Fed up with jetskis and speedboats!!

[longjohnsilver]

Supposed to be out diving today but due to strong easterlies stayed on my mooring in the Exe. I knew it was going to be busy with everyone and his dog ignoring the 10kt speed limit, but it was pure bedlam. For anyone who doesn't know the Exe there is a beautiful beach about 400 meters from the main slipway and the marina and I just happen to be moored about 50 yards off this beach which is called Dawlish Warren and is effectively only accessible by sea.

From early morning until when I left at about 9pm there were jetskis slaloming amongst the moorings, speed boats at max speed going in all directions, watreskiers, donuts etc etc.

The wash all day was horrendous amd how no-one collided I'll never know. It is a fatal accident waiting to happen. Everyone totally ignores the 10kt speed limit and even worse show no consideration for other water users be they like me aboard moored boats or others in small dinghies and sailing craft. If I had my way I would give them a warning and then ban the lot of them! They all have a designated area for jetskis and another for waterskiing, but these are away from the beaches so no-one can see them performing, sad idiots, so they just go where ever they like. We must be one of the few rivers with no harbourmaster so mayhem reigns.

Maybe some form of licensing is not a bad idea after all.

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[rich]

Re: Fed up with jetskis and speedboats!!nm

.

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[Robin]

Graduates From Poole Traing School For Prats? NM

NM

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[Robin]

Probably Graduates From Poole\'s Training School For Prats? NM

NM

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[Renegade_Master]

Hi John. I know Dawlish Warren, is that the little drying beach I used to see as I crossed the bridge in Dawlish, destine for the hotel? You may know the hotel its called Langstone Cliff Hotel. Used to go there regularly.
If thats the area your talking about I'm not suprised your angry with them.

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[Robin]

Just heard on our local TV a speedboat killed a swimmer IN the swimming area off Bournemouth Pier yesterday

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[Solitaire]

From Meridian TV web site:
Teenager dies in Dorset speedboat accident
By Ian Axton
Jul 14, 2003, 06:45 PST




A teenager whose body was found floating in the sea near Bournemouth Pier is thought to have been killed by a speedboat.

He'd been swimming in an area where motorboats are banned when the accident happened. A post mortem examination is being carried out at Poole Hospital today.

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[ari]

Here comes compulsory licencing

And to be honest, opposed to it as I am, when you read stuff like that it makes you think...

Ari.

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[longjohnsilver]

This could so easily have happened over the weekend in the Exe. There really are so many irresponsible boat users who seem to have no idea or regard for the carnage they could and do cause. The only surprise is that it doesn't happen more frequently.

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[Robin]

Re: Here comes compulsory licencing

It doesn't stop nutters on the roads, it won't on water either, trouble is incidents like this will bring it in.

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[Fire99]

I agree in many respects.
I was on the River Blackwater in Essex over the weekend and the very wide river was a mass of all sorts of boats /PWC's.
I thinks all craft have a place. I think Speedboats and Jetski's etc. are great fun but at the end of the day if the Authorities put an 8 knot or 10 knot limit, its there for a purpose..
Fair enough if someone is doing 12 in the 10 or similar im not going to panic but some of these people are doing 20,30 or 40 knots in these areas..
Its not just a speed thing either... They are buzzing around these places going left to right, all over the place. They can turn very quickly.. The slower vessels cannot and dont have the speed to get out of the way.

I'm surprised im saying this but i think a coastguard or River Police boat should make the odd appearance on these particularly busy days.
Fortunately its not the same as the road as there still is nothing like the volume of traffic (even on the south coast) and people arent just out there to get from a to b.

I'm sure if the River Police stopped a handful of people on a river over 2 weekends, things would change a bit.
At the moment so many people are hooning around in dangerous areas for the simple reason, they can. All they get is the occasional boat owner shaking their fist and shouting at them a bit.

I'm not for big brother tactics at all but this i think is just common sense..

regards,

Nick

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[Chris_Robb]

Other countries have a law which says there must be a driver and a lookout when waterskiing - no one seems to bother here. It such a dangerous practice - I really can't understand why the insurance companies don't take a lead and insist on certain standards for cover.

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[Alistairr]

Insurance do insist. You must have at all times a forward facing skipper and a rear faceing lookout, to comply with the insurance requirements.

I am a powerboat owner and i aggree with what is being said, i try and abbide by the rules all the time, i am prepareed to learn, i am doing a powerboat rya training course next month. I personally feel that you should be required to pass a test to sail a boat.
I sail in Loch Lomond where there is a speedlimit of 55mph on the whole Loch, and 11kph a 150m from any shore mainland or island. The have patrol boat out enforcing it every day, they do not eforce th e speed limit as they don't carry speed guns, but the do enforce the shore rule.
I think it works like this - 1st offence noted verbal warning
2nd offence written warning to your home address
3rd offence and you are up in Dumbarton Sherriff Court.

They are usually very busy stopping people..

Cheers..

Alistair..



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[Chris_Robb]

To date I don't think I have ever seen a lookout in a skiboat in the UK - so there must be an awful lot of people ignoring or ingnorant of the insurance contracts.

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[Alistairr]

I think you are quite right, most people choose to ignore, It clearly states it on the policy certficate. They just hope that nothing happens, cause if it does they are in big trouble. I can't ski but want to learn, last year we went skiing several times, but there was allways plenty wanting to ski, so normally we had 3 or 4 people on the boat and 1 in the water at all times.
How many people flant the rules on the road..



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[duncan]

They certainly did have a method of measuring speed and do enforce the limits - I had a very nice chat with a couple of extremely polite and efficent gentlemen in a Botnia Targa a few years back. They also had all my details to hand from the registration number on the boat.
Very impressed - and all of this at 0100h !

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[Alistairr]

What, speed checked on Loch Lomond?

I got stopped by them on the loch last year when i was trying (dare i say it ) a mates jet ski, I went zooming past them on full power when they waved me down, They asked me if i knew there was a speed limit on the loch which i said yes, they replied we don't enforce it we just ask people to use comon sence, the reason for pulling me in was to ask me if the ski was registered, i said no it belongs a friend who uses it as a tender to there boat and it is registered, They sent my mate a registration form for the ski the next week.
Only in the restricted areas, i have heard of people getting done.




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[duncan]

there was some question of whether I was in a restricted or not area (in mind alone I have to admit), and also being pitch black, until they switched on their searchlight!, they were somewhat concerned that I might not realise that many small craft on the Loch at night don't show lights............I didn't I said, thank you for pointing it out.

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[chas]

I know exactly what you mean - it was the same on Saturday. One mental dwarf in a speedboat came v close as I was working alongside scubbing my rudder from my tender. He must have seen the situation. I think he might be moored upstream. If he does it again, I shall go up and put potatoes up his exhausts.

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[qsiv]

Re: Fed up with jetskis and speedboats!!nm

Sounds just like Beuport on a sunny Sunday ...

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