lpdsn
Well-Known Member
In Jersey though isn't the CG part of the port authority, rather than an independent government service like the UK? I understood that was part of the issue with the previous cox'n.
Getting a tow in Guernsey or Jersey
- Thread starter Daydream believer
- Start date
In Jersey though isn't the CG part of the port authority, rather than an independent government service like the UK? I understood that was part of the issue with the previous cox'n.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
We've always had a decent meal at reasonable prices at Le Newhaven, near the marina.
dslittle
Well-Known Member
Hmmm. I can see your point!!!
Bathdave
Well-Known Member
Several themes coming through from posters uninformed responses
So I can't speak for guernsey but if you were to have a problem in Jersey which is non critical, CG would put out a call for anybody in the area to assist.
The local boat owning community is very cooperative and supportive, and when I have heard such a call, there has usually been someone stepping forward.
They are also seem to be very willing to call out the lifeboat, again I have heard that happen, perhaps because the tides and rocks here can turn a non critical incident into a critical one quite quickly
Unlike the French and Americans, the jersey lifeboat can and does tow people in who have broken down
The original poster mentioned the RNLI dispute here, and the alleged incident of using the life boat to tow
Several distinguishing factors here..
The boat involved was a commercial vessel not a private yacht
The escalation of the matter as due to a personal feud between the cox and a senior officer in the Ports Authority
I have seen no evidenc, nor heard any incidents from my boating contacts, that suggest you should be unduly concerned in Jersey waters..indeed I suspect you are more likely to be willingly assist d by the Jersey lifeboat than a UK one
So I can't speak for guernsey but if you were to have a problem in Jersey which is non critical, CG would put out a call for anybody in the area to assist.
The local boat owning community is very cooperative and supportive, and when I have heard such a call, there has usually been someone stepping forward.
They are also seem to be very willing to call out the lifeboat, again I have heard that happen, perhaps because the tides and rocks here can turn a non critical incident into a critical one quite quickly
Unlike the French and Americans, the jersey lifeboat can and does tow people in who have broken down
The original poster mentioned the RNLI dispute here, and the alleged incident of using the life boat to tow
Several distinguishing factors here..
The boat involved was a commercial vessel not a private yacht
The escalation of the matter as due to a personal feud between the cox and a senior officer in the Ports Authority
I have seen no evidenc, nor heard any incidents from my boating contacts, that suggest you should be unduly concerned in Jersey waters..indeed I suspect you are more likely to be willingly assist d by the Jersey lifeboat than a UK one
prv
Well-Known Member
Totally with you on the hassle of inflating and re-stowing dinghies, but all the rest is easily dealt with. If you'll only stop in marinas then you can only go where marinas are, which rules out five sevenths of the Channel Islands and most of the best bits of the West Country. Still, we all sail the way we choose and I'm not trying to suggest you should change.
The more people hop exclusively between marinas, the more space there is in anchorages and on visitors' moorings for the rest of us
Pete
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
last time i picked up a visitors mooring was st evette because i could not get into Audierne plus i wanted to get through the raz du sein the following morning.The more people hop exclusively between marinas, the more space there is in anchorages and on visitors' moorings for the rest of us
Pete
it is supposed to be a recommended anchorage. Hell's bells - i could hardly stand up in the boat it rolled so badly and i was more than glad to get off early the following morning. I think they should have paid me to go on it rather than the other way round. Horrible place to tie up. Never again
Piers
Well-Known Member
When you're home, I'd suggest telephoning the CG and asking them your question. One thing I'm aware of is that certain 'EU fishing vessels' will jump at the chance of offering a tow and charging full salvage. As i said, best to call the Guernsey CG and ask them their advice.
