Pilot boats

[Pye_End]

Pilot boats don't come out of the blue if your keeping a proper look out.

If your concerned about the wash then you should turn your craft into it for the three slaps you will get.

If you are making 4 kn and a pilot vessel is making 20 kn, then seeing him at a couple of hundred yards you will struggle to get very far from his path. Whilst keeping a 360 degree watch 100% of the time sounds good in principal, it is not realistic, especially with a short handed crew preparing for sea or port.

You cannot turn your vessel into the wash when tied up in the harbour.

If you are on deck dousing the main/putting fenders out etc. you may not see the wash. Similarly you will not see wash coming at night. It is the wash just outside the port, and in particular inside the port which make this particularly antisocial.

 

[jac]

I have few issues with wash outside the harbour - as Calahan 44 said - it's no worse than being at sea. Slightkly irritating if trying to sail in a force 1 with most of the wind coming from the tide but it's not an issue.

Where it is potentially dangerous is creating a large wash in harbour, past moored boats as others have given examples.

 

[Poignard]

What do the crews of pilot boats do when they are not on the water? Do they sit in a comfortable rest room watching TV, playing cards or what?

Perhaps they should be put on zero-hours contracts. That would encourage them to go slower and make their trips last longer.

 

[jerrytug]

Ramsgate is a tiny harbour, anyone who can't bring themselves to motor slowly for 100m should be transferred to driving minicabs.

 

[pathfinderstu]

Would agree if pilot boats are causing problems specifically what seems to be Ramsgate harbour. I think the best form of approach would be along the lines of possibly the marina owners to make an offial complaint to the Harbour Master.

 

[dunedin]

Not just a UK thing. Crossing the Loire / St Nazaire shipping channel in a calm wind sailing at about 3 knots, at low tide and zero shipping movements, we suddenly realised we had a large powerboat heading straight for us at high speed.
AIS identified it as a French pilot boat doing over 27 knots. Eventually it swung past our stern.

All it was doing was a bus run out to the larger pilot vessel sitting at the entrance which looked to be a pilot waiting room.
Having dropped off it was immediately back up to over 27 knots for the run back.

No ships moved for the next hour.