How to prove you have been cruising

The Trust's own guidance tells boaters to keep a record of their movements, with supporting evidence such as GPS coordinates. That guidance is worth taking literally, because it describes exactly what a good answer looks like.

What counts

• —A dated log of each mooring, with coordinates or a place name specific enough to locate
• —Photographs of the boat at recognisable places — most phones record the date and location inside the image file
• —Receipts from boatyards, marinas, diesel and pump-outs along the route
• —Letters from people who saw the boat where you say it was

What makes it credible

Three things, in order of importance.

First, that it was contemporaneous. A log written as you went is an account; one written the week a warning letter arrived is a reconstruction. Anyone assessing evidence reads them differently, and a record that is honest about which entries were added later is more credible than one that quietly presents them as equal.

Second, that it is specific. "Moved on" proves nothing. A date, a place and a position can be checked.

Third, that it is complete. Gaps invite the inference that nothing happened in them, which is the same inference the sighting record already makes.

Start before you need it

This is the whole argument. The evidence that helps is the evidence that already exists when you are asked for it. Once a letter has arrived, the best record you can produce is the one you started months earlier.

If enforcement is already under way, get advice as well as evidence. The National Bargee Travellers Association runs volunteer caseworkers for exactly this situation.