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Guest
Guest
I used to be a firm believer in educating people to use and handle their boats correctly but after the most unnerving experience of my 30 years in boating I am now more than ever convinced that the sooner we in Britain insist on proven ability to operate and handle pleasure craft the safer and better our lives will be.
Like Barry Winnett the incident I refer to happened in the lock at Chatham Marina, last weekend. In company with three other boats I was secured in the lock when the horror started. A 42ft high powered cruiser came into the lock and totally lost control. The helmsman just kept grabbing handfulls of throttle, first forward and then reverse this happened three times. As I was moored in front of the maniac I felt sure that a major disaster was inevitable, so for that matter did everyone else including the marina manager who witnessed the whole thing. My wife who has never really been that keen on boating and was severly shocked by the whole affair says that it will be some time before she ventures onto the water again.
Imagine my further amazement when I learnt that the guy at the helm was not even the owner but a friend being 'entertained' for the weekend.
Like Barry I am not going to name and shame but I do feel that Marina operators have a responsibilty to their berth holders to ensure that their clientel are given some level of protection. Perhaps, in future, management should insist that offenders undertake further training before venturing out again.
Like Barry Winnett the incident I refer to happened in the lock at Chatham Marina, last weekend. In company with three other boats I was secured in the lock when the horror started. A 42ft high powered cruiser came into the lock and totally lost control. The helmsman just kept grabbing handfulls of throttle, first forward and then reverse this happened three times. As I was moored in front of the maniac I felt sure that a major disaster was inevitable, so for that matter did everyone else including the marina manager who witnessed the whole thing. My wife who has never really been that keen on boating and was severly shocked by the whole affair says that it will be some time before she ventures onto the water again.
Imagine my further amazement when I learnt that the guy at the helm was not even the owner but a friend being 'entertained' for the weekend.
Like Barry I am not going to name and shame but I do feel that Marina operators have a responsibilty to their berth holders to ensure that their clientel are given some level of protection. Perhaps, in future, management should insist that offenders undertake further training before venturing out again.
