Lobster pots: what happens and what do you do?

[SolentBoat]

For as long as I've been sailing, I've read about the horrors of lobster pots and, of course, seen thousands of 'em over the years. So far always managed to avoid them.

But what actually happens when you get "caught"? Is it just a danger to the prop if you're under power? And what are those plastic can markers actually attached to - an easy to cut length of line or a steel hawser?

So, what happens and what do you do?

 

[guernseyman]

But what actually happens when you get "caught"? Is it just a danger to the prop if you're under power? And what are those plastic can markers actually attached to - an easy to cut length of line or a steel hawser?

Could be a danger if you haven't got a rope cutter fitted.

Lobster pots, and crab pots should have sinking rope tied to the buoy, to minimise problems at slack tide. Below that there may be floating rope, but that would be no problem

 

[AntarcticPilot]

For as long as I've been sailing, I've read about the horrors of lobster pots and, of course, seen thousands of 'em over the years. So far always managed to avoid them.

But what actually happens when you get "caught"? Is it just a danger to the prop if you're under power? And what are those plastic can markers actually attached to - an easy to cut length of line or a steel hawser?

So, what happens and what do you do?

From experience (many years ago, on my father's yacht), the rope winds itself into a tight ball around the propeller and prop-shaft. This stalls the engine; potentially causing damage to the engine and shaft (it didn't on my Dad's boat - but it was only a single cylinder Sabb diesel). Although the rope is just that - rope - it gets pulled very tight so it won't unwind on its own, and the engine is inoperable. Thereafter, the only way of getting it off is to use a knife - as I'd been at the helm, I got appointed to dive to cut it away - on the East Coast of Scotland!

 

[Tranona]

Fit a proper rope cutter and they are usually no bother.

If you do pick one up it is usually the prop, particularly if you are motoring, but can also wrap around the rudder. The marker is connected to a string of pots so you are effectively anchored. Many pots are laid in strong tidal areas - for example over Christchurch Ledge or off Old Harry which can make it very uncomfortable with a tide and sea running.

Only solution is to cut the rope - folks suggest bread knife on a boathook, extending pruning shears - or just in case you want to really risk your life, over the side with cutting implement in hand. Even if you manage to cut yourself free, chances are the rope will still be round the prop so you won't be able to use your engine.

So back to the first sentence as the only sensible (but not 100%) solution.

 

[Kelpie]

The only time I've run over a pot was whilst messing around in a little rowing boat to which we'd fitted a sailing rig. No engine, fortunately. The buoy was attached to a long floating and I failed to give enough of a margin. The rope got hooked perfectly by the tranom-hung rudder. Being a small boat we were able to lift the rudder off its pins and hastily attach it again before we gathered too much way.

 

[r_h]

Only time I've got hooked was on the rudder in the Needles Channel with a strong tide running. As soon as we realised we were stuck we gybed and it came clear - very lucky!

 

[nathanlee]

A harbour master once told me a story. I shall remove the details to avoid identification, simply because it seems fair to do so as I can't ask him if he minds me telling you lot

He used to be the coxswain of the local lifeboat, and got called out to a boat on a stretch of water that had lots of pots. The yacht had fouled on a pot marker and lost use of it's engine, so for one reason or another they called the coastguard who sent out the lifeboat (to avoid a debate about that, let's presume there was absolutely no wind, and they were being pushed towards rocks by the tide).

The lifeboat arrived and took them in tow. Said coxswain couldn't work out why the yacht was so heavy and the lifeboat was a bit slower than he expected. They made the journey back to the safety of the harbour (a good few miles away) and with everybody safe, went to bed.

He woke up in the morning and saw a string of 7 pots running down the harbour. They had pulled the whole lot back.

 

[dylanwinter]

Lobster pots - very expensive things

the lobster pots and other floating fishermens debris cost me close on £1,000 and lost me 8 weeks of sailing last summer - although I do confess that when working along the coast I do tend to follow the 20 foot contour - which is just where these blokes like to put their pots - however I am trying to film the coast as I go and I like to stick close to the shore.

I do think that they do not pay much attention to sinkers and some of them appear to be layed with strings of surface line at right angles to the current.

All round - a frightful pain and bloody frightening to find yourself in a labyrinth of blue polypropylene.

However, as a lilly livered environmentalist and first class car driving hypocrite, I would much rather see fishermen focussing on lobster pots than going out there with beam trawlers and ploughing up the seabed.

Dylan

 

[Robin]

A propshaft fitted cutter is very good under engine and ours (Ambassador Stripper) on the last two boats did excellent service over the years with pot lines as well as other debris like bits of net and one night a plastic hessian type scallop bag.

Cutters are not so useful of course under sail and we picked up one between the rudder and the half skeg on our then W33 one very rough night off Cherbourg. Fortunately a combination of 8 tons of boat doing over 7.5kts was too much for the line rather than the rudder and we arrived in Cherbourg with a bit of line still trapped, complete with a small white float.

Word of warning. There was a fatal incident off I think Anvil Point, between there and St Albans Head (near Swanage) some years back when a yacht, Westerly Konsort IIRC, picked up a pot in the strong tides. Someone went over the side to try and free the pot line but was hit on the head by the boat pitching and died.

