sailing + booze = yachting culture

[Birdseye]

The NI maintains the MARS reporting database and their report 200630 has an Editors Note "it must be continually borne in mind that yachting and the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs are sometimes culturally associated"

I challenged the NI over this statement, and it's author replied
"I wrote that statement, and after 30 years of yachting experience as well, I can attest to the fact that many weekend and casual sailors (both motor and sail) do drink while operating their vessels.

Seems to me from the heat generated on these forums by the new booze-sailing laws that this man has a point.

Whilst I wouldnt want to produce another statistically dodgy claim, could it be that more anguish has been produced amongst yotties who see their drink-sailing threatened than by the red diesel tax issue or marina charges? Is it that we inhibited Brits cant enjoy ourselves totally sober?

Possibly connected - on a recent TV prog, a liver specialist ran a series of test on a random selection of adults and found that more than 40% had early stage liver damage due to booze.

 

[trouville]

How can you tell? Strong drinks to blame and bad water,wine is bacteria free

 

[steve_cronin]

Well. Thank - you for that Vicar...

now, anyone with anything entertaining to say?

Steve Cronin

 

[Bergman]

Personally I think your claim is quite dodgy enough as it is.

Not sure how your man gets his information or what degree of accuracy he claims in basing his writings upon it.

For my part I have been more vocal than most in objecting to this nonsense on the basis that it is an attempt to introduce more unnecessary regulation to address a non-problem thus wasting taxpayers money and further undermining the liberty of the individual and creating even further intrusion be the state into an individual's personal life.

On a personal level I do not drink at all so will not be able to sail while impaired by drink. I do however resent the implication that I and others object to this proposal on the basis that we want to sail whilst drunk when the truth is that we object on principle.

Perhaps its a case that the people proposing this rubbish have no principles of their own and so fail to recognise them in others.

 

[GazzaUK]

Re: Well. Thank - you for that Vicar...

[ QUOTE ]


now, anyone with anything entertaining to say?



[/ QUOTE ]


No, but it's your round...get the beers in!

 

[peterb]

[ QUOTE ]
"I wrote that statement, and after 30 years of yachting experience as well, I can attest to the fact that many weekend and casual sailors (both motor and sail) do drink while operating their vessels."[ QUOTE ]



And if you look a little further into his statement, you'll find that his experience is mostly obtained from the east coast of the USA.

 

[Twister_Ken]

In my experience, serious drinking is done after sailing, not during.

A bit like rugby.

 

[Danny Jo]

[ QUOTE ]
In my experience, serious drinking is done after sailing, not during.

A bit like rugby

[/ QUOTE ] More's the pity. I gained 2 kg in 3 weeks sailing. If five people travelling together go out for a drink/meal, how can one politely get away with less than five rounds?

My wife saw a bottle of wine in one of the photos, and said "But I thought you were keeping a dry boat?"

"Yes," I replied, "take a look at the bilges."

OK, so there's a little "condensation".

 

[TheBoatman]

I think the problem is more to do with setting the levels for the same as car drivers!

Yes there are people out there that are completely rat ar*ed whilst driving a boat ~ but very, very few.

But we all know that after a days sailing or racing there are a lot of skippers/crews that can't even remember where they parked their boat yet alone drive it after a night ashore.

If we apply the same drink driving laws as those for car drivers then the next morning nobody should move a boat ~ but they do quite successfully without any problems. They feel like death warmed up but they are not a real hazard to anyone other than themselves.

As far as I understand it if you're a car driver you have to have carried out a "moving traffic offence" before plod can stop you, but when it comes to a moving offence whilst on the water we have yet to have that defined, all we have at the moment is that the boat has to be "navigated"

I suppose it will be down to test cases to set the parameters!

All I know is that just recently my YC hosted an offshore event and I was responsible for returning the crews to their boats after their run ashore and if plod had tested any of them the next morning no racing would have taken place and there would be a lot of extra "criminals" in the system.

Peter.