A small Scottish incident with an anchor - what would you have done?

[KINGFISHER 8]

Copy Tony Soprano ... anchor as close to his hut as possible and play Dean Martin records at full blast through a monster sound system, night and day!

 

[Resolution]

From your photo you were some way out, so maybe he was shouting to make sure you could hear his message??
Anyway you were right to defuse by moving. Life afloat is for de-stressing and enjoying.

 

[dylanwinter]

From your photo you were some way out, so maybe he was shouting to make sure you could hear his message??
Anyway you were right to defuse by moving. Life afloat is for de-stressing and enjoying.

we were heading up the little inlet to drop an anchor in the shallow water

so we were well tucked out of the wind and current

however, he appears to have decided that it is his inlet, for his boat, his ugly orange buoys, his outlook from his cottage on what he seemed to regard as his island.

He was making large gestures somewhat like this

only his arms were not out in greeting

in combination with the look on his face he had a sort of "what the **** are you thinking" look about it

he was a big man in a green teeshirt

I have never been keen on public shouting matches so we quietly moved away.

I was in the cockpit on the tiller with the engine running so I could not hear what he was saying -

Baz and Ian were dealing with the anchor on the foredeck so they could hear him

I could see his gestures though

D

 

[jamie N]

+1
Except that before turning the aids off I'd get on the VHF and invite a few other boats to share the scenery.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke
(Yes, bit over the top for one ar*ehole from Edinburgh. Perhaps Dylan could post the lat and long so that anyone else so minded can go and make the bloke's day?)

I fear that with this appalling attitude, we're related somehow!

 

[johnalison]

I'm interested in the concept of ugly mooring buoys. I agree that few of them would qualify for inclusion in an art gallery, but perhaps Dylan could let us know what an attractive mooring buoy would look like?

 

[Even Chance]

I would have dropped the hook and put on some nice loud Hard-House or other equally bass-filled dance music and enjoyed my lunch. I would have enjoyed seeing him hop about, better than any Tv program.
I do the same during lunchtimes when I eat in the car, and someone pulls up right next to me. Amazing how fast they move away.

 

[dylanwinter]

I'm interested in the concept of ugly mooring buoys. I agree that few of them would qualify for inclusion in an art gallery, but perhaps Dylan could let us know what an attractive mooring buoy would look like?

there were two large red ones - maybe 60 cm in diameter and small white one

way out of proportion for the job of mooring a small dinghy

so to my mind he had already compromised the scenery with his giant testicles

 

[Lon nan Gruagach]

"Keh?, No speekey eengrish"

 

[dunedin]

I would have cleared off too Dylan. We are guests in another country. It is for Scottish yotties to sort this problem, if they want to.

Very sorry to hear you had this problem. To be fair it is not a common issue up here. I have never experienced a similar situation anywhere in Scotland, and anchored in a lot of different places, including Loch Craignish. And of course we benefit from having eradicated the plague of "private, no landing" signs.
The worst I have experienced is a polite "can I help you" when meeting the owner when walking on a small remote island - but an equally polite complement on his beautiful island and being respectful of the property and environment there was no issue at all.
Scottish anchorages are generally welcoming - even if the only welcome is from a few seals, otters or eagles.

 

[dylanwinter]

Very sorry to hear you had this problem. To be fair it is not a common issue up here. I have never experienced a similar situation anywhere in Scotland, and anchored in a lot of different places, including Loch Craignish. And of course we benefit from having eradicated the plague of "private, no landing" signs.
The worst I have experienced is a polite "can I help you" when meeting the owner when walking on a small remote island - but an equally polite complement on his beautiful island and being respectful of the property and environment there was no issue at all.
Scottish anchorages are generally welcoming - even if the only welcome is from a few seals, otters or eagles.

