You can entirely legally buy a 30m barge and take it up the Thames as far as the locks will let you, amongst swimmers, rowers and thousands of plastic boats. Or indeed anywhere in UK. With no steerer's training or qualificatIons at all.
However, DBA recommends you don't do that. We encourage every barge steerer to take appropriate training, and get suitable qualifications, before taking the helm.
It's different in mainland Europe. Each country has its own qualifications requirement.
One solution is to obtain an
International Certificate of Competence (ICC). This involves a written exam based on the RYA Day Skipper course plus knowledge of the
CEVNI rules (mainland Europe inland rules of the road), plus a practical examination which DBA can administer.
The ICC is accepted in France, Belgium and the Netherlands visiting vessels (typically up to 6 months). After this a national qualification may be required, which is recognised by the other two countries. For full details see the
RYA web site.
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For more info on training contact Chris Ries
The Tideway Trophy (commonly known as the DBA Barge Handling Trophy)
The Tideway Trophy was presented to the DBA in 1992 by John Everett of the London Tideway Harbour Company and a founder member of the Association. The Trophy was to be awarded annually to the winner of the Barge Handling competition. The trophy is in fact a “Storm Bottle”, an ancient mariners’ weather predictor consisting of a ‘mystery’ potion in a glass phial. This is mounted on a mahogany board and the identities of the successive guardians of the potion are engraved on brass plates affixed to the mounting board.
The origin of the Storm Bottle is not known with certainty, but it is generally believed to date back several centuries. In Renaissance times it was often regarded as a quasi-magical device which, by its constantly varying crystalline formations, gave advance warning of impending atmospheric disturbances; not surprisingly it was much sought after by seafarers of the period and indeed has since then, sometimes, been fitted as an adjunct to mercurial barometers.
The contents of the Bottle consists of a carefully prepared mixture of special salts combined with a liquid of which the principal ingredients are pure alcohol, distilled water and camphor, the proportions of each in the total being a carefully guarded secret! The end result is a clear liquid with suspended particles which alter in their formation, character and shape from day today, apparently spontaneously but mainly influenced by temperature.
Although intended to be awarded annually, there have been years when a competition has not been practicable, normally due to the confined waters in which that year’s rally had been held. The last two competitions have been held at the 2007 and 2009 rallies in the Basin La Villette, in Paris, which has a large open space of water in which to manoeuvre.
The competition course has, over the years, remained basically the same, with the course marked by two buoys at each end and an anchored dinghy in the centre (the latter with a bell mounted on a mast – my first bell is at the bottom of Millwall Dock in London and the second lost its clapper in Paris!).
The course starts by slipping from alongside, then
- A turn short round
- A slalom ahead between the buoys and the dinghy – the bell on the dinghy’s mast has to be rung without the barge touching the dinghy
- A straight run astern back to the slalom start
- Mooring back alongside, lassoing a bollard with the eye of a mooring rope and within a space 4m longer than the barge.
In some years the last manoeuvre before mooring up is to retrieve a bottle of beer from the hand of a crew member of a barge moored safely alongside. The early competitions were timed, but it was thought that racing against the clock was dangerous so this was dropped, although excessively slow manoeuvring is penalised.
Up to now the rules of the competition have stated that the course is to be run without the use of bow thrusters, the thinking being that it is a test of barge handling and also that those barges without them would be unfairly penalised. However following the comments from members, this year’s contest allowed the use of bow thrusters, albeit with a points penalty if one was used. In fact I believe that none of the 8 contestants used one and those who habitually make use of one learnt quite a lot about barge handling the ‘hard’ way!
The Storm BottleThe origin of the Storm Bottle is not known with certainty, but it is generally believed to date back several centuries. In Renaissance times it was often regarded as a quasi-magical device which, by its constantly varying crystalline formations, gave advance warning of impending atmospheric disturbances; not surprisingly it was much sought after by seafarers of the period and indeed has since then sometimes been fitted as an adjunct to mercurial barometers.
The contents of the Bottle consists of a carefully prepared mixture of special salts combined with a liquid of which the principal ingredients are pure alcohol, distilled water and camphor, the proportions of each in the total being a carefully guarded secret! The end result is a clear liquid with suspended particles which alter in their formation, character and shape from day today, apparently spontaneously but mainly influenced by temperature.
Experience is required in interpreting these changes but some guidance in this regard has been preserved in company with the formula, as follows:
- Clear liquid Bright conditions
- Small Crystals at base of tube Frost in winter
- Dim liquid Moisture or rain
- Dim liquid with small stars Thunder storms
- Large flakes Heavy air
- Threads in upper portion Disturbance or wind
- Small dots Low visibility or fog
It is stressed that the indications of the instrument provide only a general guide to weather conditions and it should be remembered that, to obtain meaningful results, the Storm Bottle should be mounted in a location where it can “sense” the true atmosphere, that is to say away from artificial sources of heat such as radiators or fires or perhaps out-of-doors in a covered porch.
On occasion it may occur that, when the Bottle is unpacked, the liquid remains clear and the crystalline particles do not appear even, after a period of an hour or two has been allowed to elapse. Of course, this may reflect atmospheric conditions at the time but it is suggested that, to render them visible, the glass tube first be gently shaken and then be placed in a vertical position inside a refrigerator for approximately one hour; the particles will then materialise in the liquid and thereafter slowly attain characteristics appropriate to the prevailing environment of the instrument.
The recorded winners of the Trophy are available here.