Slalom Courses

hlb

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Now don’t you find that on a lovely summer day, whilst passing a particularly uninteresting coastline.
And especially if the auto pilot is tracking the GPS.
That you sit on the fly bridge getting quite board.
Until a whole host of Lobster pot buoys loom into sight. When you can turn the pilot off and zoom through the buoys just like skiing down a slalom course and pretend for a while that your some ace racing driver just doing the last lap. (Hence the title.) Even though having to come to a dead stop and backing up when the exit route doesn’t look too clear.

Now I was looking at shuttlecock the other day and they were parroting on about lobster pot buoys.
But at six knots it’s from a different perspective. But anyway not to steel there fire. That’s where the inspiration came from.

But then take the other side of the coin. Like rounding a headland on a wet day, the seas doing a good 5 or 6 and then of course you meet the over falls.

Of course you’ve long since gone down stairs, just to get out of the rain, the spray and even big waves coming over the top. And anyway you now need all the electric gismo’s you’ve got.

So your there on your todd. Because usually by this time, the wife has retired to the bathroom.

The boats taken on the feel of a submarine at periscope depth and your eyes are going dizzy looking at radar screens, chart plotters, compass and in between when the bow drops enough, through the screen.
Although that’s usually a bit of a waist of time. The wipers are going mad and there’s that much sea coming over that its rare to see anything.

But there it is! And another one. And another. Just a little black ball with sinister looking ropes attached.
Then your trying to hit the button on the autopilot, the boat hits the next wave and you miss.
Three or four attempts and your back on the wheel and steering franticly to miss the buoys.
The tales of the Nelson that wound its props together on a rope and sunk, comes vividly into mind at this time, and your throat goes dry.
The course you’ve picked to keep the boat on a some thing like even keel, has gone completely out of the window and for a moment or two, you haven’t a clue which direction your going in and neither do you care. Just as long as you miss those ropes.

Now I have tried and tested rope cutters on my boat, but that doesn’t mean, they work every time.
And the thought of being hung up by the tail in that stuff is awful frightening.

Is not it time these things were. Put on a chart and a Cardinal buoy by them. Big yellow flag!
Anything to tell you where they were going to be and a route to miss them by.

Well that’s enough ranting for a Sunday night.





Haydn
 
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Excellent post Haydn and what's more I understood most of it. But you're right, buttscuttle had a go at em too, but they were a bit more radical, wanted to ban lobster pots, fishingboats, power boats, PWC's, motor boats and lifeboats too, but then that's raggies for you. Ban anything that aint rag 'n stick.

But you make a good point. Why don't we have proper marking for them, or is it that they're moved to different locations all the time?

Oh and not heard the Nelson story, is it true? Did his boat, Victotry wasn't it, get a rope caught round it's props too? Perhaps he should have kept a better eye out for them;-).
 

hlb

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Yes Colin Upyerbut posts are very similar to my wifes arguments. Do one thing wrong and everything in entire life and every subject under the sun comes up.

And no Colin, that Nelson was a rag and, well!, lots of sticks, bloke. This one was a Nelson Aquastar, I believe some where round the Lizard. A Nelson Colin, is a boat design, built like a brick sh~thouse and well, oh I give up.

Haydn
 
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Beyond reproach

Haydn, fisherman like farmers are self appointed 'guardians of our environment' (pass the sick bag, please) and, therefore, their activities are beyond reproach. Quite why tiny little black flags are considered sufficient indication of pot positions, I dont know. Personally, I make every effort to sink the bloody things if I catch one
 

ccscott49

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Re: Beyond reproach

But! What was it you were all saying about rag & stick wanting to sink things and ban them etc.
 

zefender

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Re: Beyond reproach

Nice to read that stinkie bottoms share concerns about lobster pots. I note there is also a military wing here too, taking the matter into its own hands!
 

oldgit

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Re: who in command

How about the mk1 eyeball or does all that flapping linen and bits of string prevent the kapitan being in charge of the battleyot instead of vice versa.IMHO
 
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During the "summer" (I use the word loosely) whilst rounding Portland in not the best of weather I give a pot marker a good 100yd clearance, only to find the thing catching me up 2 minutes later as it wound itself onto my props.

Having spent 20 minutes hanging over the bathing platform with the wife clutching onto my harness while I cut through the FLOATING NYLON LINE that held the marker to the pot and effetively anchoring me stern onto swell ,with waves breaking past me and filling the cockpit.

ANY improvement in marking these things and the banning of floating line attachments has got my vote !
 

petem

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It could get worse.....

I though they were subtly marked to prevent rival fishermen from stealing each others lobsters?

I'm sure I also read that now that SA has been switched off the sneakier sods can 'float' them six inches under the water so that they're not visbly marked at all. They can then find them by GPS. Nightmare!
 

zefender

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Re: who in command

I'm sure militant raggies will happily follow the advance of stinkers on any mission. However, let's hope the latter group manage to turn left or right around the islands and manage to find their way home!
 
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