Narrow boat rescue.

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oldgit

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Laying in bed this morning listening to the BBC,on a December morning with below freezing temps and severe weather warnings given out.
Surely I dreamed this.

"Narrow boat rescued from Humber Estuary last night after engine failure,skipper suffering from hypothermia......Argh.
Perhaps it was Santa Claus.
 
You may want to have a couple of extra drinks on Christmas eve OG..........

I've heard Santa will be arriving in a sports cruiser this year, with gifts of gold medallions and spray-on fake tan!

Wouldn't want you to think it was a nightmare....:)
 
The conditions are not a problem but they were stupid going with none of the right kit. Especially vhf,flares and nav lights.
I think a big donation to RNLI is in order for them.
Edit.....when they towed us back (only a few miles) we gave £300 as a thanks.
 
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oldgit said:
"Narrow boat rescued from Humber Estuary l.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of an article in the Bradford 'Telegraph & Argus' many years ago about a Pakistani gentleman who, deciding to return home by sea, bought an old 70-foot narrow boat and set off along the canals until he reached the Humber, where the Coastguard tried to persuade him to give up; without success.

When he got out into the Humber Estuary he hit some rough weather and the boat began to break up. Fortunately for him, the C/G was still in attendance and took him off.
 
about 10 years ago I met a couple in their 50's on a sealine 310 flybridge (I think) in Hull marina. they had sailed down from York and where planning to go to France via Lowestoft and the thames estuary. Discussing passage plans etc it became apparent that they were navigating with an AA road map, no safety kit and judging by their marina maneouvers little knowledge or apptitude. (very scary with a crowd waiting for the crew balancing on the bathing platform holding a rope and their dog but not holding on, to get minced by the screaming outdrives!)

I found out later that they (fortunately) had changed their minds and gone back to York. However on their return route, they forgot about the rising tide and attempted to go under a bridge with insufficient clearance. Fire brigade were called out to try and free the boat from beneath the bridge as the tide came in. In the end they got the boat clear simply by getting all the firemen onto the boat. All survived intact except the radar dome that was a bit squashed.

The boat was sold a few weeks later - I wonder if they bought a canal boat instead....
 
"Near gale force winds" not a problem?

Must confess would bother me ........during the day in something brand new, twice the size,and with half a chandlery of flares/liferafts/radios aboard AND with the RNLI following all the way .:)
 
Quotes from previous.
"Narrow boat rescued from Humber Estuary l.
Near gale force winds" not a problem?
So mad the MCA thought it was a hoax!!!!

Absolute total madness.

Yes Narrow boats do Cross the Mersey from Eastham to the Docks but that is undertaken with the HMs full knowledge of what you are doing and the boat has to have the necessary kit on board to under take the passage.
I believe you can hire it all for the trip.
It is Twits like these that WILL only encourage the authority's to make it compulsory to have a licence to even go out in a off beach rowing boat on your holls.
I am not in favour of compulsory licence and registration but some educated knowledge is most essential.
I seams they had none but you would think at their age some sense would be in there somewhere.
At the end of the day a Narrow boat is only supposed to be a sliding fit on a canal anyway.:D
 
It never amazes me how many nutters there are about. Some years ago I was anchored at the end of the Trent waiting for the tide to go up to York.The lock keeper at Keadby came on the radio to ask if I,d seen a small cruiser as one had missed the Lock!.Later one came down the east bankside,ran it up the bank and his wife got off.This was just before a big spring tide was due!.They were too far and too shallow for me to get to them.I called Humber Rescue and they towed them to Keadby lock.When they got there the lockie had to lend them ropes,He was deaf! and disappeared down below.Another time we were anchored at the same place, a man got his dinghy,put the dog in and took it to the shore to have a pee,he tried to row back but the tide was too strong so his mate had to up anchor and rescue him.I,ve also been involved with helping with false SOS,s in that area.
 
