It's a Roll-Over Week

Spotted on the Grand Union near Braunston.

13 or 14 lads had hired this boat and barring the steerer, were quite inebriated.

It just shows that legal moves to stop the steerer drinking by imposing car style drink-driving limits won't solve all the problems. 

I'm surprised that they didn't get water in their engine vent, which would fill the bilge.

The deaths of boaters usually makes a few lines in the dailies, but makes headline news in the boaters press.

A few deaths every year are due to fires and carbon monoxide poisoning and very occasionally, it turns out to be murder.

However, I have noticed that a growing amount appear to be related to intoxication.
Well, to be more precise, drowning or fires as a result of alcohol excess.

The death of a Pewsey boater in March last year was attributed to drinking.

The boater in question was found to be three and a half times over the legal road driving limit.

The combination of: boat, heavy drinking and often a boater living alone on board, can be a tragic mix. 

Logically, getted tanked to the point where judgement and coordination is seriously impaired and then returning to your boat along an uneven towpath (often in the dark) and then trying to board your boat, often stopping to adjust lines, fenders, etc on the way, can mean that a boater ends up in cold water, with a slippery, muddy bank or moored boats making it hard to get out. 

Its a free country and people are free to drink as much as they want.

I'm not suggesting more nanny-state controls.

It just occurs to me that this probably goes on, ashore, as well. 

It's just that a stagger down the path from the pub and abortive attempts to get the key in the front door don't generally yield such fatal consequences.