A video made whilst visiting Yarmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight

henryf

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What a fantastic weekend so rude not to get up early and make a quick video. It's not perfect but I was on holiday :)

Bumped into a few familiar faces.





Henry :)
 
Lovely video again, beautiful scenery and well shot!

I know you've mentioned this earlier somewhere, but which Phantom do you have?
 
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I use a phantom 4.

I had a little play off the boat and experimented between GPS controlled and free flight. I think GPS controlled is better. You just need to make allowances for tide when launching and recovering. I also reset the home point several times so the thing wouldn't panic thinking it had a long way to get back as the battery went down.

Henry :)
 
I'm disgusted. You Solent boaters have it far too easy these days. In my day, to tie your boat up in Yarmouth, you had to fight with great big long ropes whilst trying to loop them through some slimy hoops attached to some horrible seaweed encrusted piles, all the time whilst trying to stop your boat being sluiced out of the harbour on the tide. And whilst being laughed at and jeered by the yotties. Now its just namby pamby pontoons.

Next you'll be telling me they've got electricity there. I dont know; whats this world coming to, eh?
 
In my day, to tie your boat up in Yarmouth, you had to fight with great big long ropes whilst trying to loop them through some slimy hoops attached to some horrible seaweed encrusted piles, all the time whilst trying to stop your boat being sluiced out of the harbour on the tide.

But it did seem to have a lot more atnosphere back then! Plus being a spectator was much more fun.
 
I'm disgusted. You Solent boaters have it far too easy these days. In my day, to tie your boat up in Yarmouth, you had to fight with great big long ropes whilst trying to loop them through some slimy hoops attached to some horrible seaweed encrusted piles, all the time whilst trying to stop your boat being sluiced out of the harbour on the tide. And whilst being laughed at and jeered by the yotties. Now its just namby pamby pontoons.

Next you'll be telling me they've got electricity there. I dont know; whats this world coming to, eh?

...and on Bank Holidays, trying to find a gap amongst the yots rafted 10 deep in order to leave was a real challenge!
 
Hi henryf, nice video of Yarmouth harbour. I am not wanting to cause any problems here but there may be issues with the use of such videos on commercial web sites., such as charter-solent.co.uk. I am a commercial UAV/RPAS pilot therefore fairly well briefed on the regulations affecting use of 'drones' for photography and filming video. The rules for commercial operators are quite stringent somewhat less so for members of the public operating their Phantom for pleasure or for non-commercial use. The problem lies when a non-commercial operator films something or photographs something that then is offered freely or for payment that is then used commercially. At the point that the video or photograph is used the 'pilot' has broken the law and can and probably will be pursued by the CAA. Yes, the CAA has successfully prosecuted members of the public for doing just that. In order for any imagery, photographs or video, to be used commercially the pilot of the UAV/RPAS/Drone must hold a valid, in date, Permission For Aerial Work (PFAW) issued by the CAA. Having a pilots licence alone doesn't entitle the holder to conduct commercial work. There are also issues with operating a UAV in a congested area and Yarmouth harbour could be considered congested due to the number of people, buildings etc.
The aircraft must not be flown:

over or within 150 metres of any congested area
over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 persons;
within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the aircraft
within 50 metres of any person except during take-off or landing, the aircraft must not be flown within 30 metres of any person except for the person in charge of the aircraft.

The key one there is within 50m of any vessel. Preditory birds have been known to attack small UAV/Drones, seagulls have attacked Drones and if that were to happen over someones pride and joy the ramifications could be expensive in legal costs alone.

If operating near small numbers of people you could and should brief them on the flight plan, actions to take in emergency etc. The key thing is that those people must be under the control of the Drone operator...

There is plenty of information on the CAA web site https://www.caa.co.uk/unmannedaircraft for anyone unsure of what you can and can't do with your drone.

Sorry, it isn't my intention to deny people their fun and enjoyment :)
 
I was in Yarmouth onboard a boat we were chartering from Charter Solent so I put their name on the video. No payment was received and I really did charter the boat as I have to every time I use it for pleasure.

A lot of thought and planning went into my risk assessment prior to the flight. I didn't just whack it up there.

The unit it's self runs the latest geofenced firmware. The unit was calibrated on site prior to use, props and motors checked, forward and lower sensors checked.

Instrumentation including battery power, signal strength, gps satellite numbers, height, distance from home point all monitored during flight.

