Get out of my way! I'm racing!

[Greenheart]

Most interesting.

Perhaps cruisers who don't intend to give way to obnoxious racers, ought to fly a black flag too? With a wheel & crossed spinnaker poles etched piratically in white.

Or maybe a burgee with a lobsterpot on it? And the phrase, "Come near and I'll snag thee".

 

[Seajet]

I'm aware of that, but as a light is unlikely to happen some reflective tape doesn't seem too much to ask; still they make an effort unlike their British counterparts.

 

[flaming]

Most interesting.

Perhaps cruisers who don't intend to give way to obnoxious racers, ought to fly a black flag too? With a wheel & crossed spinnaker poles etched piratically in white.

Or maybe a burgee with a lobsterpot on it? And the phrase, "Come near and I'll snag thee".

So what flag should I fly to indicate that I'm not an obnoxious racer, so you should give way to me as per COLREGS? Or is it the other way round, and obnoxious racers should fly a special flag?

 

[Seajet]

Flaming,

that particular bit of the colregs only applies when the cruiser is not restricted by draught, in a narrow channel etc, and goes straight out of the window as soon as any shouting or bullying happens...

I suppose a forum burgee on both boats would be a good start !

 

[prv]

that particular bit of the colregs [...] goes straight out of the window as soon as any shouting or bullying happens...

Not on this cruiser it doesn't. But a racer in a stand-on position would have to be exceptionally obnoxious to start shouting at me, because I would have already given way as required. Unless, exceptionally, I was keeping a very poor lookout, in which case I probably deserved to be shouted at!

Pete

 

[laika]

They are aware of all this and just don't care, the only well marked pots I have ever seen have been off Brittany, with a black flag on a danbuoy, still a great deal of scope for improvement.

Anarchist potters. Able to co-exist peacefully and responsibly in the absence of regulations forcing them to do so. Knowing those Bretons though I would have thought the black and red of the anarcho-syndicalist potters would have been more prevalent.

 

[Greenheart]

So what flag should I fly to indicate that I'm not an obnoxious racer, so you should give way to me as per COLREGS? Or is it the other way round, and obnoxious racers should fly a special flag?

Umm...I...I'm lost. I was thinking (only humorously) that it'd be mildly amusing if a certain dark flag, flown in cruisers' rigging, was instantly recognised by all racers as denoting someone who can never, ever be appealed to by any kind of fury or whining, to overlook his stand-on position for the sake of racing.

I hope I'd never need reminding that I should obey COLREGS. Isn't the issue here, the inclination of certain racers not to do so?

Interesting idea though - choleric racers could fly a flag - a bilious green perhaps - to warn all in their path to expect bad manners and an undeserved air of importance.

 

[Neil_Y]

I just want to thank the boats that got out of our way last night in Plymouth Sound, we were at the back but we were trying to get closer to the front. It was a great evening for racing. All the collision avoidance happened well before shouting range. On one lap I did sacrifice some time to drop the kite before we got to a yacht we were over taking as they clearly had no idea we were approaching at speed from behind them, just one of the obstacles of a busy harbour and part of the challenge.

 

[Babylon]

I just want to thank the boats that got out of our way last night in Plymouth Sound, we were at the back but we were trying to get closer to the front. It was a great evening for racing. All the collision avoidance happened well before shouting range. On one lap I did sacrifice some time to drop the kite before we got to a yacht we were over taking as they clearly had no idea we were approaching at speed from behind them, just one of the obstacles of a busy harbour and part of the challenge.

An extremely sensible post.

 

[lustyd]

the only well marked pots I have ever seen have been off Brittany, with a black flag on a danbuoy, still a great deal of scope for improvement.

You want to get yourself to Padstow. New proper buoys with dayglow flags and retro-reflective tape on every single one. Just a shame Padstow isn't more of a sailing destination to make use of them!

 

[prv]

You want to get yourself to Padstow. New proper buoys with dayglow flags and retro-reflective tape on every single one. Just a shame Padstow isn't more of a sailing destination to make use of them!

Have to say, the ones on the south coast of Cornwall are not bad either. Perhaps not dayglo and reflective, but when we were last there they mostly had some kind of flag.

The invisible pot seems to be a Hampshire and Dorset speciality.

Pete

 

[lustyd]

Have to say, the ones on the south coast of Cornwall are not bad either. Perhaps not dayglo and reflective, but when we were last there they mostly had some kind of flag.

The invisible pot seems to be a Hampshire and Dorset speciality.

Pete

Yes we Cornish are a very considerate bunch

 

[PhillM]

The invisible pot seems to be a Hampshire and Dorset speciality.

Pete

Perhaps we should petition Europe for a standardised pot buoy marker?

 

[Neil_Y]

Yes we Cornish are a very considerate bunch

I know of at least one fisherman from Padstow who has had more than one bad experience with pot ropes and his props so possibly it's for their own safety. In many ways the commercial fishing boats suffer more if they snag one as they have a high reduction gearbox with loads of torque. This means the engine hardly notices and the result is the gearbox gets pulled off the engine. How did this thread get from racing to pot markers?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Have to say, the ones on the south coast of Cornwall are not bad either. Perhaps not dayglo and reflective, but when we were last there they mostly had some kind of flag.

The invisible pot seems to be a Hampshire and Dorset speciality.

Pete

They're OK in the Clyde too - mainly simple orange spheres, but they show up well, and I've never had any problem avoiding them. My wife tends to point them out long before we get anywhere near them anyway!

That should guarantee me getting one in the prop next time I'm out!

 

[Leighb]

Late reply to this thread, but the best response to the "I'm Racing" hail from another yacht came from from a friend of mine. He found himself so hailed and accurately replied "So am I, and what's more I started 10 minutes after you."

He said the look on the face of the other helmsman made his day.

 

[akyaka]

Always try and avoid pot markers particularly when they are racing

 

[langstonelayabout]

Attitude at cowes is pretty bad, only worse place I have come across is Hayling Island Sailing Club who seem to limit their membership to complete c***s

Good to hear someone else's experience and opinion of HISC matches mine...