As you will no doubt be aware, the river has been freezing over recently due to the cold weather.

When there is substantial ice on the river (the guideline on the Cam is that the ice is more than 1mm thick more than 2m from the bank), crews should not boat. Ice poses a hazard to the hull as it can cut through the relatively thin and delicate composite material, in turn leading to swamping of the boat.

The river is now thawing out, though ice remains across the river at Ditton corner and on Plough Reach.

As the ice starts to thaw out now, the flag will be downgraded from red, though crews who do choose to boat should exercise extreme caution. If you encounter ice, turn back and do not attempt to row through it. As usual, if you don't think continuing or even boating in the first place is safe don't do it!

During busy periods of the day, we may keep a yellow rather than green flag as the restricted usable length of the river limits the number of crews that can safely be out at any one time.

Crews are advised to bring extra layers, kept in a plastic bag to keep them dry in the boat, or carried by coaches on the bank. Also, try not to sit around not moving (this includes fours or pairs sitting out during a warm up - keep rotating who's rowing) for extended periods of time. If anyone is displaying symptoms of hypothermia (turning pale, shivering, limited mobility, slow mental responses, slurred speech), they should put on extra layers and get back to the boathouse as quickly as possible to warm up.

Cyclists should exercise caution as there is substantial snow and ice on the towpath. This may mean you will need to spend more time looking where you are going rather than at your crew and you may need to cycle slower than usual over snowy or icy patches (common sense really!)

If you encounter any problems, please do report them to the CUCBC Executive Committee (committee [at] cucbc.org).