Children in marinas - What is the etiquette, so to speak?

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Mirelle

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On Saturday I sent my 10 year old and a friend of his off to sail and row round Ipswich wet dock in the tender, they having been told to keep a good look out, keep out of everyone else's way, and not hit anything. They came back two hours later saying that a lady bystander had shrieked, "Where are the adults! There are only children in that boat!"

I normally tell my brats not to run on the pontoons, to be quiet, and always to wear lifejackets, but is there more to this?

What are the rules that one should be aware of?
 
The Irish schools were still on holiday as we were sailing on the east and south coasts of Ireland. From Howth to Baltimore, just about every club had daily dinghy training and races for the kids in Mirrors, Toppers, Lasers and just about everything else that floats. Very impressive.

Also swimming - huge numbers going in for what I would classify as long-distance sea swimming, several miles at a time. And rowing big heavy wooden boats made for heavy seas. All in all, we probably saw a lot of potential Ireland Olympic gold medallists in various water-related sports. That requires not just respect for, but familiarity with the sea.

The shrieking bystander you refer to is obviously an idiot.
 
Children in dingies in Marinas always have advantage as they are small future sailors what we have to respect!
 
Forgot to mention, the two 10 year olds had RYA 2 (mine) and RYA 3 (friend) dinghy certificates.

This does not make them that sensible - last night, after they begged to sail home from the mooring in the tender, they decided to anchor off a "lee shore" (bank of saltings). They dragged the anchor, and learned that they should not do that again, after they were pulled off by a passing Club safety boat!

Still, better a mudbank in a creek at 10 than a rocky shore in the Channel at 30!
 
Check with the local marina and harbour master if using "commercial" waterway (Ipswich wet dock?).
Other than that life jackets, minimum wake/wash no shouting or screaming, stay well out of everyone else's way and generally behave sensibly.
Unfortunately some adults behave like children - just ignore them. My two have "played" in and around the marina in the tender for years along with some of their friends and only once was any negative incident - some twat threw a bucket of waater over the kids as they passed and shouted at them to "ef of" - the kids came back to the boat and told me what had happened so I walked round to the other boat with a BIG bucket and I think you can guess the rest..... Funny, but he never messed with my kids again! Can't stand bullies /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
 
As another says, you are perfectly correct and the shrieker is silly. Bringing children up involves progressively shoving them of the branch if they're to learn to look after themselves. Bringing children up "really well" is mistakenly taken to mean "being over-protective" so few walk to school or can orgainse themselves v bus timetables as in the olden days. You'll know if the kids can handle a boat, and the pleading is something that should be used as a lure with which to readem the riot act as to how own their own they really will be. But if they're still game and willing - i definitely lettem have a go. Our kids are fine on their own (16 and 13) whilst we go abroqad for couple of days, and i spect yours will be too. Whereas Mrs shrieker will be the type who arrives en masse with fresher kid aged 18 or 19 and unpacks his bags for him whilst the rest of us snigger.
 
Earlier this year we where sat in the cockpit on a mooring in Lymington. A large MOBO arrived and went alongside the pontoon at the end of the visitors trots.

At the helm, lad about 12, dad was doing the warps! That afternoon we where entertained by the youngster in the tender with Honda. His skill was of several years of experience.
 
I too think you are in the right, as Claymore more eloquently puts it. You can't learn to handle a boat at too young an age, and your shrieking bystander may not know anything at all about boats anyway. Sounds like your nipper's a lot further up the learning curve than I was at twice their age.
 
Don't think there's much 'commercial' traffic in the wet dock these days, apart from the Orwell Lady. When I was but a wee lad of 14 I was regularly left at the wheel of a barge while Skipper was down below (not in the wet dock!). Responsibility given early engenders a healthy respect and understanding of what is going on around, c.f. Etap-owner's comments above. Equally I could recount some horror stories about scrapes I got into in dinghies, but I learned from the experiences. I bet many others here could tell similar stories.
 
[ QUOTE ]
so few walk to school or can organise themselves v bus timetables as in the olden days.

[/ QUOTE ]

No you're wrong, it takes a lifetime learning to read a bus timetable, that's why buses are full of old people!
 