Yes this sort of thing really does annoy me! its people like this who are going to force us all into a regulation situation! They were in their sixties as well! certainly old enough to know better and have some common sense about the conditions. Their lack of knowledge and lack of proper equipment for the journey is just unbelievable! and at night as well! Madness! I have been against regulation for many years, but I now really do feel that there are people out there that need saving from themselves!

Barry
 
kashurst said:
about 10 years ago I met a couple in their 50's on a sealine 310 flybridge (I think) in Hull marina. they had sailed down from York and where planning to go to France via Lowestoft and the thames estuary. Discussing passage plans etc it became apparent that they were navigating with an AA road map, no safety kit and judging by their marina maneouvers little knowledge or apptitude. (very scary with a crowd waiting for the crew balancing on the bathing platform holding a rope and their dog but not holding on, to get minced by the screaming outdrives!)

I found out later that they (fortunately) had changed their minds and gone back to York. However on their return route, they forgot about the rising tide and attempted to go under a bridge with insufficient clearance. Fire brigade were called out to try and free the boat from beneath the bridge as the tide came in. In the end they got the boat clear simply by getting all the firemen onto the boat. All survived intact except the radar dome that was a bit squashed.

The boat was sold a few weeks later - I wonder if they bought a canal boat instead....
Click to expand...

Not sure if it would be the same boat, as it's not really possible to get stuck under any bridges on a rising tide from Hull to York. Can only think they may have tried to get under Cawood bridge, but it would have opened for them. There's coasters as far as Selby and only Cawood north of there before Naburn Lock (tidal Limit)
 
oldgit said:
Laying in bed this morning listening to the BBC,on a December morning with below freezing temps and severe weather warnings given out.
Surely I dreamed this.

"Narrow boat rescued from Humber Estuary last night after engine failure,skipper suffering from hypothermia......Argh.
Perhaps it was Santa Claus.
Click to expand...


Can't see where it says trhis was a narrow boat. Still pretty silly thing to do, but would have been significantly worse if the boat was built for canal use only
 
What makes me so bloody mad is that the volunteer RNLI lads have to put their lives on the line to rescue idiots like this.
 
Report simple says 30' motor cruiser, which could be anything. Narrow boats or river cruisers are well capable of estuary work & have crossed the channel - in the right conditions, with suitable equipment & support.

A home made floating car (a la Top Gear) crossed the North Channel from Ireland to Scotland earlier this month & Half-Safe (google it) was an amphibious jeep that crossed the Atlantic in the 50's, but you need planning, experience & the best gear you can beg, steal or borrow.

These two seem to have had no idea whatsoever of what they were up against or how badly prepared they were.
 
Bobobolinsky said:
Not sure if it would be the same boat, as it's not really possible to get stuck under any bridges on a rising tide from Hull to York. Can only think they may have tried to get under Cawood bridge, but it would have opened for them. There's coasters as far as Selby and only Cawood north of there before Naburn Lock (tidal Limit)
Click to expand...

Was once chatting to the Locky at Selby Sea Lock. That's one heck of a deep lock, straight out onto the tidal Ouse. The current on ebb looks like its doing 5 or 6 knots.

Apparently a narrowboat came chugging along Selby Canal and wanted to lock out onto the river, which was in full ebb.

Locky told him that he really only lets peeople lock in and out on a flood tide or slack water, but the NB owner gave him an hard time about unlawfully impeding navigation and stuff, so Locky thinks stuff you.

The lock drains down, the gates open and the boat chugs out on the river. 3 pirrouettes and a couple of hundred yards downstream later, the NB skipper gained some semblence of control and turned the bow upriver.

The Briggs n Stratton or whatever they put in these things was heard to go from chuff chuff chuff to chuffchuffchuffchuff.

Apparently it took him about 2 hours to round the bend of the river maybe half a mile upstream of the lock. :eek:


The tidal Ouse at Selby can be a nasty river, I'm not experienced enough to tackle it yet on my own.
 
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