had my first close collision encounter today
- Thread starter oGaryo
- Start date
l'escargot
Well-Known Member
But you did specifically say the "entrance" and that is the only place I have seen people drift fishing.Take your point, it's a shared responsibility not to collide
Most of the main channel in chichester hbr is not defined to be "narrow", though.
I would say that if you switch off your engine to drift you still have an obligation to control your boat and where you drift - it doesn't remove any obligations on your part or give you any special rights. Drifting through choice into someone's path and causing a collision is no different from causing the same situation by placing yourself there under power.
epervier
Well-Known Member
shall I bite? nah
Well it's your choice, as it's your can of worms that you opened
or was it just bait?
Scubadoo
Well-Known Member
and what if it was an engine failure and you couldn't get out of the way!
Searush
Well-Known Member
Lots of drift fishermen in dinghies & shetlands etc in this narrow & fast flowing channel - one of only 2 entrances to the busy Menai Straits. we all just go round them. What's the issue, we need to loo where we are going & what our wash is doing a 1/4 mile behind us.
l'escargot
Well-Known Member
But it wasn't. That would be a totally different situation to the one the OP described. You then get into the realm of possibly pan-pans, flares or at least anchoring and seeking assistance, none of which were appropriate when he had chosen to drift fish with a fully functioning engine
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The entrance to the harbour is not defined to be a "narrow channel" according to the harbour master.
Kawasaki
Well-Known Member
Yes you were
You may not have been 'making way' but you were 'underway'
Summat you can check in COL Regs
Anyway
You did the correct thing
Even if you had an anchor ball up as you say the plonkers who should have been 'on watch' were not
Keeping a good look out is one of the most basic bits of seamanship
Lots don't be they raggie or mobo
I float about in the same bit as Searush
There are some fairly large commercial vessels that ply the place but not many
They generally keep a good look out and behave
There some 'trip round the bay and back in time for tea' types who operate at one end of the Strait
One recently rammed a pier and a passenger or two were injured!
Tother end a regular trip type boat operates
Now that vessel behaves impeccably (keeps a good watch) and has done for ages and ages with no near misses or incidents asfaik
The place can be crowded sometimes with sailing clubs, jet skis, small fishing boats, mobo pleasure boats, sailing pleasure boats, cruising mobos and sailing cruisers using the Straits on a passage etc etc etc
Tiss narrow in places and the water can boil through at 8 kts regularly
Oh yeh and there are some bods who dash about in RIBS doing training and rides an stuff
I must say 90% of the time all is well
The 'Col Regs' get blown out the weeds (and kelp!) from time to time though.
I reckon 50% of them floating don't have a clue
5 blasts would probably be received as a 'hearty welcome' with a da da du da da, -- da da, as a reply!
In narrow channels etc , I have learn't over the years to treat other boaters as I did when I was riding motorbikes on the road all day long
To survive I treated them as 'blind'.
In my quick small mobo, I give way to everything
oGaryo
Whatever you had done (cept shifting) flares, bells whistles, anchor balls, balls of fire, pan pans, peter pans, rattlin pans, rule books, fishin hooks, dirty looks-- the Plonker would still have mowed yer down-- ******
Then during the 'Enquiry' --- 'I was the Stand on Vessel' de blah de blah!
Anyway
Well done it was yer first near miss as yer said
You coped well
Just keep keeping a good watch
Could be me chargin down on yer at 60 kts in me rib next
oGaryo
Well-Known Member
thanks mate.. point taken on underway. sometimes I think Colregs cause incidents when common sense should prevail espcially in an area of wet stuff where I bet a fair percentage haven't opened the Colreg's booklet
Assassin
Well-Known Member
People can argue the toss about regulations, their interpretations, and their applications all day long. If people applied simple common sense we would not need most of the regulations in all forms of society.
Searush
Well-Known Member
Add honesty, consideration for others & reliability to that & you could eliminate the Police Force, all Lawyers, MP's & courts. And probably 80% of our taxe bill.
It mostly works like that in small communities where everyone knows everyone else, but our predeliction for huge cities & urban sprawl means that people will always expect to get away with any indiscretions.