I'm all in favour of the next generation learning rowing/sailing/boat handling in safe and sheltered waters without a hectoring parent aboard. Your pair were obviously well briefed, BUT, many aren't. I cannot condone hours of incessant noise/wash emanating from outboard motors when they have been sent to play away from the vicinity of the mother ship - be it in marinas, docks, anchorages or harbours.

Also, as the skipper of a boat which has limited manouvreability in confined spaces (long keel, won't steer astern etc etc etc....) it does make life unnecessarily difficult coming face to face with dinghies in our increasingly cramped marinas. Larger boats you can see coming, but dinghies are often to low to be seen beyond moored boats etc, until right at the last moment.

I'll probably me branded a kill joy, but I don't believe that marinas are the place for dinghies crewed by ANY age group to be playing around. If a dock has more open water, then fair enough. Anyway, don't the rules & regulations of most marinas prohibit such activities?
 
I believe kids should definitely be allowed to mess about in boats at an early age, having been given a stern safety lecture, and a life jacket, of course. When my daughter was about twelve, and had been learning to sail our Mirror for a while, and having reached the stage when she was capable but not confident enough to go out alone, I hopped out as we came into the shore, pushed the boat back out, and left her to it. After shouting abuse at me for a couple of minutes, she realised she was enjoying herself a lot, and we then had to persuade her to bring the boat back...

She gave us a granddaughter three years ago, and and next year we will take them both out on the boat; although we have graduated to a 24' yacht, a two/three year old is IMHO at the worst age to be on a boat. But I also look forward to perhaps the year after when we can put her in the dinghy and let her teach herself to row.

The shrieking woman in Ipswich is entirely in the wrong, and I hope did not put your kids off.
 
Long keel, offset prop, long bowsprit - our boat is positively awkward in marinas, and we proceed very gingerly in them!

I agree entirely about the outboard motors - but then, I think there is never any reason to use one in a marina.

Going downriver yesterday we were passed, just above Woolverstone, by a 13-14 year old boy, singlehanded in a small RIB, doing perhaps 12 knots (speed limit 6) standing in the bow with his arms outstretched, imitating Leonardio di Caprio in the film "Titanic.

"Look" said my 10 year old son "at that idiot!"

I think the parent who sent their child off in that boat without a kill cord is the bigger idiot.
 
Larger boats you can see coming, but dinghies are often to low to be seen beyond moored boats etc, until right at the last moment. Which is why my mate's kids are briefed to keep a good lookout and skedaddle when anything bigger shows up. What's a real pain is when the little 'orrors have a noisy outboad and drive everyone mad buzzing around like a wasp. (My mate's pair would be in far more trouble from him than anyone else if they did)

I didn't sail when my kids were young (more fool me, but that's another story), but I was - and still am - a great believer in the principle of "benign neglect" ie keep an eye on 'em to make sure they don't damage themselves (except superficially) or anyone or anything else (at all), but let 'em get on with it and get into scrapes commensurate with their age and experience and work out how to get themselves out of them. It's resulted in an awareness that life can bite back but also given them the self reliance and self confidence to deal with those times.

As someone said, "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." If you don't give 'em a chance do do it wrong, they'll never learn to do it right
 
Re: Totally Iresponsible

You should keep your kids in the house at weekends watching DVDs and eating crisps.

I once had a person I know suggest I was irresponsible to take my kids sailing at all.I cant publish my exact reply here but basically agreed to differ. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

All of life is a risk so if you dont take any risks you dont get much of a life IMHO
 
My 11 3/4 year old (mustn't forget the 3/4) has been sailing since he was 18months old, his skills at helming under both sail and power are considerable and his maturity of approach and respect for other vessels impresive. He has been brought up with personal safety on the water as a priority and he regularly remarks on others whom have little respect for others and in particular youngsters who so obviously are placing themselves and potentially others at risk of harm (toddlers wandering around the fordeck without lifejackets, teenagers whizzing around at full speed kicking up excessive wash, and dinghy (boy and girl) racers with blinkers on etc).
Shame that some of our fellow ADULT water users do not demonstrate the same respect for others as some of the youngsters out there do.
Etiquette generally is not governed or regulated but common sense dictates that as long as safety and respect for others is maintained children are not a problem in marina environments
 
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