Chichester harbour - ribtastic

[Seajet]

I'd actually love to try sailing one, and as I've mentioned before, get two or more, arm them with paintball firing cannon, and you could have a whale of a time !

 

[prv]

I find it hard to dislike the Buckler. Performance is probably terrible but if you just wanted to potter around the Solent (or somewhere else with lots of places to go in close proximity) then it could be fun, especially for kids.

Not sure why Dylan thinks the engine installation is a nightmare - it certainly has good access when you lift the box off.

If I had one I might be tempted to refit with gaff rig. It would look the part, probably perform no worse (maybe better) across or downwind, and upwind might be best done under power either way. Maybe even a square course on a removable yard, though setting topsails above that would be getting into the realms of silliness.

Imagine having a yacht-club-style saluting gun on a small carriage. How brilliant would that be if you were ten and sailing past your friends on a boring Moody or Bavaria? (Obviously the other boat has to be anchored for the "sailing past" bit to make sense )

Pete

 

[Fantasie 19]

Imagine having a yacht-club-style saluting gun on a small carriage. How brilliant would that be if you were ten and sailing past your friends on a boring Moody or Bavaria? (Obviously the other boat has to be anchored for the "sailing past" bit to make sense )

Pete

Or saluting back to the Royal Yacht Squadron...

 

[andrewbartlett]

I spent last year (and will this year ) cruising mainly around Chichester Harbour, my home port. The fast moving vessels totally ignoring the speed limit were a darn nuisance all last year particularly when handling boiling water or the equivalent. One very large mobo could easily have overturned me (my cruiser is very light) and I think would have done so if I had not taken evasive action by cutting across his wake @ 90 degrees.The latter incident was just out of the speed restricted zone towards Chichester beacon but represented total disregard for anothers wellbeing .Having said that not all mobo owners are so selfish but with the proliferation of Ribs etc. it is definitely more prevalent. I love the harbour and it has been my home port since I learned to sail with the Coles brothers of Mengeham Rythe in the early 1950's.

 

[Greenheart]

I might be tempted to refit with gaff rig. Maybe even a square course on a removable yard, though setting topsails above that might be getting into the realms of silliness.

Gee, d'you think? Why not ratlines and fighting tops?

There are a couple of very small brigs around the Solent - bigger than the Buckler, small enough to look slightly comical. But 100% more interesting than they'd have been as sloops.

The hull form of the Buckler looks pretty slippery - so any sail plan which doesn't offend the eye, should drive her usefully. It's a shame bermudan rig is so tediously ubiquitous.

 

[dylanwinter]

I spent last year (and will this year ) cruising mainly around Chichester Harbour, my home port. The fast moving vessels totally ignoring the speed limit were a darn nuisance all last year particularly when handling boiling water or the equivalent. One very large mobo could easily have overturned me (my cruiser is very light) and I think would have done so if I had not taken evasive action by cutting across his wake @ 90 degrees.The latter incident was just out of the speed restricted zone towards Chichester beacon but represented total disregard for anothers wellbeing .Having said that not all mobo owners are so selfish but with the proliferation of Ribs etc. it is definitely more prevalent. I love the harbour and it has been my home port since I learned to sail with the Coles brothers of Mengeham Rythe in the early 1950's.

the ribs do sit bloomin low in the water at low speeds - especially when they like to have 200hp on the stern

I find myself feeling rather sad that the old style speed boats are a thing of the past - they were annoyingly noisy but did not produce anything like the rib wash

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

I don't know if it's one of the ' slightly comical ' craft you're thinking of, but there used to be a wooden 3 masted full rigged ship, about 28', on the Hamble just short of Moody's marina.

That was a fair while ago, I used to visit the Elephant Yard now & again but eventually decided the Hamble is just too depressing !

 

[prv]

Dan is thinking of the "Little Brigs". They're 32' or 36', that sort of size, and are essentially yacht hulls with a toy brig rig stuck on top. I think they're steel, though I'm not certain of that.

They do sail training of a sort, mostly for younger children I think.

Pete

 

[Greenheart]

I don't know if it's one of the ' slightly comical ' craft you're thinking of, but there used to be a wooden 3 masted full rigged ship, about 28', on the Hamble just short of Moody's marina. I used to visit the Elephant Yard now & again but eventually decided the Hamble is just too depressing!

