Nice trip up the Ouse spoiled

I actually don't care if we get held up particularly, it's all part of the experience and we go coastal and river. The part of this thread I am disappointed with is the rudeness from the minority in this thread. The OP felt that it had spoiled his day. Whilst it wouldn't have spoiled mine particular (it's part of the challenge of sharing the same water) most people responded in a mature way. There are ways of saying things.
 
bumpy_the_dog said:
Driving from Lymington to Lyndhurst today I was behind a 4x4 towing a rib who was trying to overtake two cyclists riding side by side, neither wearing helmets. After much hooting and reciprocal swearing he eventually powered past just before a blind bend. I don't know who was more to blame, but I guess if it had all gone wrong and ended up in court then the rib towing driver would have carried the majority of the responsibility.

Seems like the world's just becoming angrier and angrier, with more frazzled, indignant, desperate, furious, pressured, entitled, stressed people every where you look. I'm not holding my breath for it to improve all that much, in fact with traditional leisure boats being replaced by jetskis, paddleboards, wakeboards, International Moths, kayaks, and goodness knows what else, it's a fair bet that the pressure on the water and on sailor's tempers will just keep on increasing.

Unfortunately, other than a self administered dollop of zen like calm, I can't really think of any solutions.
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What colour socks were they wearing? Just asking as it has the same relevance as the mention of their helmets.
 
oGaryo said:
I was holding station and this loud mouth laa dee daa type woman starting shouting (yes shouting) " get off the race course!!!! ".. this spurred her colleagues on and they all had a go. bit of a chuckle as it goes, they didn't take too kindly when I said "you're not exactly going anywhere fast are you" ? seriously, they were pretty much going nowhere but working so very very hard at achieving that outcome :) :)
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Actually, it's harder going next to nowhere in light winds than it is steaming along in a breeze. That's why it can be annoying to get stopped dead by a wash on a calm day, it can take you ages to get going again.

Any sailor who behaved like that though would be thought a knob by other sailors and you would never hear a racing sailor refer to a "race course" in that sort of context. Probably confused as to why a motor boat was going at less than 0.5 knots so they had to overtake it though racers coming up behind any boat will try to work out what it's course will be and steer accordingly, they much prefer people to behave predictably.

Funny how sailing people who behave badly are always referred to as posh or la-di-da, did they have red trousers and a blue ensign too? :)

The fact that they shouted at you when you stopped though does rather demonstrate my point about sailing boats (or indeed motorboats) stopping to let people pass being perceived as a hazard.
 
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I watched it all unfold from the pontoon. Gary could really do nothing right in their eyes. Keep going and hold his course and he was shouted at by all and sundry including a guy with a loud hailer; Flip into neutral and he got the same response. There really was nothing he could do. He came up the river and simply found himself hemmed in every which way. The abuse from the racers was comical in the end.
L
:)
 
lisilou said:
I watched it all unfold from the pontoon. Gary could really do nothing right in their eyes. Keep going and hold his course and he was shouted at by all and sundry including a guy with a loud hailer; Flip into neutral and he got the same response. There really was nothing he could do. He came up the river and simply found himself hemmed in every which way. The abuse from the racers was comical in the end.
L
:)
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The funniest bit was the fella who quizzed me as to whether I knew about Col regs. I said yes of course, sail gives way to power, right? He bit good and proper, bless him :)
 
Boats tacking towards you are a doddle, just wait til they tack & go behind them. It is as simple as that. It may mean crossing to the "wrong" side of the river to do it sometimes, but so what?

Sailing boats are relatively slow & have to obey the laws of physics so are actually very predictable once you understand that the best they can do is 45deg into the wind. They also tend to draw a few feet of water & have little power to get off if aground so they try to keep clear of the shallow bit.

If you watch them for a while you will start to see the pattern, especially in narrow waters where there are few options for them. Motorboats can go in any direction & as fast or slow as they like, what's the problem in just going behind after a tack?

Posting a petulant sounding complaint on here is rather displaying your own lack of understanding. Which may explain some of the comments. This has nothing to do with us & them, but rather about understanding the needs of a craft that is effectively very restricted in its ability to manoeuvre compared to your craft, therefore you have an obligation to keep clear.

