This month's YM

[billmacfarlane]

This month\'s YM

Has anyone read the article about sailing round Portland Bill in this month's YM ? For those that haven't the writer was in Yarmouth , second boat out from a raft of four . The outside boat had a group of anti-social boors on board who kept the raft awake until 3 a.m. At 6 a.m. the writer and the boat outside of her wanted to leave and couldn't rouse the gorillas from their cage. The skipper on the boat next to them lost his temper and shouted down their forehatch , and then cast them adrift and left along with the writer's boat , leaving the boor's boat drifting with no-one coming up from below. Have I read the situation right ? If so surely two wrongs don't make a right ? What if the boat drifted into the path of the ferry or walloped another boat ? Would anyone else have done this ? If the boor's behaviour was anti-social surely the writer's was downright dangerous ?

 

[tcm]

Re: agreed

Not read it. i would have retied the gorilla's boat, root around in cockpit to find the lines and anywhere else, perhaps stomp about a bit hoping to wakem up. In fact, I believe that leaving the other boat safe is one of the rules of the harbour or somewhere.

 

[tome]

Re: This month\'s YM

I had similiar thoughts on reading this. No matter how unsociable they might have been on the outside boat, it doesn't justify setting them adrift. The article didn't make it clear if any of them were awake or on deck, but if not this was a dangerous and thoughtless action on the writers part which IMHO far outweighed the anti-sociable behaviour of the victims.

 

[Guest]

Re: This month\'s YM

It's probably illegal, too. If any damage to boat or person had followed the boors would have had a good case to sue.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Re: This month\'s YM

Not read it yet - but assuming the problem was excess achohol consumed the previous night, then this is one more reason (that none of us want) for breath tests to be introduced. If all of them were stoned, then it would be unsafe to move the boat, and this is irresponsible use of alcohol - I wonder how many times we have all been there????

I agree with the previous post, as much as they deserve to be set adrift - this is not an option as damage to other inocent yachts may occur. And yes - they could be sued.

 

[Mirelle]

What a bunch of goody-goodies! I disagree!

I am going to assume that anyone called Delmar-Morgan has been sailing for a few years. Now, the culprits were woken before being set adrift, so all they had to do was to rouse themselves and sort matters out. Their behaviour more than justified their treatment.

Any rowdy oiks on this forum may care to note that if they secure alongside me and carouse the night away using language unfit for children at 0200 they will indeed be set adrift, and I may NOT wake them up.

 

[billmacfarlane]

Re: What a bunch of goody-goodies! I disagree!

Why are you assuming that someone called Delmar-Morgan has been sailing for a few years ? And what's that got to do with setting someone adrift ?

 

[Mirelle]

Re: What a bunch of goody-goodies! I disagree!

Edward Delmar-Morgan was a "guru" of 1950's yacht cruising. It's an unusual name. Since sailing is a fairly uncommon activity, I am assuming that the writer might be related.

 

[tcm]

Re: What a bunch of goody-goodies! I disagree!

I hope that this is in jest. You could end up in court. Noise from other boats at any time of night or day can be reported to the harbourmaster. Being set adrift by another boat because they disagree with your language, or sleeping hours is quite another. There may or may not have been people on the boat.

 

[Trevethan]

Re: This month\'s YM

Does this mean if I want to get liquored up, I mean, have a sociable drink I have to be the innermost boat in the raft?

Of course I am joking. Everyone knows that stinkies/raggies and alcohol can't even be mentioned in the same breath.

 

[pugwash]

Re: What a bunch of goody-goodies! I disagree!

May we get to the facts, m'lud?
If the oiks were indeed woken up, and if one of them at least was clearly up and conscious and preparing to come on deck, I'd say a rapid departure was at least partly justified.
If the sozzled crew were simply shouted at and cast adrift, it was not a good deed.
Could the writer or YM tell us?

 

[Mirelle]

Worth it.

Any vessel's crew should be in a position to ensure the safety of their own vessel at all times. An entire crew incapacitated in a drunken stupor is utterly unseamanlike, as well as disgusting. And their behaviour was so foul, in front of children, that they deserved a shock.

