Kids in tenders in marinas...

[cardinal_mark]

Enjoying a large Pymouth and tonic on Saturday idly watching a couple of kids having great fun paddling around the marina in an inflatable when I think, now what would I do if I'm entering a strange marina looking for an unknown berth and suddenly I'm faced with a couple of 9 year olds paddling round and round in circles right where I'm about to make my turn? Okay, I wont be travelling at great speed but I will be pretty highly stressed and restricted in what I could do to avoid them.

I know they love it, and I dont want to be a killjoy, but should marinas clamp down on this before there is an accident?

Be interested to hear what you all think.

Mark

 

[steve_cronin]

Most marinas.....

...do prohibit the use of dinghies around the pontoons.

However, I guess that like our kids at that age, the kids concerned had grown up on boats and would probably have responded correctly to your starting to turn or maybe somewhere there were diligent parents keeping a watch, ready to issue a suitable order.

Steve cronin

 

[DJE]

Please don't encourage anyone to clamp down on us anymore. Our kids have been doing this for years without any problems. They are well briefed on wind and tide, limits of exploring area, and the fact that they get out of the way of all other vessels. Five toots on the foghorn if you must, or just a friendly "excuse me" from your foredeck hand should do the trick if they haven't seen you.

 

[tcm]

nope

nope, i'm getting tired of people being "clamped down" on and twd be a shame if they were banned as you hint.

Marinas are a relatively safe area for juniors to use a boat more safely that away from a marina. Various stressed people arriving in boats shouldn't present an insuperable problem for them. In my experience they are excellent at geting out of other people's way, and do repond to "oi" if going too fast and so on.

Sepretly, the helm (you?) should be able to hold station in the bigger boat, and or move at a really very very low speed in normal circumstances, or go around, or go somewhere else and NOT be rigidly set on "making your turn" as tho it is preprogrammed with 100% committment.

 

[Woodentop]

Allow Kids in tenders in marinas...

Totally agree.

Parents to brief the kids, ensure they know what to do, then leave them to learn some seamanship.

 

[Cobra]

[ QUOTE ]
Please don't encourage anyone to clamp down on us anymore. Our kids have been doing this for years without any problems. They are well briefed on wind and tide, limits of exploring area, and the fact that they get out of the way of all other vessels. Five toots on the foghorn if you must, or just a friendly "excuse me" from your foredeck hand should do the trick if they haven't seen you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said! Kids have their freedom greatly restricted as it is...at least allow them some of the fun we used to have at their age!

 

[Gordonmc]

I think one of the pleasures of boating is to see kids taking part and enjoying something in common with the old greys.
On the whole the youngsters playing around in tenders seem to be well behaved, almost as though they know they have been given some responsibility. All with lifejackets, outboards on low throttle and very little jaking about.
I wish the same could be said for some older boaters, including marina staff who ignore wash restrictions in the workboat.
I take the point about stress levels but I think if someone prangs a boat they have more problems than simple a kid in a dinghy.

 

[branko]

My son at that age have learn all maritime knowledge in his dingy.
Do not stop boys, it is better that we stops our big boats and wait to children move! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[cardinal_mark]

Re: Most marinas.....

Dont get me wrong, I dont want to see anything banned that a. encourages kids on the water or more importantly, b. looks like a lot of fun! In fact it was one of my kids in the tender I was watching.

The reason I started to think was the attitude of a lady of certain age coming into the marina who pulled the face from hell and was heard (by us at least) muttering bl**dy kids, cant the parents keep control etc etc. and I wandered if I was being irresponsible or she had suffered a serious 'fun bypass' ... I'm gald to see that, so far at least, it was her and not me that has the problem!

Cheers

Mark

 

[iangrant]

I reckon I ought to let my 11 year old daughter answer this one. With the miles she's logged, her ability to helm, be damn good crew and her survival course I doubt she'd be impresssed with your attitude toward kids.
If you do have trouble parkin' yer boat I'm sure she'd be happy to hop out of the dinghy to do it for you if you're stuck.

Let the kids enjoy themselves they'll get out of your way.

Cheers

Ian

 

[cardinal_mark]

suggest you read my follow-up post, just above yours.

Mark

 

[iangrant]

Yes didn't see that before I lept in - perhaps a polite word with the lady in question?

Ian

 

[snowleopard]

Just be thankful they're paddling, not tearing round with high powered outboards or jetskis. While we were anchored in Cawsand bay at the bank holiday there was a girl of about 10 in a tender with a big outboard weaving in and out of the anchored boats. I did wonder about the wisdom of the parents letting her do that without supervision.

 

[Lakesailor]

As usual it's not the kids. It's the parents. If you are going to let your kids off the leash like that they should be taught their responsibilites. They should be capable of keeping a look-out and know how to keep out of the way.
In other words, it's an opportunity to teach seamanship and responsibility and not just to have a good time.
Surely they'll have more fun if they're not being shooed out of the way and shouted at?

 

[copterdoctor]

What would be the grounds for banning them. Marinas may be able to ban children from using their slips or pontoons but I do not think the marina owns the water therein (do they?).

 

[snowleopard]

When I was berthed at Northney there were always kids hanging around trying to blag their way onto the pontoons. Some people would tell them a code or they would follow someone with a laden trolley. Once in, they would fish from the pontoons, a far cry from the hooliganism the 'no unauthorised access' rules were designed to prevent.

 

[StugeronSteve]

A polite comment is all that is needed, in most circumstances. There was a situation in our marina "aisle", a few weeks back, where a visitor >40' arrived, blew up the dinghy and dumped the kids into it to play. The >40' Oyster, which occupies a berth directly opposite, returned and finding that he was going to have difficulty getting into his berth, through a combination of strong cross tide and unusual wind direction, the skipper hailed the visitor to gently ask that he move the kids for a while in order to prevent a squashing should his own manoeuvers go t*ts up.

Personally, I have had more berthing attempts thwarted by other boats casting off and backing out, without looking, than I have experienced through kids in dinghies.

 

[Mirelle]

Guilty as charged

My 10 year old was rowing his three year old brother round a marina last Saturday.

He certainly has the sense to keep out of the way of a moving boat; he has an RYA level 2 certificate and both were wearing lifejackets.

Marinas are excellent places for children to learn basic boat handling.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Re: Guilty as charged

Hear Hear...

Generally quite cheered up to hear the positive comments about kids in this post....

I don't have a tender yet, but when I shortly get one, my 9 yr old will definitely be allowed out in the marina in it......

She's sensible and considerate, and I think that she'll learn more from that opportunity than any amount of time with me out with her....

We have several sets of kids out in our marina, and they even have started impromptu exploration committees, deciding which far reaching corner of the marina to explore this weekend.... its good for them.. they'll learn independence and hopefully some of them will become the next Day Mellons or Pete Goss's of the sailing fraternity.....

At the very least, i'm hoping that they won't hit teenage years,and not want to go sailing!

 

[tome]

[ QUOTE ]
reckon I ought to let my 11 year old daughter answer this one.

[/ QUOTE ]

She's a News of the World photographer in training, and her artful skill in scuttling about in the dinghy is entirely motivated by a desire to obtain compromising photographs of unsuspecting boat owners with her concealed camera.

You have been warned!