Told off in lock

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ricky_s

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In Chichester Marina Sunday afternoon, waiting for the lock to close so I could cross.

Boats being issued numbers to go out and being called down a few boats at a time to lock out.

A boat called, I think, Otter pulls in and grabs ropes.

Lock guy shouts out "Oi, did you ask to be locked in?", "Nope", says guy on boat.

Lock keeper then gives him a very public *******ing in front of everyone.

Ouch!
 
Thank god for locks I say, imagine what these same authoritarian mini despots could inflict on society if they had real jobs.

I received a VHF dressing down for daring to ask the Port Solent lock keeper if he really had told me to lockout against red lights. On the midweek day I was the only boat waiting to leave and another was inbound, hardly a high stress day for the Lockenbunken.
 
jonjo said:
Thank god for locks I say, imagine what these same authoritarian mini despots could inflict on society if they had real jobs.
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Always worth remembering that there may be a reason why they are driving a pair of lock gates on a Sunday afternoon and you are pottering about in £xxxxxx's worth of leisure boat.

In addition, I know nothing excuses rudeness and discourtesy but I have heard, so called, customers behaving in a completely unreasonable manner towards marina staff and they would seem to have little option but to stand there and take it.

You never know he may have just had to deal with one of those.

Just my tuppence worth !

Tom
 
nonitoo said:
Always worth remembering that there may be a reason why they are driving a pair of lock gates on a Sunday afternoon and you are pottering about in £xxxxxx's worth of leisure boat.
Tom
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__________________________________________________

Just because they have not been as successful in life as others does not give them any right to be rude to people.
 
I agree

ricky_s said:
In Chichester Marina Sunday afternoon, waiting for the lock to close so I could cross.

Boats being issued numbers to go out and being called down a few boats at a time to lock out.

A boat called, I think, Otter pulls in and grabs ropes.

Lock guy shouts out "Oi, did you ask to be locked in?", "Nope", says guy on boat.

Lock keeper then gives him a very public *******ing in front of everyone.

Ouch!
Click to expand...

With getting told off for pushing in (which is what he did by the sounds of it) However I have had words with them about seamanship or rather they had words with me as they assumed that becuase I was driving a motorboat I needed help (and told me so) regardless of the two sailing boats next to me bashing in to each other (twice). Assumptions were made and wrongly so as having a Thames backgorund I have done more locks than they have had hot dinners. (you can tell this one gets to me!)
 
parsifal said:
_Just because they have not been as successful in life as others does not give them any right to be rude to people.
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I could ask for a definition of "successful".

In this world there will always be the 'hewers of wood and carriers of water' and to my mind, if they are performing their duties well and to the best of their abilities, then they are successful. I am only suggesting that the range of abilities we are able to display varies enormously with different people.

Our boys are both far brighter than their Dad but, so far, experience and low cunning have enabled me to stay ahead (just) of their intelligence and inexperience ;-)

Of course I agree that we should all be courteous but, equally, we can all have a bad day.

Believe me, I dislike rudeness as much as the next man.

Tom
(195 stress free locks transited in France in 2008 - mainly because most of them were automatic and activated by a remote control on board)
 
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customers behaving in a completely unreasonable manner towards marina staff and they would seem to have little option but to stand there and take it.

You will probably find that is what has happened........... anyway getting a roasting off the lock keeper is part of the fun where I am, you kinda miss it when it doesn't happen
icon11.gif


Tom
 
nonitoo said:
Always worth remembering that there may be a reason why they are driving a pair of lock gates on a Sunday afternoon and you are pottering about in £xxxxxx's worth of leisure boat.

In addition, I know nothing excuses rudeness and discourtesy but I have heard, so called, customers behaving in a completely unreasonable manner towards marina staff and they would seem to have little option but to stand there and take it.

You never know he may have just had to deal with one of those.

Just my tuppence worth !

