For several years we've been doing Airbnb's on "Hazel" to bring in a bit of income to subsidise her proper work providing time afloat for those in need of a boost to their well being. We keep it under control, we don't want her to be purely an Airbnb boat and we always offer an optional extra of a trip. Last year we didn't have many Airbnb guests because we had a lottery grant so they weren't so necessary. The grant has now finished so, until we get some more funding, she's listed on their website again.
A while ago we got an email from our friend (!) at CRT's licensing department to say that we were very naughty for doing Airbnb's as "Hazel" didn't have the appropriate licence. This puzzled us. She has all the upgraded safety requirements and we can take people on holiday, so why can't people just stay overnight? I was vaguely aware that they'd brought in a new licence category specifically for Airbnb's, but this was because private boat owners had taken to renting out their boats for overnight stays.
I looked into it and soon realised that the problem lay in the static nature of Airbnb bookings. We replied to say very sorry, didn't realise, tell you what, all future Airbnb bookings will include a trip. They seem to have accepted that and we amended the listing accordingly. All Airbnb guests now have to have a trip, whether they like it or not. Extended trips available for extra dosh.
This weekend we have a couple from Portsmouth staying, Caroline and Mark. Mark grew up in Ashton and used to play around Portland Basin. He remembers the pioneering Big Digs that got the canal restored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWlOv3hPHa8
There was a problem about doing a trip though as "Forget me Not"s gearbox is currently in bits. They asked for a trip starting at 12.30 today, Saturday.
The standard trip, included in the Airbnb offer is to go through the Asda tunnel, wind at Eli Whalley's ( just before the start of the Huddersfield Narrow), then back to Portland Basin. We could do this by human power.
Aaron volunteered to help, so we set off with me hauling and Aaron steering. Soon we were at the point where the towpath diverges from the canal.
Before 2002 the towpath ran right under Cavendish St bridge and ended in a set of steps up to Asda. In that year the retaining wall became unsafe and they covered the towpath with a stone bank to stabilise things. 20 years later the banking has quite mature trees on it and, as far as I know, they're still arguing about who should pay to repair the wall.
I threw the line to Aaron and he started shafting the boat along the narrow watery gap between the tree covered stone banking and Cavendish Mill. When he reached the tunnel he laid the shaft down and started legging. This is not easy as the Asda tunnel is too wide for wing boards and almost too high to leg off the roof.
I went through the superstore car park to the other end of the tunnel. You used to be able to get right up to the entrance but now it's been cordoned off as a nature area, so I had to wait at the barrier.
Aaron threw me the line again and I restarted bowhauling. Mark had taken over steering. We passed the Sea Cadet moorings and crunched into ice at the winding hole.
Even thin ice makes winding difficult, but with Aaron pushing the bow, me hauling on a line at the stern and Mark smashing the ice with the cabin shaft, we were soon round and set off again, repeating the procedure in reverse order.
Despite the cold, the snow and the drizzle, I really enjoyed doing that little trip.
A word from our sponsor.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and my other blog posts. Now please help out a bit. You may have noticed that "Hazel" has some tarpaulins on her roof and the paintwork is getting a bit tatty. In the new year we intend to put this right, as well as doing some internal improvements. We can't do this though without extra funds. If everyone chips in a bit we'll soon have the necessary money, so, please help out in this virtual whip round to keep "Hazel" running into the future.