idiots and speed limits

[Elessar]

nice day at east head on Friday last week. Mrs E awoke to the sound of the windlass having stayed fast asleep as we came over from bembridge.

Anchorage busy but not packed. Couple of raggies behind me had kids, one very small girl sailing a walker bay closely followed by mum in the outboard powered dinghy, another learning to winsurf on an inflatable board. All nice stuff.

A bloke in a small cruiser came towards the anchorage kicking up a huge wash. Oblivious to the kids he came didn't slow a bit. I yelled to slow and that there were kids around and he replied - "I did 8 knots all the way."
Pillock.
"It's about the speed limit and common sense, and you have no common sense" I managed to yell before he disappeared.

I think I was heard all over the anchorage because I got the thumbs up form a few other boats.

Didn't get the boat name unfortunatley, but if you're reading this, learn from it that your behaviour was unacceptable.

And it points out the fact that a speed limit is often not a very effective tool, and in this case actually may have made matters worse.

 

[tinkicker0]

8 knots is a ridiculous speed for a planing hull. Far less wash at 30 knots than at 8 (on my boat anyway).

Perhaps the US way of "no wake zone" would be better, where you cannot produce a rolling wake.

 

[PaulGooch]

8 knots is a ridiculous speed for a planing hull. Far less wash at 30 knots than at 8 (on my boat anyway).

Perhaps the US way of "no wake zone" would be better, where you cannot produce a rolling wake.

Agreed, on both points.

When i was based on the River Nene, the limits there were "7 knots" AND "NO Wash"

 

[Questor]

Wasn't a late 80's / early 90's Sunseeker, by chance - 27' ish?

 

[nedmin]

Doing about 5 to 6 knots on the Yorkshire Ouse above Selby lasy week, when I was passed at about 12 knots by 2 speed merchants with no consideration for anyone else.The river is quite narrow( and full of debris ) the wash was horrendous.My boat weighs 13tons but it certainly made it roll.fortunately SWMBO was sat alongside not making a hot drink.Still met them at Naburn lock as they waited for the lock.Is selfish the right word?

 

[tinkicker0]

Doing about 5 to 6 knots on the Yorkshire Ouse above Selby lasy week, when I was passed at about 12 knots by 2 speed merchants with no consideration for anyone else.The river is quite narrow( and full of debris ) the wash was horrendous.My boat weighs 13tons but it certainly made it roll.fortunately SWMBO was sat alongside not making a hot drink.Still met them at Naburn lock as they waited for the lock.Is selfish the right word?

Not guilty. I never go tidal, don't fancy running me boat in the mud that passes as water on the tidal stretches.
I like to look down over the stern and see me outdrive right past the rams, not scraping slurryoff the transom. Urgh!

12 knots is the speed limit for that stretch though, I believe.
Still, in the interests of courtesy, they could have slowed their overtake speed to six knots or so and allow you to chop your throttles a bit to facilitate the passing manouvre without resorting to you getting thrown around.

I once got caught out passing a chap towing a pontoon at about 4 knots upstream, startedd to overtake, got caught in a bad situation, with his load swinging to port, with a left hand bend coming up and rapidly shelving depth on the inside of the channel. Depthfinder alarm beeping, had to open me throttle a lot to extricate myself smartish and got rightly got shouted at for being an a$$hole.

However, he knew I was coming, knew his load was swinging all over the place, pushing me into the inside bank and shallow water, knew if I hit reverse the prop walk could have sent me anywhere, yet when the load swung my way, he kept his throttles exactly where they are, sticking with colregs to the end.

Good seamanship and courtesy, knowing someone had made a bollox of it, should require him him to slow alittle to faciitate the passing and give a greater safety margin.

Sometimes cooperation over regulation is the correct course of action.

 

[Ripster]

Just moved into Northney and was coming into the Marina in the narrow channel about 3-4K (only the second time I have been down it so I was a bit cautious probably) when from the other direction upstream an obviously very powerful speed boat came up but was just in behind us. He could not wait and decided to try a cut a corner and speed past to get in front. He promptly ran out of water and came to a halt about 5m to our Std side at helm level. I waived at him in a fiendly way as he had to go astern to get unstuck. He then followed us in at 3-4k!! Thing is there are clear channel markers which he ignored I assume and he would have gained about 1 minute in time if he had got past! Why?...lol

 

[AndieMac]

Good seamanship and courtesy, knowing someone had made a bollox of it, should require him him to slow alittle to faciitate the passing and give a greater safety margin.

Sometimes cooperation over regulation is the correct course of action.

I agree with what you are saying TK, particuarly in your last sentence.

Of course not seeing the towing arrangement, weight of the tow or the distances you are talking of, can I just add once the pressure is off the tow line, when you begin to slow, the pontoon will have a mind of its own.
Its sounds as though he should have trailed warps and tyres to stabilise the slewing.

 

[Elessar]

Wasn't a late 80's / early 90's Sunseeker, by chance - 27' ish?

no, not sure what it was. Boxy and upright, not a boat I recognised.

 

[CX54WEK]

Doing about 5 to 6 knots on the Yorkshire Ouse above Selby lasy week, when I was passed at about 12 knots by 2 speed merchants with no consideration for anyone else.The river is quite narrow( and full of debris ) the wash was horrendous.My boat weighs 13tons but it certainly made it roll.fortunately SWMBO was sat alongside not making a hot drink.Still met them at Naburn lock as they waited for the lock.Is selfish the right word?

I hate that stretch of river but 12 knots is the speed limit. Selfish or not, they didnt break any rules or regulations.

Last time we ventured that way we picked up a tree between the duo props, after extracting it we had lost 3 of the 7 blades from the props, the delay meant we where late getting to the bridges which we should have easily cleared without them needing to swing. OH thought we could still get under, needless to say we couldnt, so we said goodbye to a VHF aerial, TV aerial, anchor light and where very lucky to have not damaged the radar arch!!!!!

 

[Elessar]

I hate that stretch of river but 12 knots is the speed limit. Selfish or not, they didnt break any rules or regulations.

I think this is what I'm trying to say, without a limit people might use they brain rather than saying it's ok it's within the limit.

In the no wake zones in the states they pull you up and ask you to cut your throttles, and if the bow dips you're nicked.

This means a 40footer can go faster than an 18ft speedboat - which is how it should be! Or maybe the limit should be length divided by 5 or 6 which would be about right.

 

[AdeOlly]

Just moved into Northney and was coming into the Marina in the narrow channel about 3-4K (only the second time I have been down it so I was a bit cautious probably) when from the other direction upstream an obviously very powerful speed boat came up but was just in behind us. He could not wait and decided to try a cut a corner and speed past to get in front. He promptly ran out of water and came to a halt about 5m to our Std side at helm level. I waived at him in a fiendly way as he had to go astern to get unstuck. He then followed us in at 3-4k!! Thing is there are clear channel markers which he ignored I assume and he would have gained about 1 minute in time if he had got past! Why?...lol

Tee Hee. There are in my experience two main types that speed down from Northney/Sweare Deep. 1) RIBS that launch from the slipway, often with several kids on board and zero lifejackets to be seen 2) Small fishing type boats, often having come under Langstone Bridge, or heading back that way. I sometimes call up the HM if they're heading south in case they're out and about.

Then there are those as Elessar mentions that go at 8 knots through the water but leave a collosal wake; there are some fishing charter boats that do this day in day out.

Going outside the channel markers at LW is not a good idea, and indeed some markers are left high and dry at MLWS We've only clipped the bottom once in Chi giving a boat coming the other way a bit too much space, but it's not unusual to see yachts at odd angles.....