Collision Fiskardo

jordanbasset

jordanbasset

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Okay don't get too excited I don't think there were any casualties but I was amazed at what I witnessed this morning in Fiskardo
A yacht, probably about 40 feet in length was going out of the channel. A rubber dinghy was coming form yacht's yacht's port side side (so the yacht was coming from the dinghy's starboard side
It was clear a collision would occur if neither changed it's course
As they approach both kept speed and direction with the people in the dinghy starting to shout loudly at the yacht
The inevitable happened and the yacht's bows hit the dinghy beam on
Fortunately the dinghy bounced around the yacht and there were no apparent injuries or damage but it could have been very serious
Okay rules of the road say the yacht was stand on vessel and the dinghy should have diverted it's course
But even if the people were completely unaware of those rules then surely as a matter of self preservation if you are in a small inflatable dinghy, which has high manouverability and can stop very quickly no sensible person would surely have ploughed on regardless. But in this case the dinghy crew thought the best course of action was to carry on and shout at the yacht's crew. Also for completeness the yacht also should have taken action when it saw the dinghy was not changing course
 
As you say, exiting the channel. its possible the yacht was constrained by draught.
In any case, the lighter more maneuverable dingy , should have avoided the colision.
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
As you say, exiting the channel. its possible the yacht was constrained by draught.
In any case, the lighter more maneuverable dingy , should have avoided the colision.
Click to expand...

I agree - of course I would have slowed down to avoid the dinghy but in Fiskardo and many other places I've seen dinghies acting completely obliviously to a boat in a manouvre that can be abandoned sometimes but not changed - like reversing into a space whilst dropping an anchor or coming out in a line which will avoid other anchors but at sufficient speed to avoid being blown into other boats by a crosswind. Then all you can do is carry on and remnd the dinghy that you are there whilst they are cutting accross your path or taking pics of their own boat or whatever.

Other yachts can be equally obvlivious. A couple of days we had a cat in Mahon reverse towards our path well clear of anybody else. Fully crewed with people tidying ropes and fenders away while the helmsman shouted instructions at them without looking even once where we was going. Once we'd dodged them I kept looking but at no point did he look around or see us at all.
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
As you say, exiting the channel. its possible the yacht was constrained by draught.
In any case, the lighter more maneuverable dingy , should have avoided the colision.
Click to expand...

And the dinghy was crossing port to stbd and hence the keep-clear vessel on that count too. No question that it should have avoided the yacht; the remarkable thing from the OP is that it did not.

Pete
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
As you say, exiting the channel. its possible the yacht was constrained by draught.
In any case, the lighter more maneuverable dingy , should have avoided the colision.
Click to expand...

All of us who know Fishardo can honestly say unless you was on the rocks or on the quay constrained by his draught don't came into it .
 
sailaboutvic said:
All of us who know Fishardo can honestly say unless you was on the rocks or on the quay constrained by his draught don't came into it .
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Ok, I answered on the info available, assuming there was an expanse of water , with a channel.
In any case, the lighter dingy, with less draught, should still have avoided the collision.
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
Ok, I answered on the info available, assuming there was an expanse of water , with a channel.
In any case, the lighter dingy, with less draught, should still have avoided the collision.
Click to expand...

Yes I understand that ,wasn't having a go ,
it's a big opening into a large bay , in most places 25 / 35 mts even in close there 10 Mts .
Another case of people expecting people to move out of there way instead of altering there course a degree to two .
 
sailaboutvic said:
Yes I understand that ,wasn't having a go ,
it's a big opening into a large bay , in most places 25 / 35 mts even in close there 10 Mts .
Another case of people expecting people to move out of there way instead of altering there course a degree to two .
Click to expand...

Ok , Cheers !
 
macd said:
I think you nailed it just there.
Click to expand...

Probably right, it all seemed to happen in slow motion and I was not aware of it until I heard the people in the dinghy shouting, but instead of altering course or just stopping for that matter(for which they would have had enough time), they kept on their course and kept shouting. Very much Darwin in action and they did not look young either
 
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