Poole Harbour chain ferry.

Rustyknight

Rustyknight

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Just found an item about the chain ferry at Poole entrance...... apparently it will soon have right of way over anything and everything under 50m LOA.

Full story here... DAILY ECHO

Not sure if this gives them the right to run you down or not...... any volunteers? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
To be honest, I thought it had too.... though I can remember the days when it didn't. However, as I sail out of Poole, every time I pass through the entrance, theres usually a few boats trying to beat the ferry.
 
Hah ! Another nail in the coffin of chains give way to sail. Long overdue, imho, and would never have stood on to her anyway...

dv.
 
I am sorry but I do not agree of all the boats using the harbour entrance the chain ferry is the only one in total control of speed and direction and therefore imho should be the give way vessel. As far as I can see the change is driven by ferry timetables rather than safety.
 
to those that thought it had r o w anyway,
blimey, its written in the almanacs and pilot guides ( they are lots of bits of paper glued together with words and pictures on them, that you can find out about stuff from, they be called books)
have you ever used one other than to gain height to peer over the table to see what's for dinner?
tip - dont take your friends kids out with you, guilt can cripple you, makes you stoop in middle age.
the boats you have seen speeding to clear are being courteous to the passengers of the ferry, for the skipper was, obliged to wait for small craft to clear before proceeding.
 
It's track and speed is entirely predictable, which makes it very easy to avoid. So long as it's obvious when it's about to start, it makes sense to give it priority. At the moment, one vessel might aim to miss by going astern, then ends up hitting the stern because someone else has caused it to stop unexpectedly by standing on to it across the bow.

Anyone that thinks otherwise probably tries shouting at lifting bridges to give way /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

It's not as if the skipper can put in a quick tack half way across...
 
Think you'll find it is for safety, after one or two recent incidents where it stopped because of sailing dinghies passing in front, unfortunatey causing others to hit it.

Had it not been the giveway vessel, these incidents probably wouldn't have occurred

If you pay attention you will see it hoist the black anchor ball when it is about to depart, and surprise , surprise it,s very easy to predict it's course and speed
Luckily it looks like from other answers, arrogant raggies are a diminishing breed /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
It certainly will make bank holiday afternoons a bit more interesting..... if theres a decent spring ebb tide running, and everyones coming back in from Studland at the same time to make the bridge at the quay it's chaos even if the ferry gives way.

P'raps it'll end up a bit like speed cameras, the official line being safety, but the "masses" thinking of them as revenue earners. Roll on the first fines......
 
[ QUOTE ]
As far as I can see the change is driven by ferry timetables rather than safety.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not so; There was an accident a couple fo years ago when the local X fleet got becalmed, one was swept down on to and under the ferry, the crew only saved by some prompt action by ferry crew and nearby boats. I believe one lady had the dubious distinction of being swept under it and surviving!

The enquiry found that the fact that the ferry was required to always give way was a contributing factor to the accident - the yachts assumed the ferry would give way which for some reason it could not - a ferry was arriving if I remember rightly.

One of the findings of that enquiry and others, was that the ferry should have right of way, so that approaching boats were required to take avoiding action. They also recommended that the rules should be amended to make it mandatory for sailing vessels to pass the narrows under power.

It was interesting to note that the skipper of the ferry is a fully qualified Ocean going Captain.
 
[ QUOTE ]
As far as I can see the change is driven by ferry timetables rather than safety.

[/ QUOTE ]

And there I was thinking that when it was full it left! Now I'm told that it has a sophisticated timetable to stick to. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

The change is driven by common sense; of course it should have right of way.
 
You could turn round!

More seriously, if you can't control your boat to suit the local conditions (ie. tide and ferry) surely you should make sure that you're not at the entrance when the tide is running that strong?
 
[ QUOTE ]
You could turn round!

[/ QUOTE ]With my old engine, I couldn't do 5kts going forwards, either!

On your more serious note, I agree, I shouldn't venture into the harbour mouth until I'm sure I can do so safely. I was being a bit facetious - in practice, I regard abject cowardice as a survival trait /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
During peak times in the summer it runs shuttle during the day, but during the rest of thr year and non peak times it runs to a very strict timetable. If you miss it, Whichever side of the entrance you are on, there is a twenty minute wait for the next one. It`s usually only at w/ends when all the world and his dog are out that problems occur.
 
and even then it's either spring tides at full flow or loveley conditions with light winds that really cause the problems.

personally I think it will prove a practical positive for safety as it's one less uncertainly in an otherwise chaotic arena. anyone with special circumstances can still call it up on C14 and discuss - as the safety boat for a fleet of dingys did a couple of weeks ago to the clear benefit of both parties.

as colreg threads inevitably highlight - he has priority not the right to run others down at whim!
 
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