Mowed down by a racing fleet

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We were crewing on a small-ish (<25 foot?) boat with a blue and white spinnaker on finals day, and suddenly we were faced with a fleet of twenty boats, all hell-bent on making the next mark, none of which looked like they would make any space to let us through on our original course.

Amazingly, we got through without serious incident, despite the fact that there really didn't seem to be any gaps to go through. It just has to have been someone from here out to prove a point regarding colregs or racing, surely?
 
I sail in the Crouch and we get a lot of racing. Regardless of the colregs I just find it easier to stay clear of the racing pack for two reasons. Firstly if people are racing I don't want to spoilt their fun, but secondly (and this is a less altruistic but sadly necessary reason) a small minority are real b**tar*s who think they own the river and will happily mow you down regardless.
 
Isn't it time the RYA/MCA/whoever got involved in this I'm-racing-therefore-you-have-to-get-out-of-my-way lark? WTF do 'racers' they think they are playing at?

I only read about the Vendee ejits gallivanting through the Finisterre TSS a few minutes ago and now I'm reading about yet another example of idiots who think colregs don't apply if they're racing. Who the **** do these people think they are? :mad:

/rant
 
If you see a group of sailors who are obviously racing it does not take much to give them room. I suspect you just was not watching what you we doing or did not know how to handle a simple situation.
Never mind keep trying it will come to you
I meet lots of race fleets on the east coast & just move over a bit . It is easy to do. Does me no harm & allows them to enjoy their fun. If i see they are racing to a particular mark i do my best to give them room, i certainly do not sail gaily on to that mark
When I am racing i appreciate it when a cruising boat moves over a bit & i always make a point of waving a thank you

But there again i occasionally meet some **** who wants all the river & feels he is entitled to it. In that case I sail round them unless i have right of way in which case i tend to be a bit pushy just for the sheer hell of it

But to each his own & if one feels one should not give way then that is up to them
 
FlowerPower said:
We were crewing on a small-ish (<25 foot?) boat with a blue and white spinnaker on finals day, and suddenly we were faced with a fleet of twenty boats, all hell-bent on making the next mark, none of which looked like they would make any space to let us through on our original course.

Amazingly, we got through without serious incident, despite the fact that there really didn't seem to be any gaps to go through. It just has to have been someone from here out to prove a point regarding colregs or racing, surely?
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Answering pennant above Flag DELTA on the starboard spreader plus five long blasts on the horn and just plough on right through them! :mad:

I bet it was Chichester entrance, they always do that there ? :(
 
The OP says he had a spinny up, so would have been sailing a straight (ish ) course, even if you are on port IRPCS says that you treat a boat which is flying a spinnaker as stand on because you cannot be sure what if they are Stbd or Port.

I agree fully wit sailorbill in his post.
 
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galadriel said:
The OP says he had a spinny up, so would have been sailing a straight (ish ) course, even if you are on port IRPCS says that you treat a boat which is flying a spinnaker as stand on because you cannot be sure what if they are Stbd or Port.

I agree fully wit sailorbill in his post.
Click to expand...

Even if on a close reach on port - really?
 
Daydream believer said:
If you see a group of sailors who are obviously racing it does not take much to give them room. I suspect you just was not watching what you we doing or did not know how to handle a simple situation.
Never mind keep trying it will come to you
I meet lots of race fleets on the east coast & just move over a bit . It is easy to do. Does me no harm & allows them to enjoy their fun. If i see they are racing to a particular mark i do my best to give them room, i certainly do not sail gaily on to that mark
When I am racing i appreciate it when a cruising boat moves over a bit & i always make a point of waving a thank you

But there again i occasionally meet some **** who wants all the river & feels he is entitled to it. In that case I sail round them unless i have right of way in which case i tend to be a bit pushy just for the sheer hell of it

But to each his own & if one feels one should not give way then that is up to them
Click to expand...

You obviously haven't tried the delights of Chi harbour - move over a bit and you'll be bang slap in the path of another, different bunch or aground :D
 
ripvan1 said:
You obviously haven't tried the delights of Chi harbour - move over a bit and you'll be bang slap in the path of another, different bunch or aground :D
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+1

They have the start over on the west by the club house on Hayling and the first and second mark over by the Witterings! About fifty plus dinghies across the mouth of the channel which at best is possibly only 200 yards wide, need I say more. :mad:

You east coast sailors who have never experienced Chi harbour on a race weekend, you just have no idea! If you make it out to West Pole without getting shouted at, it would be a miracle! :(


.
 
galadriel said:
The OP says he had a spinny up, so would have been sailing a straight (ish ) course, even if you are on port IRPCS says that you treat a boat which is flying a spinnaker as stand on because you cannot be sure what if they are Stbd or Port.

I agree fully wit sailorbill in his post.
Click to expand...

Forget the spinnaker, what side the boom is on will tell you if they are starboard or port.
 
A1Sailor said:
Even if on a close reach on port - really?
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Woops! your right, I thought rule 12/a/iii said port or stbd

"if a vessel with the wind on the port side sees a vessel to windward and cannot determine
with certainty whether the other vessel has the wind on the port or on the starboard side,
she shall keep out of the way of the other."
 
Never had any trouble working out which gybe a boat running towards me is on. The mainsail sticking out one side is a bit of a clue. So as a windward boat, even if the OP was on starboard, he was a windward boat and therefore give way with everybody beating on starboard.
 
In case others haven't seen the other thread,OK Which was one of you was it? http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=337843 I mean I realise we are all supposed to read every other post before we post ourselves but to keep everyone informed,

Moonshining said:
I was crewing on the Sunsail finals day and pretending to be a racer today.

Just after the start of the first race this morning, some fellah in a small-ish (<25 foot?) boat with a blue and white spinnaker came piling straight through the whole fleet of twenty boats.

Amazingly he got through without serious incident, despite the fact that there really didn't seem to be any gaps to go through. It just has to have been someone from here out to prove a point regarding colregs or racing, surely?
Click to expand...


Moonshining said:
That's almost certainly what happened.

My post wasn't intended to be a serious one. It probably says more about me than anything else that Scuttlebutt and colregs threads was the first thing I thought of when I saw him being engulfed by a whole bunch of boats like that.
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