THE Great Ouse Boating Association has chosen a frozen midwinter to try to persuade boat owners to sign up and use its moorings when the weather makes navigating the country’s fourth most popular river more appealing.

For less than 50p boaters planning to visit and navigate the Great Ouse and its tributaries in 2011 can stay at any of the GOBA moorings from Denver Sluice to Bedford, the organisation claims.

Joining GOBA costs �20 per boat for the first year and �18 a year thereafter.

“With 23 moorings available, this equates to less than 90p per mooring and, with 48 hour mooring normally available this gives a figure of under 50p per mooring,” GOBA’s John Pridmore said.

There are GOBA moorings in Huntingdonshire at Little Paxton Pits, Offord, Mailers Meadow, Brampton, Hemingfords, Noble’s Field, St Ives, the Ferry Boat at Holywell, One Pound, the Pike & Eel at Needingworth and Brownshill, Earith.

INFORMATION: To join go to the GOBA website at www.goba.org.uk and complete the online form or e-mail membership secretary Mike Mackay at mike.mackay@goba.org.uk or call him on 01353 664229.