The flight was GPS controlled with a return to home height of 60m, maximum ceiling height of 80m. Low speed / full sensor mode was selected for the entire flight.

Take off was 7.15am back on deck 7.35am to minimise the number of people about. Mindful of masts and rigging, the drone was in full view the entire time and less than 300m from me. I was in an elevated position on the quayside. The bulk of the flying within the harbour was carried out over fairways.

At no point was the drone approached by any Birds or any interest show by Birds. Had this happened I would have immediately landed with a return to base over open water.

I'm satisfied that the wide angle nature of the lens used meant no individual could be clearly identified from a privacy point of view.

Of more concern was a drone flying during the middle of the day when Yarmouth was packed. That was not mine. I was having lunch in the George hotel at the time it hovered over us.

I hope I'm a sensible and considerate individual. I would also hope any authorities take a sensible and proportionate approach to drone management. I don't consider my actions were dangerous largely due to the precautions I took.

Henry
 
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Spent most of my youth fishing off that pier. Few more pontoons now. Used to love the pile mooring dramas of a bank holiday :D
 
I cut my teeth on the pile mooring there as well.

Having done so it has given me the confidence to be a bit more adventurous and take moorings otherwise empty. Even somewhere like Lymington and the trot moorings by the town quay.

Do I hanker for the old days in Yarmouth? No, I'm quite happy to walk ashore and visit friends on foot.

Henry :)
 
Was a great weekend Merlyn , i was just about to pop up on to the flybridge with a cup of tea to top up my tan when i heard the buzz of the spy in the sky and thought better of it .;) We were berthed on the end behind the monster princess :cool:
 
Reminds me that Yarmouth is a cool place. Enjoying life up here on the Essex coast. Some lovely places here as well. Will be moving my new missile back to the south coast but delayed things as checking out local boating places here for a bit longer
 
I cut my teeth on the pile mooring there as well.

Having done so it has given me the confidence to be a bit more adventurous and take moorings otherwise empty. Even somewhere like Lymington and the trot moorings by the town quay.

Do I hanker for the old days in Yarmouth? No, I'm quite happy to walk ashore and visit friends on foot.

Henry :)

Once, following the 2011? upgrade, I pulled into Yarmouth and moored on a floating pontoon. I called the water taxi and gave my location.

Only to get the laconic response: 'you might just find that you're on a walk-ashore'.

Well, I never... :D
 
Was a great weekend Merlyn , i was just about to pop up on to the flybridge with a cup of tea to top up my tan when i heard the buzz of the spy in the sky and thought better of it .;) We were berthed on the end behind the monster princess :cool:

In your dreams, we could hear your snoring from the car park. The fishermen said you were scaring off the fish !

Henry :)
 
Really nice video. My first thought, similar to when I saw your Hamble video, was that you have some balls to fly your drone against the rules.

Maybe there was no risk to people, property or privacy but even then the risk of prosecution is frustratingly real.
 
Really nice video. My first thought, similar to when I saw your Hamble video, was that you have some balls to fly your drone against the rules.

Maybe there was no risk to people, property or privacy but even then the risk of prosecution is frustratingly real.

Clearly I have no desire to face the wrath of the legal system and I don't see myself as a maverick with "balls".

The same thought went into both videos to ensure no harm came to anyone. They were both made at a time when most sane people were in bed. It also provided extremely benign conditions wind wise.

Having read the post earlier in this thread I've looked around and all the prosecutions I can find had a catalyst which prompted action. The CAA website has rather vague content which I had read and adhered to, it transpires other areas of the site give different information.

The process of licenced flight seems to be a sledgehammer to crack a walnut for someone like me who has no desire to explore the outer limits of a very safe, middle of the road drone with many built in safety features as recommended by the CAA. I'm not using a home made drone with associated failure and non compliance risks.

On the one hand the CAA claim to embrace drones, on the other hand people on here are saying exactly the opposite and the CAA are actively prosecuting users who do everything reasonable to minimise risk.

From what has been typed on here I struggle to envisage a scenario where flying a drone could be "legal" unless you own several acres of countryside. As it happens I do and that's where I do my training including over a large body of water. I'm not risking innocent people with my learning curve. I do appreciate though every day is a school day.

Henry
 
Henry, any idea of what the circumstances would need to be for you to be prosecuted? As you say, the rules seem to be the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a very small nut.
Btw, really enjoyed the video, has me thinking that maybe I should turn left out of Dartmouth this summer rather than the usual right turn.
 
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