Barge skippers

[Daydream believer]

The Medway can be a mile wide in places , my boat however has the unerring ability to head directly for a tiny dot on the horizon at the very end of any reach.
On the other hand should you wish it to hold a particular heading, while putting the kettle on or having a quick w**, it will almost immediatly head for the nearest bit of " terra firma "

Pie in the sky.
Speed your boat goes it would take you ages to get to any land

 

[oldgit]

The best thing about the boating on the Mudway is that, on the very rare ocassions we may have found the bottom due to constantly changing and shifting depths and some missing pages in my 1958 AA book, there is merely a gentle slow arrest in forward motion and the embarrassment factor diminishes with each event.**
Rumours that OG is usually warned when about to run out of water when the engines slow down due to the props digging into to putty are
scurrilous to say the least.



**OGs. Log of Groundings in Sharfleet and Numerous other Places. . Pages 1-300.
OGs List of bent shafts and Props. Pages 1-94.
OGs List of plastic safety netting, assorted ropes and Builders Bags collected en route available on request.
There are some hard bits if you know where to find them.

 

[Jon4468]

Old gaffers event this at Stone sailing club and I’ve heard a rumour that @Daydream believer will be there in the stocks in order to raise money for charity as peace offering. All proceeds Going to the Barge skippers benevolent fund. Bring your own projectiles

 

[Daydream believer]

..

 

[Grim Reaper]

Actually they are quite good social crowd so I should not really include them in the same post. They are good fun when they come to our club. We look forward to it. I have sat on the tractor up to midnight moving our pontoon in line with the tide so they can walk aboard the RIB or ferry. At midnight they can be quite- shall we say "Jolly"

Its a shame you haven't got to know the barge crews. they are equally a great community & until recently Mike McCarthy has been a committee boat for the match. i believe he is a long term Old Gaffer.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Just a quick passing comment here. I can only assume that the OP from his comments has never actually sailed on a Barge?

I know a number of the barge skippers and have sailed with several of them...their standard of seamanship is considerably higher than that found in dinghies and small cruisers chasing round a few marks at the weekend (and saying that as a former competitive dinghy sailor of some 50 years standing!). I would certainly feel happier sailing with any of them than with someone who without knowing the full circumstances felt it appropriate to slag the genre off on a public forum!

I doubt very much that the mark would have been hit and dragged as it 'seemed like a good idea'! A barge is a very complex bit of kit and yes, I am fully aware that in the days of trade they were often sailed by a man and a boy, but in those heydays the need to dodge yotties and avoid racing marks that had been laid for the benefit of pleasure sailors wasn't a necessity.

On todays waters you need eyes in the back of your head to make sure that you do not hit something or someone...and that is just sailing something like my little 26 footer!

Maybe you should cut the barge skipper a bit of slack, his insurance will cover the costs involved! As for why didn't he tell someone...err he was racing and unless you had a statement to the effect "If you hit this mark and drag it out of position, please contact 07********** or call Stone Sailing Club on CHM1" it would be somewhat difficult to guess who owned the damn thing!

Finally, could I suggest that if you haven't actually sailed on a barge before, you do yourself a favour and do so...ideally in a match...you may just change your mind about these "Brain Dead Barge Skippers"!

Perfect answer

 

[Daydream believer]

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