Boating under the influence

[ylop]

Working on a commercial vessel the limit in UK waters is the same as the UK drink drive limit. If you're north of 6ft, carrying a bit of timber and have eaten properly I reckon this is around 2 pints.

Whilst some chunky 6fters with regular drinking practice can knock back 2 pints of beer with a substantial meal and still be just under the english drink drive limit that's a bit of a gamble. It certainly won't carry any sympathy at court if you are just the wrong side of the limit and your mitigation is you thought 2 pints would be OK. There's too many variables, like how used to alcohol your body is, how strong the beer was, your build, what else you've eaten/drunk today, how long from finishing drinking to being tested etc.

Careful. There is no “UK” limit. I believe there is an England & Wales legal limit, and I understand currently the Northern Ireland limit happens to be the same as the E&W one. The Scottish limit is substantially lower.

Moreover, the limit in the Merchant Shipping Act was amended in 2015 and does not align exactly with any of the UK road traffic limits. (it is very close to the Scottish driving limit but a smidge higher). You may be over the MSA limit with one pint!

I 'm a chucking-up drunk rather than happy one so, limit my intake. Having said that, there are certainly times on anchor or moored when I would be over the limit for driving and wouldn't move the boat unless unforeseen circumstances left me no choice. The tender is a different matter though.

I'm pretty sure that the tender and alcohol are statistically the worst possible combination.

 

[laika]

Just an aside but does Halcyon Yachts ever actually comment on these topical threads he tends to start?

 

[Graham376]

I'm pretty sure that the tender and alcohol are statistically the worst possible combination.

Without doubt. We have several friends who have had tender mishaps (one several times) when under the influence, amusing when it ends well but sadly for some, it ends very badly.

 

[xyachtdave]

Whenever you see US based sailors talking about racing, especially club based "casual" racing, it is clearly considered completely normal to drink beer whilst racing. And almost every advert for crew on Anarchy will include some reference to who supplies the beer.

Good point but remember they’re talking about coke can sizes of Muller Light or Budweiser, that’s driving strength beer in Belgium!

 

[Neeves]

Whenever you see US based sailors talking about racing, especially club based "casual" racing, it is clearly considered completely normal to drink beer whilst racing. And almost every advert for crew on Anarchy will include some reference to who supplies the beer.

I never believed there was ever anything like casual racing. If you were not racing to win - you were not racing. I simply don't see the point if you have a different focus - better to sail off out of the way of everyone else - and then have your chin-wag etc

Jonathan

 

[xyachtdave]

I never believed there was ever anything like casual racing. If you were not racing to win - you were not racing. I simply don't see the point if you have a different focus - better to sail off out of the way of everyone else - and then have your chin-wag etc

Jonathan

I think in a couple of sentences you’ve found one of the reasons why racing fleets are shrinking in many areas!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I think in a couple of sentences you’ve found one of the reasons why racing fleets are shrinking in many areas!

It’s the same in most sports. People these days try harder. I race mostly in the XOD class, we now use 3-4 sets of sails every year to stay with the front of the fleet, race 3-4 times a week for the practice, it’s got more crowded and more aggressive at the marks. Nobody is out there for the jollies in the front half at least, and all the newbies at the back aspire to be at the front. It's a treadmill. I do it because I like that.

 

[Juan Twothree]

Rather worryingly, many of the jet skiers who it's my misfortune to encounter seem to be in a state of enhanced refreshment.

And some can be rather loud and excitable too due, I'm guessing, to having snorted a line or two of Columbia's finest.

 

[Bouba]

Rather worryingly, many of the jet skiers who it's my misfortune to encounter seem to be in a state of enhanced refreshment.

And some can be rather loud and excitable too due, I'm guessing, to having snorted a line or two of Columbia's finest.

They are a menace when sober

 

[The Q]

We have a club member who used to race his white boat with a glass of red wine in one hand , a big cigar in the other, the mainsheet in one hand and the tiller in another . Don't ask me how he did it, but he used to win races..

A large proportion of tourists hire boats on the broad, spend there week rushing from pub to pub, and drining cans in between..

 

[Bouba]

We have a club member who used to race his white boat with a glass of red wine in one hand , a big cigar in the other, the mainsheet in one hand and the tiller in another . Don't ask me how he did it, but he used to win races..

A large proportion of tourists hire boats on the broad, spend there week rushing from pub to pub, and drining cans in between..

Holiday makers are impervious to real life…I see it all the time…they walk down the road wearing bikinis and cross roads without looking…children cycle without helmets..all the things they wouldn’t do back home in their real world…holiday destinations are a break from reality

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

Just an aside but does Halcyon Yachts ever actually comment on these topical threads he tends to start?

Yes.

 

[Mister E]

We have a club member who used to race his white boat with a glass of red wine in one hand , a big cigar in the other, the mainsheet in one hand and the tiller in another . Don't ask me how he did it, but he used to win races..

A large proportion of tourists hire boats on the broad, spend there week rushing from pub to pub, and drining cans in between..

Sounds like he has four hands. That is definitely multitasking.

 

[capnsensible]

Sounds like he has four hands. That is definitely multitasking.

Three hands and a prehensile willy?

 

[mjcoon]

We have a club member who used to race his white boat with a glass of red wine in one hand , a big cigar in the other, the mainsheet in one hand and the tiller in another . Don't ask me how he did it, but he used to win races..

Sounds like, as a racer, he always went for the juggler!

 

[Biggles Wader]

We have a club member who used to race his white boat with a glass of red wine in one hand , a big cigar in the other, the mainsheet in one hand and the tiller in another . Don't ask me how he did it, but he used to win races..

A large proportion of tourists hire boats on the broad, spend there week rushing from pub to pub, and drining cans in between..

Did he have a third leg as well?

 

[doris]

Riding a motor bike most days and having been involved with all sorts of testing, IMHO any form of boating is inconpatible with even a stubby of lager. Safely moored up is different but physical and mental abilities deteiorate significantly well before we are even remotely aware of it. Is alcohol really that important to you???

 

[Irish Rover]

Is alcohol really that important to you???

3 question marks deserve 3 answers
Absa
Bloody
Lutely
? ????‍?‍?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Riding a motor bike most days and having been involved with all sorts of testing, IMHO any form of boating is inconpatible with even a stubby of lager. Safely moored up is different but physical and mental abilities deteiorate significantly well before we are even remotely aware of it. Is alcohol really that important to you???

Whilst I’m not a boozing sailor, I am also a motorcyclist, and see almost no comparison between sailing a cruising yacht and riding a bike. It might be more apt with a high performance dinghy or catamaran.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

I recall from my days of driving a motor home that if you are parked up drinking (or even possibly having open bottles in the liquor cabinet) that law is vague...and it’s all upto the local copper who feels like knocking on your door

If you are the living compartment with the vehicle keys not in the ignition lock and preferable put away, then you are 'at home', not driving and can drink what you like short of drunken rowdiness. If in driving seat, with bottle in hand and keys in ignition then you are an idiot in charge of a vehicle and heaven help you. The Law is not vague but the understanding of it by the forces of Order can be unclear.