Cowes Friday Night Firework Collision. TIME FOR A SOLENT SPEED LIMIT?

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mikebees

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There was a collision last Friday night between a RIB and a fishing boat in Osborne Bay about 2230. The RIB did not stop and the fishing boat was lucky to be still afloat and limped back to Bembridge. Anybody with any knowledge of this incident please contact Solent Coastguard who are aware of the incident.
I was anchored off Cowes from Friday noon until 0800 Saturday mornining and was apalled at the behaviour of RIBs which almost without exception passed through the anchoarage at speeds in excecess of 20 knots. After the display in pitch darkness RIBs were leaving at high speed and in some cases with no nav lights.
Someone is going to get killed in the Solent soon either by a yob in a RIB or a snob in a power boat. It is time that the entire area was subject to a 10 knot speed limit.
 
There was a speed limit for Cowes fireworks night - didn't you read the notice to mariners? If they didn't bother to enforce that then why do you think a blanket speed limit throughout the solent will help? More regulations when the current ones aren't enforced is a laughable solution.

Rick
 
It was a bit scary at times, but only because of a tiny minority. Most behaved with a lot of consideration for others, both power and sail.

We were anchored in Shrape mud in a couple of feet of water (anchored at min speed with outdrive raised), but I was quite shocked by a rib that bounced (literally) out of the harbour passing about 5m from our bow at high speed - I wonder if they knew how shallow it was ? What didn't inspire confidence was hearing the passengers screaming "calm down, ease down" to the driver, who didn't seem entirely in control. They headed round the corner to Osborne Bay: I hope it wasn't the one that hit anyone.

Also, several inflatables with NO lighting, not even a torch, packed to the gunwales, no lifejackets, but at least they weren't much of a danger to anyone but themsleves.

You're kidding yourself if you think a blanket speed limit is the answer: it's just giving the idiots another rule to ignore.

dv.
 
There is a speed limit for a significant part of The Solent but it is generally ignored:

QHM LNTM 37/05

....b.) Within 1,000 yards of the shore in any part
of the Dockyard Port of Portsmouth - 10 knots....

SOTON VTS NTM24/03

....A speed limit of 6 knots (over the ground) applies to all craft proceeding north of the imaginary line between Hythe Pier and the Weston Shelf Buoy, unless granted an exception by the Harbour Master. Speed should be moderate at all times relevant to the local conditions.Furthermore, no person shall operate a personal watercraft at a speed greater than 6 knots over the ground within 200 metres of Mean High Water Springs on either side of Southampton Water....
 
No, the speed is not generally ignored, it is totally ignored: by commercial traffic, the Navy, Leisure users, the RNLI, the pilot boats, and the tugs.

Possibly because for ages it was "0.5 nautical miles of the line of mean low-water springs" which seems reasonable, and now it's "within 1000 yards of the shore", which doesn't, with no explanation / justification / minimal publicity for the change.

Keep inventing silly rules, and enough people will eventually lose respect for even the sensible ones so that they mean as much as a red traffic light does in the centre of Beijing.

dv.
 
[ QUOTE ]
No, the speed is not generally ignored, it is totally ignored: by commercial traffic, the Navy, Leisure users, the RNLI, the pilot boats, and the tugs....dv.

[/ QUOTE ]

But with the exception of "Leisure users" the rest can be exempted and it is the leisure users that would seem to be the problem. Apart from the Wightlink ferries, I haven't seen much complaint about any other non leisure group.
 
[ QUOTE ]
No, the speed is not generally ignored, it is totally ignored: by commercial traffic, the Navy, Leisure users, the RNLI, the pilot boats, and the tugs.

[/ QUOTE ]

One assumes that to make such a bold statement you have firm, positive proof of this fact. Care to share it with us?
 
I don't need to prove it, because you can prove it to yourself easily enough: just get yourself a set of 7x50's and sit atop the round tower at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour for an hour or so.

Let me illustrate this another way: take a chart of the area, and imagine marking off the area 1000yards from the shore all the way round in the "Dockyard of Portsmouth" (which itself is a bit bigger than you might have guessed). The main shipping channel all the way out to Spit Refuge is well within the limit...

map.jpg

(only shows limit of dockyard, not speed limit zone)

dv.
 
Gaah.