Tom
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Yes Tom. The reason is they may well be quite happy with playing about with locks whilst you slave to pay off a huge mortgage on a tub of plastic! Meanwhile they can wait until the quieter week to go and play on the water in their paidfor vessel of choice having earnt their money some other way?
Don't assume that just because someone is working during YOUR weekend that they are unsuccessful.
 
parsifal said:
__________________________________________________

Just because they have not been as successful in life as others does not give them any right to be rude to people.
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Nobody said the lock keeper was rude - just gave the queue jumper a ticking off. Well deserved IMO.
And who said the lock keeper wasn't successful? He could well be happy with his life - relatively stress free (except for queue hopping plonkers).

Don't measure success by how much you own.
 
Don't measure success by how much you own.
_____________________________________________

Didn't Mrs T. teach us that :

"Life's a game and money is the score"

:D
 
LittleShip said:
customers behaving in a completely unreasonable manner towards marina staff and they would seem to have little option but to stand there and take it.

You will probably find that is what has happened........... anyway getting a roasting off the lock keeper is part of the fun where I am, you kinda miss it when it doesn't happen
icon11.gif


Tom
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Our week-end lock keeper just does it to relieve boredom and for week-end entertainment. He goes on 3-4 cruises a year and is very happy in his semi retirement. If you want abuse, lock out during the week when the lock is manned by the marina staff!

But you know all this already Tom

John
 
In defence of the guy being told off - if you are a visitor you might have not known what the process is which is very clear if you are berthholder as you have to face it everytime you want to go out.
 
if you're a visitor then you call up on the VHF or go to the waiting pontoon and get instructions .... I know this and I'm a visitor ... !!
 
If your a berth holder (or visitor) and you've waited for ages to lock in, or out for that matter and some upstart pushes their way into the lock in front of you..... (and sadly it happens all to frequently). I would openly applaud the lock staff for raising it with them, and if they didn't..... I would !
 
TeamSpirit said:
If your a berth holder (or visitor) and you've waited for ages to lock in, or out for that matter and some upstart pushes their way into the lock in front of you..... (and sadly it happens all to frequently). I would openly applaud the lock staff for raising it with them, and if they didn't..... I would !
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It is the first time i've seen it happen on the way out, happens a lot on the way in but I don't think the pay much attention to that.
 
This has got nothing to do with success - what a load of tosh. It's just manners.

Waiting for the lock is not my favourite pastime, and I get rattled when people jump the queue, and in my opinion the lock keeper did good, and this guy should be commended and put on duty every busy weekend.

On one occasion this year, we'd been waiting in the queue for some time to lock in, when a little man (he's a berth holder) on his flybridge jobbie passed us all and locked in ahead of us. Nobody said a thing. The guy on the lock told us it had been noted, but I bet nothing's been said. Shame it wasn't last Sunday's lock keeper on duty.

Some years ago, a similar thing happened while I was with Eric Knott on the SeaTech Phantom 43ac as we queued for the lock, except Eric laid into this guy like you wouldn't believe. I was quite shocked at the time, while Eric appeared to be quite pleased with himself!

It taught me not to queue jump though, and hopefully Sunday's incident taught this guy the same lesson. Maybe I'll become a lock keeper one day.
 
parsifal said:
__________________________________________________

Just because they have not been as successful in life as others does not give them any right to be rude to people.
Click to expand...

"successful in life"

Do mean like Robert Maxwell,the Rover quartet,Bernie Madoff etc.....
or like Gandi,Mandela,Martin Luthor King........
 
ricky_s said:
In Chichester Marina Sunday afternoon, waiting for the lock to close so I could cross.

Boats being issued numbers to go out and being called down a few boats at a time to lock out.

A boat called, I think, Otter pulls in and grabs ropes.

Lock guy shouts out "Oi, did you ask to be locked in?", "Nope", says guy on boat.

Lock keeper then gives him a very public *******ing in front of everyone.

Ouch!
Click to expand...

Having been que jumped a couple of weeks ago, by a raggie...I should point out I am a raggie too... I asked the lock keeper would he like to have a word or leave it to me. He said he would draw it to the offenders attention. I noticed that he did not speak to him in the lock so once berthed I went round and said my piece.

Well done that lock keeper.
 
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