Chaos in Cowes

[Neraida]

After being the proud new owners of our boat for 2 months now and having sorted out sleeping space we were ready at the weekend to do our first overnighting . Had done research on where to go, got some good advice as always from forum, as well as a very kind offer from BrendanS who offered to escort us to Studland for the BBQ (thanks again Brendan

Saturday arrived and after a pretty hectic morning/look at shipping forecast/first time through Needles nerves and dread at prospect of being hated by Brendan from that day on for taking up 8 hours of his weekend as we would have been tacking into wind all the way down to Studland, we decided it best to go somewhere a little closer.

We ended up in Cowes and after weaving in and out of traffic, the nice harbour master pointed us in the direction of a boat to raft alongside.

Had a fabulous weekend, lovely neighbours, too much to drink etc etc........... but were absolutely astonished at the number of collisions and near collisions we saw.

Apart from people taking the gelcoat off the side of the boat behind us whilst trying to cast off there was an incident where a massive motorcruiser ripped the bathing ladder off a moored yacht and then proceeded to shout that he had only brushed it to its very distressed owners who had to involve the harbour master to solve matters, a trimaran that lost control and smashed into a moored yacht resulting in a severely damaged hull (no damage to yacht that was hit tho) and numerous whacking of others/frayed tempers etc and all in the same spot of water/pontoons!!

I have now realised just how many people don't have control over their vessels or just don't care. What was quite upsetting to see was that unless the owners of the boats that were hit and damaged were onboard, people just left without even leaving a note. Very sad.

Needless to say, we didn't shift the next day as people were leaving/coming back in and will be investing in more fenders before we make the trip again.

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[steve_cronin]

I would like to be able to say that....

... it was never thus in yeasrs gone by.

However close quarters handling was never very good. People splendid around the cans are (sweeping generalisation - bound to precipitate annoyance but I stand by it) rarely competent small boat coxwains, IMO. As to sneaking off, well having been out of the Solent for three years now I don't know how bad it has gotten but there were always instances of it, but to exonerate slightly, the perpetrators are often so traumatised by the experience, the thought of getting back into close company with the same or even more bits of fragile GRP, Stainless tubing and brittle wooden ensign staffs is anathema. They are so used to their environment controlling ability being total (how else did they afford a boat?) that they recoil from the nightmare of lack of control that is 45ft of high sided plastic in the tideway that is Cowes Yacht Haven!
(& lots of other places too)

Steve Cronin



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[StephenSails]

Mad Cowes Disease??

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[Talbot]

Next time go further up the river, as boat handling seems to get better the further the boat has to go from the "round the cans people". I know that some racers can actually control their boats, as can SOME motor boat drivers, but!!!!

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[Aeolus_IV]

No, not unique to Cowes. Newish Ben Oceanis 311 followed us into the lock yesterday. Tail wind pushing you in without engine, so we carefully and slowly moored up port to, just the two of us, easy (I was pleased, hardly needed the fenders). The Ben follows in, under engine with 6 aboard, no lines rigged, points bow at starboard pontoon and one of the chaps grabs one of the pontoon lines and ties it off. At which point the bow of the boat stopped - pitty the skipper wasn't ready for this. The stern then proceeded to overtake the bow, missed our sides by about two feet, and ended up fending themselves off the lock gates at the end of the lock. Eventually motored out of the lock the way they'd come in, again at what seemed like 5 knots (was this the right thing to do?)! Fortunately they took stock of the lesson, and came in slower second time. If people are like that with a new boat, what would they be like with an older one? Ought to be glad it wasn't bigger.

Jeff.

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[Neraida]

Despite these first experiences of mayhem we haven't been put off going back to the same place, we'll just be far more "padded out" next time. The walk into town would be longer further up river and we wouldn't dinghy back to the mooring in the dark,drunk. Climbing over another boat to get to ours is about as foolhardy as we get after drinking half of the local supermarket's pimms fridge and going to the pub. Good idea tho for more than a night, we had to move out about 6 times for people to leave.

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[Evadne]

The only words on boat handling that I got from the chap I bought my first boat from were "gently, gently, catchee monkey". I still try and stick to that rather cryptic advice. It's less expensive.

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[tony_brighton]

One of the fascinating aspects of our hobby is the ability to sit in the marina on a hot day with a cold beer, secure in the kowledge that you have just tied up ok (for once) and watch the mayhem and chaos. It really is a spectator sport.