All those sailing boats in close quarters racing, in many different boats with different characteristics, manage to miss each other 99.9% of the time, why should it be so difficult for you in your ultra manoeuvrable boat?
 
oGaryo said:
The funniest bit was the fella who quizzed me as to whether I knew about Col regs. I said yes of course, sail gives way to power, right? He bit good and proper, bless him :)
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Notwithstanding the volume of raggies who think 'Power gives way to sail' applies when they are motoring, the extent of too many dinghy sailors knowledge of the colregs omits the bit about 'an overtaking vessel shall keep clear', no matter what it is powered by - Rule 13. Also Rule 9b clearly states vessels navigating a narrow channel should be given room, e.g. by sailing boats (dinghies) not so affected. Rule 8 states all vessels should be navigated with good seamanship, so shouting 'get off the race course' falls foul of this one.

A second hand copy of the col regs handy with these bits tab marked ready to lob at the idiot shouting at you works wonders.

Happened to me years ago on a sigma 36 yacht transiting up towards Chichester Marina. Close to low water effectively motoring along in a narrow slot (2m draft). Racey dinghy approaches from behind and to leeward, then gets stuck in the lee of our boat and virtually stops, then the abuse begins. "he'll see us in a minute" - looks, smile, look away and carry on pootling at 3 knots. It was at this point I suggested he actually read the regs BEFORE he went on the water shouting them at at others.

Unfortunately I didn't have a large cylinder to hoist !

Having just read this thread though I do think some of the responses are somewhat harsh, after all the OP did declare his limited experience. IMHO he acted prudently to turn around, so whereas this spoiled his day, it didn't spoil anyone elses.
 
There's a letter in the dictionary that depicts the art of tacking nicely. Z When lots of flappy boats do it at the same time it becomes a little.... zzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
lisilou said:
I watched it all unfold from the pontoon. Gary could really do nothing right in their eyes. Keep going and hold his course and he was shouted at by all and sundry including a guy with a loud hailer; Flip into neutral and he got the same response. There really was nothing he could do. He came up the river and simply found himself hemmed in every which way. The abuse from the racers was comical in the end.
L
:)
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Sounds like he drove himself into the situation either without realising or deliberately, neither of which is really justifiable. Presumably as he said "I managed to get into one of the fairways out of their way..." he had also gone out of the fairway to get into that situation which might even suggest he was looking for conflict. Can't really complain about dinghies racing outside the fairway, people are usually saying that's where they should be aren't they, or is it just that some motorboats don't want to share the water with sailing boats wherever they are?
 
l'escargot said:
Sounds like he drove himself into the situation either without realising or deliberately, neither of which is really justifiable. Presumably as he said "I managed to get into one of the fairways out of their way..." he had also gone out of the fairway to get into that situation which might even suggest he was looking for conflict. Can't really complain about dinghies racing outside the fairway, people are usually saying that's where they should be aren't they, or is it just that some motorboats don't want to share the water with sailing boats wherever they are?
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Pulls pin, lobs, takes cover....!
:)
Plus one btw...
 
oGaryo said:
There's a letter in the dictionary that depicts the art of tacking nicely. Z When lots of flappy boats do it at the same time it becomes a little.... zzzzzzzzzzzzz
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If you think that tacking involves following the course of a Z, you haven't been watching properly - no wonder you can't work out the course a tacking boat will take...:p
 
l'escargot said:
If you think that tacking involves following the course of a Z, you haven't been watching properly - no wonder you can't work out the course a tacking boat will take...:p
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The penny has dropped, you were in one of the dinghies weren't you! Come on, admit it, no need to be embarrassed
 
oGaryo said:
The penny has dropped, you were in one of the dinghies weren't you! Come on, admit it, no need to be embarrassed
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Old story if I was, I haven't sailed in a boat that didn't have a bar, a bed and a toilet in about 20 years...

Most sailors know how to motor a boat, it's not much to ask for most motorboaters to know how a boat sails is it?
 
Just_sayin' said:
Context is so important if one is to have an opinion.

Me: 48’ YACHT. Motoring out of Chi harbour, or trying to. Got tangled up with the biggest group of arrogant t%ssers i have ever experienced in a long time ‘sailing’. They were racing dinghies and day boats that ranged from Toppers through to 20 knot (?) Moths (?) up on foils, mixed in with those lovely J class look-alikes from Itchenor. No matter where we, and numerous others, went we were shouted at and abused. No amount of manoeuvring helped. I seem to remember people on here complaining and letters being sent to the organising clubs. Trip spoiled? Nope. A small part of it was stressful. Finally got through, rest of day great fun.

Me: In my MOBO hitting 42 knots in The Solent. Open exhausts. Saw quite a few yachts ahead and obviously arrived quite quickly. Start of a RORC race, could NOT get through despite best efforts and even blipping throttle to slowly make way through ran risk of back-filling exhausts. Trip spoiled? Nope. A small part of it was stressful. Finally got through, rest of day great fun.

