly as possible and THEN pull in. > All crews should get out of the spinning areas as quickly as possible and > you definitely should not be stopping and doing exercises as this blocks > the river for everyone else. > > *3) Overtaking queues and on corners* > It is an unfortunate reality that there is a massive queue in the mornings > of boats trying to clear around the P&E and at Ditton to spin. If everyone > used some more sense while trying to spin this would help matters (see > previous section). > If there is a solid queue of boats all the way ahead of you, *DO NOT > OVERTAKE*. We have had innumerable incidences of crews pushing their way > in front and they end up impeding a boat coming the other way. This usually > ends up with all 3 boats getting tangled and it now takes 10 times as long > for them to get out of the way making everyone sit around in a a queue for > longer. > No crew may overtake unless they ask permission to come by and can see it > is safe. A massive queue in front *IS NOT CLEAR OR SAFE.* The cox being > asked for permission to overtake also has a responsibility to respond even > if it is a negative. This also goes for corners where you can't see around > the bend, you should only overtake where you have a large clear space ahead > of you that you can see. > Not even University crews should be forcing their way through queues of > boats without making sure it is safe and clear, although college crews are > asked to give them priority where it is reasonable to do so. This is just a > request, they do not have a right of way over others, but we all want to > see them steaming past Oxford next year. > > *4) Crossover points* > Pleas heed the massive signs at the crossover points! > If you are going downstream (from the boathouses to Baitsbite Lock) you *MUST > GIVE WAY TO UPSTREAM CREWS*. Be patient and do not push your luck trying > to quickly nip across. Some of the worst accidents we've had have been a > result of crews crossing over into others. It takes longer than you think > for an VIII to get across the river and out of the way again. If you can > see a crew coming ahead upstream you should probably sit and wait for them > to go by. > Upstream crews you do have priority but also have a responsibility to not > cause an accident so *BE SAFE* and stop if you have to! > > *5) Holding up other crews with slow exercises* > The stretch between the boathouses and Chesterton is narrow and windy and > almost impossible to overtake on. In order to keep the flow of boats moving > along here we ask that everyone keep to a minimum of half crew, half slide > so that people don't end up stuck stationary when it is cold. > If you have a clear river in front of you, *DO NOT SIT THERE DOING ARMS > ONLY* while a massive queue of boats are stuck behind unable to overtake. > Your coaches must plan for this and should only do slow exercises where > there is space and should adapt their outing plan accordingly. If they > can't they're a crap coach and I strongly recommend you get a new one. > If there is nothing behind you, fine do it. If people are waiting, pull in > and let them through or get your boat moving and let everyone have a chance > at a decent outing! > > Now you've read all that I expect everyone on the river to now be > completely safe and to do everything perfectly for the rest of term.... > > Please be patient and please be considerate of others it will help a lot. > > Tom Grimble > CUCBC Honorary Secretary > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From flag at cucbc.org Sun Nov 25 09:56:25 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:56:25 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Wind is very strong. All crews permitted to boat should consider the conditions before going out. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Sun Nov 25 15:59:10 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:59:10 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: Wind is very strong. All crews permitted to boat should consider the conditions before going out. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Sun Nov 25 21:11:02 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:11:02 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Yellow Flag Message-ID: The flag is Yellow. Boating is restricted to University crews, first VIIIs, men's crews in the top 2 divisions of the May Bumps and women's crews in the top division of the May Bumps as well as first fours and tub pairs. Members of crews permitted to boat under a Yellow Flag may do so in fours or small boats (i.e. single and double sculls and pairs) with the express permission of the Club Captain and/or Boatman. Outlook: The flag will remain yellow due to the current high stream and flood conditions. All crews should be aware of the risks and consider carefully whether to boat. Any crews boating should spin early, upstream of the spinning sign at Baitsbite to avoid the risk of being drawn onto the weir. Please be aware of the the severe danger that the boom and weir present in these conditions. No crews should try to boat from the pontoon over the lock in the event that it is submerged by floodwaters. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Tue Nov 27 12:17:00 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:17:00 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Green Flag Message-ID: The flag is Green. There are no restrictions on which crews may boat. The CUCBC Committee From flag at cucbc.org Fri Nov 30 16:20:45 2012 From: flag at cucbc.org (flag at cucbc.org) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 16:20:45 +0000 Subject: [CUCBC Coxes] Not Operational Flag Message-ID: The flag is Not Operational. CUCBC does not set the flag status during vacations. The CUCBC Committee