A grumble

[Stemar]

Not a full-on rant, but...

Milady and I have just spent a few days on some friends' boat. They have a mooring run by the local sailing club, which also provides a water taxi - a free service for berth holders and guests.

We needed the water taxi today to come ashore. Ahh, that'll be a no. It's cancelled because of storms. Yes, it's pissing with rain - the road was flooding, but the wind was, as forecast, N-ish, 4-6. It's a sheltered area, no fetch in that direction, but the ferry's cancelled.

It's too windy for a good-sized dory with a powerful OB, but but cancelling forces people to use their little inflatables and tiny outboards. Seems logical.

Yes, I get that there are conditions where you really shouldn't be going out in anything smaller than the Normandy, but...

 

[DownWest]

Elf n safty ? OK for you to risk life and limb in a little rub-a-dub in the extreme conditions.. But not an employed chauffeure? Employers sh*t scar...sorry, ' concerned' about liability if it goes things up.

 

[Sybarite]

Not a full-on rant, but...

Milady and I have just spent a few days on some friends' boat. They have a mooring run by the local sailing club, which also provides a water taxi - a free service for berth holders and guests.

We needed the water taxi today to come ashore. Ahh, that'll be a no. It's cancelled because of storms. Yes, it's pissing with rain - the road was flooding, but the wind was, as forecast, N-ish, 4-6. It's a sheltered area, no fetch in that direction, but the ferry's cancelled.

It's too windy for a good-sized dory with a powerful OB, but but cancelling forces people to use their little inflatables and tiny outboards. Seems logical.

Yes, I get that there are conditions where you really shouldn't be going out in anything smaller than the Normandy, but...

Did they give you any warning?

 

[Sandy]

If you consider that this was unreasonable submit a "near miss report", stating that due to the lack of provision of the water taxi several people almost drowned due to being swamped in small dinghies and see what the committee say.

 

[stranded]

Not a full-on rant, but...

Milady and I have just spent a few days on some friends' boat. They have a mooring run by the local sailing club, which also provides a water taxi - a free service for berth holders and guests.

We needed the water taxi today to come ashore. Ahh, that'll be a no. It's cancelled because of storms. Yes, it's pissing with rain - the road was flooding, but the wind was, as forecast, N-ish, 4-6. It's a sheltered area, no fetch in that direction, but the ferry's cancelled.

It's too windy for a good-sized dory with a powerful OB, but but cancelling forces people to use their little inflatables and tiny outboards. Seems logical.

Yes, I get that there are conditions where you really shouldn't be going out in anything smaller than the Normandy, but...

Was the weather forecasted? If so, surprised the friends didn’t know what the club policy is and plan accordingly. Does sound like a pretty cautious threshold but if you know, you can plan. Dart Harbour rule of thumb is apparently >35kts which in our limited experience so far seems fair - I suspect rather than risk to the dory drivers it’s liability to pissed yachties they are most worried about.

 

[Stemar]

Not sure there is a fixed policy. Yes, it's possible it was have been on the website the day before. What is certain is that there wasn't enough wind to inconvenience a chunky 20'-ish dory, but enough to make a trip in a well-laden flubber even wetter than the the rain was making it already. Not a near miss by any standards - if it had been that bad, elfin safety would have been justified in stopping the taxi, and we'd have had to wait 24 hours on board - hardly a disaster.

I rather think that if those concerned had been half their age, it would have been a bit of fun, but 70+ year-olds aren't as agile, so tend to view things a bit differently!

 

[MikeCC]

It may simply be that their insurance only covers up to a forecast wind speed limit or other conditions? But as you say, would be useful to know what the rules are.

 

[lustyd]

Referring to it as free is the problem. Use the word inclusive if you want things to improve. If the berth holders realise they’re paying then they’d expect a level of service.