Chichester Canal. ..... Volunteers urgently needed

Chichester Ship Canal, is an historic place, but is very much up to date in terms of usage. There is angling, , row-boat hire, two trip boats, and a brand new purpose built shop and cafeteria at the end of the Canal Basin.... and that is only about 200 yards (metres) from the Chichester Railway or Bus Stations.

To keep the canal open, and to realise a dream, to open the canal again, to the sea, needs plenty of volunteers.... There is no age limit, perhaps you need to be over 16 at the lower end, but we do have several "older" people , well into their 70`s working in all aspects of the canal operation.

Boat Crews are needed on a very busy schedule throughout the summer months,... there is a small narrowboat, EGREMONT,  that seats 12 people, and runs on a daily timetable 4 trips per day... ( each trip is about 1.5 hours).. and two crew are needed to man this boat... usually for a couple of trips in the morning and a couple in the afternoon....

Narrowboat "Egremont"

The larger boat, RICHMOND,  needs a Skipper, a Mate, and two Cabin Crew, and can take up to 42 passengers... Usually the trips on this boat are booked in advance by groups, either social, or private, birthday party, or works outings....  there are also some special bookings for evening cruises, such as the "Sundowner" cruise, with a two piece combo and some wine to  help the journey mellow along.

Wide Beam Boat "Richmond"

Volunteers are needed, urgently, for boat crew, and cabin crew.... no experience is necessary, but a certain amount of commitment is required... Deck Crew, are trained on board, with experienced crew and the training is up to a level approved by the Maritime Coastguard Agency, which oversees passenger ship operations to ensure safety to the general public.  The training is a relaxed, but thorough affair, and again, to qualify for a Mate`s Ticket, you will be expected to commit to your training time... usually Monday morning 9am to 2pm and other times as and when available, depending on boat bookings...  Cabin Crew, also have a training to make sure they know what to do in an emergency, and also how to serve the passengers with food and drink, table layouts, and general customer/passenger goodwill. Again, no experience is necessary, but a willingness to learn something new is all that is really needed.

Typical Cabin Layout on "Richmond"

If you fancy yourself in the role of Mate, or Cabin Crew, then please get in touch with Mike Bushell on 07749 212 475 who is the Training Manager.

After obtaining your Mate`s Ticket, you can take additional training, and examination for the job of Skipper... ... ...

Shop staff.....Volunteers are needed here, too.......  Here is an opportunity to work in an extremely modern and active service role, as a shop assistant. serving customers at the counter, and being the "Front of House" for the Chichester Ship Canal.... The shop is brand new, being purpose built, after 21 years in an old Portakabin "container".... it took 21 minutes to destroy it !! !.. when the new shop opened in January 2013....  Shop staff serve teas, coffee sandwiches, cold fizzy drinks, and some canal related gift items.... there is an upstairs seating area, with a balcony overlooking the Canal Basin, and seating is also available outside.... Shop staff work on a voluntary rota basis, and this is organised by a newly appointed Manageress, Sarah,... who will be pleased to meet you and give you all the information you need to be a volunteer and work with an interesting group of people from a variety of lifestyles. Making new friends along the way !....

You can find out more about volunteering, either for boat crew, or shop staff, by visiting the shop, at the Canal Basin, ask any staff member for a leaflet, or ask for Sarah..... You can also visit the Chichester Ship Canal website....   http://chichestercanal.org.uk/  The shop telephone number is .... 01243 771 363.