Ignorant yachties

[charles_reed]

The Use of Upside down cones

Sailing vessels motoring is the Colreg which, in my experience is most observed in its breach .

A sailing vessel with no sails up which is moving is obviously under power.

If it has all its sails up where the hell is it supposed to hang the damn thing so it's in view.

Understandably, faced with such a self-defeating rules most have chosen to ignore it.

Certainly in continental european waters I've not seen tham and I suspect most wouldn't know what the hell it means.
I did see one hung up the other day, by an Italian flagged charted yacht at anchor.

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[BoatlessinOslo]

I think this has come up on a number of threads and I believe the consensus opinion was that just because the engine is running does not mean that you are motorsailing in the colregs definition. Sometimes there are good reasons to have the motor running where the engine is not actually "propelling" the boat or ... er, was it the other way round?

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[wooslehunter]

Re: The Use of Upside down cones

There are loads of arguements for and against qualifications and that subject has lots of posts already but here's my penny's worth.

Everyone is supposed to pass a driving test to drive on the road: not everyone does. Lots of those that have a licence break the rules regularly: speeding, mobile phone handsets etc. That happens because there's a pretty good chance of getting away with it.

Collision regs are international law. They are often ignored in the pleasure-boating world because unless there's actually an accident the chances of being caught are low. Qualifications won't change that but may make some people more aware of the rules.

The main point to remember is that once tabloid journalists & polititions get hold of an issue, logic goes out of the window. If there are more and more incidents that hit the press, the boating world will have to regulate itself or be regulated. If that happens then it's bad for everyone.


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[Robin]

Re: The Use of Upside down cones

I saw a yacht once with the clew bit of his roller headsail in black so if he left a bit unrolled it looked like the motoring cone, as long as you viewed it side on.

Or we could leave one up all the time like the fisherfolk do their fishing signs or diving wallahs with their A flags.

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[wooslehunter]

Re: The Use of Upside down cones

Sorry to contradict on the diving wallah reference. An A-flag can save a diver's life and therefore we (there's a givaway) generally only fly them when the divers are in the water.

If anyone out there doesn't know what the A-flag looks like its a blue and white flag with a triangle cut out of the end. You're quite likely to see orange or yellow blob or sausage markers around a dive boat - they're the surface markers for the divers. You'd be amazed how many boats don't keep clear. A yacht is bad enough but a motor vessel is highly dangerous.

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[Robin]

Re: The Use of Upside down cones

I quite agree about diver's safety and the need to keep clear. However there are boats round here that have wooden 'A' flags that appear semi-permanent. Certainly I doubt that they were diving from the one seen travelling rapidly up the middle channel in Poole or from the RIB proudly flying the 'A' whilst sitting on it's trailer.

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[jimi]

Just a DH.. can't see a motoring cone would have made a blind bit of difference in that situation. Must admit I tend to view a motoring cone as an instructor on board sign and if motoring with sails up tend to give people reasonable clearance so there's no issue.

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[peterb]

Re: The Use of Upside down cones

Cones point-down, please. Any child will tell you that if you turn a cone upside-down then the ice cream will fall out.

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[surekandoo]

It's getting to the stage when the only recourse is to have a "rough" looking boat with rust streaks, black scuff marks on hull etc. The other idiots will be bound to keep clear if you look mean and mean it, despite the col regs.

I always remember a friend who had a beat up old land rover in London. He never got "carved up" and was always given a wide berth by all and sundry.

Sad state of affairs isn't it.

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