Ditch the Engine - part 3

[AndrewB]

Good stuff, Thirdman.

You've hit a nerve. People are claiming to have an engine as a matter of convenience when in their heart they know it is a matter of necessity, they do not have, or have lost, the skills to cope without.

Speaking of skills, I am particularly annoyed by those who complain about what they think would happen in marinas: in particular that their yacht might be "damaged" by an engineless boat, or that being slow or needing to tack it might "get in the way". Some have even said they regard an engineless yacht owner in a marina as irresponsible.

Far from it. Typically, the skipper of the engineless yacht, whether sailing or sculling, will have the extra skills and be better attuned to wind and tide, and the speeds involved are usually too slow for anything very serious to happen.

No, the real trouble-makers are the owners who chose to buy a fragile, highly polished, thin-hulled, high-windage GRP yacht without any kind of sensible hull protection other than a few fenders easily brushed out the way, which they themselves can only manoevre at close quarters with difficulty and generally far too fast. And then they have the gall to demand as an absolute right that others accomodate their foolish choice?

 

[boatless]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

Well said that man!

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[Chris_Robb]

who the hell is...

Jay (Jerome) Fitzgerald - never heard of him - otherwise, I have never heard so much drivel in all my life - apart that is, from Blair and Bush.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[cliff]

Metabarca writes "I didn't realise the Hamish community was into sailing!" ach well some of us are but it is getting hard to find a mooring or a berth up this way as we have been invaded by the english again. Everywhere you go is full of english boats. For all the time many of them are used they would be better parking on the hard and dropping the boats in for the annual holidays. Really never saw the point of having a boat and only using it once or twice a year.

Seriously though, it is a different type of sailing from pottering about in the adriatic get a good 5 or 6 and the clouds at zero altitude - really gets the senses going...

Liked Trieste myself - wish I was there now instead of here.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Aeolus_IV]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

What annoys me about Thirdman's position is the implication that everyone who has an engine on board is by definition a second class sailor, incapable of truly handling their vessel without it. This is a comment which can have no grounding on facts and combined with his sanctimonious preaching completes the picture of somebody who, quite frankly, I wouldn't give the time of day to.

Regards, Jeff.

<hr width=100% size=1>
I sail when the conditions allow, and motor when the situation dictates - am I any less a yachtsman for this?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://users.swing.be/FDB/centurion/index2.html>Centurion 32 Web site</A>

 

[Davy_S]

Re: Wiggly worm

Whilst admiring your choice of boats I think you will find the Vega is Sweedish not Dutch.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Metabarca]

100 apologies to you, cliff, and your shaggy brethren.I owe you a haggis; I meant Amish, of course!! Must have pasta on the brain!

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>

 

[jimi]

What do you call a man with a seagull on his heid?

<hr width=100% size=1>I Have The Body Of A God... Buddha

 

[cliff]

Metabarca writes "100 apologies to you, cliff, and your shaggy brethren.I owe you a haggis; I meant Amish, of course!! Must have pasta on the brain!"

Either that or Grappa or maybe Lemon Cello

Gatting dark soon, now where are my wellies - time to go worry - sorry, I mean find some of my shaggy brethren"


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[tcm]

Re: Help with your English

1. You should use "confronted" not "affronted" in the text.

So, for example, if i say "Your English is very poor, and judging by the content you are a poorly-educated and thin-thinking person who has not considered the distastrous consequences of a large number of engineless sailing boats attempting to enter/leave a modern marina" then I am *confronting* you with the facts and you might feel *affronted*.

2. "etc." is the abbreviation for the Latin "et cetera". It is not English (nor American English) to use e.t.c. - it merely shows your light grasp of the detail.

3. It is very poor to connect two complete sentences with a comma and "however". Start a new sentence. However, you may be the sort of person that ignores contrary advice.

4. Note that colregs do not give you right of way. So, for example if there was a 23 metre boat on the way out of a marina on low tide, that'll be me checking if you've done your homework and I will not be giving way to a nitwit under sail on their way into the marina. So, it's up on the mud for you and out of the way for a few hours while everyone else can get in/out and go boating - or get home to see their friends and family.

"Friends" : this may be a new word to you. It describes people who share your views, like your company and do not think you are a dangerous fool.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Man with seagull on head

Something like 'Shy Talk' ?

