Malabar
Well-Known Member
So where do we start with this crew?
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...-releases.htm?id=57A8C08423508F94&m=12&y=2009
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07...-releases.htm?id=57A8C08423508F94&m=12&y=2009
Educate not legislate
- Thread starter Malabar
- Start date
Beadle
Well-Known Member
With education
I suggest that they received a very salutory lesson, and will now either learn how to do it right or sell their boat to someone who will.
I don't see how taking them to court and fining them or locking them up for a few weeks would make things better
I suggest that they received a very salutory lesson, and will now either learn how to do it right or sell their boat to someone who will.
I don't see how taking them to court and fining them or locking them up for a few weeks would make things better
tel1
Well-Known Member
how nuts is that? they could send a letter in to yachting monthly on lessons learned. then the money they receive can go towards a lesson!
Searush
Well-Known Member
They may not have learned any lessons . . . They may just decide they were unlucky with the weather
Marmalade
Well-Known Member
We had a dilemma at our sailing club a while back. A member had sold his boat to a bloke who clearly had no idea and was planning to sail it around the Essex coast using a road atlas. We couldn't work out whether we should refuse to launch the boat on our hoist as he was a danger to himself and others.
Maybe people go out for a calm and uneventful day with friends at the height of summer and conclude that "this is easy" so they buy their own boat...
Maybe people go out for a calm and uneventful day with friends at the height of summer and conclude that "this is easy" so they buy their own boat...
monkfish24
Well-Known Member
I think they certainly got the education they needed, if not, then i'm certain it's a case that Mr Darwin could explain.
V1701
Well-Known Member
Assuming that licensing will come sooner or later, if you're against then keep very quiet about people like this, if you're in favour shout about them from the rooftops...
V1701
Well-Known Member
Did you launch him in the end? It's whether you should protect him from himself, he's not breaking any laws but I think if it were down to me I'd refuse & explain why, it would reflect badly on you if the worst happened...
EdWingfield
Well-Known Member
Maybe inform RNLI and see if they'll do one of their 'Safety Checks' on him. They may persuade him to get some experience in first.
Leighb
Well-Known Member
Some years ago a friend and I were working on our yachts at Woolverstone, and were approached by a couple of lads who had just bought a 20ft ski boat which had been for sale there. They wanted to take it to Burnham and were asking for "directions". As it was on a trailer we assumed they meant by road.
Not so, they intended to launch it and go by sea. "It's just down this river and turn right inn'it?" We asked if they had any idea of the distance, how much fuel they had etc, and as they obviously had no idea whatsoever we were able to persuade them to trail it there!!
If they had not asked someone they might have ended up as a similar statistic, although more likely they would have run out of fuel somewhere up the Stour.
Not so, they intended to launch it and go by sea. "It's just down this river and turn right inn'it?" We asked if they had any idea of the distance, how much fuel they had etc, and as they obviously had no idea whatsoever we were able to persuade them to trail it there!!
If they had not asked someone they might have ended up as a similar statistic, although more likely they would have run out of fuel somewhere up the Stour.
LONG_KEELER
Well-Known Member
The experience gained was a lot cheaper than an RYA course and probably much more enlightening.
'Men are led by toys '
V1701
Well-Known Member
Cheap to that crew but what cost for the whole rescue effort? Having said that would imagine thoughts of lifeboats & coastguards etc. never even entered their heads as they set off on their merry way...
LONG_KEELER
Well-Known Member
I know what you mean !
I used to work with someone on the local lifeboat.
To a man they loved a shout - well a good one anyway.
Not nice with loss of life though.
V1701
Well-Known Member
... and financial cost as well...
David_Jersey
Well-Known Member
Given that the MCGA have the time, money and personnel to issue a press release a matter of hours after the event I doubt that their activities are constrained by anything as gauche as money.
Of course it is important that knowledge be shared, but I would argue this should be with the aim of others learning from an event.......and I don't see how writing a mocking one sided account in the style of the Daily Muppet does that, more a case of using the opportunity to say: "aren't we such a wonderful and knowledgable organisation (so no budget cuts please), look at these muppets. ha ha ha".
But I appreciate that I am often out of step with the modern "please spoon feed me a story" world on stuff like this
Rosey
Member
Speechless
Really I am specchless, are these people for real, I would have thought getting to their 60's they would have picked up some common sense along the way.
Well done Coastguard for finding them but it would be justice if they could be charged for the service, maybe hurting their pockets may help their brains engage!
Really I am specchless, are these people for real, I would have thought getting to their 60's they would have picked up some common sense along the way.
Well done Coastguard for finding them but it would be justice if they could be charged for the service, maybe hurting their pockets may help their brains engage!
Beadle
Well-Known Member
Interesting thought.
I would guess the major cost was Humber Lifeboat finding them and towing them into Grimsby.
But they are financed by people's contributions. I strongly suggest that if they charged for rescues the contributions would rapidly diminish.
Also the crews of lifeboats are unpaid volunteers - oddly enough Humber is an exception to this) - so would all crews then become full time employees?
Perhaps then there could be a competitive rescue organisation who would do rescues cheaper.
Then of course the HSE & MCA inspectors would get on the act and stop the boats being launched if it was a bit rough
And so on and so forth - regulation and burocracy
Within the limits of what they had on board this couple did the best they could. They lacked experience and gained it the hard way - something we all do in some way shape or form.
Thinking about it they had main VHF + hand held. They had a compass (faulty perhaps) most of all they had an anchor and life jackets. I wonder how many of us learned to sail with that sort of equipment level - me for one.
Its not that many years ago this would have been adaquate equipment. Seems to me unless you have a few grands worth of electronics and other toys you shouldn't go to sea any more.
I would guess the major cost was Humber Lifeboat finding them and towing them into Grimsby.
But they are financed by people's contributions. I strongly suggest that if they charged for rescues the contributions would rapidly diminish.
Also the crews of lifeboats are unpaid volunteers - oddly enough Humber is an exception to this) - so would all crews then become full time employees?
Perhaps then there could be a competitive rescue organisation who would do rescues cheaper.
Then of course the HSE & MCA inspectors would get on the act and stop the boats being launched if it was a bit rough
And so on and so forth - regulation and burocracy
Within the limits of what they had on board this couple did the best they could. They lacked experience and gained it the hard way - something we all do in some way shape or form.
Thinking about it they had main VHF + hand held. They had a compass (faulty perhaps) most of all they had an anchor and life jackets. I wonder how many of us learned to sail with that sort of equipment level - me for one.
Its not that many years ago this would have been adaquate equipment. Seems to me unless you have a few grands worth of electronics and other toys you shouldn't go to sea any more.
Marmalade
Well-Known Member
No we didn't launch him - as you suggest, we were worried about how we'd justify doing so if he came to grief - told him to come around by road with a truck and remove it...
Bobobolinsky
Well-Known Member
Club together and get em a Nicholson's, so they wouldn't have needed to go to sea. Heard they had bought it on ebay a few days earlier. Surprised they got that far. 20/20 hindsight, but had they gone up the Trent, they would have been less likely to cause such fuss and would have found the water in their diesel somewhere on Trent Falls. Odly enough they were not descibed as being inexperienced.