Damned Water Taxis!

[Rachelle]

We had a lovely weekend a couple of weeks ago out on the new boat, meeting up for the first time with people we have e-chatted to. Friday night at the Folly was fun and relaxed. Saturday we had a great sail to Yarmouth (the boy let me helm!) for a beach BBQ. Later we decided to beg off the pub-crawl as weeks of indulgence starting taking it's toll making me feel damned old!

So early to bed, snuggle up under our duvet feeling nice and smug about our new baby. Casually thinking about being nice to the boy when his gentle snores rule that one out.

About an hour later I roused to hear someone entering the galley. I nudged the boy and commented that I think someone is in the boat and he calls out enquiring as to whether he can help at all.

"Oh f**k, wrong boat!"

After we stopped laughing we got up to investigate and our "intruder" was last seen running down the pontoon, waving his arms frantically and calling out to the water taxi: "You've dropped me on the wrong bl**dy pontoon!"

Can't imagine why he didn't notice the giant great 10 letter name on the side of our boat.

Rach

 

[Boatman]

Too many last orders, often effect one's navigational skills along with the vision, double vision x 10 giant letters generally results in massive GPS (Gin Produced Syndrome) error causing miss-identification, deviation problems and variation discrepancies which all result in Miss-placed boats, pontoons etc.

Sound familiar ?

 

[Guest]

Being part of the group involved at that venue ..... I can vouch for this actually happening .......

Still apart from that item, nice to meet you and Tony at last !!!

Cheers
Nigel

 

[Guest]

Let us not condemn the drunken fool out of hand

I have to admit to going ashore in the afternoon and returning in my dinghy after dark a bit under the weather, as sailors are wont to do. I, of course, wasn't thinking that well, remembered generally where I had anchored, but was confused because about 10-15 additional boats had joined our rather large anchorage. Of course, I had no torch with me and it was an overcast night.

So I went around to quite a few individual boats, peering at transoms, trying to make out my boat's name. The boat owners, depending on their state of paranoia, armed themselves with billy clubs and other assorted weapons to fend off the nefarious midnight skulker in the dinghy. A couple owners hid, then jumped up at the last minute, frightening me terribly. Luckily, most saw some humor in the situation of a drunken pudgy white haired 60 yr old man looking for his lost boat. At the time, I thought it was hilarious.

I mention this story only to pray that it doesn't happen to you. It won't happen to me anymore. I'm now putting a distinctive low amperage draw light above my cockpit if there's a chance I might come back after dark. That way, even at night, I'll always recognize my boat.

 

[BrianJ]

Re: Let us not condemn the drunken fool out of hand

Phew Bob..for a minute you had me worried, I thought you were going to say it wont happen again because you had given up the "booze"
Yep it has happened to all of us , and I guess we are about the same age and same hair colour, so it will happen again
brianj

 

[Rachelle]

Nige,

We had fun and promise to more up for it next time! BTW, I'm now under Skipper's orders to refer to him as the "man"!

Take care

Rach

 

[Guest]

But WHO's the BOSS ??????

Looking forward to the next one

Cheers
Nigel

 

[Mirelle]

Some years ago I worked for a distinguished British shipping company. We owned a passenger cruise ship, of which we were rather proud.

It happened that our hated rivals and arch-enemies in a company who had competed with us for over a century owned a passenger cruise ship too. She was, in fact, the twin sister of ours.

One night we berthed in an Asian port, known for the extent and variety of its night life. Commodore H..... decided that a swift run ashore, accompanied by a couple of mates, was just what he needed to set him up for another week's worth of Captain's Table duties.

After a very pleasant evening ashore, he returned to the quay, stode up the gangway, bollocked the watchman for failure to recognise and salute him, and found his way to his cabin.....

His opposite number on our rival ship, which had come in and berthed just ahead of us while the Commodore was ashore, wasted very little time in informing him of his mistake....

This is absolutely true.

 

[tony_brighton]

Silly question.