I did not save a life the other day

[Norman_E]

Not even a dog's life, though I would have tried to save a dog.

I was in a bay where you can moor bows to, against a little pontoon with lazy lines attached to the stern. In came a chartered Beneteau Sense 50 footer with five German crew. At dinner all five became pretty drunk. This being part of the German tradition of leaving wives behind and going on an all male drinking holiday. The wind was getting up and before going to bed I had twice asked them to secure their banging halyard. The third time I asked them I had my boat knife in my hand ready to deal with it myself, and they took the hint. It took them about 15 minutes of trial and error to find out how to do it.

I checked that my lines were secure and went to bed. Shortly afterwards there was a bang and a bump and I got up to find out that the fools had put their stern lines onto winches and pulled them so hard that they had moved the mooring block and chain, causing my lines to go slack and the bows to hit the pontoon. Whilst I was telling the fools not to winch their lines any more, having pulled up almost two yards of slack on mine, one of them looked over the stern at the lines and fell in. I let his mates pull him out.

 

[dom]

Gosh, frapping halyards are irritating, but I'd never considered launching a full Rambo style assault against the offending vessel

 

[causeway]

I usually sneak aboard and stick them to the standing rigging with bungee cords...

 

[Norman_E]

Gosh, frapping halyards are irritating, but I'd never considered launching a full Rambo style assault against the offending vessel

I was never going to cut the halyard, but the idea of it persuaded them that doing something was a good idea. I like an Australian friend who says that in his yacht club they warn offenders once, then release the halyard and pull it to the top of the mast. I would have just pulled a loop down with a boathook and tied it somewhere. The halyard is too high to reach from the deck on that boat, so instead of thinking and using a boat hook, they fiddled about for ages trying to jump up to it before eventually discovering that there were two mast steps for the purpose, but a boat hook would still have been much easier.

The charter crew were total incompetents even sober, as I had to stop them trying to come in stern first when they arrived, or they would have smashed their rudder. Pulling the mooring block and chain out of position was the last straw. If the drunk who fell in was not pulled out by his mates I would have left him there, as he weighed twice as much as me, and drunk he could easily have drowned me if I had gone in to rescue him.

That crew were a very good example of why charter companies should not be allowed to rent boats to unqualified people, or drinking parties.

 

[dom]

I was never going to cut the halyard,

Fully agree with your sentiments and decent of you to save their rudder. It's just that when I got to the knife bit I was half expecting you to board their vessel and give them something like the John Rambo line:

"Don't Push it. Don't push it, or I'll give you war you won't believe. Let it go (menacingly); Let it go!"

Then they'd have all jumped into the water!

 

[Twister_Ken]

I gave into temptation once against an empty boat with a rattling halyard, and tied it off to the guard rail with the messiest, tightest, biggest knot I could manage.

Still a bit ashamed of myself.

 

[johnalison]

I gave into temptation once against an empty boat with a rattling halyard, and tied it off to the guard rail with the messiest, tightest, biggest knot I could manage.

Still a bit ashamed of myself.

No need to feel ashamed; I do it all the time. I politely asked the crew of a boat in our marina to quieten their halyards after some hours, and ended up at the receiving end of a long harangue about how marinas are noisy places and I must be a nutter to even consider thinking otherwise.

 

[affinite]

I gave into temptation once against an empty boat with a rattling halyard, and tied it off to the guard rail with the messiest, tightest, biggest knot I could manage.

Still a bit ashamed of myself.

Took me blo**y ages to ge it undone!

 

[onesea]

I usually sneak aboard and stick them to the standing rigging with bungee cords...

When helping some one load there boat I met a charter party with a bag full of tights stockings underwear. It raised an eye brow they explained it was for frapping halyards. There was one boat that could be seen with offending tights in the rigging for some time

Apparently you use a couple of bras on a boat they tend not to do it again

I mentioned this to a friend I was sailing with she was pondering trying it on a wind generator :nonchalance:, sadly she was not prepared to donate her present set

 

[Zen Zero]

I usually sneak aboard and stick them to the standing rigging with bungee cords...

+1 or the floppy end of some other bit of string that's to hand