Me: Racing YACHT in the Round Island Race. Definitely on for 2nd or 3rd in class and gaining on leader. A MOBO decided to come and sit to windward blanketing us and hitting us with wash. Finished 7th after 10+ hours of intense work. DAY spoiled? You bet.

So, a fair bit of experience on both sides of the fence.

I’m sorry but I really can’t see how meeting 3 yachts tacking towards me can upset someone so much they have to rush here to tell us.

My bad.:nonchalance:
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You aren't American are you? You obviously can't see the irony in this?

"Me: 48’ YACHT. Motoring out of Chi harbour, or trying to. Got tangled up with the biggest group of arrogant t%ssers i have ever experienced in a long time ‘sailing’. They were racing dinghies and day boats that ranged from Toppers through to 20 knot (?) Moths (?) up on foils, mixed in with those lovely J class look-alikes from Itchenor. No matter where we, and numerous others, went we were shouted at and abused. No amount of manoeuvring helped. I seem to remember people on here complaining and letters being sent to the organising clubs. Trip spoiled? Nope. A small part of it was stressful. Finally got through, rest of day great fun."

"Me: Racing YACHT in the Round Island Race. Definitely on for 2nd or 3rd in class and gaining on leader. A MOBO decided to come and sit to windward blanketing us and hitting us with wash. Finished 7th after 10+ hours of intense work. DAY spoiled? You bet."

"I’m sorry but I really can’t see how meeting 3 yachts tacking towards me can upset someone so much they have to rush here to tell us. "
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I'd guess the Ouse at Ely is 25 yards wide, maybe 50 in places at most. Three boats tacking across river could easily block everyone behind them. Either the powerboat would have to be inconsiderate or or the sailing boats considerate. No idea what the local byelaws are there but it's not tidal so IRPCS wouldn't apply I assume (unless that's what the byelaw says).
 
l'escargot said:
Old story if I was, I haven't sailed in a boat that didn't have a bar, a bed and a toilet in about 20 years...

Most sailors know how to motor a boat, it's not much to ask for most motorboaters to know how a boat sails is it?
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Sorry for my presumptions... it's just that your posts were so presumptuous, almost as if you were there to witness events and know me. You clearly fall short on both counts. Here they are again in a different context zzzzzzzzzzzzz bored now, off to bed, have a nice night :)
 
grumpy_o_g said:
You aren't American are you? You obviously can't see the irony in this?

"Me: 48’ YACHT. Motoring out of Chi harbour, or trying to. Got tangled up with the biggest group of arrogant t%ssers i have ever experienced in a long time ‘sailing’. They were racing dinghies and day boats that ranged from Toppers through to 20 knot (?) Moths (?) up on foils, mixed in with those lovely J class look-alikes from Itchenor. No matter where we, and numerous others, went we were shouted at and abused. No amount of manoeuvring helped. I seem to remember people on here complaining and letters being sent to the organising clubs. Trip spoiled? Nope. A small part of it was stressful. Finally got through, rest of day great fun."

"Me: Racing YACHT in the Round Island Race. Definitely on for 2nd or 3rd in class and gaining on leader. A MOBO decided to come and sit to windward blanketing us and hitting us with wash. Finished 7th after 10+ hours of intense work. DAY spoiled? You bet."

"I’m sorry but I really can’t see how meeting 3 yachts tacking towards me can upset someone so much they have to rush here to tell us. "
​

I'd guess the Ouse at Ely is 25 yards wide, maybe 50 in places at most. Three boats tacking across river could easily block everyone behind them. Either the powerboat would have to be inconsiderate or or the sailing boats considerate. No idea what the local byelaws are there but it's not tidal so IRPCS wouldn't apply I assume (unless that's what the byelaw says).
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Not sure why you've quoted me twice. I'm as much American as you're a mathematician.

Average boat, what, 30 feet? '10' yards for ease of explanation. Ely 25 yards across? 2.5 boat lengths? Thats some serious and impressive short tacking if it's true, impossible if it's not.
 
oGaryo said:
Sorry for my presumptions... it's just that your posts were so presumptuous, almost as if you were there to witness events and know me. You clearly fall short on both counts. Here they are again in a different context zzzzzzzzzzzzz bored now, off to bed, have a nice night :)
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Not presumptuous or witness, just based on what you had posted. Now if you are saying it didn't happen as posted, I'll look forward your next version of events... I shall, you too :)
 
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