Just got to post this

[Manxman]

Today a mate was giving us a lift over from Peel Isle of Man over to Drummore in Southwest Scotland so I could bring my boat back home, I had to leave it there last weekend because of the weather.
The sea was flat calm but it was quite misty, visibility was down to 2 / 3 miles, no problem to navigate using the chartplotter.
Just as the Mull came into view we spotted a Rib heading straight for us on a collision course, taking avoiding action we couldn’t shake him off. We then realised he was waving to attract our attention.
After heaving to the Rib came along side and was occupied by six teenage lads and a girl, the conversation went like this.

Rib, can you tell us where we are?
Me, Why?
Rib, I think we’re lost
Me Where have you come from and are going too
Rib Portpatrick to Bangor NI
Me Yes your lost you’re 3 miles south of the Mull of Galloway and a long way off course for Bangor, your heading would have taken you to the I.o.M.,

After consulting our chart we gave him a heading for Bangor

Rib We haven’t got compass
Me I’ll give you the Lat & Long to the entrance to Bangor Marina to put into your GPS
Rib We haven’t got Gps
Me have you VHF
Rib No, I’ve got a mobile
Me I’ll bet it doesn’t work here
Rib (checks his phone)
Your right no signal here

Me do you have life jackets
Yes we have two
Me I think you’d better follow us to the Mull and coast hop back to Portpatrick and wait for better visibility
Rib Just point to Bangor and we’ll be on our way
Me Over there due west but you’ll only get lost again, follow us you won’t be able to navigate in this poor visibility
Rib I’ll use the sun
Me what sun?

After trying to convince him not to go until visibility greatly improved he took of a great rate of knots in the wrong direction, to the south-west.

We informed the coast guard of the situation.

Coming home an hour and a half later we heard the coastguards organising a search and rescue with lifeboats in the Irish sea
SeaCat Isle of Man eventually picked him up and the rib was recovered by a Lifeboat

Speaking with the Coastguard later he told us that the Rib ran out of petrol twenty minutes after leaving us

Dickhead or not?









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[jerryat]

Good God Manxman, bet you wouldn't have believed that story if you were told it in the pub!

Makes me think even more that the time has come for at least basic compulsory qualifications to be achieved BEFORE a person is allowed to operate a boat. I mean, no compass, GPS, charts etc is almost criminal when the lives of others are at stake or put at risk.

Glad they were picked up ok, but I wonder if they'll learn ..........

Cheers

Jerry

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[ubuysa]

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

Dickhead or not?

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Dickhead, no doubt about it.

Tony C.

<hr width=100% size=1>Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.......

 

[kingfisher]

Dickhead

<hr width=100% size=1>Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
http://sirocco31.tripod.com

 

[longjohnsilver]

Also made the national news on the radio today, what pillocks!

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[Solitaire]

I'm afraid this situation is all to common, particularly with small powerboats. I see it all the time on QHM duty. On Powerbaot Lvel 2 courses one of the first thing swe go thru is the kit to be carried by both boat and crew.

<hr width=100% size=1>Boating is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.powerboattraininguk.co.uk>Serious Fun</A>

 

[markdj]

Plonkers!!!

I read this on the BBC news website but it didn't give the details of the RIB. It said they let off a flare that was seen by Seacat IOM. Those idiots need their heads bashed together.


MDJ

<hr width=100% size=1>Princess Owners Club
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.princessownersclub.com>http://www.princessownersclub.com</A>

 

[Manxman]

I totally agree jerryat, compulsory training before you go to sea

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[rich]

"I totally agree jerryat, compulsory training before you go to sea " It happens quite offten with french boats, but the have to take a test before they can go out on the water!!!so whats the point...


<hr width=100% size=1>http://www.jersey-harbours.com

 

[BrendanS]

So, knowing he'd end up in difficulty, you just left him to it?

<tongue in cheek!>

<hr width=100% size=1>Me transmitte sursum, caledoni

 

[Guest]

How many will read / hear about it ?

And probably say - prats ....... then without thinking - go and do it themselves.

