Kamikaze Raggies

[Wexfordian]

I went down to the boat yesterday, unfortunately as it was too windy to take SWMBO out for a run (frighten her and I might as well find a new hobby - she threatens golf!) we just sat & had lunch on board like so many other disappointed boaters. All of a sudden the 28-foot sailing boat which had been pottering about inside the harbour decided to berth. I say all of a sudden because their chosen method of decelleration was collision with the pontoons. After they slammed into the pontoon the first time I ran to help fend them off (boaty camaraderie), and out they bounced to have another shot at berthing. I waited to take a line for them, watching in horror as several tonnes of fibreglass bore down on me at 6-7 knots, finally dropping to my knees to grab hold of a couple of cleats as I realised they would miss me but not the pontoon. Here I learned something new. If you ram a marina at high speed, it doesn't shear off or splinter. In fact it sinks under the hull of the boat. It was like Free bloody Willy as I sank (terrified) with the pontoon, watching this blue hull rise above me like a vengeful orca. Eventually about four of us on the marina got the wayward raggies under control, discovered they had no bow or stern lines made up, fenders in the cockpit lockers and they had the cheek to tell us we had them in the wrong berth.
Disgustedly, off we f*cked, as you can imagine. Got no thanks or apologies, never mind a drink.
And these people sneer at us stinkies, ignore our friendly greetings and treat us like imposters or inferiors at every opportunity.
It's no wonder that they occasionally get towed a little bit too swiftly.
F... 'em

 

[ccscott49]

What the hell were they playing at! They shouldn't be allowed to have a boat if they can't at least berth the effing thing, what a load of absolute pillocks, never mind themm being raggies or whatever, I've seen pillocks on all types of boats. The marina staff should have had something to say about it and told them to go elsewhere and practice. No wonder there is so much crap about licences when we have idiots like this around. They could have killed you, did they or you think of that? I would have troin the helmsman/skipper from the cockpit and drowned the idiot! People like this are dangerous, it has to stop, you were lucky, thank goodness, ignorant arseholes!

 

[WayneS]

Please do not tar all of us raggies with the same brush.

They were totally out of order and are not raggies, rather land lubbers that ventured onto a boat.

Hopefully they did enough damage to the boat to make them shy of ever going near the water again.

Well survived.

 

[Wexfordian]

Fair point - it's utterly irrelevant that it was a sailing boat. My dad's a comitted raggie and he was as appalled as me. Guess I was still feeling a bit incensed at their behaviour and the danger they had put me in. Their plummy-voiced admonishment and lack of gratitude just plain p***ed me off. To top it all off their car was blocking mine in the car-park and I had to manouevre out awkwardly while they watched. I suppose it was the safer option.
I wouldn't advise you to park anywhere near these people at Tesco's!
Oh yeah, SWMBO's threatening me with golf again.

 

[stamfordian]

hi,
had the .....pleasure of a raggy?? actually sail border of meeting him in wells channel at the weekend .He was sailing across the channel from on my port bow,and there was two vessels aproaching towards me one overtaking the other,i slowed down to let him cross ,no not him he tacked his board right in front of me!!,he didn,t even know i was there!!!,he found out when 2ft from him i gave him a blast on the horn..lucky for him i had left enough room to stop.I managed not to swear as glaring at him seemed to be enough to make him scoot off!!!!.

 

[Guest]

It's at times like that in the carpark that my battered 4x4 comes in very handy!!!!!!!!

 

[Chris771]

Trevor,

I live in awe of your composure and restraint............... everyone knows by now that I have still to climb to the pinnacle of tolerance you display.

Maybe I'll get there one day.....;-)