And what about the Lobster pot buoys?

[haydude]

How is that for a danger?

Often they are placed near harbor entrances, just were you would like your prop to get fouled, or to get a line in the hinge of your rudder! Modern boats with exposed rudder are particularly vulnerable.

Some are orange most white, but those placed in the most dangerous places are just invisible black or blue plastic cans, clearly by irresponsible cretins with a small boat.

Some *******s even managed to place some in between the marker buoys west of Selsey bill, and disperse some in the narrow channel through Selsey Bill!

With the swell you always get going through there, they are hardly visible.

And with this I got it all out, after all, no sailing for several weeks, definately I need a sail

 

[Woodlouse]

I quite agree. I propose we start a petition, demanding that all lobster pot marks are built to a recognised standard complete with bell, radar reflector and flashing light.

 

[sailorman]

no sailing for several weeks, definately I need a sail

i belive you to be correct in that assumption
P.S.fit a rope cutter

 

[mlthomas]

One of the disadvantages of being in the nw Irish sea is the number of yacht mines that are placed just outside the marina entrance however, one of the advantages is being in the marina when they land the catch. Oh, and we have a rope cutter

 

[haydude]

Rope cutter or not, they are still a danger. After all a rope cutter does not work 100%, and it would not do any good if you are not motoring and the rudder gets caught!

 

[mlthomas]

we also employ mk 1 eyeball, it is only for the first half mile or so.

 

[haydude]

we also employ mk 1 eyeball, it is only for the first half mile or so.

Does that work 100% also through Selsey Bill in a classic force 6-8?

However in all my sailing I got caught only once, I was sailing, not motoring, and it was in the most unexpected place. It must have been an underwater buoy. There was a considerable chop in a force 6 in open sea (no Solent) I just heard a clonk and the wheel pulled to one side unexpectedly. I looked behind and I did not see anything. Back to the marina I saw that the rudder on one side had gone back to white in a fore-aft line about half inch wide. I thought that the chafe of a rope could have abraded the antifouling away.

What if it ripped the rudder I thought? With a 7 tons boat launched at nearly 8 knots, if the rope had caught the rudder in the right place would it have stood a chance?

No use for a rope cutter there.

 

[Adrianwool]

You need to 'borrow' our local Portimao harbourmaster,(an ex naval sea-captain) who 'suggested' to the local fishing community that any pots which were not correctly marked would be uprooted and destroyed. Seems a bit dramatic but I was out on the boat on Thursday and each pot is marked with a pole about a metre high with a triangular yellow flag on the top!.

 

[mlthomas]

Don’t disagree at all, they are a pita, just there can be an opportunity to turn this into something good, might be bit parochial.
I do agree that on many occasions we have let or arrived when these have been laid right on the published approach and you do have to ask why??????

 

[dmmbruce]

Potty

Don’t disagree at all, they are a pita, just there can be an opportunity to turn this into something good, might be bit parochial.
I do agree that on many occasions we have let or arrived when these have been laid right on the published approach and you do have to ask why??????

Wake up. These people OWN the sea in their area. They loath and dispise yachties (incl mobo). They don't give a damn if we have problems, infact they are pleased as it will 'teach us a lesson', and we will stay away.

If you go into a normal harbour, no, not a gold plated marina, but one of those old fashioned places with stone walls, you will soon find out what the locals think. Cut lines, moved in the night, and mainly deliberately barged by their tin cans. They have cost me a lot of money.

It s no good complaining to the harbour master. He may well find various nasty things happening if he dares to tell them what to do. Also, he has been emasculated by the local rules/laws as to what he can do. Just fill in forms and collect fees now.

It can work out though. At one harbour, an individual became so obnoxious that he upset the other local fishermen. They told him, he swore at them. Next day all his pots and buoys were on some rocks a good distance away. He went crazy. Tried being nasty to them. Next time, just his buoys were on the rocks, his pots had been cut off. Thats expensive. Next I knew, I was on the wall getting water when he came in and ordered me out as I was near his length of wall. I greeted with the boat-hook as usual, he went mad as usual, then suddenly very quiet. On the wall above me was the HM, a policeman, and several fishermen. He slammed his boat in gear and shot out of the harbour. I didn't see him again. I later bought my round in the pub, a very big round, nothing was said. His son has the boat now.

That lengthy story is indicative of reality.

It is a good idea to be on good terms with your local fishermen. You won't have so many burglaries either, they know who and deal with it.

Mike

 

[arth_tumbleweed]

I may be wrong, but isnt there already a law regarding pots? From what have heard they are supposed to be clearly marked with the boats name and number. If this is so why don't we just report all prop/shaft/rudder wrecking pots, I would, but don't know who to contact. Does anyone know who you are supposed to report it to (and I mean some one that will log and record it then do something about it)?!

 

[dmmbruce]

I may be wrong, but isnt there already a law regarding pots? From what have heard they are supposed to be clearly marked with the boats name and number. If this is so why don't we just report all prop/shaft/rudder wrecking pots, I would, but don't know who to contact. Does anyone know who you are supposed to report it to (and I mean some one that will log and record it then do something about it)?!