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[Twister_Ken]

It's just Cowes.

First trip away from Lymington in my (then) new-to-me boat, we picked up an HM mooring in Cowes Roads, because the marinae all looked a bit chokka and it seemed safer out there. Just about secured the mooring strop when wallop. A Sunsail yacht bounced down the side of us. Wiped out six feet of teak capping rail and bent the pulpit. "Sorry, engine failed!"

At least it left them with a nice gouge all along the port topsides. And they paid my repair bill.

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[AndrewB]

Blame the yachts, not the owners.

Cowes always was a rough, crowded spot of water with a lot of jossling inevitable, specially before the days of reliable engines. When the boats were typically a lot smaller and mostly wood, or equipped with decent sized rubbing strakes, a bump usually meant no more than a lick of paint to patch it up.

With the oversized, glossy thin GRP shells of today, you end up coping with an acrimonious insurance claim followed by a month laid up in the boatyard to restore that showroom finish so essential to the resale value.

Bad for the owners maybe, but it keeps the tills clicking for everyone else. You can forget the time when we went sailing to escape such pressures!

 

[ThomasHome]

On the subject of the odd prang in Cowes, did anyone hear of a yacht straying in to the racing channel and getting hit by one of the powerboats that were hairing past at full speed?

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[Peppermint]

Re: Could have been me.

I hadn't clocked the fact that they were using SE Ryde Middle as a turning mark. I thought the marshaling was quite ineffective. Still I got a great view of a lot of Batboats doing a 180.

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[Peppermint]

Re: Could have been me.

I hadn't clocked the fact that they were using SE Ryde Middle as a turning mark. I thought the marshaling was quite ineffective. Still I got a great view of a lot of Batboats doing a 180.

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[steve_cronin]

\"before the days of reliable engines.\"

....."When the boats were typically a lot smaller and mostly wood"......."equipped with decent sized rubbing strakes,,,"

How old do you think I am?????

I'm only talking about the 80s & 90s, there were just as many high sided Gin Palaces around then and what about the Bill Dixon Moodys? Surely nothing around today has so much windage as they had!

It's just another example of the "Eastenders" mentality. "Wot do you want then? I'll smash yer face you pervert if you look at me like that "- and the men are almost as violent too!

Steve Cronin

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[Little_Russel]

You did know that it was power boat week-end didn't you? They had taken over half of the yacht haven.

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[Guest]

We have just returned from a two week cruise down to Salcombe and all stops in between, lovely clear water, a fair wind (some times) and few other boats around, wonderfull. As we came back into the Solent at the weekend we came to appreciate our two weeks of bliss.

Our 'first' boat was our training ground, an old (but loved) 22 footer, to scarred to leave Chichester Harbour we learned getting it all wrong 'T' boning Itchenor visitors pontoon and trying to come alongside Emsworth visitors pontoon with 3knts of tide! Got the front on, but knew we could not stay hanging 10ft down tide with crew on the pontoon!!! Still, we learned and no one got hurt, only our boat and pride got damaged.

Why do manufactures call a 34 footer a 'starter yacht'?


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[AndrewB]

\"it was never thus in yeasrs gone by\".

Sorry Steve, you don't look a day over 30, honest.

I was based on the Solent in the late 60s and early 70s. We always reckoned on a few scrapes when taking the boat into Cowes, both given and received.

As you say, there's much more attitude about it these days. The question is, why?

 

[l'escargot]

What do you expect in Cowes on a bank holiday weekend - probably 90 per cent of the boats there aren't owned by the people on them.

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[philmarks]

Those were the days....Poole Town Quay on a summers afternoon with a spring ebb, a fresh north westerly and the quay crawling with grockles with pints and chips...all gone now from a mooring perspective, more's the pity. I reckon that PTQ in it's heyday would knock the spots off Cowes for sheer entertainment value (and challenge!!). Now we have the aseptic Dolphin marina. Boring!

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[qsiv]

Nah - want a real challenge? Try Le Pallais lock on a busy summer evening. Everything else I've ever seen pales into insignificance given 200 French boats chasing 100 berths, and supper time drawing nigh. The penalty of not getting in, and having to spend the evening on the bouys being attacked by the Quiberon ferries concentrates the mind wonderfully.

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