Harbour Speed limits in the solent

[ricky_s]

It should just be no wash and forget the speed limit, works for those little sailboat things on stilts. We were recently in a bit of a hurry to get out of Portsmouth from Ports Solent so went at 10 knots, now that speed in my boat means lots of wash, drops away again a few knots higher.

 

[IDAMAY]

This may be a silly question and please feel free to flame me if it is but how could STW be policed? Surely the only thing a radar gun will measure is SOG? I somehow don't think following a vessel and claiming to measure its STW with a harbour vessel Log would stand up in a court. A wash limit is also very subjective but I do agree that creating as little as is consistent with safe passage should be the aim.

We have been in Dutch inland waters for the last month and found the speed limits (in kilometres per hour) were very well observed yet apparently very little policed.

Richard.

 

[prv]

It should just be no wash and forget the speed limit

Definitely some places where that would make sense. It's daft forcing a planing boat to travel at its most wash-making speed. But where there's a winding channel and a lot of traffic, it's more about avoiding collisions than wash, so it's the speed that matters.

Pete

 

[Mariner69]

This may be a silly question and please feel free to flame me if it is but how could STW be policed? Surely the only thing a radar gun will measure is SOG? I somehow don't think following a vessel and claiming to measure its STW with a harbour vessel Log would stand up in a court. .

Both boats, enforcing vessel and the accused, are floating in the same water mass which is moving as a whole over the ground. One moves off the other uses Doppler radar and the speed obtained is the speed through the water.

Connect basic radar up to GPS to input position, small bit of processing and positional change over time could be derived hence speed over the ground.

Essex police say they prefer to prosecute the clearly speeding ones; since there is no doubt or room for argument and the Magistrates throw the book. The fine is not too high, but the costs are swingeing; the defendants are mainly jet ski drivers.