The Big One (24-5)

Monday the 24th of September 2012

Dutch Riverside Moorings

The weather has reverted back to normal. It's a dark, dismal start to the day. Heavy overcast with frequent showers of rain. I took the dog for a walk down to Ocean Lock to watch a tanker head out into the tidal river Ouse and head down stream towards the Humber. 

There is a public footpath that starts at the side of the Vermuyden  Hotel. The footpath passes through the port of Goole and crosses over the Ocean Lock Gates. So if you come down to Goole and listen on Marine VHF Channel 14 you can then walk down to Ocean Lock in time to watch the sea going boats pen up or down.

Sir Cornelius Wasterdyk Vermuyden who the pub was named after was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to Britain. Vermuyden was knighted in 1629 and became a British citizen in 1633. 

Drainage that he did on Hatfield Chase between Doncaster and Goole was only partially successful as the straightening of the River Don and outlet into the Aire caused flooding elsewhere. As a result he dug the Dutch River which provided a direct route from the River Don (sometimes called the River Dun meaning "Brown") to the River Ouse at Goole. Hence the Dutch Riverside moorings where we are located.

Flood warnings are in force round this part of the world. Time to get the wellies out!

Daily Total
Miles: 0.0
Locks: 0
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Pump Outs: 0
Engine Hours: 0.0


Accumulated Totals
Miles: 1285.5
Locks: 866
Swing / Lift Bridges: 161
Tunnels: 22
Pump Outs: 14
Engine Hours: 2455.0

Later...

I have an idea.

I have an idea. I know that some would believe that I have "no idea" for most of the time. (shut up at the back)  Maybe its one of my infrequent flash backs to my more lucid moments.

We are all aware of the justifications for executive pay. Where everything is carefully benchmarked. Then there is a remuneration committee that supervises salaries and bonuses. Then there are the outside consultants who advise whether it's in line with industry norms. In other words, the usual set-up that has allowed executive pay to spiral out of control. 

It is impossible to benchmark CART senior offices using industry norms. It would get away from the idea of contrasting and comparing chalk and cheese. There are no direct comparisons to be made as there is no other directly comparable charity.

Comparing individual jobs from one business to another is fraught with difficulty. Could you compare the CEO of CART for instance with a CEO in The Finance Industry or A CEO in the Health Industry. 

As CART does not want to have a formal Membership (who might want to vote or express an opinion at an AGM) which they have already made clear.  Why not look at a system like the one at the Nationwide Building Society. The society sends its members a voting form to approve (or not) the director's remuneration report. It's quite a different ethos connecting and engaging with the members and a refreshing change. 

This is an idea that could be carried over to CART. For instance, if I have an account at the Nationwide then I am able to cast a vote. I have a boat licence which I purchase from CART. On that basis I could be granted a vote. It could be run on the same basis as the election of independent boaters to the CART council. 

The same facilities could be offered to CART employees to vote. What a refreshing change this would bring about. Much more of an incentive to the senior management to perform better year on year. The opportunity to build their remuneration package based on performance and not on comparison with someone in a different industry. Unfavourably compared with someone who may have over performed through dint of hard work. 

After all, what to the CART senior management group have to fear. It's a win - win situation for them. Less criticism from the outside and more recognition for what they actually achieve. 

Later....

The Big One (24-4)

Sunday the 23rd of September 2012

Dutch Riverside Moorings

We had a good night in the Goole Boathouse last night when we won the quiz. I won't say what the first prize was. But there is no truth in rumour that black Jelly Babies weigh most. A good evening spent in the company of a n entertaining group of boaters. 

It was a cold night so we lit the stove. The dogs were camped round the stove all night. We awoke this morning with plenty of weak sunshine pouring in through the porthole. Off in the distance the dark clouds were gathering. A few boats going in and out of the marina, heralded what was going to be a quiet day. 

Well until the boat next door on the visitor moorings decided to test a replacement engine in the back of his van. All done with the aid of a hose pipe into the engine to provide coolant. The engine was eventually coaxed into starting. The whole area was then covered in a cloud of thick blue smoke. Plus a simple exhaust silencer that made it sound like an old donkey engine. The locals became a bit upset when the fumes started entering the club house and boat shed area! Most of the afternoon was punctuated with sounds of the engine spluttering into life for short periods. 

Early afternoon brought the first shower of rain and the clouds were scudding across the sky quite quickly. Gale force winds are predicted for tomorrow and so we will have an extra day here before we start move along.

Daily Total
Miles: 0.0
Locks: 0
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Pump Outs: 0
Engine Hours: 0.0


Accumulated Totals
Miles: 1285.5
Locks: 866
Swing / Lift Bridges: 161
Tunnels: 22
Pump Outs: 14
Engine Hours: 2455.0

Later...

