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Members' space Inland Waterways International |
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campaigning for inland waterways worldwide since 1995 |
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This page draws attention to issues of navigability of inland waterway networks. Richard Parsons is one of several members who have been doing planning and reconnaissance with a view to cruising via Poland into Russia. This means tackling a barrier at Brest, just inside Belarus'. His diary is of interest to all prospective navigators into the 'Far East' of Europe. Richard Parsons is well-known in waterways circles as one of the founders of hotel barging, with the barge Palinurus, starting in France in 1965. The European Waterways Map & Directory (3rd edition) is available from Euromapping. Tailor-made maps like the one posted on this page also available to order. |
May 2011 In February 2010 I could have found myself with my barge Xanthos in Belarus without knowing! But water levels were too low in Warsaw and prevented me from continuing upstream. On the face of it, it seems quite simple to get into Belarus: the price is $4000 dollars in cash! This pays to pass through the military zone, to get a section of the disused railway bridge temporarily removed, to move me through the Brest fortress area and into the Mukhavets River. A branch at the south end of the island will have to be cleared of tree debris. Then it will be possible to moor up beyond the footbridge while the digger clears away the first sandbar. The boat would then move forward up towards the second sandbar. The sandbars act as lock gates. Once this little comedy is over I could be en route for the Black Sea! All very exciting, and somewhat risky. However I do know some people in Belarus. We would see.
7 April - Still not moving on Lake Zegrzynski. My friends in Belarus have just sent me some exasperating news: 'Belarussian environmental authorities recently issued a Regulation that prohibits the use of any waterborne vehicle (including dinghy) by physical persons in the period from April 1st till 1st June (a spawning season)'. The regulation applies to all water bodies of Belarus. The reason is to prevent the reduction of fish stock in Belarus. So I have to postpone my journey across Europe. I never did like environmentalists!
8 April - I plan to abandon my project. To proceed along the Bug river with my boat would almost certainly bring me into conflict with the Belarus authorities. A good friend and a pilot, the most knowledgeable person about the Vistula and the Bug river, suggested moving the boat to Brest as soon as possible, than waiting until June 1st. We are now asking the port authorities in Brest if it would be possible to find a mooring spot for this period. 11 April - Still floating around on the lake with nothing much happening, except that I am still plotting to move my boat up the Bug River to Brest. The Bug River forms part of the border between Poland and Belarus. In 2008 the director of Navigation described the sandbar comedy mentioned above as 'manœuvring' to allow the passage of boats into the Belarus waterway network. Now there are doubts as to whether all these things can be done. 25 April - Back to the border town of Brest for further exploration. The bridge by the fortress that once had 3.80m headroom is now down to 2.75m. The water level was perfect for navigation but too high to pass under the bridge. (The wheelhouse on Xanthos cannot be dismantled.) I would be stuck in a hostile military zone waiting for the water levels to drop. My triumphal entry into the Belarus waterway system would certainly be compromised. The Poland-Belarus border is as much psychological as it is real. People just do not want to cross. I spent eight hours in my car crossing the border. I was in the wrong lane; filled the paper up on the wrong line; too many scratchings-out; my health insurance papers were not acceptable. Then, just the interminable waiting. I asked these border control guards what would happen when my boat enters Belarus. They said that there was no procedure for boats, so there could not 'be' any boats! However, boats can travel from Poland via the Augustow Canal to the Neman River in northern Belarus. (This used to connect with the Black Sea via a complex of lakes and rivers and the Oginsky Canal.) Here the border authorities have the papers and the procedures. This may be a useful precedent. I wondered how half a river could be Polish and the other half Belarus. We travelled to Bubel-Lukowska, a collection of houses along the river bank. At the river we saw a warning notice indicating that we had reached the frontier. The Belarus authorities clearly control the river. To our left was the Polish red and white post. On the other side of the river was the Belarus green and red post. So all this is still just part of a learning process. I am disappointed not to be continuing east, but immensely relieved that I am still alive and that my boat is well and that I am travelling home to wife and friends in Burgundy. What next? Paris-Moscow by barge is still on. Perhaps someone else will open the way. I need to build, borrow or rent a flat-bottom craft that will cruise from Paris to Moscow. The boat could be of variable draught with bits that can be raised up when cruising through eastern Poland, and lowered when crossing the Black Sea: a sort of floating camel! It should also be comfortable; there is nothing worse than trying to enjoy discomfort over a long period. Somehow all this should weigh under 20 tons and fit onto a trailer. This new boat could then be sold, or put into mass-production. It could be quite a challenge.
So I am looking for a partner to draw up plans and eventually to go eastwards. I need to get this project known. I thank IWI for support and comments. There is probably more to tell; it could be more interesting than you imagined, possibly with a happy ending! I have a computer, I can connect to internet. This modern technology tantalizes and beckons. Any suggestions?
Captain Richard Parsons |
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