If they had gone aground it would have done them some good, and if they had been run down and drowned it would hardly have been much of a loss to humanity.

 

[tcm]

Re: Worth it.

umm, i see your point and it seems you have 1st -hand knowledge. However, as i'm sure you know, they had taken care of their vessel - by tying up. This done, they could then pass out, or even leave the vessel unattended - they don't need to stay at the helm 24/7/365. Anyone who affects tthe security of a tied up boat takes on the responsibilty to leave it safe. Nonetheless, they do sound awful and can't quibble with the improvement of the gene pool issue, but the law is a little pickier...

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Worth it.

No, no first hand knowledge. Fortunately. But had I been in that position, I fancy I might have done the same - not if it would have placed them in real danger - I would have made sure they were well awake first, as I assume was done.

 

[ponapay]

Re: agreed

I agree, but wouldn't it be nice to to them to some safe but uncomfortable anchorage, preferably miles from where they wanted to be.

Drunks and the sea fo not go together - even when in harbour. The skipper is still responsible and MUST remain sober.

ponapay

 

[Guest]

Revenge

In the early 80s on my first ever foray into keelboats I was on a holiday with three families, including seven children aged six to fifteen, who took two boats on a skippered charter in the Dodecanese. We joined the boats in Rhodes and found a bunch of hooray henrys had taken a third boat bareboat on a university graduation celebration.
Somehow they ended up following us everywhere we went, mooring with us, following us into our lunch anchorages and behaving abominably: noisy, drunken, boorish and even sexually aggressive – deliberately strutting around naked and in an indecent state in front of the women and young girls in our party.
Our Aussie skippers (or maybe islanders brought up in Australia) threatened to report them to the police, but it didn’t have any effect.
We stayed at Kos for two nights for a break ashore and some sightseeing. Whereas we normally moored bows-to, for some reason I can’t recall, this time we were rafted alongside when the henrys arrived and rafted outside us.
For two nights they stomped over our boats – through the cockpits – at about 11pm on their way out and three in the morning on their way back, usually with several women in tow. Polite reminders about rafting etiquette were met with ‘Don’t raft up if you can’t take it’. The temptation to cut them adrift was intense.
On the last day in Kos, they went to fill up with water and diesel. As we left, the henrys’ engine wouldn’t start and we couldn’t understand why our skippers were smirking. The hoorays insisted that our skippers help them, as they worked for the charter firm, but our guys just told them they had a bareboat deal and were on their own.
At our lunch stop the skippers swore us to secrecy then told us: during the night they had switched the hoorays’ filler caps. They said the hoorays would be blamed for getting it wrong and their insurance wouldn’t even start to cover the damage. It would take days for the mechanic to get to them and they would be responsible for getting themselves back to Rhodes in time to fly home, then responsible for the cost of getting the boat back to Rhodes, plus a charter fee for every day the boat was late getting back.
The holiday had been ruined, but getting our own back helped. And the charter firm (it was German or Austrian, I think, can’t remember what it was called, I didn’t book it) paid for upgrades to first class on the Athens-London leg of the flight home, even though it wasn’t their fault.
It has occurred to me that one of the henrys might be reading this; I hope so.

 

[david_e]

Get a life!

As a parent etc, would normally agree about noisy neighbours, but hey this is leisure time, so if they are having a booze up, go and join em, sit there in your undies and drink their pop, they then run out quicker and go to bed, then you are all happy and you have new friends as well!!

At least in sailing you have something in common unlike many real neighbours

 

[NigeCh]

Surely sailing is sailing to get away from hell?

That's why I went from Cowes to find peace and wilderness around Anglesey. I've never looked back and am glad to be away from the boorish mid-south coast yuppie-scuppie attidudes.

 

[jonjo]

Re: Legal Revenge

Suggest the yobbos should have been re-attached to the outside of the local trawler fleet.

 

[Mirelle]

I have one, thank you.

and I am more interested in keeping my family happy. Remind me to avoid you; if you sail in the Solent this will be easy.