Circumnavigating the UK, er just Sheppey

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
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Love the story, how delightful that we can still breed eccentrics.

At the end of the day, no harm done, and, just maybe, someone learned something.

I imagine the RNLI would treat this as light relief compared to some of the more harrowing 'shouts' they have to contend with.

Tom
 
Can't fault his navigation. "keep the hard bit on the right and the wet bit on the left". Makes sense to me.
My passage plan to Cherbourg is "turn left at the end of the Solent by the big lighthouse and keep the hard bit behind. The next hard bit is France"

Simples

:D:D:D
 
Nowt wrong with his passage planning at all in my book. Not his fault sheppey is an island is it? Anyway, if many people did the same trip without looking at a chart I bet they'd also have the same problem.
 
Ill tell you what, guys. The responses on this story here are a lot more relaxed than on Scuttlebutt (here).

Some on there are demanding compulsory licences & testing - as if that would stop the ignorant any more than making pistols illegal stopped the criminals!

If you ever come across someone like this, they are typically MoBos (sorry, but rags & sticks apparently look too complicated to them) do them (& every one else) a favour & go & have a little chat. No need to lecture, just ask a few pertinent questions - about tides, charts, anchors, lifejackets, VHF etc. You will quickly be able to assess their level of ignorance (or otherwise) and can then offer some gentle guidance.

Such people are seldom stupid, but often impecunious & ignorant. They need education/ guidance. We are in a strong position to influence their decisions & encourage them to learn a bit more about the risks they take.
 
Trouble is that will work until he hits Selsey, you have to go out of site of land there.

Does this not highlight the need to have some sort of rule that says you cant go to sea without training.

is he insured should he hit our boat
 
SolentPhill said:
Trouble is that will work until he hits Selsey, you have to go out of site of land there.

Does this not highlight the need to have some sort of rule that says you cant go to sea without training.
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NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!! What's the point. It would be written by civil servants & lawyers then approved by MPs none of whom would have the least idea what they were doing. It would require a huge bureaucracy to implement, manage & police - and guess who would pay for it. And most important of all, guys like him would know beggar all about it & just go anyway. The whole thing is a complete waste of effort and our money! Finally, many competent but impoverished boaters would be unable to find the extra money & have to give up boating. DO NOT suggest silly ideas like that please, some idiot MP will try & run with it!

is he insured should he hit our boat
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Probably not, but he isn't blind, has fenders and successfully managed to steer where he wanted to go, even if he didnt read the map properly, so why shound he hit your boat? Even if he did, how much damage would he do with such a small light vessel & small o/b? A bit of a scuff that will polish off at most - well under any excess for most people.

You are probably more likely to be struck by lightning. Please get a sense of perspective on this - his isn't really much of a threat to anyone except himself. And I for one value that principle - help him, but don't knock him, we all started somewhere, even if most of us did do a bit more research before setting out.
 
we do not need more legislation in our lives, we have had

'T hou shalt not smoke'

I see we are now at the start of the 'Thou shalt not drink' campaign, witness the nw rash of tv adverts about having a drink

We certainly do not need the 'Thou shalt not boat' legislation, imagine your boat being fitted with a compulsory label (certain size of type an colour of course) 'Government Health warning using a boat my result in involuntary drowing, going on the water can kill'!
 
Searush said:
Ill tell you what, guys. The responses on this story here are a lot more relaxed than on Scuttlebutt (here).

Some on there are demanding compulsory licences & testing - as if that would stop the ignorant any more than making pistols illegal stopped the criminals!

If you ever come across someone like this, they are typically MoBos (sorry, but rags & sticks apparently look too complicated to them) do them (& every one else) a favour & go & have a little chat. No need to lecture, just ask a few pertinent questions - about tides, charts, anchors, lifejackets, VHF etc. You will quickly be able to assess their level of ignorance (or otherwise) and can then offer some gentle guidance.

Such people are seldom stupid, but often impecunious & ignorant. They need education/ guidance. We are in a strong position to influence their decisions & encourage them to learn a bit more about the risks they take.
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Having just read the posts in question, I do not really see that the general spirit is any different, which surprises me because I have seen slaps round the chops with a white glove and pistols at dawn over COLREGS issues on there.

Perhaps PBO with their plethora of well above average, expert skippers will be a little more damning of the man.
I'm just not inclined to go on and look.

:)
 
There are compulsory licenses in a couple of countries, not sure if they really help even though it does force people to tick the correct boxes on the most basic rules (and often sensible) guidelines derived from seamanship..

I was struggling more with the car nav, are UK boats not required to have nautical charts on board?
 
The story of this hapless fellow reminds me of a small boy and his brother who took their 12ft rowing boat from Keyhaven across to Yarmouth one day.
No charts, no tide tables just the youthful exuberance and stupidity that all kids take for granted at 12 years of age.

When they got home that evening and asked why they were late home from a days fishing and messing about in the boat, they got a bit of a bo*****ing from their Dad for going out to sea.
What about tides and those big orange car ferries (Townsend Thorennson) he asked?:confused:

Somewhat bewildered the boys replied with a simple "pardon Dad"?

It seems they got lucky, hit the tides just right in both directions and managed to avoid any marauding 20 knot car ferries.
Admittedly they were a bit cream crackered from the days rowing.

Good news?
They did not need the RNLI as they had Oars!
Better news is they got an Outboard and some tide tables and instruction on how to use them but were forbidden to go to sea again - without their Dad in attendance:D

Do I know who they were?
Yes I certainly do although sadly my brother is no longer around.
 
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By the way, I have been trained now, have bits of paper to prove it and can navigate without a road atlas or tom tom.........when I am at sea!:rolleyes:
 
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idpnd said:
There are compulsory licenses in a couple of countries, not sure if they really help even though it does force people to tick the correct boxes on the most basic rules (and often sensible) guidelines derived from seamanship..

I was struggling more with the car nav, are UK boats not required to have nautical charts on board?
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No, a thousand times no, we do not need a licensing system in the UK. The fact that this chap and his exploits has made such a news splash demonstrates that the vast majority of pleasure boaters are competent enough to avoid making the news. The trouble with a licence is not the cost, disagreeable as that would be, but the vast army of bureacrats that would doubtless be required to administer the licensing system. That would mean hundreds of uniformed peak capped little Hitlers sneaking around boatyards and marinas checking if boats or their owners had licences. They would, of course, need a fleet of 4x4's and RIBS with blue flashing lights to carry them around and a vast steel and glass building to house them. And once everybody had got a licence, these faceless bureacrats would dream up ways of taking it away and that would mean random alcohol tests, speed limits, speed cameras, boat MOTs and all the kind of stuff which afflicts our non boating lives. No thanks, you can keep your licencing system in Europe. We don't want it here
 
Absolutely priceless story........................ Actually I circumnavigated Sheppey once in me Broom but I was wise I took along local knowledge in the form of Oldgit, and much fun it was to, he certainly knows his way around...................erm.....well Sheppey really :~)
 
Chap who bought my boat in 2000 came and looked at it in the boatyard(friend had just got the twin perkins running after a immersion!)and said "just what I want for fishing" "can you put her in the water tommorow".Yes said my friend,the guy showed up with the cash and a carrier bag full of beer ,jumped in ,friend started the engines and the guy says where can I get fuel?Over there points friend,er have you any boating experience?Yes sez he I was a deckhand on a trawler!!Where are you of to?Torquay.Well do me a favour ,call me when you get there!!He did and liked the boat,this was from Plymouth in October,would you do that!!
 
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