Surviving the flood on the non-tidal Thames: Part Two

Having recounted in detail the story of our experience in the winter flood of 2023/4 we didn’t expect to be writing an update in September 24! This event started here on 23rd September it is now day 7, levels started to fall on day 5 and are now on the way back up.

Despite our promise that we wouldn’t be caught out again, here we are in exactly the same spot that we occupied from 3rd February to mid-April 2024. In our defence, no one was predicting the River Conditions would change as quickly as they did last week.

As was the case earlier in the year we are not alone in being caught out and decided we might share some of our lived experience as it might be helpful to other boaters who have as yet not been caught out by the river gods!

So, if you think you might be trapped on a fixed mooring (I e one that doesn’t float) by rising water levels what are the first things to consider?

1: How will you secure your boat, are there bollards, rings or cleats that you can use. If not you will need more than just conventional pins. Are there sturdy trees close by? If you don’t already have any is there time to order a pair of Ground Anchors?

2: Are your mooring lines (ropes) in good condition and long enough? It is always good practise to finish your mooring line back on the boat. This is especially so in flood conditions when it is likely you will have to adjust lines when the mooring is underwater. Possibly water that is deep and fast flowing. Remember if you think the water level is going to rise by a metre you need a minimum extra two metres of line, there and back!

3: Irrespective of the way you secure your boat to the bank the lines must slide freely through the ring or around the tree or bollards, if they don’t you won’t be able to pay out (lengthen) the lines as the water level rises.

4: When you secure the lines on your boat ideally it should be to a cleat where you can make fast by a simple figure of 8. If you must tie a knot, make sure it will not bind under pressure, if it does you won’t be able to loosen it to pay out more line.

5: Assuming you are aboard and able to adjust your lines as the water level rises the time your boat is most at risk is when the water level drops. Most boats come to grief because when the water level is high the boat drifts over the bank or some obstruction and then when the level drops the boat hangs on the obstruction and is either left high and dry or is caught up on one side and ends up capsizing and sinking.

6: The answer is vigilance and, depending on the exact circumstances, cunning mitigation strategies as in this photo. Here we have screwed two blocks of wood to the underside of the gang plank which fit snugly over the gunwale. The shore end of the gangplank has a hole drilled in it so a pin can be driven through it to stop it drifting in or out. This crude but effective ploy means the boat is held away from the concrete edge of the quay, but as the river level rises it allows the boat to move over the quay (and the angle of the gangplank gets stepper) but when the river level falls the angle of the plank gets less steep and the boat is pushed back safely clear of the quay. The green rope’s main purpose is to act as “handrail” and an aid to climbing the bank which is slippery and steeper than it appears in the photo. It also helps to hold the boat tight to the plank

River levels can change very quickly. As we said above most boats come to grief when the levels are falling. It is not easy to tell when the boat is first grounded and it only takes a few minutes, if the water is dropping quickly, for the weight of the vessel to make it impossible to just push or drive it off.