The UK Canal and River Trust’s national boat count shows an increase in boaters using the canals across England and Wales over the last three years. The last full annual boat count took place in 2019, with the pandemic affecting the counts scheduled for 2020 and 2021. The count reveals that the number of boaters rose by 3.3 per cent across England and Wales and there was also a licence compliance rate of 94.1 per cent.
Over the course of the last three years the survey shows a slight drop in the percentage of licensed boats, down from 96.5 per cent in 2019 to 94.1 per cent this year, together with an increase in boats taking a licence without a home mooring Continue reading “UK boating numbers on canals and rivers increase”
On 27 January 2021, the whelk potter Nicola Faith capsized and sank 1.9 miles north of Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales with the loss of its three crew members. The vessel had been extensively modified during its life which had significantly reduced its margin of positive stability. On the day of the accident the Nicola Faith had been loaded with catch and retrieved strings of pots to the point of instability, which resulted in the capsize and subsequently sinking of the vessel. Nicola Faith had not been fitted with a mandatory emergency beacon to alert to the capsize, and it was not reported as overdue until 1000 the next day. Following its salvage by the MAIB, a thorough inspection of the vessel was carried out to determine possible modes of capsize 
Early in the morning on 21 November 2020, the scallop dredger Joanna C capsized south of Newhaven, England; only one of the three crew survived. Joanna C’s crew was hauling the gear when they noticed that the starboard dredge bar had become snagged on a line of whelk pots. The snag caused a heel to starboard from which the vessel could not recover, and it capsized rapidly.
British Marine chose the recent Crick Boat Show to release and publish the updated Inland Boatbuilding Association Code of Practice.
The fire that destroyed a luxury yacht near Key West in March 2021 most likely started from an electric source within the sound enclosure for the vessel’s starboard generators, the National Transportation Safety Board (
Passenger and fishing safety, new technologies and a greener future are the top priorities for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for the coming year.
On 22 August 2020 at 1011, the commercially operated high speed passenger craft Seadogz collided with the North-West Netley buoy in Southampton Water at a speed of 38.4kts. On board was the skipper and 11 passengers. During the collision two passengers were ejected overboard into the water where their lifejackets inflated. The remaining passengers and the skipper suffered varying degrees of impact injuries. A 15-year-old girl, was fatally injured when she was thrown against the handrail directly in front of her bench seat. 