Properly laid pots are rarely a problem, but floating lines are IMO totally unacceptable and the indiscriminate use of these and old chemical cans as markers between Christchurch Ledge and into the Solent (I called them Black Can Man's, also had a friend Blue Can Man). Also very dangerous IMO are the deepwater pots laid well out in the English Channel marked with large pink buoys but with long (maybe 20yd) floating lines between those and the pickup buoys. These deepwater markers lie E-W in the very strong Channel tides and thus directly in the path of anything moving N-S or vice versa crossing between the UK and France. The buoys are large but still very difficult to see in any seas and especially at night, but they would be no problem if there were no long floating lines to the pickups.

 

[Tranona]

Word of warning. There was a fatal incident off I think Anvil Point, between there and St Albans Head (near Swanage) some years back when a yacht, Westerly Konsort IIRC, picked up a pot in the strong tides. Someone went over the side to try and free the pot line but was hit on the head by the boat pitching and died.

It was a Sadler 29 off Old Harry. Listened to it all on the VHF while I was working on my boat in Mitchells - saw the helicopter land the casualty at Whitecliff. These things tend to stick in the memory.

 

[Robin]

It was a Sadler 29 off Old Harry. Listened to it all on the VHF while I was working on my boat in Mitchells - saw the helicopter land the casualty at Whitecliff. These things tend to stick in the memory.

I think the Coroner called for 'something to be done' to prevent such in future. Needless to say nothing has changed.

Another place BTW to find the large pink buoys plus long floating pickup lines held across your course by strong tides is south of Guernsey. Coming north up from the Brittany coast ie from Treguier, Perros or Trebeurden they are particularly nasty, I have had several passing thoughts of air rifles with darts or even shotguns, and I love lobster!

 

[agurney]

... Even if you manage to cut yourself free, chances are the rope will still be round the prop so you won't be able to use your engine....

In those circumstances haul in some line and tie off on the bow so you are using the pot line as an anchor. You can then free the prop at your leisure.

Alisdair

 

[Silent Lady]

Not a Pot

Had a similar experience last year everything on the boat started shaking.We finished up stopped in the middle of the Thames
with all the high speed craft motoring by. We sent a Mayday to the Coastguard before things got out of hand but by the time the Lifeboat
arrived we were motoring again ( Just )

Turned out to be a kids anorak. Rope cutter gave up. Took ages to get off with boat hook.

The only berth we could limp into was right outside STARBUCKS

 

[robertj]

a good friend of mine got caught up with the blue and black bleach can markers. tied the floating line to his bow to anchor. After ages trying to free had to go over the side on his own to cut free.
Having a rather powerful launch he hitched up the string and pulled it for miles before it parted depositing the pots some where else..

 

[Tranona]

In those circumstances haul in some line and tie off on the bow so you are using the pot line as an anchor. You can then free the prop at your leisure.

Alisdair

And how do you do that when there is 4 knots of tide running against the wind as in the case Robin and I were recalling above? Skipper went over the side, tied on, bread knife in hand. Stern came down on his head. Wife had to call out the emergency services.

Better to try and avoid the problem in the first place.

 

[Searush]

Canal boats get lots of debris around the prop (plastic bags, buts of rope, clothing etc) so they have a tube thro a hole in the hull over the prop. Top is above the water line but you have direct access to the prop & shaft with a knife on a stick from the cockpit.

Why don't more cruising boats do this? I haven't because I haven't (yet) had the problem. But I have had mooring lines trapped between the rudder & the skeg on occasions & that can be a bit of a faff to relearse.

 

[agurney]

And how do you do that when there is 4 knots of tide running against the wind as in the case Robin and I were recalling above? Skipper went over the side, tied on, bread knife in hand. Stern came down on his head. Wife had to call out the emergency services.

Better to try and avoid the problem in the first place.

Sound of Iona, 4+ knots of tide against wind, over the side with a diving knife.
I wasn't able to avoid the fouling, but ensuring the boat was tethered gave an element of control.

 

[Woodlouse]

I saw one of the ships getting towed up the river at Fowey a couple of years back with a string of pots hanging off it's anchor. The funny bit was watching the poor fisherman chasing the boat in a launch trying to cut his pots away one by one.

 

[blueglass]

we picked one up off Point Barfleur in Normandy. We gave the marker buoy a VERY wide berth to no avail as it was attached to a massive length of floating polypropylene which wrapped tightly around shaft. Twin engined mobo so able to limp into cherbourg on the other engine. Impossible to clear as the line had actually melted with the friction into a solid mass around the shaft. Needed to be lifted to hack it all off - deeply unhappy. I am continually outraged by the liberties these guys take with other peoples safety.
Incidentally SEASTART, a most excellent organisation paid for the whole thing, including lifting fees, tow to the hoist etc. Amazing service.

 

[johnalison]

Also very dangerous IMO are the deepwater pots laid well out in the English Channel marked with large pink buoys but with long (maybe 20yd) floating lines between those and the pickup buoys. These deepwater markers lie E-W in the very strong Channel tides and thus directly in the path of anything moving N-S or vice versa crossing between the UK and France. The buoys are large but still very difficult to see in any seas and especially at night, but they would be no problem if there were no long floating lines to the pickups.

The trouble in deep water, and anywhere else in rough water or a tideway, is that only a danbuoy will show up visually. If I am going to come across a buoy at all, I generally feel happier if it is marked with a danbuoy, and that means there is a line attaching it to the marker-buoy. Generally, these lines are not long but I can understand the difficulty described. On one occasion when leaving New Grimsby Sound early in the morning I passed a marker buoy in rough water only to see the danbuoy passing by on the other side of my boat. We seemed to get through without catching anything.