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
But great if you've just done a solo 3½ day Biscay crossing
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
It was the point about the full tow and salvage that concerns me. With the rnli being reduced to recovering wandering tourists off beaches at rising tides as full scale disasters are now( thankfully) much fewer and farther between it seems that the rnli is becoming less relevant in the modern world
i wonder how the little old lady who bequeathes her legacy to the rnli feels to know that the life boat sits in the shed whilst some yachtsman with a problem ( albeit non life threatening one hopes) gets ripped off by some commercial enterprise whilst she donated money possibly to avoid.
mind you i could also understand a lifeboat crew being p..d off at being called out because some twit forgot to fill his tank with fuel. But then one might ask - why did he volunteer?
lpdsn
Well-Known Member
That was very generous of her. You wonder how these little old ladies develop such a dislike of commercial towing operations.
prv
Well-Known Member
Indeed. I suspect she rather thought she was saving poor fishermen and sou-westered merchant sailors from a watery grave, than providing a free breakdown service for inconvenienced yotties.
Pete
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I really wonder if being stuck in some race in wind over tide conditions with a disabled prop and the prospect of hours of sailing to a tired sailor possibly with family can really be described as " inconvenienced"
bearing in mind that these sort of scenarios are quite common one might wonder if the rnli is really rellevant any more if the standard procedure is to call on commercial operators to assist.
i am sitting Boulogne marina and can see a number of couples on boats who cannot be described as "fit" by sny imagination any these couples or groups make up a large part of the sailing community. To them, me included, a disbled engine is a really dangerous situation. I would like to think that when it happens, in uk waters at least, the first responder would be the rnli rather than a commercial operator along with high fees and the usual stress of negotiation etc.
of course the rnli would get a significant donation but that would be my choice
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Bathdave
Well-Known Member
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Think that is universal. It is up to the CG to assess the situation and then take the appropriate action. Pretty sure they are capable of distinguishing between careless people who are not in danger and those that really would benefit from outside assistance.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Even careless people benefit from outside assistance. Are you suggesting that they act like judges and send commercial tows to the "careless" to teach them a lesson.
If so, then someone needs to have a stern word with the cg
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Well how does it work then? Commercial tow and ignore the lifeboat? Is that what is being said?
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Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I am sure that in 99% of cases they are but if they are not being called out where does that leave them?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
You do seem to be imagining problems that simply are not there. You original post was based on a misreading of what happened in Jersey, which was unrelated to your potential situation.
Where is there any suggestion that the CG would send a commercial tow to a yacht seeking assistance? or any evidence that the CG does not deal appropriately with yachts? It may well be the opposite with much anecdotal evidence that they (and the RNLI) tend to over react.
Of course the CG make judgements - that is their job. They are the first point of contact with the caller and they assess the nature of the problem. Suggest you listen in on some of the exchanges to get an idea of how they go about it. Of course they may not get it right every time, but to suggest that they would force a caller to use a commercial tow is wrong.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
The suggestion is in #8 ( which you refer to in post 16) where it suggests a tie between cg and harbour authority
then again in post #17 where it is suggested the cg might say " will you accept a commercial tow"
it would put the casualty in a spot here because if they said no what happens next?
does the cg then say ok we will send rnli or do they say ok just drift away - hardly the latter option one would think.
it was not so much the rnli spat in jersey that i was concerned with but what the policy was in general with cg in the channel islands. I would like to think that it would be to whistle up the rnli , unless a local benefactor were to offer help.
(however, local benefactors may not actually be that experienced so should the cg be happy to pass this on anyway?)
but are they going to call the rnli if they are flogging their own towing services?
if i were to contact the cg and ask the question and got the " we would assess the nature of the request" it would still leave the perameters for assessment open to interpretation and that would not actually help much.
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Tranona
Well-Known Member
This is all supposition on your part. Where is there any evidence that the Jersey coastguard will push you to use their commercial tow just because they are both run by the harbour authority. Bathdave suggests ratherthe opposite. Post 17 refers to the Canadian and US CG procedures which do not seem to be the same as ours - in fact definitely not as their remit is much more restrictive as the Cheeki Rafiki case shows.
So, I really do think you are trying to find a problem that simply does not exist and if you want reassurance suggest you contact the Jersey CG. Of course you could have called the French service and then it would be quite clear - you would likely have been charged if they did not deem you in danger!