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Actionmat

Actionmat

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Not the only passenger vessel that ignores the speed limit, but their timetable gives the journey time from Richmond, through Teddington Lock and landing at Hampton Court as one hour.
That's 7 miles plus one lock operation and usually two obstacles of sailing clubs to negotiate. And as for slowing while passing moored boats - what a joke.
How do they get away with it? I'd be interested to know if a passenger vessel on the non tidal thames has ever been fined for speeding or making too much wash? Is there a blind eye approach to commercial operators, so they can squeeze in an extra couple of trips a day as long as the stay just below 10mph and sod the wash?

If I'm ranting it's because I've got some new scrapes in my gelcoat courtesy of the above. Also, when I arrived at the boat on Saturday my fenders were lying on the pontoon and the hull was rubbing on its unprotected side. She must have gone right up in the air to do that.
:(
 
ianc1200 said:
Should you not report him to the EA with evidence of the damage? If it's not reported you can't complain the EA do nothing about it
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You are quite right Ian. Far too many incidents are not reported and, when we do raise specific issues with the EA their response is "We haven't had any complaints".

Whether you are a TMBA member or not you can use the Information Report form on their website and these issues will be raised with the relevant EA people.
http://www.tmba.org.uk/infoform/
 
I've reported these boats on numerous occasions. The river inspector must be blind if he can miss something that big, going twice the legal speed, all day every day!
We're not talking about a speeding rib in the middle of the night, these oafs publish a timetable! How much more evidence does the EA need?
 
Actionmat said:
I've reported these boats on numerous occasions.
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Who to? In writing? What evidence did you supply? Not being pedantic - just asking.

We're not talking about a speeding rib in the middle of the night, these oafs publish a timetable! How much more evidence does the EA need?
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Teddington to Molesey Lock is 4.8miles so at EA speed limit should take almost an hour just for that bit, which doesn't include delays locking thru Teddington.
Agree that on that evidence alone the timetable could/should be challenged.

Timetable - http://wpsa.co.uk/timetable_new.html shows 1 hour Richmond to Hampton Court which clearly cannot be achieved without significantly breaking the speed limit.
 
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Regarding the speed and wash issue, I called the incident report line.
I had no video evidence and pointed them in the direction of the timetables. The person I spoke to assured me that the speed limit applies to passenger vessels and the timetables would be checked. It feels like de ja vu as I had the same conversation with the incident report line the previous year and probably the one before that.
It's in black and white and some of them exceed the speed limit while passing moored boats before they've even left the lock cut at Teddington. How much evidence does the EA need?

Perhaps I should take a hand held GPS, a video camera and a stop watch and go on these boats as a passenger.

Less speed equals less trips, fewer passengers and reduced revenue for the commercial operators. I feel the issue is being wilfully ignored.

The reference number I have from the EA with regards to timetables and speeding, is 1248829. Again, I have passed on a link to the timetable and have been assured it will be checked.
Could I encourage others who have experienced the lack of consideration for the river bank, wildlife, anglers, moored boats, boats underway and all and other river users to call 0800 80 70 60 and make their own report, perhaps we can get the skippers to slow down.
 
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If you have damage to your boat then that lis a matter for you, or your insurers, to take up with the passenger craft operators and could be the basis of a civil claim if you wish to take it that far.
Although the timetable could possibly be interpreted as an intention to break the bye laws, I suspect it will only be clear evidence of a specific breach with witnesses willing to testify that would support a case being actively pursued by the EA with a view to prosecution.
 
I'm not that bothered about another scuff on an old hull to be honest, I'm more concerned with being bucked about while operating a frying pan, sealant gun, or just trying to enjoy the tranquility of the river. My report relates to all passenger vessels and the wash they make, so the more calls the better. I would gladly volunteer as a witness and I'm sure I'm not alone.
 
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Actionmat said:
I would gladly volunteer as a witness and I'm sure I'm not alone.
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You can't "volunteer" as a witness. There needs to be an actual court case at which you can be called as a witness which means the EA would have to have enough evidence for a successful prosecution and be prepared to bring the case to court. Also, although you may be willing to act as a witness, history all too often shows that many people are not.

Sad to say, short of a serious incident, there is little chance of this happening. Quite frankly, in my view, the EA resources are now unable to cope with all the demands we should reasonably expect of them.
 
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The riverbank and nesting birds are taking a hit, which has to be high on the EA's list of priorities even if we're not.
As the owner of a licenced powered boat I've come to expect very little from them, but when it comes to wash and the impact it has on the environment I expect action. If they don't have the resources to cope with that, then they truly aren't fit for purpose.

By volunteer, I meant if asked I would say yes.
 
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Have you tried videoing these incidents & putting on Youtube and sending a link to the EA? I've thought about this & every time I've tried, the boat has slowed down when they've seen the camera out. With the camera facilities on smartphones so widely available, it should be very easy to do.
 
We've fitted a Sony Action Cam to our boat. Nice tidy little camera, nice to save memories and perfect to catch the odd idiot. 4hrs recording on a 32Gb microSD card!

CJL
 
Both sound like excellent suggestions, especially the covert action cam. I wish i'd got footage of one speedboat last year, who responded to my cry of slow down with a cheery middle fingered wave.
 
CJL said:
We've fitted a Sony Action Cam to our boat. Nice tidy little camera, nice to save memories and perfect to catch the odd idiot. 4hrs recording on a 32Gb microSD card!

CJL
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There are many incar security cameras available cheap on Ebay etc. £25.00 and up.On many you can alter the quality of the recording to allow for a longer time period before software overwrites the existing recording.
With a decent card you can extend recording for a week or so.
The power these things need is tiny and will not cause you problems.
If you want to get night records you really need to get the camera outside as the IR does not work well through glass.
Some of the better units have separate IR block which you can mount away from the main camera.
The dull bit will be popping the card in the laptop and going through hours of footage consisting mainly of ducks.
 
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