Members of Lichfield Cruising Club have had their cruising seriously curtailed since the middle of November as British Waterways carries out vital repairs on the Coventry Canal. A hundred metre long stretch of the canal outside the LCC Clubhouse has been dewatered while a culvert - an under-canal tunnel - which safely routes a brook, is repaired. As well as preventing members from cruising up towards Tamworth, the work has meant six members' boats have had to be temporarily moved from the main-line and breasted up in the Huddlesford Arm.
The project is expected to take a month and it is hoped the canal will be open again in time for Christmas. Meanwhile some of those members who moored in the spot have been seen desperately trying to find a variety of objects previously lost in the canal. One member wanted to recover a hard rubber dog toy and a chinaman's hat, without any success.
The work is being carried out by Morrisons' Construction on behalf of BW, and they have installed a works compound on the Club field and large pumps to carry water from the brook while the work goes on. It had originally been planned to dewater only a short stretch but as the dams were being constructed it became clear the canal was much deeper than expected and they had to be re-positioned.