I think you are right. Whether it is a national Law or just a common local Bye-law I don't know. There used to be a "Fisheries Officer" at each port to whom such matters were to be reported. I don't know if they still exist, or have morphed into some other role and title. Either way you might as well report it to the man-in-the-moon I would expect.

Mike

 

[arth_tumbleweed]

Whether it is a national Law or just a common local Bye-law I don't know.

Mike

My belief is that it's a national law, but again I really don't know the facts on this!

All I do know is whilst sailing down off Portugal during the summer we encountered several pots, all clearly marked during the day (big sticks with black flags). However well marked like this it's no good at night! I had the misfortune of being on watch at around 0130 loving the sailing in 25kts of breeze to find that when a pot is "well marked by day" it is still useless during the night, no damage done, but made a bit of noise as the end of the boom clipped the stick! We did see a few that had strobes fitted, superb you can see them from a mile away...only thought is if a pot has a strobe and people know this, it's gonna be a bummer if you use a strobe when in a liferaft to attract attention, people will stay away from you!

 

[Ludd]

POTS

The law allows unlicenced individuals to operate up to 5 pots---I suspect these are the ones that give problems. Commercial fishermen tend to set their creels in fleets,well marked by large buoys or dahns. They don't want to lose their gear,just as much as you don't want to foul them.Never had a problem with them,but I 've got a long keel and a proper rudder.

 

[mlthomas]

Wake up. These people OWN the sea in their area. They loath and dispise yachties (incl mobo). They don't give a damn if we have problems, infact they are pleased as it will 'teach us a lesson', and we will stay away.

If you go into a normal harbour, no, not a gold plated marina, but one of those old fashioned places with stone walls, you will soon find out what the locals think. Cut lines, moved in the night, and mainly deliberately barged by their tin cans. They have cost me a lot of money.

It s no good complaining to the harbour master. He may well find various nasty things happening if he dares to tell them what to do. Also, he has been emasculated by the local rules/laws as to what he can do. Just fill in forms and collect fees now.

It can work out though. At one harbour, an individual became so obnoxious that he upset the other local fishermen. They told him, he swore at them. Next day all his pots and buoys were on some rocks a good distance away. He went crazy. Tried being nasty to them. Next time, just his buoys were on the rocks, his pots had been cut off. Thats expensive. Next I knew, I was on the wall getting water when he came in and ordered me out as I was near his length of wall. I greeted with the boat-hook as usual, he went mad as usual, then suddenly very quiet. On the wall above me was the HM, a policeman, and several fishermen. He slammed his boat in gear and shot out of the harbour. I didn't see him again. I later bought my round in the pub, a very big round, nothing was said. His son has the boat now.

That lengthy story is indicative of reality.

It is a good idea to be on good terms with your local fishermen. You won't have so many burglaries either, they know who and deal with it.

Mike

Wow! Sounds like you have quite a bad experience there. We are in Whitehaven (http://whitehavenmarina.co.uk), and to get to the part of the marina we berth in (there are three parts for pleasure craft) you have to go through the commercial dock where the large trawlers land their catch, then into Queens which has floating pontoons with the yachts and mobo’s and the smaller fishing fleet tied to the walls. Definitely no gold anywhere.
We find them great, no problems like the ones you describe – and we are not ‘locals’ either. But we do have to dodge the pots, which are always in the wrong place in a big sea.

 

[EdWingfield]

go here for info

http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/fishgear.pdf

 

[Neil_Y]

It might make you feel slightly better if you realise that the fishermen are more frequently victims of their own or others pot ropes, nets, debris. The large cats are really vulnerable as the prop is so close to the side of the boat and being a large prop it sucks debris down from the surface if you get too close.

One of our customers has pulled off a gearbox on one side and then later in the same season broken an oil feed and seized another engine. He then fitted different cutters.

But you are right the rudder on some designs is also vulnerable, but much easier to release or cut than when wrapped tight round a shaft.

 

[fisherman]

One of my early posts suggested you carry long handled tree pruning shears, well greased and wrapped, to reach down and cut yourself free, and someone on here more recently posted having bought or used them.

I'll repeat a method for getting slack rope up from below your prop/rudder, if you are 'moored' by the stern.
You need a length of rope with a few feet of light chain in the middle. Drop the chain bight over the stern and let it run down the rope, more than your boat length. Take both ends for'd, haul up together, pinching the rope. This should turn you to the tide, and get slack rope up to where you can deal with it. If necessary take one end of your chain rope round the boat again to get an extra turn on.

None of this helps with a terminally fouled prop of course.

 

[bikedaft]

have always found fishermen courteous and helpful, they have even put our boat back on her mooring twice many years ago (long story)

lobster bouys can be a pita, and in odd places, but adds to the fun. should be sailing when out of port anyway

if they are in a fairway, then they will get trashed by a bigger prop than mine pretty soon, eg calmac...

or maybe its just not so busy up here?

 

[gjbentley]

Cut it out ?

What happens if you take the law into your own hands ?

If the lobster pot is illegally laid and marked, and a danger to shipping, are you at liberty to carefully come alongside and cut the line attached to the plastic bottle or lump of polysterene ?

Or are you committing another offence ?

Sometimes in life, you may not have the authority to do something, but you do have the control !