Jekyll and Hyde

[Magic_Sailor]

I've come to the conclusion that Motor Cruiser owners are in fact descended from Dr Jekyll.

If you meet them in the Marina; they're friendly, they chat, they sometimes offer you a drink, they can be great company - more so than a lot of yachties.

Get 'em on the water and this strange change seems to come over a large number of them.

Sailed down to Portsmouth on Saturday. As usual, the small boat channel was busy and choppy (and why does it always blow harder there?). Whilst we were making our way in there were perhaps 15(ish) motor cruisers also going in. Of that number only two showed any consideration. Indeed two of them (Mr Hyde types) approached the "queue" and on spotting a gap (at No 2 buoy I think - the one by the war mem) seriously accelerated and raced each other in through all the boats. Both vessels were about 30' long. It was downright dangerous!

Other Hydes whooshed past totally regardless of anyone else's comfort or safety.

When we had negotiated the small boat channel, what should we see puttering out of the Haslar Marina area but the small Harbourmasters patrol boat - waving gaily at us all. I couldn't help but think that their time would be better spent elsewhere.

Is it really any wonder that people'd eyes roll up into their head when motor cruiser owners are mentioned? As is mentioned elswhere on this forum at the moment - this is a good advert for compulsory testing.

This seems to be a day for getting of your chest.

Magic

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[jimi]

erm .. I also entered Portsmouth on Sat and it was busy ... but was'nt really bothered by Mobos. Felt sorry for the Harbour patrol cos they looked so bored.

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[Oldhand]

Harbour patrol was straddling an empty outside exit of the small boat channel when we left Sunday AM and we had to doge round them.... but then that's another motor boat, yes?

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[KevB]

Seems that "some" saily types are nothing but moany old codgers with nothing better to do than finger point. Where as on the other hand us motor boaters just accept the limitations of saily type boats and the way "some" of the owners behave.

Just look at the amount of posts on Scuttlebutt complaining about other water users compared to that on the mobo chat.
And believe me, if we were so inclined to tell tails of bad yacht skippering we could fill the forum............ but we choose not to and just accept./forums/images/icons/wink.gif




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[Colin24]

Well said KevB. What on earth do people expect? The wash created by other vessels is no more or less normal than any of the other factors that make boats bob around. Tides, wind, waves, wakes. These should all be expected, other boat uses can’t go tip-toeing around in case, god forbid, they make someone else’s boat rock. I’m a confirmed raggie (mobo’s just don’t appeal to me) and love sailing about in small yachts (the ones that pitch and roll at the slightest provocation). When hanging on in the wake of another vessel, it’s not my favourite bit but I do expect and accept it as a normal part of a sailing trip. I haven’t really given it much thought until reading all the complaints in this forum. In fact reading the moaning threads, I’m sure, has annoyed me more then any wake has.
Live and let live.

Colin


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[PaulF]

Colin24, what a refreshing change to read your post. I am sypathetic to small boats being thrown about by mobo wash, and generally make significant attempts to reduce the affect of wash I make. This weekend I had several acknowledgements from raggies who had actually noticed that, which is nice. The situation in Portsmouth is aggravated by the high speed limit of 10knots that is permitted. this tends to indicate that it is ok to create the inevitable wash created by such a speed. The commercial vessels very often create a lot of wash and clearly make no allowances for smaller craft. However we are out playing in the sea, and the sea these days is a busy place at times, it gets rough. So there is no point in getting all crabby with all of us who skipper mobos. Large numbers of us have experience of sailing in one form or another. It is very blinkered to assume that because somebody happens to be at the helm of a powerboat they have no experience of the other side.

I dont often hear comments about large sailboats being motored up the Hamble at 7 knots kicking up a wash and throwing the kids in dinghies around, but they do, and regularly. Lets have a little more understanding from all sides. Those that use the small boat channel at Portsmouth please dont fill the channel going five abreast as you come out forcing anybody coming in out of the channel. Leave space and consider everybody else. Enjoy our sport and all it has to offer including some great people from all walks of life, and one or two are actually mobo skippers!

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[rich]

I Hope you never go to France!!!!!! Please give it a rest? or Stay at Home!!!!!! PS. were you in paimpol mid august?

<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.jersey-harbours.com<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by rich on 31/08/2004 23:34 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[copterdoctor]

I had a very nice day in Lymington alongside a mobo, nice people nice company. Mobos go fast and make wash, that's a fact of life. My boat goes slow and gets in the way, that's a fact of life. I'm sure at times I'm as big a pain in the butt as the odd high speed pain that insists on passing close by, that's a fact of life. I sail for the pleasure, it's there if you look hard enough.
There is no shotage yachties who, once they take their sails down treat those still sailing as a pain. How often does a motoring yacht speed up just to squeeze in front when the seaman like thing to do would be to avoid cofusion and as the give way vessel take early and clear avoiding action?
Live and let live, if your not enjoying what your doing then you ain't doing it properly!

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[duncan]

can't have been me as I was busy returning a 'gentleman' to his hobiecat after he fell overboard from his craft on tacking. His daughter was on board, sort of in some control but unable to get back to him - and the couple of safety craft in the area were studiously ignoring his plight whilst watching over their flocks.
Having collected him and dropped him off the anchor beak back onto his craft his thanks were genuinly appreciated.
Yours
Dr Hyde and Mr Jeckle

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[tcm]

ooh, i am sorry about that, your right to point out how very thoughtless some people can be.

....gmmffgrrrrrrr

there again, should you out and about if you can't handle waves and wash? Steer directly into it and it's gone. Let's remeber - you wimped out of going to to Brest cos of scary thingys like Biscay, waves, the horrid-sounding "raz" de sein and the creep writeup in the chenal de four, hm? Hence a bit of wash to everyone else is always gonna be a screaming raving loony to you - and the volunteer patrol would stoppem if they were going more than 10 knots, don't you worry.

Unfortunately, there are waves in many parts of the sea - even in the solent where waves aren't actually banned yet, not even in portsmouth harbour entrance. Evemn worse news is that Portsmouth is much nastier than other parts of the known universe (the Hamble, obviously) AND the speed limit is 10 knot stw (not "no wash" like in the hamble). Perhaps it would probably be safest to work up to this gently - try Beaulieu, then Lymington, before going straight for Portsmouth harbour entrance which is indeed incredibly rough, solentwise.




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[duncan]

Re: I can\'t believe you posted this....

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[Magic_Sailor]

Nice one. nm

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[Magic_Sailor]

I didn't say "all" Duncan.

Clearly you have not taken the elixir.

Magic.

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[Magic_Sailor]

Some people seem not to have read my post.

My point was not that motor cruisers aren't allowed to make wash - clearly they need to in order to proceed. But rather that people were behaving with no consideration - even racing.

I even went so far as to say that MOBOs are very nice people - although clearly that doesn't extend to all of them either I guess.

Magic

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