This is one reason why I think for power toys ..... the motorcycle scheme is a possible way forward ....... a short introduction to safety and what you can and should not do when buying.

<hr width=100% size=1>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[AndCur]

Hi

I am from Bangor what was the RIB called? People like this should not be allowed
out of the harbour. At the start of the season i was walking down the pontoon and
a couple of guys were sitting on a rib with a chart and were asking the boat
beside them if they had a Wayport for Portpatrick as they could not work it out
from the chart!!!!

Cheers

Andrew



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[Robin]

We had a similar encounter a fw years ago with a French sportboat with a young family on board in fog between Morbihan and the offshore islands, they wanted us to point them in the direction of Belle Isle (no compass either) but as that would take them across the reefs off Quiberon I refused and suggested they waited for better visibility and followed us into harbour. They took off to question another yacht, probably muttering about unhelpful Brits.

Now in France the rules say you must have various safety/navigational gear on board, depending on how far from a safe harbour you will go, PLUS there is a compulsory licence for powerboats. We have watched the small boat training in various harbours over the years, mostly carried out in 18ft or so cabin/fishing type boats with outboards. Also the rules say the gear must be carried on board but do not say it must be in use (ie radar reflectors) or that the owner should know how to use it. Licensing does not stop idiots at sea any more than it does on the roads.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[snowleopard]

sounds like a candidate for the darwin awards.

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[wooslehunter]

Had one a couple of years ago on Cowes week fireworks night around midnight.
New looking sports boat plus owner, Mrs & 2 daughters. Totally lost mid solent in calm seas & good vis.

No flares, VHF, charts. Didn't know how to switch on the nav lights & couldn't steer a straight course. Did have a compass but didn't know how to use it.

We said we take him into Pompy harbour but he absolutely adament he was going to Chichester. We escorted him through the submarine barrier.

We didn't hear anything further so I guess he made it or was killed by the wife & daughters who were fuming.

So just because there's land around, it doesn't meen the plonkers can't get lost.

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[duncan]

absolutely agree Robin

the first step should be to make certain very basic equipement mandatory with confiscation of craft a very real penalty for those knowingly (following a warning) proceeding. For small craft this could be as basic as lifejackets and a compass.
Quite frankly implementing this would be significantly easier and better than the illthought out drink rules.

<hr width=100% size=1>madesco madidum ..../forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[chas]

Isn't it a pity that this sort of idiot, and subsequent publicity that they get, is likely to put the vast majority of sensible water users through a set of hoops that are quite uneccesary, will cost the user money and will provide a comfortable living for yet another box of bureaucrats. Bloody annoying.

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[Robin]

Hi Duncan, actually I'm not in favour of compulsory anything, I think the French example illustrates the point. They have rules that say each category MUST have blah blah blah on board, but that doesn't mean it works still or that someone knows how to use it. For example for sailing more than 200 miles from a harbour you are required to carry a sextant and tables for use with it, but there is no reqirememt to know how to use them. Likewise boats above a certain size are required to carry a bell (!) and radar reflectors but are not obliged to clang the one nor raise the other - let alone the right way up.

Stupid people will be stupid come what may, plenty of them are licensed to drive cars so licensing is not an answer either and heaven forbid if we would have an army of maritime enforcers checking it all. The best defence against maritime stupidity IMO is the big yellow streak most of us have weaving from neck downwards!

I got talking with a French CG whilst we were away, we were watching some antics with people berthing in wind and tide in La Trinite and he commented as well on the trend to call for help at the slightest problem (like run out of fuel on a sailboat on a day with wind) but then said it came down to protecting the authority's derriere from the sue for miles brigade - just the same as here I think.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[YINDOOR1]

Hi Manxman

I am from Northern Ireland. The RHIB in question was towed back to Portpatrick by Lifeboat. The youths were met in Belfast by their parents. The youths are all members of Ballyholme yacht club, word has it here that they were all RYA trained to Rescue Cox. They need to have a little look at their training needs.

I FEAR THAT RHUMPOLE MAY BE CORRECT.

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[Robin]

So it would seem that it proves the point that training only makes them trained prats instead of untrained ones.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>