The Big One (24-3)

Saturday the 22nd of September 2012

Dutch Riverside Moorings.

Poppy woke me up in the middle of the night - she needed to pay a call of nature. It was very very cold, especially as I was just attired in my pyjamas. I expected this morning to wake up to the first frost on our trip. However is was bright sunshine that greeted us.

I need to find coal for the multi-fuel stove as a matter of urgency. The one thing we have come to enjoy aboard Rosie is being very snug and warm no matter the weather outside. Whenever I'm asked by non boaters "what's it like aboard in the winter." My stock answer is "It depends on where we set the thermostat."

We have a little over five weeks before we are due to arrive back on our moorings for the winter. It's becoming something of an anti climax as we come towards the end of a wonderful experience. Now is the time to start making plans for next spring and another extended cruise. Hopefully the weather will be better than this year which has seen us holed up sitting our river floods a few times.

Like our views on the layout of the boat, our views on cruising have been modified. We have deliberately taken our time, by only cruising for a few hours each day wherever possible. That was the plan for most of this years cruise. However, we have not made much in the way of plans about places to visit. 

Next year we have decided that we will still do short cruising days but spend more time exploring the surroundings. This will mean that we will spend longer in one spot than we usually do. It also means that we will have to spend more time on the planning phase.

Wildlife: A large skin (60+) of Geese in a "V" formation spotted passing high overhead. Heading South. Possible Pink-footed Goose but far too distant to be positivity identified.

Daily Total
Miles: 0.0
Locks: 0
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0
Tunnels: 0
Pump Outs: 0
Engine Hours: 0.0

Accumulated Totals

Miles: 1285.5
Locks: 866
Swing / Lift Bridges: 161
Tunnels: 22
Pump Outs: 14
Engine Hours: 2455.0

Later....

Narrow-Boat Internet Connection Update.

It's over two years since I first wrote about connecting to the internet from our boat. (Click Here) In that time things have moved on. Prices have changed, service contracts deals have changed, download limits, service providers have merged and coverage has generally improved. 

Our experiences have been in the main quite good. We have covered a great deal of the northern canal system in the intervening time. Coverage has been quite acceptable, we have not had a single time that we have not been able to receive a signal though at times quite weak. We have been using T-Mobile which in this time period as teamed up with Orange. The effect of this has been that we can now use both Orange and T-Mobile network connections.

I made a number of layout improvements. I first of all rigged up an external connection between the computer and the ZTE (T-Mobile) USB dongle which I located permanently on the roof of the boat. Recently that dongle has died and I have now replaced it with a new Huawei (T-Mobile) dongle that has an external antenna connection. 

It's early to make real judgement calls on the Huawei but - putting any USB dongle outside on the roof of the boat using a longer USB connecting cable will improve matters. Now using a high gain external antenna using a much thinner cable (15 foot long) that connects back to the dongle (CRC9 connector) has improved the reception of the needed signals.

Now our existing contract has come to an end and it is time to start looking around for a new contract. With technology getting better all the time there’s never been a better time for scouring the current crop of offers for the best dongle deals in the mobile broadband market.

Broadband dongles come in two flavours. With and without an external antenna connection. Both will work, but the dongle with an external antenna fitted will work better in marginal signal conditions. 

Often the broadband providers outlets are not the place to enquire about the dongles capabilities. By way of an example I wrote a bit about our new Huawei E3131 dongle in August. (Click Here)

Read the on-line documentation about any broadband dongle to see if it has external antenna connection available. Dongles can be unlocked and made to work with any mobile broadband service.

First there are the "pay as you go" deals if you don't want to take on a "fixed term contract." Some of the deals are broadly similar between both PAYG and Contract. Either option will allow you to access the internet from your laptop or similar device while you’re out and about on the move.

Most contracts deals offer a free dongle and with most PAYG deals the dongle is an extra one time charge. Once you have decided whether you are going PAYG or contact. You can then compare the key features, such as price, setup, contract duration, speed and download limits. It’s never been easier to pick through the many deals and packages. 

You might also want to consider mobile broadband Wi-Fi units. Mobile Wi-Fi, or MiFi, is the latest trend in mobile broadband and some pay as you go deals are already on the market. MiFi devices work in the same way as a dongle but instead of plugging in a dongle, the MiFi sits and transmits the mobile broadband signal in the same way Wi-Fi work with home broadband. While MiFi devices are definitely worth considering as they add a lot of flexibility to your mobile broadband package.

T-Mobile is one of the older mobile broadband operators. It is also the only mobile internet provider that doesn't charge people excess fees for going over their agreed mobile internet usage cap.

Later....