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[bobfrost]

BBC NEWS
Skipper mistakes Calais for Kent
Dover lifeboat had to be sent out to rescue a lost yachtsman who thought he was near Ramsgate in Kent when he was actually 10 miles off Calais in France.

The skipper of Marie Louise contacted Dover Coastguard on Saturday night.

He had sailed from Southwold, Suffolk and thought he was near Ramsgate but the port control could not find him.

He was told to sail to a buoy, then report back what it said, which turned out to be Sandettie. The lifeboat crew found the yacht's compass was faulty.

It is very worrying the skipper of this vessel managed to sail to France without noticing his error
Gary Brown

"The skipper of this vessel was crossing some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world without, it would appear, much navigational knowledge or experience," said Dover Coastguard watch manager Gary Brown.

The coastguard decided sending the RNLI lifeboat was the safest way to get the sailor back to shore.

It arrived about 40 minutes after the first call and located the Marie Louise after the skipper fired a flare.

The yacht was towed back to Dover, where it was met my Langdon Coastguard Rescue Team who interviewed and advised the skipper.

"The compass was nearly 190 degrees out and when the lifeboat arrived on scene the vessel was found south east of Sandettie Light Vessel," said Mr Brown.

"I would urge all leisure sailors to ensure their navigational equipment is working and that they undertake some navigational training before setting to sea.

"The skipper of this vessel had planned to sail from Southwold to Ramsgate.

"It is very worrying that he managed to sail to France without noticing his error."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/4213096.stm

Published: 2005/09/04 11:28:47 GMT

© BBC MMV

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[Blueboatman]

Reminds me of my 'charmed' youthful stupidities..First boat acquired age 23 and fitted out in considerable hurry on river Orwell,set off in light haze to coast hop to Cornwall for a deadline(!).
18 hours later ,we are well and truly lost,copy of Reeds indicates that the lightvessel we can see ahead(Sandettie) is nowhere near the English Coast . Change course to find Dover ...
10 hours later the echosounder is showing 1foot under the keel, more haze,I think we have 'found' the edge of the Goodwin sands, decide to anchor and await slack water....
.Fishing boat shows up full of day trippers ,I launch dinghy and row over to ask directions.....The skipper loved it- A genuine bonafide sailboat idiot ,and him with a captive audience of his fishing chums on hand . Had to meekly answer ALL his questions, starting with ' do you have a chart at all', 'can you read the numbers on the compass thingy', etc..
Suitably chastened , and impeccably redirected , 3 hours later safely anchored in Dover .
Rest of the trip ,was,for the record,fast ,safe and enjoyable !

 

[bilbobaggins]

Like the Wessex helicopter pilot, Hampshire-based, when sent north to Otterburn Training Range in Northumberland for an exercise, decided to short-circuit his flight planning. He found the East Coast Main Line, correctly identified and followed the Kings Cross-Edinburgh express - but got into trouble when the train stopped at York, and he was circling overhead for half-an-hour waiting for it.......

BTW, one way of finding the Scilly Isles in hazy viz. and no GPS-thingy is to follow the helicopters from Penzance.