<hr width=100% size=1>As one bar of soap said to another - "That's Life Boy"

 

[dulcibella]

Re: Man with seagull on head

Clearly a strand for those who wish to get across (at boring length) how good their engineless sailing skills are. Thanks, BigNick, for your last brief and pithy contribution!

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[longjohnsadler]

Man with a seagull on his heid?

Bird-brain.

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[jimi]

Re: Man with a seagull on his heid?

Which rhymes with ...

<hr width=100% size=1>I Have The Body Of A God... Buddha

 

[longjohnsadler]

Re: Man with a seagull on his heid?

...hang on...don't tell me...

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[cliff]

Re: Man with a seagull on his heid?

Turd brain?

<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Joe_Cole]

This reminds me of the story of the old Thames bargee years ago. He had just had an engine fitted to his boat and went down river under engine. When he got near his wharf he switched off the engine, and hoisted his sails, saying that he preferred to do the difficult bit the easy way!

Joe


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[Cornishman]

I don't know why you, who obviously does not hail from the UK or any of the Commonwealth countries, chose as a nom de plume a position on the cricket field, and so I greet your persistent failure to drag yourself into the 21st century as ignorance. Or do you have a fetish with ferris wheels?
Because of my age and the years I spent as a professional sailor I can speak from a position of experience. In the 1950s and 60s your ideas were popular with French yachtsmen who visited the shores of Britain and some of them were admired for their boat handling skills while others were not. It didn't seem to matter in those days when "marina" was only a girl's name and anchoring was easy in places which today act as home to several hundred yachts and boats.
Berthing in such places these days is so difficult to find that marina operators, and a growing band harbourmasters demand that you navigate under power so you will be denied access to many of our ports and harbours.
In the 1970s I along with my colleagues who skippered other large yachts in our organisation used to take delight in sailing our vessels of between 55 feet and 75 feet on to our moorings making use of wind and tide. We were eventually asked not to by our harbourmaster because it encouraged other less experienced amateur skippers to do the same thing and he was worried about the chaos which would ensue at the height of the season.
Would you deny the weekend sailors the right to visit so many ports just because they are engineless, or do you suggest that sailing be confined to the few who are so skilled as yourself? From your boasting that would reduce the numbers to those in the days when yachting was seen as the privilege of the rich and famous.
Do enjoy your sailing, but a word of advice - stay away from European waters where you will not be welcomed by the authorities in many many places.


<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[mighetto]

Re: oh god why is this still going on

Because the EU folks are better sailors than Americans. We can learn from them.
Britian was so smart with its Lottery to help Olympic sailors but there is more.

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/pegasus/

Kahn strongly believes that US Olympic sailing is getting left behind, unable to
provide sufficient structure and funding to allow American sailors to keep pace
internationally. “The situation of US Olympic sailing is very precarious as we can
see from the unfolding of the Athens events,” states Kahn. “We think that we can
change this sad situation for Beijing and have great success. Take it one step
beyond what the British have done, for example. Now it is time to bring forward a
new generation of sailors.”

“National programs are good, but they are all focused on their local sailors. We are
thinking globally and we are thinking about teams pushing each other all the way
to the Olympics without having to worry about their own trials. Too many young
sailors are focused on the Olympic trials. We're focused on the Olympic Games.”

The sad state of sailing in the US almost requires giving up entirely on those
who currently race and training virgins in the modern sailing style. See this and
see change. While not totally impossible to retrain, it takes time to unlearn just
like it takes time to learn. The US had its worse showing in Olymic Sailing in 60
years this year. A total re-engineering is necessary. That is why even though I
would like to reem David Harding for what he says about the Mac26x in the June
2003 PBO, I give his opinion and PBO respect. Keep an open mind boatless.

How does a regular post photos? I have a few to share.







<hr width=100% size=1>

 

[KevB]

Re: Good stuff, Thirdman.

How do you intend to get into marina's like Port Solent, Hythe, Chichester, island harbour, Southsea,? How well do you think you will be recieved trying to sail into portsmouth/southampton/Chichester on a busy day with a bit of a tide running? I doubt you'll make it to your destination without pi$$ing off most other water users.....

Sailing EVERYWHERE maybe ok for you but it would be like driving round the m25 the wrong way for the rest of us.......

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://static.photobox.co.uk/public/images/45/99/10714599.s.jpg?ch=97&rr=16:00:39>Nirvana</A>