Sounds an interesting craft - three masts in 28ft - I think the brig I saw was a little bigger, in steel, at or near the Southampton Boat Show 18 months ago.

I don't know Hamble well - just that one really disappointing visit to the Rising Sun. The Bugle, on the other side of the river, was much better, but with prices to match the quality.

I wonder if there's an Itchen Kitchen to go with the Hamble Scramble? Please, somebody tell me there was once a Baron Arun.

 

[Greenheart]

Quite right, Pete. Here they are...(prepare to mute hearty shanty-bellowing)...

 

[prv]

the ribs do sit bloomin low in the water at low speeds - especially when they like to have 200hp on the stern

A few years ago a friend of mine had the use of a small and somewhat decrepit RIB, in exchange for dragging it out of some bushes and getting the engine working again. Even with a relatively small outboard (I think it may have been a 50hp 2-stroke) and in calm water, it would flood over the transom if you went in reverse.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

Dan,

thanks, funnily enough I don't recall seeing those; or maybe I did and just put it down to too good a night before !

The vessel on the Hamble is much sleeker, like an East Indiaman or frigate, with fake gunports - and I'd say gunports are essential for this sort of thing...did have a sail on TS Royalist once.

You know, it may just be ' easy from the armchair ' talking, but I really think a few of we forumites ought to get together and grab a couple of Bucklers - could maybe fund them with crew slots in mock battles, though coding would be interesting...

 

[Greenheart]

...could maybe fund them with crew slots in mock battles, though coding would be interesting...

And who would work out ratings for the Portsmouth Yardarm?

 

[Seajet]

Like it - I was showing an A22 buyer the actual Portsmouth Yardstick on the club wall just last week.

 

[Greenheart]

Yacht racing in general might be significantly more interesting if competitors fired guns. It's not the winning that counts...it's the murderous determination. And the surviving?

Possibly they could just use washable dye, to prevent legal suits ensuing. But honestly, which real-life manly skills are tested by just getting first across the finish line?

Far more entertaining if competitors had a certain number of chances to destroy each other. Being downwind means less ability to hit a vessel far to windward...a paint-ball in the sails indicates damage to that boat's pace. Each other boat destroyed equals a point. So if you destroy enough other racers, you can cross the line in fourth place and still win.

And, lots of extra points if you accidentally happen to wipe-out a RIB which is passing at the time. :encouragement:

 

[Seajet]

There was me thinking about a nice whimsical little mock battle with paint firing cannon on Bucklers, next thing it's a body count like Robocop !

 

[Greenheart]

Hmm, but it would be an awesome new dimension to the rather limited business of just competitive hurrying under sail. Wonderful, to see the boats which thought they were leading, doubling back towards the fleet because somebody there had collected more kill-points than mere speed could accrue. And, how much better would it be to watch, than racing as it is now?

Sailing paintball - with ruddy great fore and aft chasers, instead of the handheld pop-guns those goggled chaps in the woods use. I reckon it could be the future of sailing competition!

 

[oldharry]

Ho ho! Too many of Packhams G&Ts - well it WAS A Bank Holiday.

The problem lies in the little button "Watch on Utube' - forgot I wasn't still on YBW.....

But it got you all guessing

 

[[2068]]

One day, when I have a lot more time, I'll set myself up with the camera pointing at Mid Winner, to show sailing yachts under power totally ignoring the Harbour Master's directions to "keep to the Starboard side of the channel" because it saves a few seconds.

Anyone going the other way either ends up with a green rusty stripe on their Starboard flank, or has to panic turn to Port and ends up in the melee.

Similar things could be filmed at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour: you are forced to Starboard into the main channel by departing boats, then the volunteer harbour patrol shout at you

 

[rotrax]

Galadriel,

sssh ! That's my favourite anchoring spot too, wouldn't dream of using East Head.

Re. wash from mobo's one does get the odd large gin palace transit from Chi Marina to the entrance & vice versa at stupid speeds, but nowadays it's quite rare.

I see from the Mobo forum that many owners are moving from Premier Chichester to Premier Gosport, to save both time and fuel.

Perhaps it will be quieter when they have gone............