Expensive mistake

[Seven Spades]

I believe you are so wrong on this point. Most of the professional skippers I have met on small yachts or school boats are paid the sort of money you or I would not get out of bed for. Their wages of often little better than that of a holiday rep. The extrondinay level of fines is out of all proportion to the offence.

I have searched and cannont find an online reference to the motor boat skipper, but if I remember correctly he enter one of the ports on the south coast and used the wrong channel or was on the wrong side of it. In the prosection one of the statements was that they had called him three times and he had not answered or altered course. As far as I know there is no regulation which says that you must have a radio although most do, but a lot who do, do not have them switched on all the time (is that a requirement?).

 

[mel80]

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I believe you are so wrong on this point.

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I may well be. However, magistrates are allowed to set fines and costs based on the ability to pay. Without knowing the circumstances of the defendent in each case, it's impossible to say whether the fines are disproportionate or not.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as I know there is no regulation which says that you must have a radio although most do, but a lot who do, do not have them switched on all the time (is that a requirement?).

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Not for pleasure boats, though I guess one might ask why he didn't have it on if entering a busy harbour. i.e. not an offence in itself, but indicative of the defendents general attitude perhaps?

One thing I would say, after reading through some of the prosecutions, is that fines involving TSSs seem very high compared to other offences. e.g. £15 000 + costs (in one case) for travelling the wrong way up a TSS compared to £500 for falling asleep on watch and running aground! I wonder what the rationale there was.

 

[brianrunyard]

But he wasn't crossing the TSS, he was going the wrong way along it.