Anyway, thinking about it, I'm now going to disagree with myself, because "1000yards from the shore" really isn't that different from "0.5 nautical miles of the line of mean low-water springs" - the change was probably a simplification rather than anything else, and easier for most mariners to judge.

So there.

dv.
 
N to M ....

Now lets be honest ........... how many actually read them .......

I'm a user of Solent when back in UK ... and an ex Professional Navigator . Ships Officer etc. I must admit the last time I read a N to M for solent was to do with the trafalgar lark LONG before the event .... when I was looking for the exclusion zones etc. - trying to decide if it was worth the flight back for it.

C'mon you lot own up - who doesn't read them .... regularly that is ... ?

And if you think a RIB driver is going to read 'em - Hah !! He probably doesn't even know what they are !!!!

The only thing he'll read is a girt big sign stuck in the solent when he hits the bloody thing ..... otherwise he's not interested ..........
 
Re: N to M ....

[ QUOTE ]
Now lets be honest ........... how many actually read them .......

I'm a user of Solent when back in UK ... and an ex Professional Navigator . Ships Officer etc. I must admit the last time I read a N to M for solent was to do with the trafalgar lark LONG before the event .... when I was looking for the exclusion zones etc. - trying to decide if it was worth the flight back for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

As an ex Professional Navigator & Ship's Officer etc. you should know that it is a requirement under SOLAS to have up-to-date information on the areas in which you operate which is obtained from LTNM's issued by the various Port Authorities.


[ QUOTE ]
And if you think a RIB driver is going to read 'em - Hah !! He probably doesn't even know what they are !!!!

The only thing he'll read is a girt big sign stuck in the solent when he hits the bloody thing ..... otherwise he's not interested ..........

[/ QUOTE ]

As a RIB driver I take exception to this comment - I do know what they are, I do read them regularly (unlike your goodself) and I am interested. This also applies to a considerable number of other RIB drivers that I know so please don't tar us all with the same brush. I also know of a considerable number of yachties & mobos who take no notice of LNTM's whatsoever.
 
Re: N to M ....

I'll be honest - I don't read them unless it is drawn to my attention on here. If I sat down and read all the notices I'll be here till the end of my holiday ... but then, I can't (easily) break any speed limits unless they are 5knots or less! Other notices that come up (in the few I have read) have never really affected me - apart from the IFR.
If they are dredging in a location I wish to pass through then I'll change my course - but I'll have seen the vessel way before I get there - if it is foggy then its probable that I haven't left port!
 
Re: N to M .... to Plombier and Freball ...

Mr. Plombier .... I apologise to you and all for tarring all RIB's ... I stand corrected that you read them, and I apologise that I'm so bad that I don't ...

Mr. Fireball - thanks for being honest ... and its just about how I feel and act as well.

I know many more who do not read them ..... unless a particular item is looked for etc.

Now for my comment about LNTM's ..... great - so now we all go home and donwload all LTNM's and diligently - as I used to do - pencil in all relevant bits on the charts so that all know they are there etc. Pity that 99.9% of the time that the chart will stay in its tube or draw ....
Last time I needed a chart in my neck of the woods - can't remember !!
Of course I shall have a quick scan thru before skipping across to Frenchy-land and the Cherbourg do .... but to be honest ? If such and such buoy at such and such position is out of place ............ my 1m draft will not really be in danger that often .... having been a navigator before of ships from 900 up to 440,000 tons - I think I can apprecaite risks when applicable ...

Let us all look at this in relation to what we are doing and not try to be Chay Blyth's....

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Re: What a good idea

We sat in an upstairs flat at Lee on Solent on Friday to watch the fireworks, and I was surprised afterwards at what appeared to be fireflies whizzing up and down the Solent, en route to either Soton or Pompey. Given that there was a speed limit, I would estimate that there were at least 50 vessels going at least twice the speed limit. Generally on a day to day basis, a small amount of craft go very much faster than the so called limit, and there appears to be no enforcement as such. One such vessel was a Police rib, who came over to us at 30+ knots to tell us that we were in an exclusion zone during the start of the Fleet review. Unfortunately Mr Plod could not read his own standing orders as the date of the exclusion zone was the following day. Quite why he was running around at 30 knot I am not sure as there was a Force 2 wind and we had chute up, doing about 3 knots against the tide
 
Re: N to M ....

I might be barking mad, but yes, I know what they say, and can usually comment on them too. I know Plombier should know their content ,but so should the rest of us
 
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