Sunday afternoon in Pwllheli

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Heckler

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just had a fabulous sail over from barmouth, coming into the harbour, my berth on piles on left of harbour and need to go left to get into the middle channel to point at berth.
previous week had made a right horlicks as tide caught the back end and swung it round with diminutive mam frantically trying to get strop on cleat so thought i will take a long slow approach to it this time, keep to the right until about 300 yds from berth and angle over towards piles to line her up and slow down,
aware of large motor launch about 4-500 yds away coming towards us on the right side of the outside lane (my left), methinks he has seen me and will turn to port a touch and all will be hunky dory and we will pass stbd to stbd, me by then in middle channel, he is going to twitch his wheel isnt he!! isnt he!! isnt he, mam on front frantically waving by now, old buffer staring straight ahead, finally hard over to stbd and gun the throttle and miss him, he passes by to port and his wife screeches, in that particularly irritating gargle that passes for speech in blazer and gin land,
MY RIGHT OF WAY, MY RIGHT OF WAY
i couldnt contain myself and shouted after them "shit for brains"
was i wrong to do this?
stu

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How was he to know you were going for the piles. Most folk go for the marina. Rules are, you pass port to port. Same situation in a car, you stop and wait for him to pass. You dont forse cars to the other side. Or do you??

<hr width=100% size=1> <font color=blue>No one can force me to come here.<font color=red> I'm a volunteer!!.<font color=blue>

Haydn
 
Agreed, probably scared the life out of them. I also don't see how he could know what your intentions were. He was no doubt expecting you to turn to Stbd sooner rather than later. Mind you, he was also wrong in saying he had Right of Way 'cos no one has, have they ? The fact that I currently have a motorboat has in no way affected my views. Honest !

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Mobo could have been a little more courteous (or attentive?). I keep my boat on a river lined with pile moorings, where it is not unusual to see vessels make turns across the fairway, often at peculiar angles, in order to approach the tide swept moorings. On the whole the river users are aware of this and ready to take accommodating action. He may well not have seen you until late and the comments about rights of way may have been to hide blushes. Best not to get involved in the hurling of abuse as it only raises ones own blood pressure, a smile of disbelief and a cheery wave often has more impact. You kept a look out, were ready to, and in deed did, abort your manouvre, and no harm was done.

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she was most definitely y saesnaeg or sassenach as you glottal fullstops call them
stu

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we had committed to the middle channel in good time, my wife waving at him, we just stop in the middle of the channel with the tide, pwllheli at the start of the piles running at about 3 knots? a stream of boats coming in behind us, a little bit of courtesy and a 5 degree twitch was all it needed.
stu

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Hand signals

In the days when I took my driving test we had to do hand signals (do they still do that?). What we need for boats is an accepted set of hand signals so that people in the sort of situation you were in can indicate their intentions and be understood.

We have to plod up a mile or two of mooring and marina lined river to park, and there are usually several boats doing uncolregs sort of things in order to moor or to unmoor, which require a degree in telepathy to work out. Hand signals would make it much easier. Some people use them, but it can be unclear what they mean. If the boat in front is slowing down and the helmsman points to port, is he about to turn to port , or does he want you to pass him to port?

A suitable case for a bit of campaigning by the boaty mags?


<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>
 
Re: Hand signals

or 2 short blasts of horn

or get swmbo to flash him twice (rule 34 b(1))

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk/TC_minicruise_2003_01.html>Cardigan Bay Cruise</A>
 
Re: Hand signals

I was about to make the same point. Not so much about having agreed hand signals though, just for one of the crew to look behind just before they go to Starboard, then quickly to Port. Hand signals are easily understood, but the crew always seem to be watching what is going on on their boat, with no comprehension that the line of boats behind them have just been thrown into pandemonium. Wouldn't take that much effort for someone on the stern, when there is a line astern of boats, to indicate what they are about to do.

<hr width=100% size=1>Err, let me know if Depsol enters the forum, I'll go and hide
 
Stu,

I was watching what happened from my boat. I would make the following constructive comments.

I had a similar view of your boat as the chap in the rather large power boat bearing down on you.

1. He was doing far more than the 4 knot speed limit.

2. From his perspective, I dont believe your intensions were clear. You would have looked to him like you were heading up the channel to the marina but were a little off course.

Hand signals from Laura on the bow to the approaching boat would have made all the difference.

A more obvious course across to the other side of the channel would have made your intensions more clear. You appeared to be makeing a diagnal route from his perspective.

Having had similar problems getting onto my mooring, I hope this helps

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tim
ahah
thought i was over much further than you say i was, also was under impression lau was jumping up and down, but the first comment goes a long way to explain why it started going pearshaped very quickly, when i started the manoeuvre i was a long way away and so was he but if he was going as fast as we now know he was he deserved ? my ripe language?
come to think of it, have seen or should i say felt his passage before now, whilst moored
stu

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