£600 fine for 23 knots in harbour

[BlueSkyNick]

Precis of a short article in today's Lymington Times:

A RIB owner has been fined £600 for going at more than five times the speed limit of 4 knots in Christchurch Harbour. He was stopped by the council's marine patrol boat on August 30th. WHen asked if he knew how fast he was going he said his GPS was turned off.

The prosecution in the Magistrates Court said that there were several other vessels using the channel at the time. "It goes without saying that driving a boat at this speed could have caused a terrible accident"

After the case a council representative said that "It goes without saying that our marine patrol scheme is working"

Anybody who has visited Christchurch will know that it is a very pretty but congested harbour, so any lunatic in a speedboat is going to cause a nuisance at minimum.

The main point of the story for me is that councils can supervise their harbours and bring charges as appropriate - it doesnt need the Marine Police to be involved.

Lets have more of it, please.

 

[fireball]

Hmm - their HM wants to chat with the one in Chi harbour - they'll get more in fines then! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[glashen]

We don't have a Harbourmaster in Christchurch, only a Council Patrol Boat and Harbour Association.

 

[ColinHuggins]

Re: Harbour Patrols

[ QUOTE ]
We don't have a Harbourmaster in Christchurch, only a Council Patrol Boat and Harbour Association.

[/ QUOTE ]

And very friendly and supportive they are too, driving round like BAF's catching RIB's or PWC's but do admit that they are impotent about kite-surfers showing off in the entrance. Those are the very hazard I would want eliminated, yet the Council is powerless because no legal category covers them: boat? plane? swimmer?

How can you avoid something that might hit you, leap over you or get sucked underneath???

 

[Sgeir]

Re: Harbour Patrols

Errm, what's a BAF?

Is it a JAMF with piles?

 

[Guest]

Sum it up in one word ..... EXCELLENT

More PLEASE !!!!!!! IN ALL HARBOURS >>

Shouting .............. YES !!

 

[Seven Spades]

Re: Sum it up in one word ..... EXCELLENT

Got off lightly then.

 

[bilbobaggins]

Re: Harbour Patrols

[ QUOTE ]
How can you avoid something that might hit you, leap over you or get sucked underneath???

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like this, here? With ground glass on your forestay?



Fighting kites

 

[gjeffery]

Re: Harbour Patrols

Has not stopped Chichester Conservancy banning "Kite Surfers"

 

[Sans Bateau]

Someone is getting caught Andrew, in my MDL newsletter, just arrived, they report that 2 mobos have been fined a total of £2000 in Chi harbour!

 

[fireball]

Sorry - I was implying that Christchurch harbour patrols would get more fines in if they talked to Chi harbour ... the 2 mobos (I believe one was a Rib and the other a jetski) had a combined total of around £2k for being stupidly over the 8 knot limit - it was discussed on here when initially reported!
I think I bust the 8 knot limit today - but then I had all the sails up and only 1/4 hull in the water ... probably going between 15 and 20 knots ... just no fotos to prove it ... yup - I was in the RS400 !!

 

[Sans Bateau]

[ QUOTE ]
I think I bust the 8 knot limit today - but then I had all the sails up and only 1/4 hull in the water ... probably going between 15 and 20 knots

[/ QUOTE ]

Hooligan! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

OH! Look 3000 posts!

(Sad git)

 

[Heckler]

Just for info, councils now have the power to dish out fixed penalty tickets, all it takes is for ANY officer, including councillors to have some training and they can then issue tickets. for example we were plagued with dog pooers in a local park, the people who had to maintain it said enough is enough, train us, 6 tickets later at £75 a pop and the dog pooers went away!!! a certain local authority where i keep my boat has the powers to fine speeders in the harbour, one of these days!!
Stu

 

[Whitelighter]

While I think that the breaking of the byelaws to that extent is deplorable, and defeneless, are the speed limits in Chi/Christchurch actually speed limits or wash limits?

If they are speed, are they SOG or STW? If STW, what happens if there is a 4 knt tide running?
Also, if any council member can hand out a fine, which seemed to work for dog poop, how do you measure speed from a distance at 4/6/8/10 mph?

 

[duncan]

don't know about those but Poole is worded ' through the water' and the main channel limit (10 knots) is a safety factor (removed for the period Oct to March in most parts of the main channel) but the 6knot/no wake limit in the quiet zones is designed as a wash/wake limit.

 

[glashen]

Through the water as far as I know but the limit is 8 knots in the entrance, the Run. I've never heard of anybody in Christchurch being fined under 10 knots most of the time it is very obvious when somebody has no regard for the speed limits or other users and these are the one's who should be targetted..

 

[oldharry]

[ QUOTE ]
, how do you measure speed from a distance at 4/6/8/10 mph?

[/ QUOTE ] here in Chi they dop it the same way as the Police - hand held Radar speed guns. We are just waiting for the big yellow box to appear on one of the Dolphin markers.

But they do in fact usually only go for the blatant speeders - like the p**t who drove his 40 ft Fairline through the E Head anchorage at full throttle, waving his fingers at everyone a few years back on a Bank holiday saturday evening.

 

[KevB]

[ QUOTE ]
While I think that the breaking of the byelaws to that extent is deplorable, and defeneless, are the speed limits in Chi/Christchurch actually speed limits or wash limits?



[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's both - maximum speed is 8 knots for a boat under power but not if you are making excessive wash.