I have never encountered it before - and it came hot on the heels of my explaining the exemplary system of access rights in geographically enlightened Scotland

then to encounter an angry toff telling us to sling our hook came as a bit of sad shock

it rather took the edge off our lunchtime pleasure

D

 

[Jock89]

This struck a chord with me as I used to be an enthusiastic canoeist when I lived in Scotland & over 20 years or so explored most of the major rivers up there which are of course ALL Salmon fishing rivers, which cost anything up to ££££s per week to fish.
I wish I had £1 for every time I was shouted at from the banks that I was breaking the law, or, 'you're not allowed to come through here' as 'you're disturbing the fish'. !
I & my friends had many many highly indignant run-ins & confrontations with people, & even had the police called out on occasion, but we NEVER backed off as this principle had already been tested in a court of law in previous years, & we knew we were in the right.
I detested this attitude, & unless we were threatened by a shotgun, (1x) never retreated.
I'm just the same now, with my yacht

 

[Horace]

Maybe he'd just disposed of his wife & was a bit touchy.That's an amazingly lonely looking place to live

 

[dylanwinter]

Maybe he'd just disposed of his wife & was a bit touchy.That's an amazingly lonely looking place to live

I noticed that his dinghy spends most of the time on the pontoon at Ardfern so I assume he just runs away there at weekends - this was a Sunday lunchtime and by Sunday night the dinghy was back in Ardfern so I assume he had scuttled back to Edinburgh

 

[alan_d]

To be clear, is this the anchorage at the NE end of Eilean Macaskin ? As described in Hamish Haswell Smith and www.scottishanchorages.co.uk ?

 

[dylanwinter]

To be clear, is this the anchorage at the NE end of Eilean Macaskin ? As described in Hamish Haswell Smith and www.scottishanchorages.co.uk ?

I think it probably is

and he mentions the small house

http://www.scottishanchorages.co.uk/eilean-macaskin/4548610026

Clearly Mr Grumpy from Edinburgh has come to regard it as his own private fiefdom

I wondered if any locals might fancy having a word with him about his attitude

I am sure it would sound better coming from a bloke with a scottish accent

Incidentally

I think that your access laws are some of the finest bits of legislative prose I have ever read


Principles – the Code is based on three key principles:

• Respect the interests of other people.

Acting with courtesy, consideration and awareness is very important. If you are exercising access rights, make sure that you respect the privacy, safety and livelihoods of those living or working in the outdoors, and the needs of other people enjoying the outdoors. If you are a land manager, respect people’s use of the outdoors and their need for a safe and enjoyable visit.

• Care for the environment.

If you are exercising access rights, look after the places you visit and enjoy, and leave the land as you find it. If you are a land manager, help maintain the natural and cultural features which make the outdoors attractive to visit and enjoy.

• Take responsibility for your own actions.

If you are exercising access rights, remember that the outdoors cannot be made risk-free and act with care at all times for your own safety and that of others. If you are a land manager, act with care at all times for people’s safety.

 

[alan_d]

If you or anyone else wanted to take this further they could contact www.whamassoc.org.uk - a charity one of whose aims is to protect anchorages on the west coast.

 

[dylanwinter]

If you or anyone else wanted to take this further they could contact www.whamassoc.org.uk - a charity one of whose aims is to protect anchorages on the west coast.

I might possibly write down the URL of this thread on a post it note and stick it on his shack door or under the canopy of his tender

but not until my last day at Ardfern

yours

the cringing coward of Botolph Claydon

 

[Kelpie]

Back during the Indyref, the Laird of Dunvegan wrote to all of his staff and vassels telling them that they must vote 'no'. This went down about as well as you might imagine and a bright yellow and blue yacht festooned in 'Yes' flags was duly anchored right outside Dunvegan castle for several days.

 

[dunedin]

To be clear, is this the anchorage at the NE end of Eilean Macaskin ? As described in Hamish Haswell Smith and www.scottishanchorages.co.uk ?

That's a very down market pitch on Loch Craignish then, and travelling there by dinghy, eh!
At the next island up on Eilean Righ the house has a helipad and helicopter hangar - that's proper posh.

 

[steve yates]

I'm afraid I would have told him to **** off and gone ahead and anchored.
I'm not very pc, and not very tolerant if I think someone is taking the piss. Which I would assume he was, thinking he owns the view.