Motor boat straight through a Cowes week start

  • Thread starter Thread starter DPH
  • Start date Start date
Scala said:
As an ex-raggie-now-mobo'er it's embarrassingly awful to watch.
Click to expand...
Ok then, as an ex-raggie can you explain why when at anchor (with a black ball up and an anchor bouy out) rag and stick pilots like to come within 10 yards of the boat when they have the whole expanse of the Solent to use?
And I don't mean when tacking, I mean when traveling east to west or vice verse.
IMO that's just as bad as what you comment on in that short video.
 
The reality is that there are all types of people in both the mobo and raggie brigades and both have a smattering of idiots.

We do both and I think some of the friction comes down to many in each group not fully understanding the other. When sailing in restricted waters I often chuck a tack in despite being the stand on vessel so that a mobo doesn’t have to make a major course alteration. I am sailing for fun so it really doesn’t matter which direction I go in. But I do see a lot of inconsiderate behaviour by mobos - I say inconsiderate because many appear to have no idea about the wash they are leaving or what it is like to have a fast boat bearing down on you - their course alteration may be in plenty of time in their minds but in the sailor‘s it can feel a bit close. Like the mobo in the OP’s video, whilst he may not have done anything ‘wrong’ the concept of leaving plenty of sea room for other vessels appears to have passed them by. The issue may be that they are used to driving a car, where passing another car with inches to spare can be the norm whereas boats need a bit more space.

When at the helm of our mobo some raggies clearly have no idea about col regs beyond the power gives way to sail bit. Racers in particular seem to have a belief that a special set of rules give them absolute right of way with courses set over harbour entrances and channels. In our river a local club routinely races across a restricted channel and we have encountered real problems holding station on a breezy day waiting for a gap in the constant flow of dinghy’s. The real risk of us running aground or colliding with one of the many boats on trot moorings is of no consequence as long as their race is not interrupted.

Like I say, no particular group has a monopoly on idiots! ?
.
 
When you look at the amount of boats taking part, how spread out the boats are and the size of the coarse taking up a huge amount of the available water, I'm not surprised it happened. Too little speed and there may not enough separation hence a bit more speed and greater wash but as stated earlier, the commentators didn't seem too fussed and no gesticulation from the boats that went through the wash.

Very boring viewing and that was only five minutes either side of the 'Incident' zzzzz?
 
I think I would have treated the group of sailing dinghys as one singular vessel rather than many smaller ones and tried to pass outside the singular vessel rather than go straight through the middle of them all at what seems to be too close distance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jac
ST840 said:
Ok then, as an ex-raggie can you explain why when at anchor (with a black ball up and an anchor bouy out) rag and stick pilots like to come within 10 yards of the boat when they have the whole expanse of the Solent to use?
And I don't mean when tacking, I mean when traveling east to west or vice verse.
IMO that's just as bad as what you comment on in that short video.
Click to expand...
Yup, and also pass really closely scowling at ANY wake, when there’s 100’s of metres of available water.
 
What a lot of fuss about nothing, seen lot worse than that , the dinghies did not seem at all perturbed by the boat or its wash, he was just in the wrongish place at the wrongish time and who has never been there going past a dinghy race.
In any situation where MoBos and Sailing clubs which hold races have to share the same (in somes cases very restricted bit of water) this event will not be uncommon.
He held his course which is what i would have done, all the dinghies could enact minor tack changes to avoid him, the last thing that situation needs is somebody to violently alter course.
Wash,, a couple of perfectly acceptable and predictable waves easily coped with by what you suspect are very experienced racers.
 
I drove a club rescue rib and had to deal with the aftermath of a Mobo passing that close and it contacted with the sailing dinghy, destroyed the dinghy, the sailor received 3 fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder and concussion, MOBO then motored off.

HMCG and Hampshire Police where fantastic, within the hour had viewed cctv footage of the local marinas, they found the offending MOBO and the skipper was rapidly caught up with and dealt with
 
chrishscorp said:
I drove a club rescue rib and had to deal with the aftermath of a Mobo passing that close and it contacted with the sailing dinghy, destroyed the dinghy, the sailor received 3 fractured ribs, a dislocated shoulder and concussion, MOBO then motored off.

HMCG and Hampshire Police where fantastic, within the hour had viewed cctv footage of the local marinas, they found the offending MOBO and the skipper was rapidly caught up with and dealt with
Click to expand...
Hmm, not sure the MOBO was "That Close", the long lens used to capture the footage would compress the image quite significantly so distort the perceived distance. As in my post, no one on the water seemed fussed so not an issue.
 
I did once have a run in with the safety rib of the New Zealand team....yeah, as if I’m going to take any guff from some swearing kiwi...
 
We have a lot of experience with motorboats in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This week during a start..
20220731_074240922.jpeg
 
The Q said:
We have a lot of experience with motorboats in the wrong place at the wrong time.
This week during a start..
View attachment 140193
Click to expand...


That is a narrow channel that situation will arise regularly, the Solent at the point in question is 1.5KM wide (min depth 8M ) the skipper had zero need to motor through a group of small sailing dinghys and by doing so chose to put himself in a close quaters situation that he did not need to be in.
What if one of the dinghies on the outer edge of the fleet had decided to tack, that could then cause the rest of the fleet to tack that would have left Mr MOBO nowhere to go, as most of you say you have no idea what us raggies will do next.
 
If the sailors go out to sea for their races, I will give them a wide berth out of courtesy (which would be nice if it was occasionally reciprocated)....but when they race so close to shore...even crossing harbour entrances, ie places I want or need to go....then I get upset
 
As a non racing yachtsman who has in younger days raced it is sometimes difficult when sailing to avoid a fleet of sun sail types racing however I think given size of yachts here he could have throttled back or just gone round them. It’s rather hard in a yacht doing say 6 knots to avoid going through a fleet but I guess by throttling back he might have passed with less wash -it’s difficult to say though apart from slowing down or avoiding the area ideally what he might have done. We were passed by 75 ft sunseeker type going into jersey and even as a yacht it always amazes me how close some mobo seem to pass with no idea of wash . For the small keelboat there is always the concern they might just hit you -even the red jet has been hit by a jetski after all.
 
I was out on Monday and there were that many out there giving you no option but to thread your way through.
I did slow right down and passed as courteously as possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

C
My First Motor Boat 40-45ft 10-15 Years Old in Meds - Advice for Newbie
2 3
Replies
52
Views
2K
rafiki_
rafiki_
G
Remove mast/sails fulltime on a Westerly Centaur 26.
Replies
4
Views
279
Refueler
Refueler
T
Notices to Mariners - Week 16
Replies
0
Views
182
tillergirl
T

Share this page

Top