Stupid Law Mon 15 Nov

[Dominic]

I suggest that you get a report ready for Mon 15 Nov;

By VHF, e-mail, post or any other method

to report;

touching bottom, pissing over the side, breaking a fingernail while paddling your canoe, the water coming over your wellies while launching.

Anything but be inventive.

Think now and send in your report next Monday.
You can even report what happened over the weekend.

The aim is to flood the sytem with trivia - BUT remember the fine if you don´t.

Having re-read the law I suggest we target the nearest Coastguard station by VHF fax, e-mail or phone. Probably this will mean Falmouth or Solent - bearing in mind the spread of boats and forum readers.

 

[chas]

Careful - all they will do is employ more people to read them - and guess who will pay for that!

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[Sybarite]

Written reports yes but VHF no. You need to remain responsible and consider the safety aspect.

John

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[cliff]

Forgot that outside the Solent and Falmouth there is no life, the whole world revolves around the south coast, no one else exists.

I thought this was an international forum with members from all over but perhaps I was wrong!!

If you are in the area of Falmouth or the Solent by all means harass your local CG, Me? - I'll call Clyde, Belfast or Oban or whoever depending where I am when I need to call them but not to acknowledge the existence of some stupid bit of legislation which cannot possibly be enforced.

If you want to protest against the legislation then by all means do so in writing NOT on the VHF. Any idiot that would tie up either ch16 or the CG on a pratt stunt wants keel hauled then strung up by the nuts to the spreaders.

Grow up and get a life!

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[FWB]

I'm lost. What is this law? What is this post all about?

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[Cornishman]

He's missed out Brixham and Portland

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[oldharry]

I would be a bit careful if I were you...

swamping the authorities with 'incident reports' sounds good on the face of it, but if the 'authorities' get the idea that we yotties cannot manage our boats without running aground, causing pollution, bumping into each other or falling in every few minutes then we give them a very clear case indeed for insisting our sport is better regulated.

The official mind only needs a set of statistics of this kind to 'prove' that pleasure boating is far too dangerous a sport to be allowed to continue without a system of comprehensive compulsory training, licensing, reporting and control.

Indeed it would not surprise me if we have to file our 'passage plans' with MCA, in triplicate, at least 3 weeks before departure, before pushing off across to the Folly for a pint..... Copies to Local Harbour Authority, VTS, RNLI, and local Police.

Well, at least it would give those commando types in the black HMC RIBS (as reported on another thread) an extra edge to their job....

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[geoffatstanpit]

There's life in Portland too!

Geoff

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[Althorne]

Dylan a couple of days ago it was suggested that anyone who does not report any type of "incident" no matter how trivial 'while onboard' will be deemed to have commited an offence for which any skipper, commercial or private would be fined heavily or imprisoned. This was done by the goverment after consultation but only for commercial boats. They included leisure craft without consultation which is illegal. But as it's the lawyer himself who's in charge and the ships steward in second place what more can you expect?

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://colvicownersclub.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk>http://colvicownersclub.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk</A>

 

[alldownwind]

Re: I would be a bit careful if I were you...

Yep, I'm a little suspicious of this apparent oversight in demanding that even us small-boat sailors have to file reports on trivia. Think about it....maybe it was deliberate on the part of the MCA - remember that the CEO was heavily criticised by the Transport Parliamentary Committee for not collecting statistics!!

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[steve_l]

Re: I would be a bit careful if I were you...

Totally agree.
Consider any proposed legislation in the most pessimistic way possible and the result will probably not be so different to that scenario!
Just another back-door route to compulsory registration and control of a currently untapped revenue source!
Be warned!

-steve-

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[PIGLETSDREAM]

There is, I've lived there, the only life, is those doing life at HMP!!

<hr width=100% size=1>Must go, Matron is coming

 

[boomerangben]

I doubt that the watch keepers at your local MRSC/MRCC are overly enthusiastic about this legislation. If you must participate in bureauctatic terrorism, direct you reports to the horses mouth - Alastair Darling, along with a note to say that you have sent the report to him because you are concerned that the Coastguard should not distracted from their safety role by processing incident reports.

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[Dominic]

The Safety Aspect

Yes, I accept that BUT you are breaking the law if you do not report the incident.

There is precedent in the courts for observing the law even though doing so put others at risk.

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[Dominic]

Density of boats.

I am in Tenerife.

I assumed that the greatest density of boats and thus the greatest density of reports could be generated in those areas.

The idea is to demonstrate that this is an unenforceable law by applying pressure both above and below.

By all means write to your MP and have a standard "reply to nutter" letter dictated by his over ambitious 18 year old assistant.

Grow up and get an English MP.


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[Dominic]

Too many reports..

You raise a good point.

If every canoeist raised a report ( albeit because he had broken a fingernail while paddling too vigourously) the nanny state would find this an excellent excuse to ban canoes.

Too many reports would either prove the stupidity of the law or in the wrong interpretation prove the stupidity of the boaters.

Interesting point. Not sure which way to go on that.

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[Dominic]

New law That you Must Observe

New laws concerning incidents on vessels are also being applied to ALL vessels. So if you fall off your lilo you have to report it.

http://www.rya.org.uk/Default.asp?contentID=3607524

From the RYA web site but see jimi´s excellent post on this forum.

"The new Regulations make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to £5,000, if skippers of such craft do not comply with the reporting requirements when a craft is involved in an ‘incident’ or ‘accident’.

The definitions of ‘accident’ and ‘incident’ are broad; examples could include hitting a buoy during a race, a dinghy capsize, a flat battery, a faulty VHF radio, a crack in a transom, a torn sail or a berthing manoeuvre involving two craft touching would all have to be reported or criminalisation risked. "

Have any of these happened to you ?
Criminal record and a 5 grand fine for not reporting them ?

What do you think ?



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[Dominic]

Geographic Disability

Not living in that part of the world I took a broad brush approach. No offense intended.

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[trouville]

Re: Geographic Disability

As long as everyone votes labour well be treated as idiots--judging by the taxes we may be just that! Labour believes we need to be protected from ourselves and every part of our lives regulated remember comunisum that Tony Blairs ideal

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