ThLore of the Sea - v - 21st Century Selfishness

dom said:
A dreadful story, which like Seajet I am somewhat struggling with. I mean if a singlehander falls off his boat, one's hands will reflexively turn the wheel/tiller to help with no thought of a cill or whatever. I am also trying to imagine the crew's reaction on the passing boat; they'd have gone completely nuts. And did nobody in the marina hear the yelling? For if they had, this story would surely have gone around like wild fire.
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The incident was too far from the marina for yelling to be heard and took place early in the morning when no other boats were around.

This may be a public forum, but only a tiny minority of boat owners read it. And the person to whom it happened certainly didn't broadcast it around the place, although I have no doubt he has told various other people about it. Nobody has raised it in my hearing and I suspect my friend's attitude is "forget about it". He doesn't live locally, incidentally.
 
That's all very fine, but when the two boats are different shapes, a whole new set of considerations comes into effect. My long straight topsides make a good target for half-boats to raft up but when it's the other way round you'd think we were carrying the plague!

And don't get me started on rafting raggies with mobos.
 
Out of curiosity, do prospective raftee's (ie: the recipient of the arriving yacht) change their story according to the age of the inbound yacht? Or am I being too cynical? Can you legitametly refuse a completely safe rafting request?
 
I watch and encourage a suitable boat alongside - similar size raggie, couple onboard - far better than ending up with a school boat or a different size boat that is gong to present problems to people moving back and forth.
 
The requirements of the SOLAS Convention have no standing in themselves. A countries government may ratify the convention and then enact the requirements into law. In doth NZ and UK this is via the Maritime Transport Act and rules made under that Act I believe. Scary that anyone would require a law to make them help someone in distress but such is life.

I haven't had cause to use or view those provisions of a the Act but would hazard a wild guess that it would be about life not property so save the man from the sea outside the marina and take two drunks off their boat but not tow the drunks boat in.

I think I would rather just stick to being human and do what I could when I could. One day it might be me.!...
 
elenya said:
The requirements of the SOLAS Convention have no standing in themselves. A countries government may ratify the convention and then enact the requirements into law. In doth NZ and UK this is via the Maritime Transport Act and rules made under that Act I believe.
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In the UK it's the Merchant Shipping (Safety of Navigation) Regulations, 2002, made under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 but yep, exactly the same principle.

Pete
 
The idea that someone would leave another person in the water on such a minor consideration is so incredible as to be difficult to believe. Such a person is of such low moral standing that their local community ought to know. The fact that the idea of the 'brotherhood/sisterhood' of the sea is so ingrained in popular culture further inexcuses such behaviour.

I generally drop the hook rather than raft and I sail where rafting is uncommon but I am quite happy for others to raft alongside if it takes their fancy. I will help them and invite them aboard to sample the cellar. The idea of turning someone away is anathema. I do hope that these experiences shared here only make up a small, small minority or miserable sods.
 
pmagowan said:
The idea that someone would leave another person in the water on such a minor consideration is so incredible as to be difficult to believe.
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+1

I can only assume that they'd somehow failed to grasp what the situation entailed, being utterly fixated on getting over the sill. I can't imagine that anyone would rationally weigh up rescuing a man overboard against possibly having to anchor off for a few hours, and deliberately choose to leave him there.

Pete
 
snowleopard said:
That's all very fine, but when the two boats are different shapes, a whole new set of considerations comes into effect. My long straight topsides make a good target for half-boats to raft up but when it's the other way round you'd think we were carrying the plague!

And don't get me started on rafting raggies with mobos.
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Actually, I have found mobos to be friendlier and more helpful.
 
A few years ago I managed to flip the rigid tender at my mooring and go over the side; when I recounted my tale as a warning on the club forum it turned out I was 4th experienced owner to do this in 2 years.

I and another were rescued - with a struggle - by crew.

1 bloke was swept downtide, grabbed a mooring and was spotted so a rescue boat sent out.

The other was a chap in his 60's, anchored at the top of Sweare Deep - a wide open quiet bit of Chichester Harbour - in January.

Like the rest of us, he had a lifejacket on or we might have 4 different stories.
However the cold got him and he reckoned he'd had it when by a miracle a passing workboat crew from Northney Marina spotted him.

I/we always keep a look around, on the good side it could be a seal to watch, bad side it could be someone in trouble.

I find the behaviour of the boat which left the chap in the water despicaple; obviously the correct procedure is to approach the casualty and enquire as to their bank PIN number, then haul them out and abandon the planned trip with the expectation of drinks all round.
 
shan said:
Actually, I have found mobos to be friendlier and more helpful.
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Last year in Cameret inner harbour pontoon there were two rafts of three sailboats with a French mobo on its own between them. I manoeuvred in and rafted to the mobo, which held the most friendly, nicest couple you could wish to meet.
They invited me round for supper and I returned the invite the next evening. It made my stay a real pleasure, as I was sailing solo.
 
shan said:
Actually, I have found mobos to be friendlier and more helpful.
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And in many cases a better flatter shape to moor against, although some can have difficult decks to cross, and yes some can be skippered by knobs, but that applies to both Motor and Sail boats of course.

Having done just a few miles under sails and now gone to the dark side I try to mix it with both fraternities as much as I can.

My own boat has pooch friendly gates amidships and nice wide decks fairly low to the pontoon, just watch out for my own doggies do's first thing in the morning !
 
I think they tend to be less snobbish and they don't have as many preconceived or should I say ill conceived ideas of what boating should be about.
 
superheat6k said:
And in many cases a better flatter shape to moor against, although some can have difficult decks to cross, and yes some can be skippered by knobs, but that applies to both Motor and Sail boats of course.

Having done just a few miles under sails and now gone to the dark side I try to mix it with both fraternities as much as I can.

My own boat has pooch friendly gates amidships and nice wide decks fairly low to the pontoon, just watch out for my own doggies do's first thing in the morning !
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It mostly comes down to practicalities - my boat, like me, is somewhat broader amidships than at either end. It is seldom possible to step from a motorboat swimming platform to a sailing boat sugar scoop, nor do the decks line up at similar heights. Passing from one to another is generally far more problematic than passing across two similar boats.
 
jakeroyd said:
A bit of thread drift.
I came into the visitors pontoon on the Yealm afew years back.
There was a reasonable flood tide so I could turn round and approach the pontoon controlling my position to the pontoon very accurately.

The only place left was in the middle second out from the pontoon but the raft in front of me had three boats on it.

So I approached very slowly and I have to say under complete control when the lady aboard the boat now on my bow started screaming 'don't touch my boat'

I think she thought I was going to ram it.

Fortunately I kept my cool and all went well.

Some people are really paranoid about these situations.
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I was rammed on one of the pontoons in the Yealm - they were attempting to leave a raft WITH a lively tide (an hour after it had turned!!!). It was a RYA Course and they didn't stop (I was ashore and watched it happen). Very minor damage but left a nasty taste in my mouth...
 
Your right , the tide in the Yealm can be tricky.
There is nearly always a pink fishing boat not very far from the upriver end of the visitors pontoon.
On the flood it's very easy to get carried towards it when trying to turn and moor on the landward side of the pontoon.

I wonder how many times she has been hit............
 
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